James W. Vick Advising Excellence Center

The James W. Vick Advising Excellence Center supports and elevates the advising community at The University of Texas at Austin by working to ensure all advisors have the training, tools, and resources they need to best support their students.

The Vick Advising Excellence Center partners with the Academic Counselors Association (ACA) in developing advisor training and professional development opportunities, exploring innovative tools to support advising, gathering data to support advising needs, and researching and sharing best practices to empower all advisors on campus. The Vick Advising Excellence Center also serves as a conduit between the advising community and university leadership to elevate issues and champion ideas for the betterment of advisors.

The Vick Advising Excellence Center also provides advising to undergraduates in all colleges and schools related to major exploration, internal transfer planning, the Core Curriculum and the Skills and Experience Flags. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/vick. 

Sanger Learning Center

The Sanger Learning Center is a university-wide learning resource dedicated to students’ mastery of course content and development of transferable academic and professional skills. Services are free to currently enrolled students in all schools and colleges (some restrictions may apply).

Summary of Services

• Appointment Tutoring provides one-to-one tutoring sessions for many challenging undergraduate courses.
• Drop-in Tutoring offers informal, group-based content support for many lower-division math, physics, and chemistry courses. 
• Learning Specialist Appointments are private academic counseling appointments. With SLC's professional staff, students can explore time management, study skills, test anxiety and more.
• Math Refreshers are workshops to refresh students’ algebra, trigonometry, and calculus skills. 
• Math Reviews help calculus and pre-calculus students prepare for exams. 
• Peer Academic Coaching offers students the opportunity to develop effective study skills by meeting one-on-one with a trained peer academic coach. 
• The Public Speaking Center provides one-to-one consultation services to undergraduate and graduate students who are working on oral communication assignments. 
• Supplemental Instruction offers weekly, peer-led collaborative study sessions to support students' content and study skills development. 

More information about the Sanger Learning Center is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/slc.

First-Year Connections

The First-Year Connections initiative was developed so all incoming students have the opportunity to connect with a small peer group during their first semester on campus. By participating in a First-Year Connection (which may be a cohort, program, community, group, or class), students receive a holistic view of life as a Longhorn. More information about the First-Year Connections is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/fyc.

First-year Interest Groups

A First-year Interest Group (FIG) is comprised of 18-25 new students who take two to four classes together during their first semester at the University. FIGs help students integrate socially, academically, and developmentally to ensure a smooth transition to college life, leading to academic success and on-time graduation. Each group attends a weekly seminar led by a peer mentor and a staff facilitator. Each FIG student attends classes, studies, and participates in various activities with their mentor and fellow first-years. More information about FIGs is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/fig.

Transfer-year Interest Groups

Transfer-year Interest Groups (TrIGs) provide a unique opportunity for new transfer students to build a peer academic community, gain the skills to meet the University’s level of academic rigor, and register for their first-choice courses. Each TrIG includes a peer mentor and staff facilitator who meet with students in regular seminars, small group meetings, and one-on-one discussions. More information about TrIGs is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/tye/trig.

Darren Walker Scholars

The Darren Walker Scholars program provides a fully funded undergraduate education at The University of Texas at Austin for students of the highest caliber with substantial financial need and a history of overcoming substantial economic, social or educational obstacles. The program provides students with an intimate cohort of fellow Walker Scholars, as well as cultivated connections with faculty, alumni, and civic leaders. The goal is to permit these extraordinary young women and men to unlock their potential and develop their talents for the betterment of all, following the example of Darren Walker. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/office-student-success.

Heman Sweatt Center for Collegiate Males

The Heman Sweatt Center for Collegiate Males (Sweatt Center) is a faculty-led student organization, consisting of professors, administrators, graduate and undergraduate students committed to contributing to the academic success and acclimation of collegiate males to The University of Texas at Austin. The Sweatt Center’s mission is to ensure the recruitment, retention, graduation and holistic development of collegiate males at UT.

Our goal is to create and foster on-campus programming for collegiate males at UT, The Sweatt Center includes a research focus that informs public policy experts, practitioners and concerned citizens on how to best create and maintain a culture of collegiate male excellence in K-16 settings. This research guides a hands-on practical approach to help the Sweatt Center achieve its major goals: to increase the four-year graduation rate for collegiate males at UT Austin, and to increase the number of collegiate males attending universities across the state of Texas. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/office-student-success.

McNair Scholars

McNair Scholars is part of the federally funded TRIO education programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education, and the only one primarily focused on students’ postbaccalaureate success. McNair Scholars seeks to increase the number of undergraduates earning doctoral degrees who are low-income and first-generation. Participants must be serious about and committed to enrolling in graduate schools, with an end goal of completing a Ph.D. Under guidance from mentors, participants define, develop, and deliver independent research, and build their graduate studies literacy. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/academic-and-curricular-innovation.

