Spring Break
Donation goes to new Student Success Center
Anonymous $5 million gift will go toward success center to help athletes, freshmen
Candice Ruud
Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: News
An anonymous donation of $5 million will help accelerate the university's plans for a new Student Success Center.
The Student Success Center project is a collaborative effort between the athletic department and campus academic services, aiming to improve first-year retention rates and to help freshmen and transfer students feel more comfortable with academic study.
"With this gift, we will be able reach students during their critical first year on campus with services that enhance their engagement with the university," said OSU Provost Sabah Randhawa in a press release.
In the long term, the goal is to see a higher graduation rate and fewer freshman dropouts at OSU.
The Student Success Center will build off of the services offered at the Academic Success Center in Waldo Hall. One such resource will be a tutoring center to aid new students in their transition to college, offering one-on-one help.
The center will also include peer study groups, academic advising and study skills classes, and it will be enhanced in part by the OSU athletics BEST program model, which is now two years running.
The BEST program, which stands for Bridge to Encourage Students in Transition, has helped freshman and transfer student-athletes make the adjustment into college by bringing them to campus before the school year starts, introducing them to campus and teaching them about important resources available to them.
The center will also join student-athletes with other OSU students in tutoring, making extra help more readily available to non-athlete students.
"We've been very successful in helping our student-athletes excel academically," said OSU Athletic Director Bob De Carolis in a media release last month.
"Our NCAA graduation success rate is 75 percent, the third highest in the Pac-10. The Student Success Center will enable us to expand and enhance what we've learned in athletics and offer that to more OSU students."
The location for the facility has not yet been determined, but university officials are considering building in the area of 26th Street and Washington Way. This location would be beneficial to the Student Success Center's target demographic because it's near athletic facilities and residence halls.
The OSU Foundation and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are currently working on additional fundraising for the facility, which will cost about $10 million to build and equip.
Candice Ruud, senior reporter
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
The Student Success Center project is a collaborative effort between the athletic department and campus academic services, aiming to improve first-year retention rates and to help freshmen and transfer students feel more comfortable with academic study.
"With this gift, we will be able reach students during their critical first year on campus with services that enhance their engagement with the university," said OSU Provost Sabah Randhawa in a press release.
In the long term, the goal is to see a higher graduation rate and fewer freshman dropouts at OSU.
The Student Success Center will build off of the services offered at the Academic Success Center in Waldo Hall. One such resource will be a tutoring center to aid new students in their transition to college, offering one-on-one help.
The center will also include peer study groups, academic advising and study skills classes, and it will be enhanced in part by the OSU athletics BEST program model, which is now two years running.
The BEST program, which stands for Bridge to Encourage Students in Transition, has helped freshman and transfer student-athletes make the adjustment into college by bringing them to campus before the school year starts, introducing them to campus and teaching them about important resources available to them.
The center will also join student-athletes with other OSU students in tutoring, making extra help more readily available to non-athlete students.
"We've been very successful in helping our student-athletes excel academically," said OSU Athletic Director Bob De Carolis in a media release last month.
"Our NCAA graduation success rate is 75 percent, the third highest in the Pac-10. The Student Success Center will enable us to expand and enhance what we've learned in athletics and offer that to more OSU students."
The location for the facility has not yet been determined, but university officials are considering building in the area of 26th Street and Washington Way. This location would be beneficial to the Student Success Center's target demographic because it's near athletic facilities and residence halls.
The OSU Foundation and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are currently working on additional fundraising for the facility, which will cost about $10 million to build and equip.
Candice Ruud, senior reporter
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
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