About Us

Our Mission

The mission of the Student Success Center (SSC) is to foster a learner-centered experience for undergraduate success by serving as a primary university resource for academic support, which complements the efforts of teaching faculty. We offer tutoring, peer-assisted group learning, academic skill development, and workshops to empower students to take an active role in their learning, which ultimately impacts student retention and graduation at UT Dallas.

Program History

Formerly known as the Gateways for Excellence in Math & Science (GEMS) Center and Learning Resources, the Student Success Center was named in 2012 and fully launched in 2012-2013. Located in the McDermott Library, the SSC offers academic support services for all majors aimed at improving and ensuring academic success for all UT Dallas students.

The center includes Peer-Led Team Learning for science and math, Supplemental Instruction is a peer-led program offered in historically difficult courses, Individualized Peer Tutoring and one-on-one assistance with academic success coaching. The Writing Center provides assistance at any stage of the writing process for nearly any writing assignment and the Communication Lab provides oral presentation assistance.

The philosophy of the SSC asserts that peer-assisted learning and mentoring helps students to integrate course content with facilitated study strategies while learning collaboratively from successful peers. Our peer mentor programs rely upon faculty liaison roles with all units to ensure the integration of course content.

In addition to impacting retention and graduation rates, students participating in SSC programs gain improved critical thinking and communication skills.