About Us

The College Success Center (CSC) is devoted to promoting true success—academic and spiritual—by providing resources, encouragement and guidance to each traveler as he or she charts his or her own course and journey.

There are many websites that provide college students with academic advice and tips; the CSC is different because of its unique approach to academic success.  The College Success Center takes the position that academic success (or educational achievement) is not reserved for the academically prepared, the advantaged, the gifted, the prodigy, or the high IQ outliers.  In fact, true academic success is less about grades and academic accolades, and more about personal change/transformation/leadership and relational impact.  It is not always visible and most of the time only the recipient will recognize it.  When it is visible to be recognized by others, it is only the effects that they see.  Sometimes, we and others may claim someone has it while he or she knows otherwise within.

Founded in 2010 as a non-profit organization, the College Success Center strives to facilitate and support the academic and spiritual success of students across U.S. colleges.

MISSION

The mission of College Success Center is to promote academic and spiritual success among U.S. college students.

VISION

The vision of the College Success Center is to inspire and perpetuate true success.

GOALS

• Inspire college students to seek and achieve their academic and spiritual potential.
• Support college students to attain spiritual growth and maturity.
• Provide academic and spiritual survival information, tips, advice, wisdom and guidance.
• Guide college students toward academic and spiritual self-discovery and excellence.
• Assist graduating high school seniors prepare for their transition to college.
• Assist college graduates in their transition to the workplace.
• Provide scholarship and internship opportunities for college students and other volunteers.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The College Success Center is ecumenical and does not discriminate in offering academic and spiritual support on the basis of race, color, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, creed, disability, and veteran’s status.

BRIEF HISTORY

There are many online resources, books and tapes in the market place that provide college students with academic advice and tips.  The majority are focused on academic tips with little or no spiritual guidance.  The College Success Center is different because of its approach to academic success.  The College Success Center takes the position that academic success is not reserved for the academically prepared, the advantaged, the gifted, the prodigy, or the high IQ outlier.  Academic success is less about grades and more about personal transformation, fulfilling one’s mission and vision, and the secondary impacts and influences that our lives make on others and society.  True academic transformations rest on religious/spiritual moments, inner revelations and commitments.

To understand CSC’s philosophical position that true academic success is less about grades, the experience its founder illustrates the point.  As a college teacher, Dr. Peter ON taught a class with one exceptional student.  The student had multiple disabilities—sight, mobility and learning.  He studied all the time, and came by Dr. ON’s office regularly to get additional tutorials.  He did more assignments than everyone in the class did and he never complained or asked for any special consideration or extra credits.  The student was always in class and after every disappointing test result, he would tell Dr. ON that he would work harder, and he did.  As hard as the student worked, he always made “C” letter grades; but every time Dr. ON interacted with him, Dr. ON felt as if he was the student and the student was his tutor.

“Indeed, the student was making the “A” and I was earning the “C” letter grade.  In the student, I saw a human quality that made me wonder about my own life and complaints about life.  I was sometimes so overwhelmed by the after effect of the student’s attitude and spirit towards life’s challenges that when he left my office, I would close my door, fall on my knees and ask God to forgive my ingratitude and help me become a better human being!  Academically speaking, the student barely earned a “B” in the course, but he made an “A” grade impact on me, his course instructor.  He taught me more than I taught him.  What I taught him was temporal but what he taught me was eternal.  Twenty-five years has passed since I taught him but once in a while, I repeat his story to my students, to illustrate that in the college classroom, instruction goes both ways, form instructor to student and vice versa.  I tell the story here again to support the mission of the CSC that true academic success is not measured in purely temporal terms—grades and diplomas.  It is also measured by impact—self and others.”

The second story about academic success that Dr. ON reiterates comes from one personal experience as a student.

“As a graduate student, I loved “A” letter grades so much that I planned, worked and prayed for them.  However, my best college course grade ever was one particular “B” letter grade.  Before then I had earned a string of 11 “A’s” before that “B” came along.  The “B”grade was special because I fought against my selfish desires to earn it.  I happened during one examination that the course instructor provided some students and me a helpful tip.  However, since the tip was not given to all students I found myself disturbed by the advantage.  After some internal struggle, I was convinced (or forced the Spirit within) to respectfully approach the course instructor and to ask for the points allotted for that particular problem to be removed.  Although only I and the instructor knew about the discussion and the result of that decision, that lower grade symbolized the one instance when I got a glimpse of true academic success.  Based on the experience and those others have shared with me, I can truly say that the presence of positive impacts/transformations associated with a grade or diploma can turn academic ‘failures’ into successes.  On the contrary, the absence of positive impacts/transformations can turn academic ‘successes’ into failures, like during my first years in college when I neglected my Christian/spiritual life in pursuit of academic achievement.  I toiled, neglected and flopped in my Christian living and faith, and had fewer experiences that spiritually impacted or transformed me and others.”

In a way, true academic success can come in strange ways; sometimes you won’t know if you have achieved it until it is measured by your transformations or positive effect on others.  Occasionally, someone might think that he has it looking at his grades or other people might say so, but then the grade recipient later feels otherwise.  Or, a student might have it and others might think or say otherwise looking simply at the student’s grades but in fact there has been an “A” transformation within.  Because of this transformational factor (self and others), a lower grade might bring greater joy than some “A’s” and some “A’s” might not be true “A’s” at all, especially if it has been gained inappropriately or without charitable regard for others.  Moreover, another quality about true academic success is that it’s not always visible and most of the time it’s only you, the recipient that will know of it.  In fact, most of the time when it’s visible, it has long gone and it’s only the effects that we see.

This site is devoted to promoting true success—academic and spiritual.  Because true success is elusive when pursued only through temporal means, the College Success Center is committed to providing both temporal and spiritual resources and guidance; however, each traveler must reflect and chart his or her own course.

BOARD OF TRUSTEE STRUCTURE (Prospective)

• Two religious leaders (one Christian and the other a member of another faith)
• Four current college students (two graduate students—master’s and doctoral and, two undergraduates—freshman/sophomore and junior/senior)
• Two recent college graduates (employed and working full time)
• Four doctoral qualified faculty members with a minimum of 15 years full-time academia experience (ethnically and gender diverse)
• Three non-voting board members (inclusive of institutional supporters and donors)
• President
• Four other staff/officers/volunteers of the organization
• Immediate Past President (President Emeritus)