If I am having difficulty in class, what should I do?

Here are a few ideas, but you also may want to talk with a counselor for strategies regarding your particular situation.

• Attend every class.
• Use your syllabus as a guide for point values of assignments and course due dates
• Complete your homework on time.
• Talk to your instructor. Instructors offer 'Office Hours' designed for meeting with students outside of class time. You can make an appointment or drop in for questions, clarification on assignments and/or struggles in the class. Check your syllabus or your instructor's faculty page for office hours and how to contact them.
• Math Lab offers support for all math courses. It's a place to do homework, meet with study groups, ask questions of math staff and faculty, and access textbooks and calculators. It is located in the middle of the Sequoia building (209) 588-5276. 
• Writing assistance, study skills and other homework support is available in the Academic Achievement Center (209) 588-5088. This free, by appointment only, peer tutoring is offered for most subjects at Columbia.
• For help in online courses, check out Columbia's resources for online students, and use the California Community College's resources and tutorials for Online Readiness.
• Research assistance is available in the Library (209) 588-5119.
• Disability accommodation and support is available in the DSPS Department (209) 588-5130.
• Problem solving and academic advising assistance is available in the Counseling Department (209) 588-5109.
• Set up a study group with students from your class. There are study group rooms available in the library (209-588-5119) that you can reserve for this purpose.

I would like to learn better study skills like note-taking, reading textbooks effectively and time management. Where can I find help with this?

• Guidance 18: Life Skills for Higher Education is a class designed to help build your student success skills. It's a full semester, 3 unit, general education course that explores everything from motivation and time management to specific tools for educational planning. Check out the current class schedule to find out when it is being offered and the full course description.
• The Academic Achievement Center offers skill building tutoring sessions. Ask for the specific skill you'd like to improve when making your appointment and they will schedule you with a peer tutor accomplished in that area.