Academic Support Services

St. John Fisher University offers a variety of services that foster student learning by developing skills necessary to grow academically, personally, and professionally.

Library

The Charles J. Lavery Library underwent extensive renovations in 2024 – 2025 to modernize the building’s infrastructure and adapt the spaces to meet the changing needs of our users.  A variety of study spaces are available in a three-story building with abundant natural light. Silent study and whisper study areas are on the third floor, and study rooms and tables are available throughout the building for group study. Gathering with friends is easy with additional outdoor seating space available in the academic quad, as well as tiered seating in the first-floor atrium.  Library Services are located primarily on the second floor. The library building houses several additional departments that help all students to succeed. Accessibility Services and Testing, Career Services, and Academic Advising are on the first floor; and Writing and Tutoring Services are located on the third floor. Food and beverages are available on the second floor at Beaks’ Bites with vending and grab and go options.

Lavery Library meets the information needs of 21st-Century students. A blend of traditional and electronic resources covering a broad range of subjects is available to the Fisher community. The library’s print collection is complemented by an extensive offering of online scholarly resources available at Lavery Library. Information resources include over 408,000 volumes and access to over 86,000 print and electronic periodicals.

Research Assistance
Professional librarians support student research and are available for in-person assistance and video appointments, as well as answering questions via phone and email.  Our librarians are information specialists committed to the academic success of all students; there is a librarian assigned to every major. Make an appointment with a librarian.  Their schedule is supplemented by a 24/7 Chat-with-a-Librarian service, so students can get assistance with their research whenever they need it.

K-12 Resource Collection
Located on the third floor, this space is geared toward educators and pre-service educators at all levels. We offer a range of fiction, non-fiction, school textbooks, and lesson-planning resources all aligned with NYS standards.

Center for Career and Academic Planning

The Center for Career and Academic Planning offers an integrated approach to student success at St. John Fisher University. Counselors help students to excel academically, explore careers and industries, develop professional skills and experiences, and finish their degree on time.

Academic Advising
These resources include academic dedicated first-year and major academic advisors, long-range academic planning, guidance through major, minor and concentration changes, advisors for students in academic difficulty, and course registration support. Additionally, academic advising maintains close cross-divisional communication with student life and student financial services to help remove barriers to student progress. For more details about academic advising please visit https://www.sjf.edu/student-life/academic-support/.

Career Services
Career Services offers comprehensive support for students and alumni throughout their career journey. They provide tailored assistance and resources for defining career goals, writing résumés and cover letters, finding internships, applying to graduate programs, and pursuing first jobs after graduation. Career Services actively connects students with employers and opportunities through job fairs, events, and workshops focusing on four key pillars to ensure career readiness: Explore, Prepare, Practice, and Pursue. The dedicated Career Services team is available to support students in navigating their academic and professional lives.

Center for Student Research and Creative Work

The St. John Fisher University Center for Student Research and Creative Work is the hub for students seeking to engage in research across all fields of study. It actively supports initiatives like the Summer Fellows Research Program, a fantastic opportunity for undergraduate students to immerse themselves in intensive research projects under faculty mentorship during the summer months. The Center also partners with the Library Committee to organize the annual Fisher Showcase, a vibrant platform for students, faculty, and staff to present their research findings, creative works, and scholarly achievements to the university community. Furthermore, the Center offers funding opportunities to help students travel to academic conferences to present their work and participate in other valuable experiential learning events, broadening their academic horizons and professional networks.

Tutoring

Writing support: Specially trained peers can assist students with writing tasks from all disciplines and during all stages of the writing process. Individualized service and extensive writer participation enable students to become more skillful writers. Writing support services are included in your tuition for all Fisher students. Appointments can be made by “raising your hand” in FisherLink.

100-200 Level Courses support: Tutoring is available for most 100 and 200 level courses, and some upper level courses in the sciences, math, business, languages and more. Specially trained peers who have been successful in these courses will assist you. Peer support services for specific courses are included in your tuition for all Fisher students. Appointments can be made by “raising your hand” in FisherLink. For more information visit: Tutoring Services

 In addition to SJF writing and tutoring support services, all students have access to 24/7 academic assistance through Brainfuse Online Tutoring. Brainfuse can be accessed anytime, anywhere via the my.sjf.edu apps dashboard. Students can receive on-demand tutoring in Business, Computer & Tech, English, Math, and Science courses through the “Live Help” service, or asynchronous feedback on drafted writing via the “Writing Lab” service; asynchronous feedback can be accessed through the student’s message center within 24 hours of submission.

Student Accessibility Services

St. John Fisher University is committed to providing support services and assistance for students with disabilities. Student Accessibility Services (SAS), in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA), provides reasonable accommodations and appropriate services to students with documented disabilities.   SAS advocates, advises, and connects students with campus resources. Students who may need reasonable accommodations are advised to contact the office at 585-385-7272 or sas@sjf.edu to schedule an appointment. Additional information can be found on the Student Accessibility Services website.

Veterans Affairs

The Veterans Affairs Certifying Official, located in the Registrar’s Office, Kearney 201, provides students with information and assistance relating to veterans’ benefits and concerns. The certifying official may be contacted by phone at (585) 385-8031 or by email : veteranservices@sjf.edu For additional resources for veterans, military students, and their families please visit Student Financial Services web page. For information on Veteran Education benefit eligibility, visit the VA online at: benefits.va.gov/gibill/ or call 1 (800) 442-4551.

Information Technology

For compete details about information technology on campus, visit the Office of Information Technology (OIT) website.

Computer Labs

Computer labs across campus offer access to a variety of software, including productivity and academic applications, on both PCs and Macs. For complete details about information technology on campus, visit the Office of Information Technology (OIT) website.

Educational Technology Support

Fisher offers a wide variety of educational technologies that may be used by the instructors of the courses you take. The DePeters Family Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence offers documentation and video tutorials for faculty, staff, and student users of these tools. Please visit the Educational Technologies page to find the tool you are looking for and then access the student specific documentation available.

If you are looking for assistance with Brightspace specifically, check out this Getting Started with Brightspace page built for student users.

*Please be aware, not all courses use Brightspace for course management. Please look at your course syllabi for what course management system each course will use and special instructions provided by the instructor if it is a system other than Brightspace.

Online Learning

Some courses at Fisher are taught as fully online courses, meaning there is no in-person meeting on campus. Some may be taught solely through the course management system, and others may have both online activities and synchronous meetings via Zoom. Check each course syllabi carefully to understand the instructor’s plan for each online course. If you are wondering if online learning is right for you, check out Fisher’s Online Learning Readiness Assessment tool. If you are taking your first online course, make sure to complete the Online & Hybrid Student Orientation course found on Brightspace. Look under Discover in the red navigation bar on your Brightspace homepage to self-enroll in this course. Some instructors may require you to complete this orientation as part of their first-week course activities.