Office of Distinguished and Postgraduate Scholarships

The Office of Distinguished and Postgraduate Scholarships (ODPS) supports students and alumni in their pursuit of prestigious scholarships or fellowships that align with their personal, academic, and professional goals. The ODPS manages the evaluation and selection process for select awards that require university endorsement. These highly competitive awards are funded for graduate study and professional development such as research and critical language study. Support services include helping individuals identify relevant scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate endeavors, providing one-on-one coaching, administering mock interviews for scholarship finalists, and facilitating workshops and information sessions. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/odps. The ODPS team can be reached at opds@austin.utexas.edu. 

Office of Undergraduate Research

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) fosters undergraduate participation in research and creative activity across the disciplines by raising the visibility of undergraduate research on campus, facilitating students' pursuit of research related to their interests and goals, and helping students share their work with others.

Services offered include weekly sessions on how to get involved in research, individual advising, and workshops on a variety of topics like designing and presenting a research poster. The office coordinates Research Week, the University's annual celebration of undergraduate research and creative activity.

Undergraduate Research also oversees Eureka, an online database devoted to undergraduate research projects and opportunities at the University. More information on the Office of Undergraduate Research is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/our.

Strive Grad Prep Academy

The Strive Grad Prep Academy (Strive GPA) is a postgraduate education support program designed to widen the pathways to graduate and professional school, including MA, Ph.D., J.D., M.D., for students across campus, especially students who are first-generation college students and/or Pell-eligible. Strive GPA offers participants a wealth of resources and services, including individualized planning sessions and no-cost test prep courses for the GRE, LSAT, and MCAT provided in partnership with Kaplan. More information is available at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/academic-and-curricular-innovation.

Texas Success Initiative

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is a state-mandated program designed to improve student success in college. There are two components of the program: (1) an assessment to determine students’ basic skills in English Language Arts, Reading, and Mathematics for College and Career Readiness and (2) developmental instruction to strengthen academic skills.

Developmental instruction options include a co-requisite model under which students concurrently enroll in a developmental studies course and credit-bearing course for each subject area for which the student is referred to developmental coursework. Co-requisite courses are available only to students who meet both Texas Success Initiative (TSI) eligibility and specific program requirements.

All non-exempt students are required by law to take the TSI Assessment (TSIA), which is the only college-readiness assessment approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. More information about the Texas Success Initiative, including a list of exemptions, is available in the General Information Catalog and at https://undergradcollege.utexas.edu/tsi.

Student Success Programs

The Student Success Programs team provides programs, services, and tools to help undergraduates at UT Austin overcome barriers and earn their degree in a timely and efficient manner. Some of those programs include:

• Scholarship Communities – We provide robust academic support and activities to foster community, build leadership skills and career readiness through experiential learning, improve financial literacy, and support student mental wellbeing for selected recruitment scholarships, such as Impact Scholars.
• Undergraduate Achievement Awards – We support students and campus partners in recognizing academic achievement through the UT Co-op George H. Mitchell Award for Academic Achievement and the Roy Crane Award for Achievement in the Arts.
• Student Success Help Desk - The Student Success Help Desk consolidates all the tools available to help students stay on track to graduate and offers students assistance enrolling in classes required to fulfill degree requirements. Student Success Help Desk staff work with students, advisors, and faculty to resolve roadblocks to timely graduation.
• Completion Scholarships – Students who are at risk of not graduating because of unmet financial need benefit from completion scholarships. These scholarships allow students to pay for the final course they need to cross the finish line or help them get back on track for a timely graduation.
• Senior Countdown - Students commit to graduating on time. We help them get there. By enrolling in Senior Countdown, students are given priority access to the Student Success Help Desk and are guaranteed access to courses they need to graduate.

More information is available at https://studentsuccess.utexas.edu/. The Student Success Programs team can also be contacted at studentsuccess@utexas.edu or by phone at 512-475-7378.

University Leadership Network

University Leadership Network (ULN) is a nationally recognized incentive-based scholarship program. ULN’s mission is to encourage and support students to graduate in four years and become leaders through professional and experiential learning opportunities that advance their education, communities, and lives. ULN participation is by invitation only; eligibility is based on a student’s financial need demonstrated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The financial support and comprehensive four-year plan allow students to streamline their educational experience, helping them to minimize student loan debt and graduate career-ready and poised to become leaders in their community. ULN’s main functions include:

• Building Community
• Developing Leadership Skills
• Career Readiness via Experiential Learning
• Financial Education

More information is available at https://studentsuccess.utexas.edu/uln/. The ULN team can also be reached at uln@austin.utexas.edu.

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