Institute/Session Summary:

Purpose of session:

Having a learning resource center on campus does not necessarily ensure successful student achievement. Collaboration between the learning support staff and the faculty at an institution is vital for any academic program to succeed. With an ever changing educational climate, learning resource centers are constantly working to market themselves and improve services by teaming up with other campus groups. This presentation will showcase the ways in which The Learning Center at East Central College works to build alliances with faculty and vice versa. Specific strategies will be shared regarding how these efforts have improved the quality of service and training offered through the center. The end of the session will culminate with participants doing a collaborative needs assessment and brainstorming session for their own centers. Ideas will be shared with the group.

Outline of Session:

1. Introductions
2. History of Center
3. Collaboration
   A. English faculty
   B. Mathematics faculty
   C. Retention programs and other faculty
4. IV. Collaborative Needs assessment
5. V. Group Brainstorming
6. VI. Wrap-up and questions

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will witness ways in which East Central College has developed relationships with faculty opinion leaders to improve services.
2. Participants will learn strategies and techniques to foster cooperation between faculty and learning center staff.
3. Participants will complete an interactive needs assessment of the connections in their own centers and take away actionable information.

History:

Prior to 2001, East Central College's learning assistance program was a decentralized effort housed in different physical locations, with academic departments managing student support services. In 2001, due to a building remodeling, new space was acquired to house a comprehensive Learning resource center. The program was centralized in one location and a Title III grant applied for which would, among other things, fund a director position. The learning assistance program on campus started from the ground up and we will discuss the process of incorporating a tutoring program, writing lab, mathematics lab, reading center, adaptive technology lab, and computer facilities, all in one area, for students.

Collaboration with faculty:

Learning Center staff and faculty will describe initiatives to enhance faculty involvement in the learning resource center. A description of ECC's successful collaboration efforts and strategies will be discussed. English faculty will discuss how to orient department faculty to become involved in the learning resource center, how to orient learning center staff to the needs and expectations of the faculty, and how to implement these philosophies into the tutor and learning center staff trainings. Math faculty will discuss collaborative efforts that were implemented to improve the success of math students. Developmental workshops were designed and faculty work to train tutors and Specialists, who help implement the sessions. These concepts also carry over into the training efforts of tutors and staff. Finally the engagement of learning center staff and faculty into our campus wide retention program will be discussed and strategies provided.

The session will culminate with an interactive learning exercise in which a needs assessment will be conducted. Groups will have the opportunity to brainstorm solutions to common problems and then share ideas with the session participants. Results will then be compiled and made available for all participants.

Significance to the field and conference attendees:

With the majority of college and universities providing learning support via learning resource centers, we all work to improve our student outcomes. Being advocates of learning centers, practitioners need to have strategies for getting buy in and involvement for faculty with in the center. This presentation will model ways a community college has incorporated faculty into it’s program since its inception in 2001. Strategies can be adopted and applied on participant campuses.

Audience interaction and Engagement:

Participants will become actively engaged during the session especially during the "collaborative needs assessment and brainstorming" segment of the session.

Media and Instructional materials:

Handouts that provide step-by-step instruction for the strategies we have developed to engage faculty participation in the learning resource center will be made available. A "Collaborative Needs Assessment worksheet" will be provided so that participants can brainstorm in small groups. In addition, Power Point media will be employed.

Presenter’s experience:

Ellen Aramburu

Ellen Aramburu has recently taken the position as Learning Center Coordinator at East Central College. In this position, she oversees the daily operations of the center, including all tutoring and testing services provided therein. She also has extensive experience teaching and tutoring language acquisition skills to non-native speakers, both English to foreign nationals (ESL & EFL) and Spanish to anglophones.

Ann Boehmer

Ann Boehmer has been teaching developmental and college level mathematics at East Central College for the past seven years. She has over five years experience tutoring from elementary school to college level mathematics, and as a graduate student served as coordinator for the College Algebra and Trigonometry math lab for the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

John Hardecke

John Hardecke is in his ninth year as an English instructor at East Central College. He currently serves as division chair for English, Foreign Languages and Philosophy. He has focused on teaching developmental writing and online applications for writing and humanities. He also has many years of experience tutoring writing at various institutions. Todd Phillips Mr. Todd Phillips currently serves as Title III Director of Activity at East Central College. In this capacity he serves as a tutor and learning center staff trainer. He has been involved with peer tutor training for 10 years.

Todd Phillips

Mr. Todd Phillips currently serves as Title III Director of Activity at East Central College. In this capacity he serves as a tutor and learning center staff trainer. He has been involved with peer tutor training for 10 years.  

Presenter1 Name: Todd Phillips
Presenter1 Institution: East Central College
Presenter1 Bio: Todd Phillips, M.A., Dev Ed Specialist, is employed at East Central College in Union, Missouri. Todd has been involved with assisting under prepared students for over 12 years. Getting his start working with at-risk and youth gang members in Los Angeles helped Todd prepare for his work in developmental education. Todd was hired as the director of the Learning Center at East Central College and is currently the Director of Title III Activity where he supervises Title III Staff and projects which includes: the First Year Experience program, Academic Improvement Management (early alert retention program), learning center training, faculty development pilots infusing technology into the curriculum, and several assessment, AQIP, and instructional technology projects. He is a Kellogg Institute Alumni, past-president of the Midwest Regional Association for Developmental Education, Chair of the NADE Political Liaison committee, and serves on the NADE Research committee. Todd teaches as an adjunct faculty member in oral communication, public speaking, and student success.

Presenter2 Name: Ann Boehmer
Presenter2 Institution: East Central College
Presenter2 Bio: Ann Boehmer, M.A. has taught developmental and college level mathematics at East Central College since 2000. She has served two years as the math department coordinator, and currently serves as the Intermediate Algebra course coordinator. Ann earned her Master's of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. She is currently the Vice-President of the Faculty Association, Chair of the Faculty Development Committee, Chair of the AQIP Project on Retention, and Co-chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee. Ann is also an active member in the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE).

Presenter3 Name: Ellen Aramburu
Presenter3 Institution: East Central College
Presenter3 Bio: Ellen Aramburu, M.A., is currently employed as Learning Center Coordinator at East Central College in Union, Missouri. She has more than 17 years teaching experience and continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member for ECC. Ellen earned an M.A. in Spanish from St. Louis University, completing much of that coursework on SLU's Madrid campus. She has a B.A. in English and Spanish from Benedictine College. Much of Ellen's current work centers on developmental education and she is an active member of CRLA and NADE.

Presenter4 Name: John Hardecke
Presenter4 Institution: East Central College
Presenter4 Bio: John Hardecke, M.A in English (1991 Univ. of MO), is employed at East Central College, Union, Missouri. John currently serves as the division chair for English, Foreign Languages and Philosophy. He also serves as the AQIP accreditation coordinator on campus. He has given a variety of seminars and presentations over the years, primarily about global education and online education, but developmental education has always been a priority in his teaching career. He is a member of NADE and MRADE.