Photo by Oaniel Dubois IJ~s~ Cmtert. fmJ.; aJJiJtun«; p~ .;tuJmt.; M the p~ w .;~ The transition from high school to college can be difficult. Many students get bogged down and fall behind in their academic course loads. Fortunately, Harding's Academic Services Center helped meet the needs of struggling students. The Academic Services Center included three programs to help students before college and during their college experience. The Upward Bound program offered unique opportunities to college-bound students in high school. The program was federally funded and available to students who met need-based qualifications. Those who qualifi ed were offered a wealth of experiences to aid in academic performance, cultural understanding and high school to coll ege transition. Several students attended classes on Saturdays to assist them in thei r studies. "We help them get prepared for college," said Juli e Johnson, academic coordinator for Upward Bound. Upward Bound served 12 high schools in the northeast Arkansas area. "We currently have students from 8 high schools," Johnson said, "and 75 percent of last years' graduating participants enrolled at Harding University. ''We try to communicate with the [high school) teachers and keep up with our students' grades," Johnson said. "This year we plan on traveling to Washington D.C. since it's an election year. This is Upward Bound's first trip to provide real-life exposure for its students. " The Student Support Services, also a federally funded academic program, was availab le to students who qualified that were currently enrolled in college. Student Support Services provided tutoring, counseling and cultural development including trips to the opera and dinner theater. ''We try to develop leadership skills and vastly expand the horizons of program participates," said Jennifer Hurd, Ed.D., the academic resources coordinator for Student Support S.,-vices. In August, 1998, the Academic Services Center moved from the Sears House to the Claud Rogers Lee building (formerly the music center). The move gave the center much needed space and gave them room to grow. "Having a new place to work is wonderful ," Hurd said. "All the practice rooms are perfect for tutoring." The third program available from Academic Services was the ADVANCE program. ADVANCE offered support separate from the government-funded programs to studentswho did not meet the need-based requirements for the other two programs. The ADVANCE program was desi gned to help fill the gap that some students had in their knowledge. ''We have anywhere from 100 to 200 students in the program every year," said Dee Bost, program coordinator. "The program is a helpful tool to most students. It gives them that boost they need." The Academic Services Center did all it could to help Harding students succeed and attain their goals in life. - Remie Beaulieu Harold Alexander, 1\1.8.E., N.C.C. Counselor/Student Support SelVicts Dee Bost, Ed.D. CoordinatorlLearning Center, Director/AOVMCE program Gerald Cox, 1'1.L.S. Interlibrary Loan. Cataloging, Reference Librarian Ann Dixon, l\1.L.S. Circulation and Reference Librarian Trent Dodds. B.A. Systems ~b.nagerlLibraT)' Rick Fought, l'tl.L.I.S. Arch ives & Reference Librarian Ann Hobby, l\1.Ed., .l\1.L.I.S. Reference &. Instruction Li brarian Jennifer Hurd, Ed.D. Academic Resources Coordinator Suzanne Spurrier, !\01 .A., M.L.S . Library Director Henry Terrill, l\t.S.L.S. Serials &. Covernment Documents Librarian Linda Thompson, Ed.D. DirectorlStudent Support Services Shirley Williams, l\I.A.T., i'l.L.S. Technical Service Librarian ACADEMIC SUPPORT 149 •
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