Experience Success - Spartanburg Methodist College

Success starts with your first days on campus and continues your whole career.

Student Success

Your success in both college and life is what drives the SMC Experience. The SMCX Team offers a variety of resources to help you be successful at SMC, and we are always here to assist one-on-one as well.

Academic Support

The SMC Tutoring Center is free to students and has a fantastic variety of specific class help. The SMCX Success team expands on specific tutoring; we focus on the principles behind how to do better in classes on a foundational level.

Academic Resources include:

How to use a planner to organize your work
Techniques for how to study and retain information better

Workshop Wednesdays

This series of workshops are free on-campus events to provide help on a variety of important topics. During the COVID pandemic, these have been a mix of in-person and digital events, and several of the past sessions will be available soon on-demand. Students can visit the SMC calendar to view upcoming events, and all registrations are handled through your Handshake account.

Past workshops have covered such topics as:

Time management
Getting back on track after midterms
Troubleshooting Brightspace, SMC's virtual learning platform

Other Student Resources

Faculty Resources

Upcoming Events

View SMC's Campus Calendar

Questions? Contact

Stephen Jennings,
Student Success Coordinator864.587.4310
JenningsS@smcsc.edu
The X, Office 213
Click to Schedule a Meeting

Megan Georgion,
Director of Internships
& Employer Relations864.587.4020
GeorgionM@smcsc.edu
The X, Office 243

First-Year Programs

SMC's first year programs are designed to not only offer you an introduction to life on campus, but also to help you develop key skills that will help you be successful in both college and life.

Pioneer Power-Up

This two-day program gives you a "crash course" in college success. You'll meet fellow incoming students, get to know the campus, and meet with various faculty and staff around campus who will be vital to a smooth first semester at SMC.

Pioneer Power-Up Sessions include:

Welcome from the President
Meet the SMCX Team
Social activities to get to know your fellow students
Student Success & Academic Resources
Career Services (Internship Opportunities, Jobs on Campus, etc.)
I.T. & Virtual Learning Help
Campus Involvement

SMC 101

This important course kicks off your first semester at SMC by preparing you for a career after college. SMC 101 covers such topics as:

Time management
Studying techniques
Goal setting & achieving
Major & career exploration
Money management
Effective note taking, paper writing, and test taking in college
Valuing and amplifying diversity
Leadership and working effectively with others
Maintaining wellness during your college experience

Important DatesPioneer Power-Up
August 2021
Details TBD

Questions? Contact

Kara Cayton,
First Year Programs Coordinator864.587.4242
caytonk@smcsc.edu
The X, Office 211

Megan Georgion,
Director of Internships
& Employer Relations864.587.4020
GeorgionM@smcsc.edu
The X, Office 243

Accessibility resources

Spartanburg Methodist College is committed to ensuring equal access for persons with disabilities in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADAAA).

Disability Definition

The term “disability” means, with respect to an individual:
(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an impairment (as described in paragraph (3)).

What are “Major Life Activities”?

In general, major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working to include the operation of major bodily functions. Major bodily functions includes but is not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

How Do I Apply for Accommodations at SMC?

Complete the Intake Form
Provide documentation of your disability; guidelines for documenting various disabilities may be found below:
AR staff will review the intake form and documentation and contact the student to arrange an intake interview to collaboratively determine which accommodations the student may need to have equal access to the college’s academics, programs, and services.

Chronic Medical Disability

Students with chronic medical conditions should also complete the Chronic Medical Disability Form; if the student has a seizure disorder such as epilepsy or a condition that is seizure-like in nature, the student and his/her medical provider(s) or treating professional(s) should also complete the Medical Action Plan Request Form.

Chronic Medical Disability Form
Chronic Medical Disability Form (Printable)
Medical Action Plan Request Form
Medical Action Plan Request Form (Printable)

Accommodations:

Students may request a Service or Assistance Animal as an accommodation for a disability through Student Accessibility Resources. Please see the Service and Assistance Animal Policy for SMC. The forms to request to have an assistance animal in campus housing or to register to have a service animal on campus are below.

Students who are registered with Accessibility Resources and have testing accommodations for a disability are welcome to take tests in the Accessibility Resources testing areas.

Requests to take tests in AR must be received from the student at least 2 business days prior to the test.
The student must also ask the professor about taking the test in AR.
Students must leave all items that will not be needed in the testing room with Accessibility Resources staff. This includes, but is not limited to, book bags, laptops, cell phones, books, notebooks, etc.
The student must take the test at the same time as the class is testing. If doing so would pose a problem because the student has a class right after the class in which a test is being given, arrangements may be made to start the test early or take it later the same day. STUDENTS MAY NOT START A TEST, LEAVE FOR CLASS, AND THEN RETURN LATER IN THE DAY TO COMPLETE THE TEST.
Students should start the test at the scheduled time; taking the test later than the scheduled time in order to study some more is not equal access.

To request to take a test in Accessibility Resources, please complete this test request form.

ReadSpeaker allows you to listen to any text content or online document, providing a fully enhanced learning experience. ReadSpeaker is fully integrated with D2L Brightspace. Features of ReadSpeaker include:

Document Reading: Listen to any online document
Web Reading: Copy text from anywhere on the web and paste it in the TextAid window to listen
Text Selection: Select any part of the text and listen to only that section
Text Highlighting: Have the text highlighted as it is being read and choose the colors used for highlighting
Text Settings: Customize the text display and formatting for more comfortable reading. Choose the text color, size, and typeface
Screen-masking: Focus on a part of the screen for easier reading

To get started with ReadSpeaker, first, learn why you should use ReadSpeaker and download the informational poster. If you'd like a full orientation to the suite of tools, take the ReadSpeaker Orientation Course.

Learn more about ReadSpeaker webReader (look for the Listen button around Brightspace)
Learn more about ReadSpeaker docReader (look for the docReader button under documents around Brightspace)
Learn more about ReadSpeaker TextAid (activate your account by clicking ReadSpeaker TextAid from the homepage of Brightspace then use this tool to read websites and more)

Other Student Resources

Faculty Resources

Questions? Contact

Gina Parris,
Director of Accessibility Resources864.587.4272
parrisg@smcsc.edu
Walker Building, Office 109

Abbott Staggs,
Asst. Director of Accessibility Resources864.587.4075
StaggsA@smcsc.edu
Walker Building, Office 107

Mindy Bliss,
Asst. Dean of Health & Wellness864.587.4277
BlissM@smcsc.edu
The X, Office 232

What's Next?