Connect Program | Faculty Guide Resources

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The Mentor Toolkit

The resources below are designed to support Faculty Guides and their conversations with students in the Connect Program.

Themed Resource Conversation Cards

Conversation cards for Faculty Guides to encourage habits of excellence in students across areas that matter for their success. Select a card to learn about resources, tools, and opportunities related to the area of focus that you can share with students. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view all the available conversation cards.

Spring Semester Calendar of Events and Workshops

Recommended Workshops

  • Design your Career Series: Explore majors and ideas to design your career path. In this series, you will participate in self-discovery activities, mind-mapping, and explore career planning tools focusing on your goals, interests, personality, skills, and values. You will participate in engaging activities and apply “life design” techniques to answer questions like: “What should I do with my life?,” “What career is right for me?,” and “What am I passionate about?”. Upon completion of this series, you will have action steps and ideas on ways to explore your curiosities and interests and learn about the many career possibilities with an LAS degree. Remember, your major does not define your career opportunities!
  • Making the Most of your Internship Search: Learn about the process for searching for internships and some key resources to help you secure an internship!
  • Developing your own Internship: Create an opportunity for yourself by reaching out to organizations of interest. Over 80% of positions aren’t posted online! Learn how to leverage your interests, skills, and strengths to develop an internship position.

Recommended Programs

  • Immersion: The Internship Immersion Program is a three day program offered during Spring Break to encourage exploration of interests and early exposure to workplace settings, internship opportunities, career paths, and a deeper dive into your professional identity. Through this program, you will participate in career development workshops, self-assessments, and visit various work settings to meet professionals to hear best practices toward internship exploration and professional marketability.
  • Internship Bootcamp: Spark your internship success by joining the LAS Internship Bootcamp series designed to help you through every step of the internship search process to increase your chances of securing a future opportunity!
  • LAS Department Internships: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers many different options to earn academic credit while participating in an internship. Eligibility for credit is dependent on your academic department and it is important to start by reviewing your course catalog and meeting with your departmental advisor to see what internship courses are available by department, understand the application process, requirements needed, and any restrictions. Departments that offer internship courses: Anthropology, Chemistry, Communication, Criminology, Law, and Justice, Earth and Environmental Sciences, English, German, History, Latin American and Latino Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology
  • Sustainability Internship Program: This unique, multi-year program provides an intellectual framework for students to apply classroom learning to project-based engagement. Since summer 2014 we have connected over 200 students to sustainability projects on UIC’s campus. Open to UIC undergraduate students only, students from fields of engineering, architecture, urban studies, public health, nursing, and liberal arts and sciences, have completed the program. Students have been placed in internships across the campus, in units such as Campus Housing, Dining Services, the Children’s Center, Capital Programs, Campus Utilities, Facilities Management, Civil Engineering, the Center for Literacy, the Energy Initiative, Gallery 400, UI Hospital, and the School of Dentistry, as well as outside partners such as The Field Museum and the One Earth Film Festival. Projects vary from waste reduction initiatives and community outreach, to data research and  water conservation, and much more.
  • Job Location and Development Program: The Job Location and Development (JLD) is a federally funded program designed to help students find off-campus, part-time employment while attending school.

Recommended Courses

  • LAS 289 Internship Course: Students can earn academic credit for internships by enrolling in this course offered by LAS Careers and Internships. Sample Syllabus.
  • LAS 200 Career Success Course: This course will cover wide ranging career development activities to foster and strengthen the skills necessary for managing your professional career. Students will focus on their strengths, skills, unique experiences, interests, and academic preparation to develop a competitive brand and feel confident in their internship/job search. Students will refine their skills in developing a self-marketing package that will include creating a competitive resume and cover letter, understanding their professional brand and communication style, polishing their interviewing skills, learning networking strategies, and connecting with alumni and professionals.

Recommended Grants

Recommend Resources

  • Handshake: UIC officially became a Handshake school in the summer of 2020!  Handshake is the premier site for connecting students to a wide variety of employers and opportunities. It’s your ONE STOP SHOP for full time, internship, part time and on campus employment listings!
  • UIC Connected: UIC alumni and students connect here for career networking, text or video conversations, discussions threads about work and to engage in flash (short-term) mentoring. Create a free profile today!
  • On-Campus Employment: Employment opportunities to assist students in offsetting some of the cost of their education, to learn valuable skills, and to gain employment experience in an environment that respects attention to academic success.
  • Career Resource Sheet: A list of resources to share with students in addressing common major and internship questions. For a deeper dive, please refer students to an LAS Career Development and Internships Advisor on iAdvise.
  • Career Discovery Guide: Fillable worksheet to help students identify primary skills/ abilities, passions/ interests, work/ life values, and societal needs that are important. Includes prompts.
  • Major Exploration: Resources to help students explore majors, learn the value of an LAS education, and discover professional paths.

