The procedures utilized by the Learning Assistance Center at the University of California, Davis Campus, to evaluate its programs and the subsequent ongoing evaluation process were described in this paper. In order to gather the needed information, four different evaluation techniques were utilized. The first technique was to collect general…

Data collection and analysis as a cybernetic aspect of a Learning Assistance Center (LAC) is discussed. Using the LAC at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) as a model, the LAC is defined as a support, delivery, and referral service for the entire campus community. A LAC is held accountable to itself and its users through a cybernetics…

In an effort to obtain an accurate account of the evaluation processes used by learning assistance programs, a questionnaire was distributed to 231 institutions in the United States requesting information of the following types: type of program, population served, funding sources, evaluation rationale and methodology, information gained and…

This booklet describes how to set up a multisection college-level course in basic communication skills, built around the concept of "learning activities" conducted within a "learning center." The ideas presented are based on four years of experience in operating such a course at the University of Hawaii. The first section of…

The article describes and evaluates the second-year experience of a programatically organized living-learning center at the University of Vermont. It compares student perceptions of the living-learning center and of more conventional residence halls, and offers explanations for the differences noted. (Author)

As community colleges open their doors to a wider range of students a variety of programs must be designed to develop basic skills in underachievers. (Editor/IR)

Noting that assessment continues to be at the forefront of the speech communication discipline and the academy in general, this paper reflects on one speech communication department's struggle to make assessment meaningful and doable. The Speech Communications Department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock uses such "low tech"…

Describes several diagnostic tools used to determine specific problems of students referred to a writing lab, including structured interviews, protocols (asking a student to compose aloud for 15 to 20 minutes on a short topic), and back-pedaling (questioning what a student already knows about a given topic). (AEA)

Examines the process undertaken by the authors, both learning center administrators, when faced with the campus-wide process of restructuring. Explains their systematic examination of services offered by the learning center, the data gathered, and the changes made. Presents a model of a learning center that effectively meets the needs of a rapidly…

The English Microlab Registry (EMR) was first designed as a database, or research tool, for planners of English microlabs in order to give them access to information about all aspects of microlab management. But EMR also provides descriptive data about what a microlab is and may well provide insight into whether those labs will survive. An…

In order to provide the reader with guidelines for the development of individualized learning programs in higher education, this book focuses on the elements and processes of innovation that are essential for success. A frame of reference is built with particular emphasis on a working definition of individualized instruction and the basic elements…

Preservice and inservice physical education teachers need feedback to improve their instruction and learning. At some universities, they can work in pedagogy labs, combining computer-based and observational feedback to improve their academic learning time (for example, analyzing their own videotaped performance within the pedagogy labs). (SM)

The articles in this collection focus on reading, learning assistance, developmental education, and tutorial services at the college level. Topics of the 28 articles include the following: (1) a reassessment of the state of learning assistance; (2) a reaffirmation of the role of developmental instructors; (3) human brain research, cognitive…

Drawn from a conference that focused on the present state and future direction of college reading and learning skills instruction, the articles in this collection are arranged into three categories: reviews, investigations and evaluations, and prescriptions and descriptions. Among the topics discussed in the 19 articles are the following: (1) the…