Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) provides a vast array of academic support services to both students and faculty (Table 1).  Many of these resources are centralized within either Academic Affairs or Student Affairs, and some are decentralized by academic college. These services are in place to provide both students and faculty with the appropriate resources needed to carry out the institutional mission of “challenging undergraduate and graduate students to achieve the highest levels of intellectual and personal development” [1] and align with the Flagship 2020 goal of enhancing “a faculty-led and student-centered learning environment that develops engaged citizens and enlightened leaders” [2].

LSU’s commitment to providing academic support resources to enhance and support the learning experience is evidenced by the multitude of resources and services that are distributed around the campus and within the online environment. These academic support services for students and faculty are detailed below.

Tutoring

LSU offers on-campus, discipline-specific, academic support for students through tutoring and through peer-led course-specific study sessions (supplemental instruction)., ”After hours” online tutoring is provided via Smarthinking.  The residential colleges also provide additional academic support via tutoring and supplemental instruction within the residence halls.  These types of services have been identified by Noel-Levitz and others as some of the top student retention practices in higher education.

Tutorial Centers

To meet the demand for tutoring in historically difficult courses, the Center for Academic Success (CAS) maintains two walk-in tutorial centers--located in Middleton Library and Nicholson Hall—that offer free academic support in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, economics, accounting, statics, experimental statistics, Spanish, French, German, and Latin.   The main tutorial center is located in Middleton Library [3].

Tutoring is provided by approximately 50 CAS peer tutors and 30 physics graduate students in the tutorial centers. Tutors employed by CAS complete a tutor training program certified by the College Reading and Learning Association. These two centers receive between 21,000 and 26,000 visits per year [3].

Additionally, CAS serves as a support unit for faculty and staff.  In an effort to provide progressive methods for superior learning and teaching, CAS provides resources to faculty and graduate students for the purpose of promoting faculty who are “excellent teacher-scholars.”  All of these academic support resources help students persist at the university until graduation, empower and inspire students to meet their academic and professional goals, and help students become independent, self-directed, lifelong learners [3].

Online Tutoring

In response to student demand for tutoring services outside center hours of operation and in courses not supported in the centers, SMARTHINKING provides 900 minutes of free online tutoring support.  LSU students connect via the Internet by logging in with their myLSU credentials and working with qualified, trained e-structors who provide free support in reading and writing, mathematics (basic math through Calculus II), business (economics, finance, statistics, accounting), science (biology, anatomy and physiology, genetics, chemistry, physics), and foreign language (Spanish) [4].

Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a series of regularly scheduled peer-led study sessions offered in historically difficult courses.  It is open to all students who want to improve their grades and their understanding of course material.  Each session is guided by an SI leader who has previously taken the course and is prepared to share with attendees what the leader has learned about how to study. The leader either attends the class or works in close association with the instructor so that sessions are relevant to the material covered. SI was offered in 67 course sections during 2010-2011. These sections are offered with the financial help and partnership of the colleges and faculty in which the courses reside [5].

Residential College Tutoring

Tutoring and supplemental instruction represent an important component of the “critical thinking ability” learning goal.  Significant resources have been devoted to enhancing these services for our residential college students. The Engineering Residential College (which served 222 engineering students as of the fourteenth class day of fall 2011) offers tutoring in mathematics, chemistry, and physics.  Similarly, the Science Residential College (which serves 201 science majors) provides tutoring and supplemental support in the full range of first-year science and mathematics courses.  Herget Residential College (our largest residential college, which served 343 students) and Information Technology Residential College (ITRC--serving 100 students) both offer mathematics and chemistry tutoring. Business Residential College tutors students in mathematics and economics for its 155 students, and Agriculture Residential College offers tutoring in chemistry, biology, and mathematics for its 88 students [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13].

In ITRC, an additional layer of academic support focuses on the theme of technology, in support of the three learning objectives. This resource is provided by “Information Technology Assistants,” undergraduate students who live in the residence hall and have “graduated” from ITRC in their first year of living on campus.  The three ITAs provide floor hours each week for troubleshooting technology problems for both students and faculty associated with ITRC  [8].

