How and Why an Advising Libguide Made a Difference: Student Perspective!

By Marta Grala

https://pccc.libguides.com/c.php?g=836327

Are you a freshmen at PCCC and not really sure what resources are available to you, or what requirements you must meet in order to succeed academically? Well, thanks to wonderful authors of the LibGuides at PCCC, that process became easier not only for students but for the instructors as well.

LibGuides are like a cheat sheet with all information gathered in one place for everyone’s convenience. They are easy to access (from the college home page, under Library resources), and they give students and professors full access to useful information organized by subject, program, major or even professors’ names. They are digitally accessible from anywhere, which makes them even more valuable, especially now, considering the pandemic and the need for even more remote services.

Every class and major include detailed information about their subjects. For instance, a LibGuide titled “Business Administration and Accounting Programs,” created by Prof. Kourani, includes great information about Business degrees and programs that give students all the advisement information they need such as:

• sample maps of required classes

• suggested schedules for each semester for different degrees

• various options within the Business majors

• internships: planning and contact information

• information re: transfer agreements with local universities

• club options

I especially like the transfer information (which is on the right side, under the “Important Notes”). This section contains a list of classes that are required by the most popular schools PCCC graduates chose to continue their education with such as Rutgers, Montclair, or William Paterson University.  This way, students can avoid taking classes that are not needed by those schools, saving both time and money. This section alone helped me so much in choosing my classes for each semester and avoid taking incorrect or extra (and unnecessary) classes.

Also useful is the Internship section. When an individual is ready to test his knowledge in the workforce, the internship coordinator contact is available right there on the LibGuide.

If students would like to explore campus life and connect with like-minded students, they can join clubs (this information is listed under LibGuide as well) that help to build confidence, explore full potential, allow to participate in important events related to students’ life, connect with the faculty and staff, serve the community and prepare for the competitive workforce. All reports can be found there.

Recently, the Business Leadership Club offered an online workshop (which is one of many available to PCCC students) with tips on how to prepare an effective resume.

In short, LibGuides provides assistance with all necessary information that every student needs to know to get through each semester and take full advantage of the resources and tools available for them. It outlines general information about PCCC, instructional resources, interesting articles and events related to students’ lives and PCCC graduates’ success stories.

I’m happy that the Libguides exist because they truly made a difference for me. I know what I’m doing as a PCCC student now…what I’ll be doing when I transfer later…and what my career focus will be in the future. Thank you, Prof. Kourani, for the Advising section of the LibGuides!