The Counseling Center will host a four-day workshop series to help guide students on their academic paths.

“We have these workshops because academic counseling is one of three major areas we try to cover in the Counseling Center,” Vikki Chaviers, licensed professional counselor, said. The first of these issues is personal or life, the second being academic and the third is helping students discover long-term goals, she added.

The workshops include ways to decrease test anxiety, improving grade point averages, learning how to manage time more effectively and finding a major that best suits the student.

“The test anxiety workshop aims to help students, not to completely eliminate anxiety, because some anxiety is good, but to manage it,” Chaviers said. “The four steps to 4.0 workshop will teach students about solid study skills and techniques such as how to listen, how to read closely and preparation skills.”

Chaviers said one of the biggest issues with students is time management and organization skills. The workshop aims to teach students how to set priorities and to schedule their time more efficiently for academic success.

“We get out information and advice from what we think are some of the best sources we can find, such as from other universities and chief executive officers from Fortune 400 companies,” Chaviers said. These are skills that will carry into their careers, she added.

Gerald Sampson, nursing senior, said, “A lot of people have issues with test anxiety. They might understand the material very well but have a meltdown in a test environment.” Testing isn’t always a true reflection of understanding, he added.

Yvette Ordonez, mass communication junior, said, “I haven’t been to these workshops before, but they sound interesting. I would definitely suggest it to my friends.”

“I feel like I’m always cramming, so the time management workshop sounds most useful to me. I think it’s hard not to slack in college, and at some point everybody slacks,” Ordonez said. “Learning how to manage time can help not only in school but in the real world,” she added.

“I think the least useful workshop is the four steps to a 4.0, because employers usually care about whether or not you have a degree, not so much what kinds of grades you get,” Ordonez said. “There’s a saying that C’s get degrees, and having a certain grade is not as important as time management skills once you’ve started your career.”

The workshops are:

• Taming test anxiety, Monday, Nov.9
• Four steps to a 4.0, Tuesday, Nov.10
• Time management and organization, Wednesday, Nov.11
• Choosing a career and major, Thursday, Nov.12