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The Student Success Center has moved to Ninth Street Hall. It is expected to be open as early as Wednesday. (Samantha Strykowski/The Daily Eastern News)

Student Success Center moves into new home

By: Brad York/Opinions Editor

Posted: 6/16/09

Yesterday the Student Success Center moved from its temporary location at 1125 McAffee to the new addition of the Ninth Street Hall.

After being cramped up on the first floor of McAffee, Cindy Boyer, assistant director of the Student Success Center, is excited and hoping the new building will help not only the employees but the students as well.

"We will have a formal reception area, which I have not had in the past," Boyer said. "So, I will have a full-time staff member to greet students, direct students and to handle incoming calls, which will make the flow of the office much better."

The new building also offers students more privacy than the previous location.

"In our previous space, which I was very appreciative of and has worked well for us, there have been limitations as to privacy, so I feel the students will appreciate that," Boyer said.

The Student Success Center was originally known as the Learning Assistance Center. It wasn't until 2004 that the center took on the new name, the Academic Success Center. In 2007 it became the Student Success Center. The center was formed to help students who are struggling or may need help achieving both academic and personal goals.

"There will also be an expansion of service in the new Student Success Center, because it also houses three classrooms that will be used for the instruction of EIU 2919 - Strategies for Academic Success," Boyer said. "It is the required course for students who fall on academic warning the first time. The classrooms will also be used for university foundations instruction. They will also be open for other departments across campus as the need arises for them to have additional classroom space."

Other additions that Boyer is excited about is a newly acquired video board and a computer kiosk for students.

The computers allow a place for students to come in between class times and check their e-mail accounts or class schedules. The board will show information about campus events.

"Students can pop in and see if they want to check out a workshop or a speaker," Boyer said.

The move to the new building was originally set for June 9, but construction misunderstandings caused the move to be slightly postponed.

"Structural steel delivery delays early in the project caused the project to be an outside winter work, rather than doing the interior work during the winter months," Steve Shrake, associate director of design and construction in facilities planning and management said. "The steel delay caused the elevator installation to be delayed, and then fitting it into the elevator contractors time schedule prevented us from completing some finish work near the elevator doors. That forced us to have various trades leave the project and re-man it later to finish up."

After a month of packing, Boyer is ready to get everything unpacked and set up at her new permanent location.

"The wonderful people from facilities and planning, who have worked incredibly hard on this building, have made an amazing structure," Boyer said. "Their dedication and hard work has been overwhelming. I hope to be able to welcome students who would like to visit the center by Wednesday."

Brad York can be reached at 581-7943 or at bayork@eiu.edu.