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Contact: Leigh Flynn
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/21/98
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - The office of Student Support Services at Northwestern State University, a vital link in the transition from high school to a successful college career, has again been funded through the U.S. Department of Education.
The $269,922 for this year will help fund the many programs offered by Student Support Services offices on the Natchitoches and Shreveport campuses of Northwestern.
Don Barker, director of Student Support Services at Northwestern, said the program is one of more than 800 support programs offered in higher education institutions across the United States.
Barker said the Student Support Services program is vital to those 500 Northwestern students who participate, and the need for such programs continues to grow as more students enroll in college.
"We've done a lot of good things with this program," he said.
The program, which has been in existence at Northwestern since the mid-1960s, is an academic services program offering counseling and advising to first-generation college students. Those students, Barker said, are more likely to need academic counseling and advising to make the adjustments.
A number of those students have disabilities or come from low-income families, Barker said.
He said the program helps students make the two "major adjustments" which should help them succeed in college -- academic and social.
Some students need to learn how to study and how to focus in a college setting, Barker said, while others need to learn how to develop new friendships.
"One of the keys to their success is how well they make the transition," he said.
To help those new students make the transition, Barker said his office employs four counselors, three on the Natchitoches campus and one in Shreveport. All the counselors have master's degrees in counseling or related fields, he said.
Those counselors provide academic advising and counseling as well as personal and social counseling.
Barker said tutoring is also available through his office, with 12 tutors helping students one-on-one to succeed in their individual courses.
"Our goal is to get these people through to graduation," Barker said. "We take people with potential and turn them into successful college students."
Barker said several successful Northwestern programs are spin-offs of programs piloted by Student Support Services. Among those programs are the offices of New Student Programs and Disability Services.
He said even more programs are developing that will hopefully reach additional students in the coming years.
Barker said students may fill out applications to participate in Student Support Services programs. His office will ultimately determine which students are served through the program.
For more information on Student Support Services or the programs the office provides, call (318) 357-5901.