Agriculture Residential College

Tutoring in the Agriculture Residential College (ARC) is coordinated by an instructor in the Department of Experimental Statistics at LSU who has considerable teaching experience, as well as a broad educational background, including a B.S. in chemistry, an M.A. in Applied Statistics, as well as an M.S. in organic chemistry.  The coordinator is is available to the 112 ARC students each Monday afternoon [6].

Engineering Residential College

Because of the high demands in mathematics and science curriculum, tutoring takes on a particularly important role for the 333 students in Engineering Residential College (ERC) [7].

Information Technology Residential College (ITRC)

Mathematics and science tutoring for the 133 students enrolled in Information Technology Residential College (ITRC) is coordinated by an LSU instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In addition to her 4.5 hours per week in ITRC, this coordinator tutors 4.5 hours per week each in Herget (386 students) and Business (208 students) Residential Colleges.  A total of 138 students (46 in ITRC, 37 in Herget, and 55 in BRC) sought her services in the fall semester of 2012.  The total number of visits by students in each of these three residential colleges was 222, 136, and 246, respectively.  ITRC also benefits from the services of a volunteer graduate student studying civil and environmental engineering, who finds that the experience helps him to stay sharp in his mathematics and science skills [8].

Other

In addition to the services offered by the coordinator, Business Residential College (BRC) provides tutoring in the form of supplemental instruction for introductory economics and accounting through the Center for Academic Success.  The most recent statistics available show that 69.62% of the 158 BRC students enrolled in ECON 2000 in fall 2012 visited the tutor for that “gateway” course for all business majors.  In spring 2012, 10.43% of the 278 BRC students in ACCT 2001, another “gateway” course for all business majors, sought tutoring.  Tutoring also takes place in Science Residential College (SRC). This year, as in past years, SRC has focused on tutoring for trigonometry and the calculus sequence, which are “gateway” courses for all science majors.  Mathematics tutoring sessions are offered every Monday through Thursday from 5:00-7:00 pm in the SRC classroom. The tutors are upper-class mathematics majors chosen by the Department of Mathematics [9] [10] [11] [12] [13].

Academic Center for Student Athletes

All first-year students are required to attend study hall for eight hours each week regardless of GPA. Each student is an assigned a strategy tutor to assist with a smooth transition by helping with study skills, goal setting, and time management. At the start of each semester, the strategy tutors collect syllabi for each class and compile a calendar with due dates and scheduled tests for each student. Tutor support is also available for each student in every class subject taken. A student may meet with subject specific tutors upon request or by recommendation of the student’s sport adviser [14] [15] [16].

The purpose of Strategy Tutors is to provide individualized and/or small group academic support and assistance for student-athletes. Strategy tutors assist students in their transition to LSU, helping them develop study skills and habits, fostering in them an understanding of learning and motivation, and helping them develop academic literacy skills. Strategy tutors also provide relevant guidance, support, and instruction in reading and writing for students with deficits in those areas [14] [15] [16].

Student Support Services

Student Support Services (SSS) is a federally funded TRIO program that serves a small, select number of undergraduate students. The purpose of the tutoring program is to assist SSS students in overcoming deficiencies in their course work. SSS staff is available to help the students gain self-confidence and belief in themselves so that they can achieve their goals without assistance [17].

Genesis Tutoring

The Genesis Tutoring Program is an evening tutoring program offered by the LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs. Through peer learning and one-on-one or small group sessions, the tutoring program assists students in 1) mastering key concepts and ideas in core subjects (e.g., chemistry, biology, pre-/calculus, Spanish, French, accounting, economics, etc.) and 2) effectively preparing for exams [18].

Academic College Tutoring

 

College of Agriculture

The College of Agriculture offers limited tutoring through its residential college and for select courses in the college [19].

