Hi, my name is Daniel McBride, and my role at Manna U is to make sure students have the resources they need to succeed and thrive during their time at the university. I have used a variation of that sentence countless times in the past three years when introducing myself to new students at Manna University, because it is true, brief, and explains my purpose in reaching out. Providing student support services at universities can look different depending on the context. The student body, nature of the school, location, and other factors can all affect which resources are most necessary and available. At Manna U, we do our best to set our students up for success even as we are helping them pick a degree program.
From day one, when students are looking to study with us, we want to make sure that the degree program they pursue will actually be helpful to them and fitting to their current aptitude. Our admissions team finds out why a person wants biblical higher education, and what they plan to do with it. This can help us make sure that we do not put a student in a situation where they are likely to fail. Then, our enrollment team offers counsel as to which courses should be taken so that the student is not overwhelmed by choices and does not take too many or too few classes for their goals and current ability. At some point in this process, the Student Life Team steps in. I, or someone from my team, reaches out to every new student to personally welcome them to the school once they are accepted. We contact via phone, text, and email to ensure that the student not only hears from us but knows how they can get in contact with us in the future if they should ever need anything.
During these “new student contacts” we discuss academic support, the availability of counseling referrals, local church referrals, opportunities to connect with other students, and more. Our academic support is extensive, ranging from proactive orientation and a Writing Center to help students improve, to face-to-face tutoring and check-ins for students struggling in class. However, while academic support is a central pillar, it is far from the only element needed in student success programs. We also want to make sure students’ spiritual and emotional needs are met, which is why we offer prayer to students, provide opportunities for them to connect in small group settings, encourage local church participation, and respond quickly to requests for counseling or church referrals.
For a school with students both on campus yet having the majority online only, campus resources must include more than a student union and a library, though we are committed to excellence in those too. While there are spaces where students can connect, study, and check out resources for assignments on campus, we do our best to offer all of these resources online as well. Our SGA (Student Government Association) coordinates events online as well as on campus, so that all of our students can engage with their classmates. Our library is perhaps one of the strongest examples of these campus resources being made available to all students, because we offer so many resources to our students through eBooks and digitized scholarly journals. On the off chance that a domestic student needs a book from our physical library and cannot pick it up, we can mail it to them!
From the time a prospective student considers what classes they want to take up through the point at which they graduate, our team is doing all we can to meet their needs and help them grow as a Christ-follower and a lifelong learner.
Daniel McBride, Student Life Director