A study of learning centers in southeastern two-year and four-year public and private colleges and universities

The purpose of this study was: 1) to determine the different types of learning centers within two-year and four-year public and private colleges and universities, 2) to determine the services offered to their clientele (underprepared students), 3) to describe programs that serve the underprepared students, and 4) to analyze the level of success of the learning center programs as perceived by students, faculty and administrators. Data were collected from forty-one two-year and four-year colleges and universities with learning centers and within a one-hundred mile radius of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

An analysis of the data revealed the following:

1. Colleges in general used similar definitions for underprepared students.

2. Learning centers proved to be a valuable instructional service within higher education and should be incorporated into college life through student orientation as well as faculty recommendations.

3. Since underprepared students were easily identified before they ever attended a class, the services and location of the learning centers should be made available to these underprepared students as soon as possible in their college career.

4. Learning centers have evolved to be very similar within the institutions with seven major services used by most of the learning centers. These services offered are: Remedial/Developmental courses. iii Diagnostic Testing/Assessment, Academic Advising, Counseling, Tutoring, Study Skills, and Reading/Writing Improvement.

5. Learning centers were important to the college success of underprepared students. The centers should be more prominently promoted as a service and should be identified in the college catalog, in the school newspaper and through advisement, and announcements in classes.

6. The learning centers need to be an on-going supplemental program for many udnerprepared students during their college career.

7. Administrators, faculty and students perceived that learning centers do have expanded academic support and tutoring services which can hlep students.

8. Directors of learning centers were reluctant to provide financial data to outsiders about their programs.

9. Availability of financial information varied greatly from institution to institution so that financial cost comparisons were difficult to make.