University College leaders Professor Emerita Laura Lindsay, Executive Director Paul Ivey, and former Dean Carolyn Collins.
looked into retention efforts to find out what needed to be changed about the requirements to better help students succeed, especially the University’s African-American population. “No one had looked at it from the standpoint of listening to the students, finding out what barriers they were facing and how we could remove those barriers,” Lindsay said. “Retention is a big deal, and we began to focus on not only those students who were struggling but also the students who needed to get to a higher level to maintain their scholarships,” added Paul Ivey, executive director of the college. One important University College program that was established to help the African-American student population was Summer Scholars, which was part of LSU’s resolution to the consent decree on desegregation in the 1980s. “We did things that are still alive and well and helping the University decades after the consent decree ended,” Lindsay said.
Forging
Branches
To expand its reach on behalf of its students, University College branched out with new programs that provide a wide range of services, and the college was the birthplace for many well-known University initiatives. Some programs that got their start or branched out of University College’s efforts include Orientation; Parent & Family Programs; Spring Testing; Center for Community, Engagement, Learning, and Leadership, or CCELL; Disability Services; Career Services; Athletic Counseling; Center for Academic Success; and the Honors College. “Disability Services did not exist when I came to campus,” said
Ivey. “We worked with the dean of students to make sure we were addressing the needs of disabled students. Back in those days, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was not a major force that we were responsible for addressing, but University College knew it was something we could help with.” “University College had a number of very important programs that the University recognized and used,” said Collins. “I think that just shows the importance of the freshman college and University College. We were able to look at needs and develop trends for all students early on.” University College originated LSU Parent & Family Programs as an avenue to engage parents and let them know what was happening academically at LSU. Similarly, the college engaged high school counselors and principals to reassure them that their students could in fact be admitted to LSU and were wanted. University College provides LSU students the comfort of exploring various disciplines and career paths within their first two years of enrollment. It also provides a “double screen” for senior colleges, increasing those colleges’s retention and graduation rates. “University College is supporting the students, guiding them into suitable disciplines,” Ivey said. “It’s not for us, it’s for the students we work for; to make sure they have the best chance of success, not only in their senior colleges but also in their firstchoice major.” University College’s productivity is exceptional. It continues to leave an imprint on the LSU community, producing several events, programs, and workshops designed to aid incoming students in utilizing the wide range of resources available at LSU.
LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
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