 

College of Business

The College of Business Internal Auditing Program provides extensive tutoring for students relative to obtaining the Certified Internal Auditor Certification [20].

Academic Advising

Academic advising, available to LSU students at both undergraduate and graduate levels of the collegiate experience, is provided by all of the academic colleges on campus. Advising is conducted by academic counselors within colleges or by faculty advisors within departments.  Additionally, residential colleges offer discipline-specific advising based on the corresponding colleges to first-year students participating in the program.  LSU also has developed the Comprehensive Academic Tracking System (CATS) to help advise students in their progress toward graduation.

Undergraduate Academic College Advising  

College of Agriculture

Students in the College of Agriculture are assigned to a faculty advisor based on their majors. For questions pertaining to scheduling, advising holds, CATS, career advice, or internship information, students are referred to their faculty advisors [21].

University College

The Center for Freshman Year (UCFY) serves as a centralized advising center for students enrolled as new first-year students, continuing students, re-entry students, and transfer students who have not yet met the admission requirements for a senior college.  This assistance is provided through the first 24-30 hours of a student’s enrollment at LSU.  Initial advising during the first-year and transfer student orientation programs is provided by the faculty and staff of the various senior colleges offering the students’ desired majors/degrees.  Once enrolled in UCFY, students then seek advising assistance from the UCFY academic counseling staff [22].

Center for Advising and Counseling

The Center for Advising and Counseling (UCAC) enrolls students who have earned 30-plus hours of college credit and who have not yet met the admission requirements for one of the university’s degree-granting senior colleges.  UCAC also offers an enrollment option and advising assistance for students working to meet the admission requirements to the allied health and nursing programs at the LSU Health Sciences Centers in New Orleans and Shreveport.  The primary focus of UCAC is advising and counseling students toward degree completion [22].

Student Support Services

Student Support Services (SSS) staff persons offer additional advising and counseling services for students in SSS [22].

McNair Program

McNair Program students receive academic advising and counseling services on their undergraduate research projects as well as on the graduate admissions process [22].

Honors College

The Honors College provides academic advising that focuses on the needs of high achieving students, while emphasizing the main goals of the college: community service, study abroad, research assistantships, professional internships, and the senior thesis project. These emphases are incorporated into the college’s mandatory advising as well as curricular and co-curricular programming. The goal of these emphases is to produce engaged scholars who are ready to use their critical thinking skills to serve their communities as active citizens and enlightened leaders. These expectations are outlined in the Honors College Handbook, which is discussed at Honors Welcome, the first-year orientation for students entering the college. These expectations are reemphasized in Honors 1000: Honors Foundations, a first-year seminar, and Honors 2000 (Critical Analysis and Social Responsibility),  a gateway course for incoming students.  Similarly, programming in the Honors Residential House reinforces these four expectations. During mandatory annual advising meetings, students are encouraged to develop a personalized path, which is guided by the Honors curriculum and the four themes emphasized by the college.  As specific transitions approach, referral is often made to specialized staff members supporting undergraduate research, experiential learning, prestigious fellowships, and student activities, or to campus resources [23].

College of Art and Design

Second-year students and onward enrolled in the architecture program are given a faculty advisor who will assist in naviga­tion of the program and provide career advice. Student assignments for advisors are posted outside the school’s main office located in 136 Atkinson Hall [24].

E.J. Ourso College of Business

The Department of Economics regularly provides advising to approximately 280 undergraduate economics majors, and 31 PhD students.  Three economics faculty members serve as the advisors, two of whom are undergraduate advisors and one who is a graduate advisor.  The Deparment of Management advises students through faculty advisors who hold regular office hours throughout the year. The number of students advised varies, but there are approximately 200 departmental majors.  At the college level, advisors and counselors serve over 1,500 enrolled students as well as another 1,400 or so who are seeking admission to the college. The college additionally provides a number of services well beyond basic academic counseling [25].

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Departmental and program advising is available for most students whose declared or intended major is in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences. If a student admitted to the College of Humanities & Social Sciences does not find the desired major in the list of degree programs, an H&SS counselor/advisor will provide assistance [26].

