Center for Undergraduate Excellence now houses student success resources under one roof
The dedication of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, or CUE, signified the unification of all undergraduate programs under one roof Tuesday afternoon.
The dedication kicked off President Beverly Warren’s Inauguration Week and attracted faculty, staff and students from all over the university.
Eboni Pringle, interim dean of Undergraduate Studies, which is now known as University College, said she sees the new center as an opportunity for students to use the space given to them and as find the resources to help them graduate. The CUE houses many different programs and services, including academic advising and tutoring, to help undergraduate students succeed.
“When they first walk in here, students are able to utilize tutoring spaces and Supplemental Instruction, which is key to students being able to be successful in their classes,” Pringle said. “We have peer mentoring and opportunities for students to engage in the community through the Office of Experiential Education and Student Engagement. Between all the units here, there’s a pipeline. Students don’t just come to get advising. They utilize advising then we walk them over to support and services to help expand their horizons.”
Along with its newly designed space, the CUE welcomed the Academic Success Center, which moved over from the Michael Schwartz Center.
Academic Success Center Director Brent Robinson said with the expansion of the Academic Success Center, it made more sense to have a centrally located facility, and the relocation will help the center to expand and provide more services in the future.
“We have two different programs,” Robinson said. “We have a federally funded student support services TRIO program that serves 300 students from underrepresented backgrounds. “
The TRIO program includes tutoring, peer mentoring, academic coaching and other activities, such as financial literacy and graduate school workshops, Robinson said.
“On the other side of the center is the university-funded University Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction,” Robinson said. “Primarily, we offer a host of forces that cover math and sciences, but we now offer study skills tutoring and academic coaching.”
Undergraduate Student Government President Marvin Logan Jr. said the benefit is that students now have a place to come and now University College has a face, a name that’s been branded.
“I think that the benefit is that students finally have one roof where they can come to get academic assistance,” Logan said. “I remember when all of the resources under University College were scattered across the university.”
Once the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony commenced, attendees were taken on a walk-through tour of the new building. The tour was followed by a BBCUE with music and games for students.
Contact Lauren Biertempfel at [email protected].