We Serve Students in the Health Sciences
The Division for Academic Success (DAS) offers an array of services to students on the medical campus. Students with disabilities work with us to receive academic accommodations. Even if a student has been previously enrolled on the Monroe Park Campus and received accommodations there, he or she will need to contact DAS in order to receive accommodations on the medical campus. All students, regardless of disability status, may meet with DAS to get help with learning strategies, study or test-taking skills, time management, and other issues affecting their academic performance. Visit the links below to learn more about these services and see what DAS can do for you.
Confidentiality is an important component of the work at DAS. Students can come into the Division for Academic Success without fear of judgement, whether discussing academic difficulties or disability-related concerns, and without concerns that what they communicate here will be directly communicated with faculty or other students. If there is a need to discuss concerns with academic departments or service providers, students must sign a release for DAS to do so.
Academic support services are available to all VCU Health Sciences students, with or without a disability, and include skill building (ex. note-taking, studying, exam-taking), time management, preparation for board/licensing exams, and often utilizing a brief learning patterns assessment. Support can be provided to individuals or groups, on a one-time or ongoing basis. One-on-one meetings are confidential.
To provide easier access to our staff for students and faculty, the schools/colleges have been assigned to specific staff members. While it does not prevent other staff members from supporting you, it does give you a specific name of someone to contact. It also means that the staff specified will likely understand your program better than another. The programs are divided as follows:
Amy Miller - School of Medicine 4th Year, Residents, and Fellows
Debbie Roberts - School of Medicine 1st - 3rd Years
Brandi Daniels - CERT, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Gerontology, Health Administration, Patient Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Mental Health Counseling, School of Pharmacy, Clinical Radiation Sciences
Emma Evans - BS in Health Services, PhD in Health Related Sciences, School of Dentistry, Nurse Anesthesia, School of Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, School of Medicine Masters and Ph.D. Programs
The Learning Connections Inventory (LCI)
The Learning Connections Inventory is designed to assess individual learning patterns and can help your Learning Specialist tailor study suggestions for you. Knowing these patterns can also help create better efficiencies around time management while avoiding certain pitfalls associated with simply copying the study habits of others. It is FREE for all health sciences students (including Health Professions, Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry).
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory that examines how people prefer to use their perception and judgment. It can also be very useful for evaluating academic resourcefulness, career fit, and interpersonal dynamics. Ask your DAS contact about taking the MBTI.
DAS offers disability support services to students in the VCU Health Sciences schools: Health Professions, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. Disability support services are provided for documented disabilities and can include academic and/or clinical accommodations, as well as consultations. Meetings are confidential and your specific disability information is not discussed with your professors or department.
If you disagree with the decision communicated by your DAS staff member, then concerns should be directed to the Assistant Director, Debbie Roberts. If you remain displeased with the response from the Assistant Director, please direct your concerns to the Director of the Division for Academic Success, Amy Miller.
Beyond the Division for Academic Success, the full process explained can be found on the Equity and Access Service - Complaint Process page.
The Testing Center at DAS is used for multiple reasons for students from across the health sciences. Some utilize the Testing Center for accommodations, while others use it to retake exams. Still others utilize the center to practice for licensing or other standardized tests. Whatever the reason, the Testing Center provides a quiet, proctored environment for test taking on the MCV campus.