Manship School of Mass Communication

The purpose of academic advising in the Manship School of Mass Communication is to aid students (undergraduates, graduates, majors, pre-majors, and transfer) in staying on a track to completion of all requirements for graduation. Academic counselors in the department serve as primaries for this support, providing academic advising to approximately 1,200 students per semester [27].

College of Science

The College of Science provides academic advising through a network of faculty advisors and college professional advisors. Faculty advisors provide academic and discipline-related advising. Professional advisors provide assistance to all science majors on campus. Some of the areas of assistance include admission to the senior college, course scheduling, academic interpretation of college and university policies, degree audit review, declaration of major and/or minor, signing graduation contracts, approval to take off-campus courses through study abroad or summer school programs, transfer credit review, and professional school advising. In general, faculty advisors and professional college advisors assist students by appointment [28].

School of the Coast and Environment (CES)

The purpose of academic advising is to provide CES students with the necessary guidance to enable them to complete the B.S. degree within four years, or as close thereto as possible.  This service is offered on a constant basis whenever CES students have questions or issues.  A policy to document advising on the student’s program file has recently been established [29].

Residential College Advising

Academic advising is a critical piece of the academic support services offered by the LSU Residential College Program.  An experienced counselor at LSU devotes 40 percent of  effort to students in the interdisciplinary residential colleges (Herget and ITRC), with the other 60 percent of time spent in University College’s Center for the Freshman Year.  The discipline-based residential colleges (Agriculture, Business, Engineering, Mass Communication, Global Connections, and Science) provide academic counseling through their parent academic college offices.  Advising of the 1,045 (in fall 2012) students in the disciplinary residential colleges  is handled by the academic advising staff from the parent academic colleges.  For the 526 students in an interdisciplinary residential college (Herget and Information Technology Residential Colleges), academic advising is provided by a counselor from the University College Center for the Freshman Year [30].

Black Male Leadership Initiative (BMLI) Fellows Program

Through this program within the Office of Equity, Diversity & Community Outreach, the 30 participants in the BMLI Fellows Program undergo academic advising with professional staff as part of the requirement.  Referrals are given and strategies are developed for those students who achieve at or below a “C” grade [31].

Comprehensive Academic Tracking System (CATS)

The Comprehensive Academic Tracking System (CATS) is designed to help students reach academic success at LSU and to make sure that they are progressing toward graduation each semester. Each major has a Recommended Path that is the optimal path for graduation in four years. CATS checks student progress each semester by tracking students on their Critical Requirements  and gives them feedback when they are not meeting those requirements [32].

CATS provides feedback on a student’s progress in a major, helping the student find the best academic path to complete the degree. By assessing students’ progress toward degree completion, CATS identifies students who may be struggling, thus affording the university the opportunity to provide additional counseling and advisement resources to assist them [32].

Academic Center for Student Athletes

New student-athletes are required to meet with their sport advisors on a weekly basis so that the center can glean information on how the student-athletes are transitioning academically, socially and athletically. The sport advisor attempts  to identify any concerns and to make sure the center is providing the necessary assistance for the success of each student-athlete. Advisors meet with coaches on a regular basis to discuss the academic successes and needs of their athletes. Grade reports are sent to professors four times a semester to make sure the students remain on top of their course work. Each student receives customized academic support based on his/her individual needs. Students are still monitored after their first year, but as they progress toward the degree, they take on more responsibilities for themselves in order to prepare them for life after college [33].

Counseling and Consulting

Both counseling and consulting are offered in a variety of forms on campus.  Counseling resources are decentralized and provided throughout campus to address students’ specific counseling needs and to ensure their success.,These resources include career counseling, learning strategies consulting, mental health counseling, academic counseling, crisis counseling, and first-year transition counseling.  All of these services support LSU’s mission to help students achieve at their highest levels and to assist in their personal development.

