The new Student Success Center will give students an area to eat, relax, study and take advantage of student services in one location.
Mt. Laurel residents driving along Route 38 this past year have most likely noticed construction of Rowan College at Burlington County’s new Student Success Center.
Now, as the college opens its doors for another school year this September, the building college officials have described as the “centerpiece” of the Mt. Laurel campus will open its doors as well.
Measuring more than 79,000 square feet across two floors, the new Student Success Center is set to provide students with an area where they can study in quiet spaces, stop by a dining area or café for a bite to eat, relax in several lounges and have access to all out-of-classroom services they may need in one location.
With space for academic advising, tutoring, financial aid, career services, registration, a testing center, the office of student accounts, the library/knowledge commons, a bookstore and more, the new Student Success center can hold more than 1,700 of the college’s students and staff in one, central location.
Rowan College at Burlington County President Paul Drayton said the building was necessary for the transition that has allowed RCBC’s Mt. Laurel campus to transform from a satellite campus to the college’s main campus after closing the former main campus in Pemberton.
In addition to that transition, Drayton said the Mt. Laurel Campus is also holding an increased number of students due to other college initiatives, such as the “3+1” program that allows students to complete their associate’s degree at RCBC and then continue with an additional year of their four-year degree through Rowan University while remaining at the RCBC campus.
“It (the Mt. Laurel campus) was not originally designed for students to spend time on campus — it was really designed for drive in, drive out. That needed to change, both because of demand of our students, but also because we’re changing as an institution,” Drayton said.
According to Drayton, the Student Success Center is one the few buildings on campus where students had input into the design and uses.
From early discussions of the building’s exterior and interior, Drayton said students were part of the entire process.
“It was really important for us to get their input,” Drayton said. “As you see this building, it certainty reflects a youthfulness with the colors, layout, lighting — everything was done with our students in mind.”
John Costa, director of student life at the college, said the building allows the college to connect with students in a different way than the normal interactions between students and professors in a classroom setting, in particular with space available in the center for the college’s Student Government Association.
“We’re just thrilled to have a space that’s really dedicated to students and … them having the ability with student clubs and student organizations to really get involved with life outside of the classroom,” Costa said. “We can take what they learn inside the classroom and bring it to real-life experiences outside the classroom.”
With enrollment management and student success staff in the same area of the same building for the first time in the college’s history, Drayton said the center will also increase how well the college is able to deliver services to students simply because staff will be in a better position to communicate and work with one another.
“We talked about the beauty of the building and how we’re able to create collaboration space, but the most important feature of this building is bringing our staff together in one building,” Drayton said.
Burlington County Freeholder Linda Hughes, who was along for a tour of the building last week, agrees with Drayton. Hughes, who previously served on the RCBC’s Board of Trustees and now serves as the freeholder’s education liaison, said students and staff would benefit from so many services located in one, centralized location.
“This facility will continue to strengthen Burlington County’s Workforce Development Initiative by ensuring our students are well-equipped with the tools and services they need to be successful in the modern workforce,” Hughes said.
The center is also set to feature extended hours of operation.
“Students were definitely interested in being able to stay here later at night and to study,” Drayton said.
