Students often need to travel to various buildings across campus for academic tutoring, but the opening of a new service center in January will make help a one-stop shop.

The Lissa and Cy Wagner Student Academic Services Center, scheduled to open Jan. 5, will house University College, the Writing Center, Project Threshold and the Graduation Office.

This center, also known as Wagner Hall, is across from the Oklahoma Memorial Union in the former location of the OU Press building, said Doug Gaffin, dean of University College.

“That freed up a really critical spot there,” he said. “We call it sort of a student services district that’s being formed here.”

The idea is to increase convenience and draw more students to use these services, said Tammy Pratt, director of the Assessment and Learning Center.

“The goal is to make it a very student-oriented building,” she said. “It’s academic, but it’s all student-success focused.”

The Student Graduation and Retention Task Force saw a need for such a building in 2004 after it studied other schools ranked ahead of OU in graduation rates by U.S. News and World Report, Gaffin said.

Gaffin said the task force found that many of these universities, which had a similar student population to OU, had comprehensive student service centers to contribute to student success.

“It became clear that we didn’t really have a comprehensive tutoring and learning program,” he said. “We have lots of efforts going on across campus, but they’re dispersed and not really well-coordinated.”

The 34,500-square-foot, two-story building will include a large atrium with couches and furniture, classrooms, offices, private study rooms and a computer learning center, Pratt said.

“We want all students to feel comfortable going into Wagner,” she said. “We just want students to feel like that’s their building.”

University College Action Tutoring Centers, Student Success Series and the Gateway to College Learning course will all take place in the building’s classrooms, Gaffin said. University College advising and placement testing will also be located in the building.

“We want this to be a high-energy building,” he said. “We want it to be a place that students really feel comfortable gathering and focusing on their studies.”

The $14 million building was funded by state bonds and private funds, including Lissa and Cy Wagner, who gave the lead gift. The Wagners are long-time university supporters and have contributed to several projects in the past, Gaffin said.

Becky Heeney, director of the Graduation Office and chairwoman of the Graduation and Retention Task Force, said the office, which is currently located in Cross Center, will benefit from moving to Wagner Hall.

“I think for many students, they just don’t know where to go to get the assistance they need,” she said. “I think being in one location will make a huge difference.”

The Graduation Office works with the task force to focus on retention and helping students graduate, Heeney said. She said the building’s centralized location and the services it offers will help increase retention and graduation rates in the next few years.

“Certainly, we have to continue to do the work and the effort,” she said. “Just a building alone is not going to make a difference.”

Dusty Bailey, Writing Center consultant and engineering senior, said he thinks moving into Wagner Hall will be a good experience for the Writing Center, although it could lose some students who rely on its current location in Bizzell Memorial Library.

Deborah Binkley-Jackson, director of Project Threshold, said moving into the new building will help the program network with the other offices. Project Threshold is a grant-funded program that helps first-generation, disabled and economically disadvantaged students graduate.

“We’re hoping that the upgrade in the building location and the service provisions we’ll have will serve as more of an enticement,” she said. “We’re excited the university has brought us under the umbrella to make sure the academic programs are in one location.”

Pratt said she hopes the building will not only help students seeking academic assistance but allow them to connect and study together.

“The idea is to draw them in, so you have an academic community of students in the building,” she said. “I’m sure that students who come in, they’re coming in for one purpose. If they take some time to look around, they’ll learn so much other resources are available.”