Mental Health Services

Mental Health Service (MHS) supports the flagship agenda of the university by aiding students in their personal growth and development and by enhancing their mental and emotional well-being. A range of services are available through MHS to meet the unique needs of the LSU student [34].

Frequent concerns for which students may seek help include:

• Anxiety/Stress
• Depression
• Problems in relationships with family, friends, and dating partners
• Self-esteem
• Eating and body image issues
• Loss of an important relationship
• Issues relating to sexual orientation
• Sexual assault and rape
• Survivor of childhood abuse
• Experiences related to being a racial/ethnic minority or international student [34].

Additional services through Mental Health include

MyStudentBody (MSB), Online Education Resource

MyStudentBody is a comprehensive approach to reducing the risk of drug and alcohol abuse and sexual violence among college students.  It engages students and parents in effective, evidence-based prevention and gives administrators the data to target, evaluate, and strengthen prevention initiatives. Completion of the MSB Essentials Course is required of all incoming students. This program is sponsored by the Student Health Center. Approximately 7,000 students visit the MyStudentBody site each year [35].

Ask Mike, Health Education Website

Ask Mike is a portion of the Student Health Center Website that offers students an opportunity to submit a health question confidentially to a health educator.  Student can also pursue answers to questions submitted by their peers, if prior permission was granted to post them on the site [36].

The Phone, a toll-free, 24-hour crisis counseling and emotional support line

The Phone is available through the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center and is partially funded by LSU students.  It offers after hours support when the Student Health Center Mental Health Service is closed [37].

Health Education Presentations

Some health education presentations facilitated by the Student Health Center Office of Health Promotion staff are available on the Student Health Center Website for viewing and reference [38].

Learning Strategies Consulting and Presentations

The Learning Strategies Consultants at the Center for Academic Success offer individual consultations and workshops to classes and campus organizations and programs targeting specified populations. Students are assisted with developing effective learning strategies, stress and test anxiety reduction, time management skills, metacognitive strategies, critical thinking, concept mapping, and course specific strategies. These services assist students in making the transition from high school to college learning expectations [39].

Career Counseling

Career Services provides career counseling for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the community at large. Career counseling is a process in which the client discerns his or her pathway to career success. Individual appointments, conducted in a confidential environment by qualified professional counselors, aid the student in selecting a major, exploring occupational information, and determining the fit between the two. Students have the option to take one or more career assessments to better explore their interests, personality, values, and skills, and occupational information is offered through online resources and in hard copy format in the Career Information Center. Student groups and intact classes are also offered group career guidance. Career counseling is also offered to students exploring the possibility of graduate or professional school options. Career counselors provide career counseling to over 1,000 students per year [40].

Career Decision Making

Career Services Overview Bookmarks

This bookmark was created to give students, counselors, and advisors on campus an easy–to- read overview of Career Services offerings. The bookmarks are distributed to various counselors and advisors throughout all campus units and refilled upon request. The intent is that the counselor/advisor hand out this information to students during one-on-one appointments [41].

Career Decision Making & Experiential Education Quick Guide

This document provides a quick overview of Career Decision Making and Experiential Education service areas. This document is frequently handed out at student orientation information fairs [41].

Four-Year Career Plan

This document is meant to guide students through their career paths by breaking down career steps into four areas based on academic classification. This document is frequently handed out at student orientation information fairs and can also be found on our website [41].

First Year Transitions Consulting, Ask FYE

Staff members within First Year Experience (FYE) (professional and graduate) offer one-on-one consultations with students who experience difficulties or need assistance during their first year at LSU. Students can walk in or schedule an appointment. Staff members either meet in the office or other locations on campus that are convenient or more comfortable for the students. Many consultations result in the staff assisting in problem solving, referral to university and community resources, and assisting the students in getting involved and feeling more connected to the campus community. Across all staff, over 1,000 individual contacts were made last academic year (2011-12) [42] [43].

Counselor-In-Residence Program

The African American Cultural Center houses a counseling intern in an effort to reach students of color who may not otherwise seek counseling through the Student Health Center. Through the program, students have the opportunity to request individual counseling/advising appointments, as well the opportunity to participate in one of several support groups offered several nights per week [44] [45].

