The purpose of the Learning Enhancement Center is to provide academic support and transition services to students. This is the central resource for academic help on Rend Lake College’s campus. Tutors are available to help students in core subject areas and workshops are conducted to provide transition assistance. The Learning Specialist is on hand to answer questions or to assist students with study and note taking skills. The Learning Enhancement Center is conveniently located in Academic 106. It has four areas of availability for students:

Quiet Study – Carrels and tables are separated in a secluded room to provide a quiet and distraction free atmosphere for students who require it to effectively study.

Group Tutoring – Several larger tables are in an open area as you first walk in to the LEC. This is where groups of students can meet with a tutor in a variety of subject areas.

Computers – Learning Enhancement Center computers are only for completion of online courses, research, or typing papers. No other work is permitted on these computers.

Individual tutoring/Telecourse viewing – Another separated area of the Learning Enhancement Center provides small tables for tutors to meet with students one on one. This area also houses a TV/VCR viewing station for telecourses.

Any student seeking assistance in a course should stop by the Learning Enhancement Center to gain access to the resources available to them free of charge by the college. Whether it is help with a homework problem or preparing for a test, the Learning Enhancement Center is the place to go when a student needs that extra edge.

Learning Enhancement Program for Student Athletes

The Learning Enhancement Program for student athletes is another component of the services provided to students at Rend Lake College. Each freshman student athlete is required to attend three hours of study sessions in the Learning Enhancement Center each week during his/her first semester at RLC. After the first semester, grades are evaluated and a determination is made about attendance. Student athletes who do not comply with Learning Enhancement Center study session requirements will be ineligible to participate in athletic events after an initial warning.

Travis Hood and Amy Cook provides daily supervision over the Learning Enhancement Center under the direction of Ed Ruffino, Director of STARS and Learning Enhancement. The Learning Enhancement Specialist serves as academic advisor and monitor of grades and attendance for mandated students athletes. Ms. Sullivan has been a member of the N4A (National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics) for four years and has cutting edge information about athletic eligibility and transfer issues. In addition to these duties, Mr. Mckee also meets weekly with high risk student athletes for “Enhancement Meetings”.

The Learning Enhancement Program for student athletes was introduced in 2001, and since that time there has been marked increase in the overall GPA, retention rates, and graduation rates of student athletes at Rend Lake College. Currently the overall GPA for student athletes is a 3.01 and we have a 75% graduation rate, making most RLC graduates eligible to participate in athletics at a division I transfer school.

Rend Lake College is one of the few community colleges in the state of Illinois who has a specialized learning program for student athletes and because of this program we are able to successfully transfer student athletes to four year institutions across the country.

The success of Rend Lake College’s Learning Enhancement Program is evident through the increase in graduation rates, as well as in the overall GPA. During the year prior to the development of the LEC the overall GPA for student athletes was a 2.68. This has now risen to a 3.01. Graduation rates have also leapt from 43% to 72% in the four years this program has been in existence. Overall the academic services provided by the Learning Enhancement Center are helping create stronger, more successful students at Rend Lake College as well as preparing them for transfer to a four year institution.