Assessment is crucial in education, especially in medical training, where exams range from class quizzes to national board exams, affecting career prospects. Preparation demands significant resources, and failure has substantial consequences. Effective learning strategies, including retrieval practice, elaboration, interleaving, concrete examples, and dual coding, are key. However, students often overestimate their readiness, leading to poor performance, which can be mitigated by learning test-taking skills. A literature survey identified interventions that improve exam performance. Themes like aligned preparation, managing test anxiety, self-regulation, and post-exam reviews emerged. Evidence-based strategies to help medical students enhance their learning and test-taking skills will be shared.

The information included in this presentation is based on two literature reviews of test taking strategies and text anxiety. A toolbox of strategies aligned to the findings of the reviews are also provided.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Explore the latest research regarding learning and test-taking strategies and skills for medical students.

• Examine the influence of test-taking skills on examination outcomes.

• Utilize the designated tool to assist students in pinpointing test-taking strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

• Develop methods to enhance learning and test-taking skills.

The rigors of graduate health programs place significant strain on students, often resulting in challenges to their personal wellness and academic success. In an innovative effort to support students more holistically, the Quillen College of Medicine established a novel solution by joining academic support services and mental health services under one umbrella – CARES (Counseling & Academic Resource Essential Services). This session will provide an overview of the benefits, challenges, and outcomes of consolidating academic support and mental health counseling into a single unit to best serve the complex needs of medical students.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Gain an understanding of the holistic support approach employed by the CARES unit.

• Explore benefits, challenges, and key considerations associated with consolidating services.

• Describe ways near-peer support can be leveraged to support program goals.

• Assess opportunities for better integration and wraparound support for students at their home institution.

The successful transition for a student into medical school is an endeavor which requires a holistic and integrated approach from the institution. At the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine (UCISOM), our Student Support Team is invested in easing the transition into medical school for our incoming class, as well as continuously monitoring the academic progress of every student. Our cohorts receive financial aid, wellness, educational technology, and learning strategy workshops throughout their medical journeys.

After a successful transition, each students’ academic performance is closely monitored by a team of dedicated student support professionals invested in proactively identifying and addressing students experiencing challenges. UCISOM students are afforded unique tailored services, which include membership into our house-structured career advising, wellness, and academic support services program and access to learning specialists. Each of our services undergo continuous evaluation to appropriately address the evolving needs of our students.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the common challenges students face when transitioning into medical school.

• Examine key service offerings which help successfully transition students into medical school, including tailoring services for historically excluded populations in medicine.

• Discuss criteria for continuously monitoring and expanding student support services to most appropriately address evolving needs.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify common key performance indicators for college learning centers.

• Discuss different types of consumer audiences for college learning center data.

• Determine potential use cases for dynamic data visualization in their learning center.

This session will teach learning specialists, academic support staff, and faculty how to use lecture learning objectives to exploit supplemental learning resources in a teaching question bank. This interactive, staff development session will elaborate the features of a question bank to foster integrative learning - a means of teaching students to apply knowledge and skills to complex clinical scenarios. The session will highlight learning bricks that facilitate use of the Socratic method, spaced learning, mnemonics, and case-based practice. It will also emphasize the value of express videos that offer content support to students and counselors.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Know how to use a learning brick to teach integrative learning strategies.

• Understand how to utilize lecture learning objectives to create tests.

• Be able to access all supplemental learning tools featured in the question bank (e.g. videos, First Aid Pages, Flashcards).

Supporting collegiate student-athletes requires a holistic and suited approach to ensure their academic, athletic, and social well-being is promoted. Student-athletes face unique challenges due to time constraints with athletic preparation and participation, demands of class attendance, and social belonging to the overall college experience (McCullough et al., 2019). As learning assistance programs strive to redefine student success, the ethical approach to implementing innovative academic and social services for student-athletes becomes increasingly crucial. This session examines these learning support programs offered at a striving Center for Athletic Academic Services for collegiate student-athletes using data from the academic report card and the diversified approaches to academic and social support services provided by the University of Memphis.

To examine innovative approaches to academic and social support services offered at athletic academic centers:, we will review elements of learning assistance that encourage student-athletes to remain academically and socially motivated and complete their respective degree programs. To discuss frameworks for addressing academic deficiencies of at-risk student-athletes or special admitted student-athletes:, this presentation will focus on various principled frameworks, such as consistent academic monitoring, time management strategies, and independent learning skills, and explore how they can be applied to contemporary educational issues (McCullough et al., 2019). To offer practical guidelines for learning assistance programs, attendees will be provided with practical strategies highlighting key student services designed for collegiate athletes: a. Academic Support Services; b. Mental Health and Wellness Support; c. Career Development; d. Nutritional Support and Wellness Programs; e. Financial Aid Assistance; f. Social Support and Community Building. To foster professional and supportive relationships between the athletic and campus community, this session will promote student success in a unique and collaborative learning assistance center by providing suggestions that can be discussed among senior administrators, campus faculty and staff, and athletic staff. It will encourage collaborative solutions to the ethical challenges presented by academic and social innovation for collegiate student-athletes.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• examine innovative approaches to academic and social support services offered at athletic academic centers:

• discuss frameworks for addressing academic deficiencies of at-risk student-athletes or special admitted student-athletes:

• offer practical guidelines for learning assistance programs

• foster professional and supportive relationships between the athletic and campus community

Learning Specialists are the game-changers in student-athlete support, but what exactly do they do? They're not tutors, mentors, or academic coaches—so what makes their role so critical? In this presentation, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at how these specialists develop personalized strategies to help student-athletes balance rigorous academic and athletic demands. Discover how they collaborate across campus, including with Disability and mental health services, to foster both academic success and overall well-being. Curious to learn more? Join us and find out how Learning Specialists drive student-athlete achievement beyond the classroom.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Understand and articulate the key differences between Learning Specialists, tutors, mentors, and academic coaches in student-athlete support services.

• Identify the core responsibilities of Learning Specialists and how their role contributes to academic success for student-athletes.

• Explore evidence-based strategies used by Learning Specialists to support executive functioning, learning styles, and academic resilience.

• Examine how Learning Specialists collaborate with coaches, advisors, and academic staff to provide holistic support for student-athletes.

• Understand how Learning Specialists work with campus partners, including Disability Services and mental health professionals, to support student-athletes' academic, emotional, and psychological well-being.