Recommended External Program

America Needs You: Please consider nominating your first-generation, first-year LAS students who can benefit from a 2-year professional development/mentorship/internship opportunity.  A nomination from faculty takes no more than 30 seconds (just submit your information and students’ names and emails on this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUZrRHa2vDOPK4-UXF1NKmqUK_O6pldMrp_5aziTJMIf1hxA/viewform) and ANY staff will outreach the student letting them know they’ve been nominated! I would also strongly encourage you to share the information below for students who want to take the initiative and begin the application process on their own.

Why Join ANY?: America Needs You connects talent with opportunity. They work with ambitious first-generation college students by giving them the skills, mentorship, and access they need to create a meaningful career after college.

Here are the benefits you receive as an ANY Fellow: A Mentor Coach to provide one-on-one support, Access to internships at prestigious companies and organizations, Networking opportunities with industry professionals, Up to $2,000 in professional development grants, Career Development training to learn and practice important career success skills

Apply here: https://americaneedsyou.org/fellows-program/

Recommended LAS Programs

  • Liberal Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Initiative: The Liberal Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Initiative (LASURI) encourages students to develop their research skills by providing financial support to undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and their faculty mentors for one- or two-semester research projects.

Recommended UIC Programs

  • Summer Research Opportunity Program: The Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) was first established in 1986 by the Graduate Deans of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The goal of SROP is to introduce domestic underrepresented sophomores and juniors to academic research experiences. Student participants work one-on-one with a faculty mentor giving them an opportunity to experience research and the graduate student experience.
  • Chancellors Undergraduate Research Award: The Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award allows students who qualify for and have accepted Federal Work Study as part of their current year’s financial aid package to work as research assistants for hourly pay–at no cost to faculty or departments. Faculty apply online on behalf of the student(s) they have recruited. Students are hired by the faculty member’s department/research unit, just as any other Federal Work Study employee would be, and departments/research units are reimbursed through the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Academic Programs at the end of the fiscal year. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until FWS enrollment ends for the campus as a whole.

Recommended UIC Resource

UIC/External Program

  • ChicagoCHEC Fellows Program: The ChicagoCHEC Fellows program is a comprehensive learning experience for undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students at Northeastern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University, the City Colleges of Chicago, and other Community/ Junior Colleges in the Chicago metropolitan area who are planning to apply to graduate or medical school. This program is focused on the development of academic, technical, and professional skills in preparation for careers in social, behavioral, and biomedical research and in healthcare. ChicagoCHEC Fellows will spend the summer in seminars and research rotations learning from leading researchers. Following the summer intensive program, ChicagoCHEC Fellows will have the option to be matched with a research mentor and research project (depending on mentor and project availability) during the academic year. Application Deadline: February 28th.

Spring Semester Calendar of Events and Workshops

Recommended Services – Wellness Center

  • Wellness Coaching: Health education professionals who use the Eight Dimensions of Wellness to find solutions. In our 30-60minute self-care consultation, we provide practical and concrete holistic solutions to affect your daily life habits positively. Consultations with a health educator are available during office hours by appointment. Staff can provide consultation and referrals for topics including: stress management, smoking cessation, responsible drinking, sexual well-being, general nutrition, safety and more.  Fill out a request form to schedule a consultation.  On average, consultations are a one-time session lasting for 30-60min. Students may sign up for one session per semester.
  • Sleep: Do college students even sleep? Come explore and check out videos that highlight the importance of sleep as well as tips to help you sleep!
  • Stress Management: Stress is a part of everyday life, especially when you are a college student. The demands from your educational workload, along with day-to-day responsibilities, can be the source of stress.  Stress is the response to an event or situation that calls for change, threatens the order or safety of life, or places an unusual demand on your physical, mental, and emotional resources. You can request an individual consultation with a Wellness Center Health Educator if you are experiencing stress and need a new way to help manage its impact on your life.
  • Conflict Management: Conflict, a natural part of life, can occur at any time and in any professional or personal relationship.  Successfully managing a conflict starts with understanding how you react in these tense situations.  To learn more about how to properly resolve conflict come check out these video links!

