Science Learning Center

Philosophy

Understanding issues related to science and health science is essential to be a literate and informed citizen. One of the goals of a university education is to prepare students to excel academically and professionally. The science and health science curricula provide knowledge and enhance understanding of basic concepts so that students may become well-educated professional health officers, professional scientists, and better-informed citizens of the world. The Science Learning Center supports a comprehensive and personalized educational experience for students. regardless of academic major, to help them develop competence in their chosen disciplines, achieve their educational and professional goals, and obtain an enhanced understanding of themselves in relation to the academic community.

Mission

The Science Learning Center promotes excellence in science and success for all students in their academic careers at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Towards this end, we extend our services to our students, our faculty, our peer tutors, and our university community.

To Our Students: Because students' needs and backgrounds are highly individual, the Science Learning Center offers a rich variety of curricular, supplementary, and multimedia materials that support exemplary practices in science. The Center provides personalized services geared towards individual needs, including drop-in tutoring, small group instruction, and extra instruction problem-solving sessions. Working together, peer tutors and students build collaborative communities to help students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in mathematics and science.

To Our Faculty: In support of faculty efforts to promote scientific literacy and content mastery, the Center serves faculty in all science disciplines. The Center collaborates with faculty to implement curricular activities and to develop instructional materials to enhance students’ understanding of science. The Center collaborates with faculty to augment effective practices for improving student learning and to assess learning.

To Our Peer Tutors: The Science Learning Center supports the personal and professional growth of the student staff by providing a collaborative environment between students, tutors, and faculty. This environment encourages intellectual curiosity and research, improves communication skills, and provides opportunities for tutors to enhance their own learning by helping others to learn.

To Our University Community: The Center supports the University mission to recruit outstanding students among diverse populations, promote student success, retain excellent students, and support institutional evaluation and assessment. The Center works to establish and strengthen partnerships, networks, and affiliations with organizations focused on improving science.

Institutional History

The Science Learning Center is one of five Project Excel Centers that operate as part of the Student Success Initiative at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Established in 1990 as part of the Title III Strengthening Institutions grant, the Science Learning Center began working with general chemistry, general biology, geology, and introductory physics courses, providing diagnostic testing, learning modules, and tutoring. Within a year, services for students in other lower division and upper division courses were assumed. In 1998, the name of the Center was changed to Science/Health Science Learning Center to reflect the inclusion of Beth-El College of Nursing students. Currently the Center provides services to over one hundred lecture and laboratory courses in the science and health science disciplines and numerous others. In 1995, at the end of the granting period, the Science/Health Science Learning Center, along with the other Excel Centers, was institutionalized within the Student Success Initiative.

Since its inception, the Science Learning Center has supported over 300,000 student visits. The Center has successfully achieved its goals of improving academic performance in all science disciplines and increasing retention. Through Center use, science students have earned significantly higher course grades, have achieved higher overall GPAs, and have demonstrated lower attrition.

The Science Learning Center Director maintains close working relationships with science and health science academic faculty. The director teaches within the Chemistry Department regularly and collaborates with faculty across the curriculum on science and assessment issues. The director also works with the other Project Excel directors to develop new programs to further support students, to assist with new student orientation, to facilitate student retention and success, and to provide evaluation and assessment material.

Center services to students are provided by peer tutors who are graduate and undergraduate students from science and health science disciplines. Center staff are both hourly and work-study students.

Base budget funding for staffing and operational costs for the Project Excel Centers is provided through Student Success. In spring 2001, the UCCS student body approved changes to the Student Technology Fee policy that include ongoing disbursements to the Excel Centers to fund technology needs in support of student learning.