The Office of Student Academic Success has rebranded a popular series of academic workshops and made other changes to better fit the needs of NIU students.
Formerly known as the Soup & Success Series, Edible Education provides students with a free lunch while learning about various topics critical to academic success at NIU. The original program launched in the fall of 2011 and featured five different workshops each semester.
New this fall is the Exploring Research Opportunities series. The program will feature a panel of faculty and students who have participated in various undergraduate research programs on campus. They will communicate the importance of undergraduate research and provide opportunities for students to begin their own research projects.
Exploring Research Opportunities will take place Monday, Sept. 30, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 100 of the Campus Life Building.
Sessions from previous semesters on time management, public speaking and test preparation strategies will also continue this fall. The new topics were selected based on feedback from past sessions, as well as MAP-Works, to identify academic skills and topics that students were not only asking for, but also felt were critical to their academic success.
Sessions for the spring semester include new workshops on finding internships, building a resume and resources on career and major planning, as well as time management and reading strategies sessions featured in previous years.
“MAP-Works has been an incredibly effective tool for our office in terms of target marketing,” said Randi Napientek, assistant director of the Office of Student Academic Success. “The surveys have allowed us to identify specific topics including undergraduate research and internships, which NIU students are telling us that they want more information about.”
In addition to the new name and topics, the program will feature different food choices and new locations.
The fall 2013 schedule of Edible Education workshops include:
- It’s About Time (Management)! – Thursday, Sept. 12 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the llinois Room of the Holmes Student Center
- Public Speaking 101 – Wednesday, Sept. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 100 of the Campus Life Building
- Test Preparation – Monday, Sept. 23 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Illinois Room of the Holmes Student Center
- Exploring Research Opportunities – Monday, Sept 30 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 100 of the Campus Life Building
NIU 411, the first workshop in the Edible Education series, was held Tuesday, Sept. 3, and provided students with information on communicating effectively with faculty and staff on campus. Topics covered included email etiquette and effective strategies for utilizing campus resources.
For more information, contact the Office of Student Academic Success at (815) 753-5721 or osas@niu.edu.