Student Advocacy & Accountability Counseling

Student Advocacy & Accountability (SAA) and C.A.R.E. staff frequently conduct counseling-like meetings with students in crisis, distress, or of concern.  While this setting is not formal counseling by a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), life skills, conflict resolution methods, and crisis intervention strategies are employed with regularity [46].

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Support

Both the LGBTQ Project and the Safe Space Campaign develop allies who serve support mechanisms for LGBTQ students on campus who are able to provide information on resources [47].

Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocate

Through the Student Health Center, one full-time professional and one graduate assistant are certified as LSU Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocates and can offer direction for those who are survivors of sexual assault, whether verbal or non-verbal [48].

University College Academic Advising and Counseling

The Center for Advising and Counseling (UCAC) serves as the advising center for enrolled students at LSU who are no longer eligible for UCFY enrollment (beyond 30 attempted hours) and have not yet met the requirements for senior college admissions. Students are served by the UCAC academic counseling staff [49].

Academic College Advising and Counseling

Academic advising is provided at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of the collegiate experience for LSU students by all of the academic colleges on campus. Advising is conducted by academic counselors within colleges or by faculty advisors within departments.  See pdf examples [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56].

Information Technology

Information technology is utilized in many ways to support students and faculty on campus, as well as those who are distance learners. Information technology is available to faculty and students across the campus, including smart classrooms in residential college communities and wireless coverage throughout all residence halls; Tutorial Center computer lab and Supplemental Instruction computer facilities; and computers, printers, scanners, and Internet access across the campus. In 2009, Moodle became the institution’s single learning management system as a direct result of the planning and governance efforts [57] [58] [59]. See Comprehensive Standard 3.4.12 for complete details of these and other available technologies [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66].

Faculty Technology Center

A department within LSU Information Technology Services, the Faculty Technology Center (FTC) houses instructional technology specialists and provides direct assistance to faculty in order to promote student success through the faculty’s integration of classroom technologies into the teaching and learning process. The FTC hosts Tech Talks to introduce faculty to technology for teaching and research use. Faculty are able to learn from one another through FTC sponsored events, such as coffee talks, as well as at ITS-wide events, such as TechPawLooza, an annual event open to all students, faculty, and staff that showcases the technology utilized across campus [67].

Visualization Services Center

LSU ITS also provides a Visualization Services Center that strives to enhance the level of knowledge, skills, and interest in visualization tools and techniques among LSU students and faculty. It provides students with the capability of looking at multidimensional datasets as a whole or in sections and the ability to analyze sections of data and present results with greater insight. The center hosts an instructional lab with high-end workstations and projection systems. It has high resolution, tiled displays so that one can view large data windows at once, without having to scroll or subsection the data. A variety of classes are held each semester within this space. The Visualization Services Center also supports student and faculty collaborative research projects that utilize LSU’s extensive high performance computing (HPC) resources [68]. LSU recently added Super Mike II, its newest supercomputer, with an additional two hundred teraflops of combined GPU and CPU processing capacity [69].

LSU Network

LSU’s network is a redundant quad core structure with 10 Gpbs connectivity that includes wired and secure wireless coverage throughout the campus. With projects like Network 2010 and Network 2015, ITS is ensuring that the university maintains a robust and modern networking infrastructure so that students, faculty, and staff alike have ready access to the Internet and networked resources.

The recently completed Network 2010 project involved the re-engineering of the LSU campus network to meet the emerging needs of the campus community, the increase of network speeds to 10 Gbps at the core network and to research buildings with high bandwidth demands, the deployment of an additional thousand wireless access points, and the lifecycle replacement of aging network equipment.  ITS was awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Academic Research Initiative (ARI) program to upgrade all of its network connections to research buildings and complete the Network 2010 project.