Recommended Housing Services

  • Housing: The Wellness Center supports the Office of Dean of Students in aiding students that are experiencing housing instability. UIC and the city of Chicago has many resources dedicated to helping UIC college  students that are experiencing short-term or long-term housing instability.
  • Off-Campus Housing: Living in an off-campus apartment? The Commuter Students and Resource Center staff are here to help. From conducting an effective apartment search to navigating an issue with a landlord or roommate, CSRC offers tips and resources for off-campus students.
  • Pop-Up Pantry: The mission of the Pop-Up Pantry is to exclusively serve registered UIC students who are experiencing food insecurity while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).  Our mission is to support academic success and student development by supporting students who may be facing personal and/or financial hardship.  It is especially important that during these college years, all students have access to a steady supply of nutritious food. Research shows that proper nutrition is critical for cognitive function and memory. This means that every meal is a bridge to academic success.

Recommended App – Counseling Services

  • Nod: As the world continues to cope with the challenges of COVID-19, we know that forming and maintaining social connections is more challenging than ever, and in spite of this fact, remains a core component of the student experience. Nod is a research-backed app for students that taps into positive psychology and the science of social connections to help you build the friendships you want and need. Nod is an intervention rooted in the latest evidence-based practices including positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness self-compassion. Download Nod on your cell phone and create a free, confidential account with your UIC credentials.

Recommended Group Therapy – Counseling Services

  • Drop-in Spaces and Workshops: At the Counseling Center, we know that the traditional model of once weekly therapy might work for some students, but it’s not for everybody. Especially in a community as diverse as UIC, it’s important to provide services that are just as diverse. Our drop-in spaces, workshops, and mind-body programs offer students the opportunity to process their thoughts and feelings, connect with others, learn and practice new coping skills, and improve their mental health, outside of a traditional therapy model.
    • Virtual Drop-In Spaces: General Drop-In Space, Neurodivergent Drop-In Space, Grief & Loss Drop-In Space, Student Parent/Caregiver Drop-In Space, International and Undocumented Drop-In Space, First-Generation Drop-In Space
    • Mind-Body Programs: The Mind-Body programs at the Counseling Center are focused on fostering emotional, mental, and physical well-being. These programs strive to take the whole person into account by offering services that promote students’ overall health, resilience, and quality of life. These multi-week workshops teach skills such as mindfulness, emotion-regulation, and self-compassion that can be applied across many different areas of your life, including academics, and promote optimal functioning, performance, and success.
  • Peer Support: United Support Network (USN) is a community of students coming together to support each other through life’s challenges and connect around life experiences. USN provides weekly support groups for UIC students as well as monthly, fun, social, stress-busting events.
  • Group Therapy: Group therapy is the treatment of choice for many concerns, especially for individuals whose distress is related to their social, family, or romantic relationships. Groups generally meet once a week, have 5-8 members and 1-2 trained group therapists, and do not have a session limit; however, a few groups are specifically designed to be time-limited. Students looking to join a therapy group must be referred following an initial consultation appointment or by their relationship or individual therapist at the Counseling Center. Students can then schedule a 30-minute “pre-group meeting” with the co-facilitators of the group. During this meeting, the group leaders will help you determine whether that particular group is a good fit for your clinical and interpersonal needs.
    • Identity Based Therapy Groups: LGBTQ+ Group, Men’s Group, Students of Color Group, Trans & Gender Non-Conforming Group, Women of Color Group, Women’s Group.
    • Therapy Groups: Anxiety & Depression Groups, Conquering Anxiety Group, Interpersonal Process Groups, Graduate Student Only Process Groups.

Recommended Resources

  • Academic Center for Excellence: Students can request appointments to meet with Academic Specialists/Professional Instructors for help with:
    • Learning Strengths and Techniques
    • Time and Study Management
    • English Language Instruction
    • Academic Writing Support
    • Support for Learning and Attention
  • The Disability Resource Center: The mission of the Disability Resource Center (DRC) is to empower the UIC community with the knowledge, resources, and skills necessary to ensure full access and engagement for students with disabilities in all aspects of college life.
    • Helpful FAQs about the center.
  • Studying: Wellness Center shares videos to help students explore learning styles that will help to pinpoint which way is the best way for them to study.
  • Students Tips and Resources for Listening, Reading, Writing, and Exams: The Language and Culture Learning Center shares resources for listening, reading, writing, and exams.
  • Scheduling Tools: The Academic Center for Excellence shares scheduling tools, including a semester at a glance calendar, weekly time grid, and an 8-day study plan.
  • Helpful Worksheets from the University of Connecticut First Year Programs Learning Communities Academic Achievement Center:

