Chatham University’s Academic Success Department is looking to develop one central location to house all four of its academic departments.
These departments include the Office of Academic & Accessibility Resources (OAAR), Academic Advising, Career Development and the Office of International Affairs. The hub, titled the Academic Success Center, looks to streamline access to the resources integral to academic success.
“An idea that has been around in higher ed for a while is this idea of a one-stop shopping location where you can get all the help you need,” Dr. Jeff Bukowski, associate dean and director of academic success and leader of the design effort, said. “When we think about academic success in particular, the University is making a switch to try and put a bunch of services in one location if it’s possible, to best serve students moving forward.”
No official decisions have been made on the location of the Academic Success Center, however, three locations on Chatham’s Shadyside campus are being considered. The former IT Office, which is now the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lounge; the International Affairs office space in the basement of Falk Hall; and the third floor of Jennie King Mellon Library have all been looked at as potential options.
“I know at one point we talked about, you know, every building,” Dr. Bukowski said. “When it came down to it, those were kind of the three spaces that were looked at, right, as an initial starting point.”
Regardless of where the Academic Success Center ends up, the space looks to contain all of the major hallmarks of the programs that it encompasses. Resources such as the professional dress closed for Career Development and peer tutoring through OAAR will all be housed in the center.
“If you’re thinking about that space already as a place where tutors, writing mentors, peer tutoring is happening – supplemental instruction – all that will continue. I think that we would see more tables, more chairs, definitely more plugs, better Wi-Fi, better lighting,” Dr. Bukowski said.
While plans for the Academic Success Center are moving forward, the design team is aiming to not take group and study space away from students. Instead, Dr. Bukowski reported that the space would be remodeled to be more accessible to students, citing the bathrooms and chairs as two areas for growth.
The formal rollout of the program is set to occur in the upcoming fall semester.