Network 2015 follows on the success of Network 2010. Currently underway, the Network 2015 project is a five-year project to continue the progress made on upgrading the entire LSU network. In addition, ITS has been at the forefront of IPv6 deployment and was an early adopter of eduroam, which enables LSU students and faculty to access other university networks while traveling or studying abroad. Housed at LSU, The Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI) is a state-of-the-art, fiber optics network that connects Louisiana research institutions and provides commodity Internet as well as National Lambda Rail and Interner2 connections. LSU ITS worked with LONI to triple the university’s available bandwidth this last year [70].

TigerWare Software

Faculty determine the software available from the multimedia classrooms and public access lab computers [71] [72]. Faculty, staff, and students also have ready access to the software they need to succeed.  TigerWare, LSU’s online software distribution system, enables the download and installation of licensed and open source software. Via TigerWare, students have free access to the latest Microsoft Office Suite, Symantec Antivirus Protection, and Windows 8 [73].

Gear to Geaux Program

Students have ready access to technology through the Gear to Geaux program.  Seventy laptops are available for student check out and use through Middleton Library, and 65 Internet/email kiosks are provided [74]. Over 400 computers with high-end software are available in three public access labs located conveniently across campus, and an additional 643 computers are available in specialty labs and computer classrooms.

Residential Life

All smart classrooms, computer labs, and email workstations are provided with available software licensed to the university, and additional software is purchased by the Department of Residential Life upon request from faculty, staff, or students.  Residential Life also supplies and purchases clicker technology to faculty upon request in the smart classrooms [75]. All residence halls and apartments are equipped with digital signage displays (25) for campus events, announcements, and emergency notifications [76].

The Help Desk supports all Residential Life smart classrooms, media rooms, computer labs, email workstations, digital signage, card access security, 5600+ on-campus residents (including troubleshooting students’ personal computers, both desktops and laptops, and printers), 150 Residential Life administrative staff and residential college faculty computers and 109 Student Life and Enrollment area computers and peripherals, including those in Freshman Year Experience, Orientation, the Center for Academic Success, and Career Services. 

GROK

Faculty, staff and students have numerous opportunities to realize new applications of technology and learn how to use them. GROK is an online knowledgebase which provides step-by-step instruction of the basic set up and use of technologies available on campus [77].

ITS Training Sessions

Numerous training sessions are available through ITS, which offers one-on-one tutorial and traditional training sessions for students, faculty, and staff  [78]. Online instructional videos are freely accessible through Lynda Campus for real-time use. Lynda Campus has over 1,600 video-based online courses for software, design, and business skills training. Software titles include Adobe Creative Suite, Connect, Flash, InDesign, Microsoft Office, Windows, and Exchange, and numerous Apple software titles. Courses are offered in AutoCAD and Autodesk and in Google products (Docs, Gmail, Analytics, Sketchup), and new courses are offered regularly [79]. The Microsoft IT Academy Program is free and available to LSU students and faculty, staff, and retirees.  This is a world-class, online training resource that includes over 300 e-learning courses, many of which will lead toward information technology industry certifications [80]. In addition, online training resources are available from Mathematica, Apple Online, and Moodle.

In addition to classroom technologies, the Student Technology Fee projects include the provisioning of an Information Commons, group collaboration spaces, and presentation practice rooms housed in Middleton Library. The Information Commons includes a reference desk, two IT help desks, assistive technology, 86 Windows and Macintosh computers, and large-format printing [81]. The group collaborative spaces consist of seven walk-up stations and eight reservable rooms, each with a single computer, a large plasma screen, seating for groups of four to eight people, and collaboration software. The collaboration software allows group members to connect to sessions with their laptops via wireless, if they choose. Once connected, participants can be granted control of the central computer or share their screens with the group on the large screen.  The two presentation practice rooms are configured much like multimedia classrooms, consisting of a lectern, computer, and very large plasma screen. Additionally, video cameras are installed so that students may record themselves delivering their presentations and review their performances at their leisure [82].

NOTE: The narrative continues in "3.4.9 (Continued)."