Recommended Tutoring Supports

Recommended Scheduling Tools

  • Tools for Success: Scheduling tools, including a semester at a glance calendar, weekly time grid, and an 8-day study plan provided through the Academic Center for Excellence.
  • Helpful Worksheets from the University of Connecticut First Year Programs Learning Communities Academic Achievement Center:
    • Personal Time Survey: Worksheet for students to identify hours for studying based on the number of hours spent on different activities each week
    • Semester at a Glance: Fillable template for students to organize all assignments each week in a semester
    • To Do List: Example To-D0 List to help students prioritize assignments by due dates.
    • The Five Day Study Plan: Plan for breaking down study schedule.

Spring Semester Calendar of Events and Workshops

Recommended Programs 

  • United Support Network Paraprofessional Training Program: The Counseling Center invites students to apply to the United Support Network (USN). USN is a community of students coming together to support each other through life’s challenges and connect around life experiences. The network provides weekly support groups for UIC students as well as monthly, fun, social, stress-busting events. Students interested in becoming group leaders for USN’s support groups are required to complete PSCH 386: Crisis Counseling Techniques, which serves as the training program for UIC Paraprofessional Counselors.
  • Asian American Mentor Program: The Asian American Resource and Cultural Center invites students to serve as mentors in the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP). AAMP is designed to ease the transition of new students to UIC during their first semester. In the fall, students are assigned into groups with two Peer Mentors and 3-5 new students for personal support and to help get connected to campus resources.  All AAMP mentees will also sign up for Global Asian Studies 105, a 1-credit course that will introduce you to other students, student organizations, and campus resources that will help you be successful! AAMP activities consist of AARCC-sponsored events that include social activities, academic and cultural workshops as well as virtual group hangouts.
  • Become a Tutor: The Language and Culture Learning Center invites students to be a peer tutor. Students can learn how become a peer tutor in the Language and Culture Learning Center.

Recommended Resource

Additional conversation cards may be found below.

Recommended Certificate Program

  • Co-Curricular Leadership Certificate: Student Leadership and Civic Engagement is home to the new UIC Co-Curricular Leadership Certificate. Beginning Fall 2020, students are able to pursue a co-curricular leadership certificate, resulting in a certificate of completion and commencement regalia upon successful completion of the program.

Recommended Leadership Programs

  • Ignite: An Exploring Leaders Program. Ignite supports UIC students as they begin to navigate and explore the concepts of leadership and self-reflection. By examining themselves in the role of a leader, participants recognize key identities, values, and issues that matter to them. Throughout the program, students discover the variety of involvement opportunities that exist on- and off-campus and gain the skills needed to pursue positive change.
  • Forge: An Emerging Leaders Program. Forge supports students as they begin to identify solutions for burnout and promote resilience in high-stress situations. Resilience gives students the ability to thrive while succeeding. Meaning, when we bring together positive, committed students and build their resilience through impactful exercises and reflective dialogue, performance towards their respective goals increases. Throughout the program, participants will discover unique tactics for stress regulation and have the space to devise a creed to live by in times of difficulty.
  • Flashpoint: An Engaging Leaders Program. Flashpoint supports students as they begin to kick their leadership skills into high gear. By reflecting on their positions within their respective groups and organizations, participants are challenged to identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed in order to create a thriving democracy. Throughout the program, students are given the opportunity to work on their collaboration, conflict management, and vision-setting skills as they relate to the work being done by their groups and organizations.
  • Leadership UIC: A Transformative Leaders Program. LeadershipUIC is the pinnacle leadership capstone experience for students on-campus. Throughout the program, participants receive coaching from prominent community and business leaders and work collaboratively to find solutions to a current problem that exists around them. By clarifying their mission, vision, values, along with their own definition of leadership, this capstone experience allows students to reflect on their journey from exploring leaders to transformed leaders, while giving them the opportunity to craft a project portfolio that they can use as they begin to search for careers and other leadership positions.
  • LeaderShape Institutue: A Transitional Leaders Program. The LeaderShape Institute is a FREE four-day, three-night off-campus experience challenging participants to lead with integrity while working towards a vision grounded in their deepest values. Participants explore not only what they want to do, but who they want to be. Dynamic, challenging, and exciting, the week is intended to produce a breakthrough in the leadership capacity of participants—benefiting them individually, as well as their respective communities and the organizations they will go on to lead and serve in the future.

