Handout: Best Practices for Learning Support Centers in Higher Education: [Revised Edition of the May 2009 version presented at an Innovative Educators Webinar and then presented by Frank L. Christ at a NCLCA post conference workshop in Golden, Colorado on October 3rd, 2009]

 Note that as feedback to this list is made by learning center professionals, the list will be updated.

Best practices are listed in 9 areas: 1) general, 2) clientele, 3) programs & services, 4) technology,

5) partnering, 6) program evaluation, 7) publicity & public relations, 8) staff training and 9) certification & recognition.

GENERAL [1-12]

The LSC has a mission statement congruent with its division and institutional mission

The LSC has the support of central administration ¨

The LSC has an adequate budget to support its mission, goals, and objectives ¨

The LSC has an adequate professional staff to support its mission ¨

The LSC has an adequate clerical staff to support its mission ¨

The LSC uses volunteers to support its mission ¨

The LSC has annually developed and followed a systematic plan based on feedback and program monitoring ¨

The LSC has developed a Three or Five Year Plan that is shared with administration ¨

The LSC has an Advisory Board ¨

The LSC is centrally located and is accessible at convenient times with adequate space for its programs and services ¨

The LSC has adequate equipment and furnishings to implement its programs and services ¨

The LSC has access to learning materials for student use that allows for learning style choices ¨

CLIENTELE [13-14]

The LSC serves the total campus community: students, faculty, administration, staff, and alumni ¨

The LSC serves academic departments and their faculty through orientations to the center's programs and services, faculty invited course presentations and/or workshops, student referrals and feedback service ¨

PROGRAMS & SERVICES [15-20]

The LSC allows walk-in Learning & Study Strategies Assistance ¨

The LSC encourages and tracks referrals for Learning & Study Strategies Assistance ¨

The LSC offers campus-wide workshops ¨

The LSC offers workshops to Campus Groups (Student Associations) ¨

The LSC offers Faculty Invited Workshops to give In-Class Learning Strategies demonstrations ¨

The LSC offers workshops to Administration, Faculty, and Staff ¨

TECHNOLOGY [21-24]

The LSC uses technology to capture, analyze, and report usage data ¨

The LSC uses technology to enhance individual student learning ¨

The LSC uses technology to deliver its programs and services ¨

The LSC uses technology including social media to develop and maintain communications with students and faculty ¨

PARTNERING [25-35]

The LSC is involved in the institutional student orientation program ¨

The LSC is involved in the institutional new faculty orientation program ¨

The LSC is involved in supporting the learning needs of online students ¨

The LSC is involved in supporting the needs of ESL students and faculty ¨

The LSC offers programs and services to students in dorms, campus center, fraternity and sorority houses, clubs and associations ¨

The LSC offers, upon faculty invitation, classroom presentations on learning and study strategies appropriate to a course ¨

The LSC offers or partners online tutoring with academic departments ¨

The LSC partners with academic departments that have high risk courses to develop and manage Supplemental Instruction ¨

The LSC partners with other academic support services: TRIO and Upward Bound, Veterans, and other special populations ¨

The LSC partners with the campus bookstore to display learning and study skills materials used in the center's programs and services. ¨

The LSC partners with School Relations to support outreach to local high school administration, faculty, and students ¨

PROGRAM  EVALUATION [36-41]

The LSC has developed a mission and goals statements with specific objectives and follows a systematic plan based on feedback and program monitoring ¨

The LSC uses benchmarking to review its practices ¨

The LSC uses both qualitative and quantitative measures for program evaluation ¨

The LSC programs and services are evaluated by faculty and students ¨

The LSC is evaluated by an outside evaluator ¨

The LSC publishes and disseminates an annual report to appropriate administrators ¨

PUBLICITY & PUBLIC RELATIONS [42-52]

The LSC has both a publicity and a public relations policy to promote its programs and services ¨

The LSC facility is visible through campus signage ¨

The LSC is visible as an institutional support service in institutional publications: catalog, web site, and recruitment literature ¨

The LSC attempts to maintain a non-remedial image of the center as an academic resource ¨

The LSC has ongoing communications with deans, department heads and key faculty ¨

The LSC has descriptive materials (videos, photos, bookmarks, brochures, flyers) for campus dissemination to administration, faculty, and students ¨

The LSC publishes and disseminates a regular newsletter (print, email, or website) ¨

The LSC has a virtual presence through its website ¨

The LSC uses social media (RSS Feeds, Twitter, Blogs, Google.docs) to build and maintain a LSC community ¨

The LSC maintains a PR and Publicity scrapbook as an ongoing record of its activities ¨

The LSC staff reads and shares LRNASST and LSCHE information and research with faculty and administration ¨

STAFF TRAINING [53-58]
The Learning Center holds a staff meeting at the beginning of the fall semester to develop or revise its mission, goals, and objectives ¨

The Learning Center holds a staff meeting at the end of the spring semester to review outcomes based on its mission, goals, and objectives ¨

The Learning Center holds regular staff meetings preferably weekly ¨

The Learning Center has each staff member develop a professional development plan ¨

The Learning Center holds a year end review of each individual staff development plan and its hoped for outcomes ¨

The Learning Center requires a report when staff attend a professional conference or campus committee meeting ¨

CERTIFICATION and RECOGNITION [59-66]

The LSC chief administrator has institutional recognition as a program coordinator or director ¨

The LSC administrator and/or staff are recognized by administration and faculty for their academic publications, research, consulting, and leadership ¨

The LSC chief administrator is certified By NCLCA as a Learning Center Professional ¨

The LSC staff is represented on relevant campus committees and task forces ¨

The LSC' tutorial training program is accredited by CRLA ¨

The LSC Tutors are certified by ATP ¨

The LSC Website has won a Website Award ¨

The LSC has received campus, district, or national recognition ¨