by Jerreck McWilliams
Staff writer
Students enrolling at Southeastern can look forward to new advising and tutoring facilities thanks to a two million dollar federal grant, according Associate Dean of Academic Services Tim Boatmun,
The Academic Advising and Outreach Center, along with the Learning Center and Native American Center for Student Success, will be moving to a central location on campus: the building formerly occupied by the campus bookstore.
“The impetus for the move was a Native American Serving/Non-Tribal Institutions Title III grant to improve advising, retention and graduation services,” Boatmun said. “It helps in the streamlining of advising services for all students.”
According to Boatmun, the Advising Center and Native American Center will occupy the old bookstore, while the Magnolia Room just below it will be remodeled for the Learning Center.
Boatmun said, “Our goal is to create an environment that is comfortable and conducive to learning. Lots of glass, open spaces and brightness.”
Boatmun said the new center will not only have several new offices to allow for a greater number of students to be advised at once, but also its own computer lab so that students can access CampusConnect after being advised.
“It will also help us during events like the curriculum contest where we advise groups of students at once,” Boatmun said.
Although it could be argued that much of the university is in need of rearranging, the federal grant was written specifically for these offices because.
According to Boatmun, “A survey of 200,000 students across the nation said that academic advising was their most valued service. Think about it, taking the right classes at the right time is one of the most important parts to graduating on time.”
Renovation of the spaces has been ongoing since the beginning of the spring semester. According to Boatmun, current estimates say the offices will be finished sometime before August.
To meet the demands of student advising, the Native American Center for Student Success has already hired two new advisers, Hannah Blackwell and Jennifer Kemp.
Boatmun said the move will be especially beneficial to the Learning Center, where remedial classes and tutoring take place, because of the currently cramped conditions of the offices which is in the basement of the library.
Learning Center Coordinator Betty Castle said that she is very excited about the move as well. However, the lack of space was not her only concern.
“Because a number of students take a CPT (College Placement Test) and/or CLEP tests,” Castle said, “for many students visiting the university for the first time, these offices are among the first that they see.
“Our offices down here are crowded, and I don’t think that sends a good message to potential students.”
Castle said she is looking forward to the new move because the new spaces “will be more open, yet private.”
“One of our biggest problems right now is potential students taking CPT tests at the same time as a class is taking, for example, their math class. We have to tell the class to be quiet because the one student is taking a CPT,” Castle said. “In the new offices, students will be in their own rooms, and we’ll be able to monitor them through the glass.”
The new offices will also offer benefits to the teachers who instruct students in the Learning Center. According to Castle, the new Learning Center will be getting an upgrade from chalk boards to smart boards, which Castle said the instructors in the Learning Center find thrilling.
“Liz (Watkins) and Jeremy (Todd) are very excited about the smart boards because they believe it will improve their delivery when teaching, which will let them use their class time more effectively,” Castle said.
Fundamentally, however, Castle says the Learning Center will remain the same.
“We’re still the same book, just with a different cover,” Castle said.
Boatmun said the move is “a statement by the university not only symbolically, but also practically, that student needs are important by putting these services at the center of campus.”