Recommended Leadership Conference

  • Student Leadership Conference: The UIC Student Leadership Conference is the biggest one-day, in-person leadership event on campus! Attendees will be able to hear from keynote speakers; select from a variety of workshops led by faculty, staff, and peers; and network with others in the UIC Community.

Recommended Civic Engagement Programs

  • Make Mondays Matter: Taking place the first Monday of each month, in partnership with multiple campus partners, this regular service opportunity allows students to give back while they are on campus. This enables students who don’t have the time or resources to serve in other ways to still contribute to community organizations. Projects are usually hands on and involve making something. They vary from month to month and have included making fleece-tie blankets for infants of teen parents, assembling welcome kits for hospice patients, creating cards for veterans, making dog toys for shelter animals, and more. Make your Mondays Matter!

Recommended Program to Engage Chicago Communities

  • Leadership & Service Expo: The Leadership & Service Expo is an opportunity for the UIC community to explore avenues to serve Chicago. Community agencies and organizations come to campus to recruit volunteers and interns and share their missions. A wide variety of agencies are represented, focused on youth, the environment, the arts, animals, human rights, community development, health, and more. Students, faculty, and staff can find service and volunteer opportunities that match their interests, learn about the needs of Chicago-area communities, and find ways to get involved.
  • Get Involved in Volunteer Experiences (GIVE): Monthly GIVE events offer students the opportunity to come together and serve local communities on a regular basis. GIVE events include 10-30 students and usually last 2-4 hours. Past GIVE events have included activities like craft projects to support sexual assault awareness, family game nights with children experiencing homelessness, sorting donations for low-income families, and more! To find and sign up for our next GIVE Event, visit service.uic.edu.

Recommended Resources

  • First Step: First Step Info Sessions are mandatory for all study abroad applicants as a starting point for the application process. The presentation will review how to select a program that aligns with your academic, personal, and professional goals, the application and course approval processes, financial aid policies, and scholarship opportunities. Please visit this link to watch the 25-minute First Step Info Session video online at your own convenience. Afterwards, if you have any additional questions, our Study Abroad Advisor, Maggie Miller, is available to meet with you to help you with any questions you have about the study abroad process. Visit our Meet with an Advisor page to make an appointment.
  • Flames Abroad Portal: View Study Abroad Programs and search using different filters and criteria.

Recommended Scholarships

  • FirstGen Flames Abroad Scholarship: Chancellor Michael Amiridis has graciously supported the launch of a new scholarship to encourage first-generation, first-year undergraduate students to study abroad.  The Chancellor’s FirstGen Flames Abroad Scholarship is designed to award first-year students whose parent(s) did not complete a bachelor’s degree with a scholarship to study abroad. Students will find out during their first year at UIC if they have earned the scholarship and will have the remainder of their time at UIC to use the scholarship towards the costs of an approved UIC faculty-directed or exchange program. In addition to receiving a scholarship, FirstGen Flames Scholars will participate in a series of workshops as a cohort to learn about selecting a study abroad program, opportunities for additional funding, integrating study abroad into their academic major, and using international education to advance their career.
  • Frederick Douglass Fellowship & Scholarships for UIC students (illinois.edu): The Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship was founded to empower students of color with a transformative experience abroad, much like Frederick Douglass was inspired by his travels. All program fees are covered, as well as airfare.

Recommended Programs led by LAS Faculty

  • LAS Specific Opportunities: These LAS faculty-directed programs are an excellent fit for first time travelers as you will be traveling abroad with a cohort of UIC students and a trusted UIC faculty member.  It’s a great way to create a strong academic relationship with a faculty member and add a global dimension to your studies. Faculty-directed program fees are accessible and affordable for UIC students!  If you still need additional funding, you can apply for scholarships and use financial aid to help make your dreams a reality. Current departments offering courses: Latin American and Latino Studies, Psychology, Hispanic and Italian Studies, Linguistics, and Sociology.

Recommended Strategies

Talking more openly with students about self-doubt and failure may help students manage feelings that arise after experiencing a setback. Below are some strategies to consider when speaking to student mentees:

  • Acknowledge that self-doubt is common, and so are mistakes and setbacks, especially in a rigorous academic setting. Remind students that even failure, in some shape or form, is something many of us experience. Help students understand that mistakes and setbacks are a normal part of our growth and development, and failing at something does not make us frauds. Try to help them embrace that we are always learning and evolving.
  • Help students recognize that failure, as difficult as it may seem, can lead to positive outcomes. Failure leads to motivation, empathy, resilience, and perseverance. Try encouraging students to engage in self-reflection to identify what they learned from the experience to help them move forward and achieve a different outcome. As noted in one article, this framing of failure does not encourage students to fail more but fail better.

