Parent Resources

The Center for Academic Achievement strives to build a partnership with parents and guardians throughout the academic career of the student. While we recognize that students must create their own college experience by making their own educational decisions, parents and guardians may provide guidance and support to their FGCU student.

The CAA recognizes that FGCU has many programs and services and that the educational benefits can remain unknown. For that reason, we have developed the following information for parents and guardians who are interested in learning about the Center for Academic Achievement educational support services.

A free personal consultation with one of our Academic Success Coordinators designed to help your student address specific academic issues. Together with an Academic Success Coordinator, students examine habits of working, current academic difficulties, develop individual academic goals, and enhance knowledge of campus resources. It is a chance for a student to talk about his/her own experience at FGCU, in and out of the classroom. Academic Success Coordinators are available to coach students through obstacles that arise at any point in the academic career and to help students create positive, effective habits.

The Center for Academic Achievement is dedicated to assist students to return to and maintain good academic standing. An academic standing hold has significant impact on a student’s funding for college (now and in the future), course registration, and ultimately, their ability to graduate with a degree.

FERPA is the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended", and is also known as "The Buckley Amendment". FERPA is the United States federal law that protects student records privacy and provides for review and disclosure rights. Please review the information linked below, to help you understand FERPA and what it means to you. These pages outline student rights under FERPA to review educational records and to allow or restrict access to third parties. Please note that some information, called "Directory Information", may be released to third parties without the student's prior consent, unless the student files a written request to restrict directory information access.

An SI session is similar to a weekly study group. The difference is that the SI “study group” is hosted by a SI leader. The SI leader is an experienced student with a strong academic background who is trained in hosting effective study sessions. In addition, the SI leader regularly attends the course’s lectures alongside enrolled students, taking lecture notes and preparing for the next SI session. The SI leader will have already received a high course grade, but attending lecture allows the SI leader to remain proficient in important course concepts.

The CAA offers FREE drop-in tutoring in a group setting in over 25 courses at Florida Gulf Coast University. We recommend that students frequently seek tutoring from the math and science labs early in the semester. The tutor can give attention to the student's needs, while at the same time the student will benefit from the questions and experience of the other group members. While tutoring never replaces course work or class lecture, it does enhance material presented in the classroom. The underlying objective of tutoring is to assist students in becoming independent and confident learners.

A Parent/Guardian’s Role

While you have learned more about the value of the educational programs in the Center for Academic Achievement, it may still be a challenge to explain the benefits of these services. Keep at it! The parent/guardian’s role in the educational experience is as important as the roles of professors, academic advisors, and FGCU staff, your student will need you to regularly help them work through his/her challenges. Additionally, we encourage parent/guardian's to advocate that your student regularly utilize FGCU campus resources to develop personal responsibility for his/her academic experience.

If you need help communicating the benefits of the CAA to your student, we will be happy to help. Please, contact us at caa@fgcu.edu or 239.590.7906.

Further information for parents/guardians can be found at Parent and Family Programs in the Office of New Student Programs at Florida Gulf Coast University.