Iowa State’s Academic Success Center offers Accountability Groups, a support service focused on helping students integrate studying into their weekly schedules.
Bethany Kula-Nickels, coordinator for academic skills coaching, described how Accountability Groups differ from other support services offered by the Academic Success Center.
“Something unique about Accountability Groups compared to other services at the Academic Success Center is that they allow students to really focus on their individual goals while still benefiting from a sense of community,” Kula-Nickels said. “They provide a “just right” amount of support that a lot of students find helpful – not too much input from the group leader, but also not leaving them to figure things out on their own.”
Senior Isabella Logan, a writing and communication consultant and an academic success navigator, is a leader for an Accountability Group session and clarified how a session works.
“There are 90-minute sessions,” Logan said. “You sign up for them once a week, and then it is typically five minutes of discussing goals at the beginning, and then about 35 minutes of work time, an optional five-minute break, and then 35 more minutes of work time.”
Kula-Nickels explained how Accountability Groups use the body-doubling method to help students academically. Body-doubling is when one completes a task in the presence of someone else.
“Attending Accountability Groups helps students take advantage of “body doubling” to feel more motivated to stay on task and avoid distractions when they are trying to get things done,” Kula-Nickels said. “It can be really helpful for working on prioritizing tasks, getting started on assignments and reducing the overwhelming feelings of a busy college schedule.”
Logan recommended that all students join Accountability Groups.
“If you have struggles like time management, accountability with putting your phone down and then actually doing the work when you sit down,” Logan said. “If you’re taking more difficult classes and you want to have a dedicated time carved out to really lock in on that material, that could be helpful.”
Mary Wieth, a junior studying animal science, has been participating in Accountability Groups since last spring. For her, the group has helped with time management.
“I like to procrastinate, but if I do [Accountability Groups], then I will know I will at least get some of the stuff done earlier in the week, and not have to try and cram it all at the end,” Wieth said.
Logan encouraged students to visit sessions to find out what works for them.
“They are no pressure,” Logan said. “If you come one time and you end up not finding it as helpful as you thought, it is no biggie. You can just shoot an email, but they are usually more helpful than people anticipate them to be, and they are not this big scary thing. They are a nice group activity where you are all locked in.”
Registration for Accountability Groups opens one week before the semester starts and remains open through week 12 of each semester. For more information, visit the Academic Success Center website. To register for a session, click here.