Vol. 16, No. 8 - A Publication For Faculty, Staff and Friends of Wichita State University - December 2, 1999

[Inside]

By Julie Rausch

It is not easy to dismantle a program – especially one that is so highly regarded and widely used with roots at WSU for 49 years – but that is what is happening with the Learning Resource Center.

"The simple truth is that in the current economic climate, WSU and the College of Education can no longer afford to do a variety of things that are not central to its mission," said Jon Engelhardt, College of Education dean.

For 37 years the LRC was a part of University College, which was disbanded in 1998. The supplemental instruction programs and study skills courses, two among many services provided by the LRC, integrated into the College of Education. For more than a year the LRC staff has reported to Marcus Ballenger, who will retire as associate dean of education in May.

The LRC services and its staff will blend into various areas of campus, while options to offer some services through a nearby community college are also explored.

The dissolution of the LRC will take place over the remainder of this academic year with its final course offerings to take place during summer session 2000, said Engelhardt.

It’s likely that some of the services, such as the popular ACT preparatory workshops, on-call study skills advising and the study skills workshops offered at the beginning of each semester, will no longer be offered at WSU, said LRC director Sue Burdette.

"There are many things that have not been decided," said Peter Zoller, interim vice president for academic affairs.

"We will be guided by what is in the academic best interests of our students and by our mission," said Zoller.

"As part of this transition during the spring semester, we also will be exploring with Cowley County Community College the possibility of their staff offering some of the services currently provided by the LRC to our students on the main campus," said Engelhardt.

Longtime LRC instructor Jane Rhoads and Martha Shawver, dean for undergraduate studies, will manage the student success courses and the supplemental instruction program.

Some LRC services will still be accessible to students next fall.

Study videos will likely be placed in a campus library or at the Media Resources Center. The LRC computers will move to the College of Education’s computer lab. The LRC study programs, such as the graduate school prep tests, will remain on the computers for students’ use, Burdette said.

"It’s not going to be the same," said Burdette, of the center’s dissolution, "but I’m sure that staff will continue to provide excellent services elsewhere on campus."

Burdette, who has worked in the LRC for 18 years, will be reassigned as the director for the Student Service Center in the College of Education. Office assistant Jane Eshelman, an eight-year LRC veteran, will move with her.

Rhoads, who has been with the center for more than 25 years, will be reassigned to Shawver’s office in academic affairs.

Doris Burgert, another longtime staff member, will teach for the department of administration, counseling and educational and school psychology, and she also will work in the education college’s Student Service Center.

As a freshman, Amber Fernandes, now a graduate research assistant completing her master’s degree in counseling, began taking a reading study skills course from LRC. Throughout her studies at WSU she has worked for the LRC, first as a student assistant and later as an instructor. She just accepted a position as academic adviser at the University of Kansas.

"My experience at the LRC is what made me decide to go into the field of student services," she said.

Retention rates were higher for students who successfully completed the reading study skills course, according to a study recently completed by Fernandes.

Students who took the college-level course had a significantly higher retention rate, by 12 percent, than a control group with similar ACT scores who were not enrolled in the course. The study followed a group of students from fall ’97 through fall ’98.

The closing of the LRC will eliminate this valuable course, said Burdette.

Mary Bulla, assistant director in undergraduate admissions, herself used the services at LRC as a nontraditional student.

"I found their courses extremely helpful to brush up on my study skills and that made me feel more confident. I am convinced that the LRC was instrumental in helping me to be successful at WSU."

Bulla said when she recruits, "I always talk about the effective study skills and the critical thinking skills classes. Many nontraditional students are scared or nervous about returning to school, and I think these services offer a level of comfort. I also think students like the fact that we care enough about them to offer the classes."

Grady Landrum, director for disability services, said he sees quite a few students who didn’t realize they had a learning disability in high school. "They come back with the strong desire to attend college, sometimes after a long period of time, and the reading and study skills courses and supplemental instruction give them the practical skills to apply to their college-level coursework," he said.

[Inside]