St. Philip’s College Welcome Center By Denice A. Braziel December 11, 2005

St. Philip’s College Welcome Center Our purpose is to establish a Welcome Center capable of providing first-time students with enrollment and information services. The Center evolves into a service office with a permanent home and appropriate amenities serving the college community and others.

The Welcome Center’s Mission The mission of the new Welcome Center at St. Philip's College is to recognize that academic advisement is a developmental process of assisting first-time college students to identify and clarify goals, plan and monitor academic progress, and advance towards graduation.

Services The Welcome Center will contain a wide range of information needed by students, including registration activities, all current and future student activities and events, persons and offices to contact for more information.

Services (Continued) Information will focus upon: Admissions, Financial Aid, Testing, Registration Academics (advising, majors, degree plans, departments, faculty, tutoring and other academic resources) Student Life (counseling, psychological services, disabled student services, career planning and placement, student transfer, student activities, medical information, etc.) Bursar, Bookstore, Library

The Center’s Facts The Center will be centrally located on campus in the Sutton Learning Center. It will employ 8 staff members to serve students. The Center will have information kiosks or touch screens for electronic access. The Welcome Center will have a website with access to most of the Center’s services.

Why Use The Center? The Center will combine admissions, registration, financial aid, advising, testing and other vital services into one location so the student will not have to visit more than one location. The Center will also serve as an Information Center which the college currently does not have.

Evaluation The center will use a program called Who's Next to record and calculate how each student is serviced with accompanying follow-up. The information from the Who's Next program will be placed in a monthly report of the activities of the center.

Evaluation (Continued) On the website a more comprehensive assessment called the Welcome Center Visitors Survey will be used. This survey will collect demographic information to say who was there, why they were there and their level of satisfaction.

Evaluation (Continued)

Future Outlook As services and offices are added, removed or combined in the college, the Welcome Center can simply accommodate these changes. Its one location makes all adaptation easier. It also reduces lines and waiting at the respective offices and centers.

Future Outlook (Continued) Any changes to these specific components will not affect the center's status as a whole, since its purpose is to form a link or culminate most of the college's functions.

Conclusion The Welcome Center is the main resource center at St. Philip's College. The Welcome Center will connect all first-time students to their Academic Advisors, faculty, staff and academic support services and programs that will enable them to succeed. This center becomes a one-stop location for most of the students‘ needs.

Bibliography College of Siskiyous Eastbay Consortium College Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District College.htm Montgomery County Community College North Harris Montgomery College Palo Alto College Stony Brook University

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