The new school year has begun and the new students on campus are being introduced to campus life with required Student Academic Success meetings that get them acquainted with UW-Platteville.

The meetings started during Welcome Week, when the freshman and transfer students are being introduced to campus by participating in activities, such as club fairs, a picnic and hypnotist shows. 

Among those and many more, new students could get a head start on attending Student Academic Success presentations, which are required for the UWP Study course. 

Student Academic Success (SAS) presentations range in variety of topics, as some of the classes that students can attend are “Campus Technology,” “There’s Just Not Enough Time!” and “Healthy Living 101,” amongst other titles. 

This past week, the topic of avoiding plagiarism was hosted for one of the SAS seminars that students could attend. 

In the meeting, the instructor described how the Writing Center on campus can help you at any stage in your college writing, how and when to place citations in your writing and the difference between APA and MLA formats.

The instructor for this meeting, Kathryn Weller, is the Assistant Director of the Academic Support Center and oversees the Writing Center. 

“SAS is supposed to be led by other students,” Weller said. “So other students with experience can share their tips and help others.”

The students are all required to attend these seminars because they are supposed to help the new students adjust to life after high school, whether that be academically or just being able to live on their own. 

“It helped me know the difference between APA and MLA formats,” freshman Ian Ross said. “Also, knowing about the Writing Center really helps.”

Most of these seminars are being held in Ottensman and Doudna Hall. Otherwise, a select few seminars are being held over Zoom to accommodate other students.

“I would recommend these seminars to other students,” freshman Marie Nottestad said. “I’m not great at writing, so these are going to help me later through college life.”

These seminars have been put on by the Academic Support Programs for a way to give students a choice about getting more support in their transition to college life. 

The SAS presentations will be continuing to run all throughout the first semester for new students and will be ending on Dec. 1.