As part of the University's commitment to improving the services of several support offices, the offices of Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid, Academic Advising and Graduate Education have been relocated to a student support center in Lyle Student Services Building, formerly a residential facility. The building provides several meeting rooms and lounges in which students can congregate when accessing these offices. Although the Self-Study indicates that in general students are strongly dissatisfied with the registration process, the move to MAX, the voice registration system to be inaugurated this spring, and online registration, to be initiated next fall, are attempts to respond to this issue.

     The University has made significant progress in improving academic advising since the Self-Study was prepared. The appointment of a faculty member to serve as an interim director has resulted in increased attention to academic advising, and students mentioned the benefit of the new DARS system, whereby they can check on the status of their courses and their graduation requirements.

     Although the faculty remains committed to advising students, there remains some concern about inconsistency in the quality of advising and the role of faculty, given the new registration system. The University should evaluate the current advising system in light of possible improvements for the future.

     In terms of other support services, students can find peer tutoring assistance across the campus. The Writing Center in Chryst Hall, essentially a teaching classroom, and the Tutoring Center there, staffed by undergraduate and graduate students, provide assistance to students who are taking English courses and who need help in writing. Tutoring is also provided on a departmental basis for students who need help in their individual courses. While this structure maintains the relationship of faculty to student tutors, most students do not get training in tutoring or working individually with students who need help with their studies. A proposal for the Learning Disabilities Coordinator to train all student tutors may address this concern in the next year, but the University may also want to consider centralizing tutoring in order to provide improved services for all students.

     The approximately two hundred students with identified learning disabilities can find assistance in the Learning Disabilities Office, which also provides guidance and assistance to faculty members in accommodating students with learning disabilities.