Success Network
Purchase College is committed to ensuring the success of our students. Toward that end, we have established the Purchase Success Network, which organizes and coordinates our efforts on behalf of our students, particularly, but not exclusively, freshmen.
The Purchase Success Network is a web of support services including: advising, monitoring, encouragement, and overall student advocacy. One of our goals is to make sure that students do not fall “between the cracks.”
The Success Network also runs programs and events to support degree completion.
Support Programs and Services
Success Mentor Program
Any student can request additional support from a staff Success Mentor who serves as a student support specialist, in addition to a faculty major advisor. Through this program, students learn how to navigate college as well as connect to all the social, academic, and career related activities and offerings.
College Success Seminars
First-Year Seminar is required for all BA/BS degree programs as well as some conservatory degree programs.Incoming freshmen in the liberal arts and sciences, in arts management, and in theatre and performance, are encouraged to become members of the Purchase College intellectual community. Through readings, discussions, and supervised activities, students learn about the college’s academic expectations and its educational and co-curricular opportunities.
The College Success Seminar is designed for students in their sophomore year or beyond. Students gain life skills that contribute to success in college and in life, developing the confidence, accountability, and self-advocacy that lead to rational decision-making and improved academic performance. Students are guided on a path of personal growth through readings, discussions, peer mentoring, and reflective journaling, which are informed by best practices in advising and evidence-based theories on learning and behavior.
Community Engagement Programs and Opportunities
The Office of Residential and Student Life offers programs throughout the year to support social and academic development for residential and commuter students. Residential and Student Life also organizes and supports service learning projects and trips as well as training and support for student Residential Assistants who provide important peer support for students living on campus.
Counseling Center
The Counseling Center Offers help with all kinds of personal problems, psychological concerns, and crisis response. Our free, confidential services include individual and group therapy, psychiatric consultation, and educational programming.
Harbor Center for Health Promotion
The Harbor Center for Health Promotion offers students a resource to help them live well by focusing on topics to help reduce stress, manage emotions, live mindfully and be aware how things like sleep, nutrition and exercise can impact their quality of life in a positive manner. It is also a confidential resource for students to seek voluntary counseling about substance use.
Freshman and Sophomore Days
The Success Network sponsors a freshman day event and a sophomore day event each year to build student class identity and connect students with services, programs, and opportunities that will support them through graduation. Students can also declare or change majors at these events and receive their class t-shirts.
Academic Support Programs
Learning Center
Available to all students, the Learning Center at Purchase College assists students in learning, developing academic skills, and attaining academic success. The Center offers a comprehensive system of support, ranging from help in a specific course to detailed instruction in writing and study skills. The primary modes of support are peer-based individual and group tutoring.
Academic Advising
Professional academic advisors help students understand their degree requirements and the College’s academic policies and procedures while aligning their academic goals with their career goals. The Advising Center offers holistic support for students who need assistance choosing a major, selecting courses, or planning their timeline to graduation
Disability Resources
The Office of Disability Resources (ODR) collaborates with Purchase College students, faculty, and staff to create an inclusive and accessible educational environment for students with disabilities. The ODR facilitates accommodations, consultation, trainings, and innovative services and programming.
Career Development
Visit the Career Development Center and take some time to discover your career interests, skills, goals and possibilities with a wide range of career programs and services. Meet with our experienced career counselors for help exploring your options. Gain experience through internships, on-off campus jobs and other valuable opportunities. Get help with your resume/cover letters, interview preparation, and much more.
Specialized Programs
Success Fellows Program
Designed to provide first-generation students with support services to assist with their transition to college as well as providing them with a network of peers during their time at Purchase. Success Fellows are invited to a three-day summer immersion experience which includes academic, social and career interest activities. Success Fellows are assigned additional support of a Success Mentor as well as to their assigned faculty advisor. Special events are held throughout the year for Success Fellows. The program is also built on the premise that Success Fellows should then “pay it forward” by helping other students navigate the college experience with the based on the knowledge gained from the program.
Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)
The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Purchase College provides the opportunity for a college education for students who have not reached their full academic potential because of limited financial resources and inadequate academic preparation. EOP at Purchase has a committed, dedicated staff who are eager to assist students succeed. Services such as counseling, academic tutoring, and financial aid are cornerstones of the program.
All first-time students must attend the EOP pre-freshman summer orientation program in addition to the college’s regular summer orientation. The EOP summer program is one week in duration. Its primary focus is to orient the student to EOP and begin to formally introduce the student to Purchase College and its various supportive services.
Peer Mentoring and Peer Tutoring Opportunities
Purchase provides various opportunities for current students to assist other students through peer mentor and peer tutor programs. Students may serve as peer mentors for first-year seminar courses, Success Fellows summer program and EOP/MAP programs. The Learning Center provides opportunities for students to serve as tutors for other students through a peer internship program.
Merit Access Program (MAP)
The MAP program provides opportunity for students that may not have realized their full potential due to unusual circumstances during high school but do not qualify financially for EOP. MAP students receive supplemental advising, counseling and participate in a pre-freshman, a mandatory summer program. The extended summer program helps students get a head start on their college career by becoming familiar with the campus, its community, students, and staff prior to the start of the semester.