MODEL SELF-STUDY REPORT FORM

I: History and Mission of Learning Assistance Center at ___________________________

A. Give a brief history of the program and an overview of the field of learning assistance. Where and how does the Center fit into the academic/intellectual life of postsecondary institutions in general and your institution in particular? How does the Center fit with other programs in the Institution? How has the Center evolved as part of the institution?

B. What are the current trends in the field? What do these developments suggest in terms of current and future service changes and program needs?

Changes made during the last five years or since the last program review.

A. Describe, component by component, changes in function and in student utilization: when each new element was transferred or consolidated in LAC, how its presence has affected overall population using Center

B. What changes in the field have occurred since the last review (or in the last five years?) Why were these made (universally)? How have those changes been reflected internally? How have you evaluated the results of these changes? What were the results of the evaluations?

C. How many staff members have left the center during the last five years? How many new permanent staff members have been hired?

D. What changes not discussed previously have been made in the last five years as a result of the external review of the program? Evaluate the success of these changes.

E. What recommendations of the previous external review has the program not implemented? Why did the program not implement them?

F. Provide a summary of external funding received during the last five years, including-staff member(s) involved, source of funding, and amount received.

II.    Describe Current Status of LAC

A. Staffing

What is the distribution, by gender, race, and ethnicity, for both permanent and temporary staff? What affirmative action efforts have been made to recruit underrepresented groups?

What is the distribution of staff among the various subspecialty areas? How appropriate is the present distribution of staff specialties to the future operation and improvement of the program? If there are areas of weakness, how does the program plan to overcome them?

If the program uses teaching assistants, tutors, volunteers, describe the criteria by which they are selected. Describe the means used to train, assist, and supervise teaching assistants, tutors, volunteers,, to assure that their teaching and counseling meets the program's standards.

What steps does the program take to provide opportunities for the continued professional growth, involvement, and activity of the staff? How successful are these steps? What percentage of the faculty participate in such programs?

B. Activities

List the primary activities of each component in the Center

  Intake Services Math Lab

  Learning Skills Services Reading Lab

  Tutorials Conversation Lab

  Supplemental Instruction Computer Services

  Writing Center Computer Lab

  Administrative & Support Services.

How is each of those activities evaluated?

What means of teaching/facilitating evaluation does the program use, in addition to the standard institutional questionnaire? How effective are these in evaluating teaching and facilitating personnel improve their skills?

Based on the data supplied by the University, how does the ethnic distribution of students serviced compare with that in our service area? What efforts is the program making to attract students from underrepresented groups?

C. Internal Support Resources and Facilities

Describe the strenghs in the support services available to the program. These include such items as clerical, technical, and student assistant support, equipment, and specialized space and facilities.

Explain sources of funding, especially with respect to population of student users.

D. Support resources external to LAC:

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the resources and services available from the library and instructional media. Any other offices significant to the LAC? What is the basis of this assessment?

What weaknesses (if any) exist in the support services? What would be necessary to raise support services to an acceptable level? What attempts have been made in the past to meet the program's needs? Rank the program's priorities for changes. How were these priorities arrived at?

III.    Future Projections

A. What changes in the field are anticipated in the next five years? How will these impact needed changes in the LAC? How are these being planned? (Consider all components here)

B. What changes in staffing are expected in the next five years (e.g., expected retirements, changes in the numbers of staff due to increases or decreases in utilization)? How will this affect the Center's activity? What are your plans for meeting your future staffing needs?

C. If there are plans for change anticipated during the next five years that have not previously been identified in this report, please discuss them. Why are these changes planned and how will they be carried out?

D. Of all the improvements discussed in this report, which one(s) would have the highest priority? Why? How were these priorities arrived at? What resources would be needed to accomplish these changes? If not previously described, what efforts have been made to obtain these resources?

E. Does the program have a community advisory and/or development board(s)? How are the members of the board(s) selected? What groups or sectors in the community are represented on the board? How often does the board meet? What functions has the board been asked to perform? Has it done so adequately?

IV.    Appendices

A. List the professional activities of the staff, including publications, during the last five years.

B. Attach statistical information supplied in the Program Review Report, including utilization compared with institution's enrollment by gender, ethnicity, class standing, school. Include categorical funding sources.

( Adapted from a form developed by Frank L. Christ and used by the Learning Assistance Center at CSU Long Beach. May be freely adapted or used as is.)