Consider sharing with student mentees some of your mistakes and successes. For inspiration, check out the video below featuring Stanford faculty discussing some of their academic and professional wins and losses as part of the university’s Resilience Project.

“I didn’t…” Faculty at Stanford, The Resilience Project

Much of the information provided here stems from literature about helping students manage feelings related to imposter syndrome. Sources available upon request.

Recommended Services – Counseling Center

  • Group Therapy: Group therapy is the treatment of choice for many concerns, especially for individuals whose distress is related to their social, family, or romantic relationships. Groups generally meet once a week, have 5-8 members and 1-2 trained group therapists, and do not have a session limit; however, a few groups are specifically designed to be time-limited. Students looking to join a therapy group must be referred following an initial consultation appointment or by their relationship or individual therapist at the Counseling Center. Students can then schedule a 30-minute “pre-group meeting” with the co-facilitators of the group. During this meeting, the group leaders will help you determine whether that particular group is a good fit for your clinical and interpersonal needs.
    • Identity Based Therapy Groups: LGBTQ+ Group, Men’s Group, Students of Color Group, Trans & Gender Non-Conforming Group, Women of Color Group, Women’s Group.
  • Drop-in Spaces and Workshops: At the Counseling Center, we know that the traditional model of once weekly therapy might work for some students, but it’s not for everybody. Especially in a community as diverse as UIC, it’s important to provide services that are just as diverse. Our drop-in spaces, workshops, and mind-body programs offer students the opportunity to process their thoughts and feelings, connect with others, learn and practice new coping skills, and improve their mental health, outside of a traditional therapy model.
    • Virtual Drop-In Spaces: General Drop-In Space, Neurodivergent Drop-In Space, Grief & Loss Drop-In Space, Student Parent/Caregiver Drop-In Space, International and Undocumented Drop-In Space, First-Generation Drop-In Space

Recommended Programs

  • The Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP) is designed to ease the transition of new students to UIC during their first semester. In the fall, students are assigned into groups with two Peer Mentors and 3-5 new students for personal support and to help get connected to campus resources.  All AAMP mentees will also sign up for Global Asian Studies 105, a 1-credit course that will introduce you to other students, student organizations, and campus resources that will help you be successful! AAMP activities consist of AARCC-sponsored events that include social activities, academic and cultural workshops as well as virtual group hangouts.

Recommended Centers

Recommended Activity

  • The Cost of Missing Class: An activity that helps students calculate the financial costs of missing class. The goal is to encourage students to attend class. Available from the University of Connecticut First Year Programs Learning Communities Academic Achievement Center.

Recommended Budget Template

  • Monthly College Budget: Template from Microsoft Office for college students. Description: Create a simple, easy to use budget for a college student with a monthly college budget template from Excel. This template enables students to track their monthly budget by simply entering information into various customizable categories. Cool charts, a slider, and Sparklines make visualizing your budget fun. College life is challenging. Let a college budget template help you stay on track.

Recommended Resource

  • Student Accounts:  Students can view their student account, university bills, and enroll in payment plans.

Recommended – Information about COVID-19 III Emergency Grants

The Office of Financial Aid announced that HEERF grants (known at UIC as “COVID-19 III Emergency Grants”) in the amount of $782 were distributed to all registered students (excluding international students). Students did not have to apply to receive the grant.  The grant is being distributed to their student accounts, not towards tuition and fees, and will not impact the amount or eligibility for Financial Aid.

If students have additional questions, they can review the FAQs for “Spring Semester 2022 – COVID19 III” on Financial Aid’s website: https://financialaid.uic.edu/faq/.

Recommended Worksheets

  • Goal Setting Worksheet: University of Colorado, Boulder: College of Engineering and Applied Science – Academic Coaching and Success

Recommended Reflection Questions

The Academic Coaching Program at the University of Oklahoma employs the following “Action Questions” in their conversations with students to help them identify a plan.

  • What are some specific steps you can take now to move forward?
  • How would you prioritize these steps and turn them into action?
  • If you were going to create an action plan and timeline, what would these look like?
  • What are some ways you can hold yourself accountable?
  • How will you know you’ve accomplished what you set out to achieve?
  • What can I do to help hold you accountable?