(The Student Success Center is slated to open in January 2025 | Rendering courtesy of Oregon State University – Cascades)
Support & Engagement Under One Roof
From Minnesota to Missouri, New Jersey to Nevada, and Wisconsin to Washington, student success centers have become an integral part of colleges and universities — providing a range of services to help students achieve their academic and personal goals.
Slated to open this coming January, the 17,500-square-foot Student Success Center at OSU-Cascades — located to the west of Edward J. Ray Hall — “has always been part of our long-range development plan,” said Jarrod Penttila, associate director of capital planning and construction. “We’ve had a deficit of spaces and services that support student life; this new facility fills a definite need, and will be a pretty incredible addition to the campus.”
Centralized Location for Services
Taking services that were previously housed in “virtually every building on the OSU-Cascades campus,” according to Penttila, the Student Success Center will provide “support and engagement in one place and under one roof.” The list of available options for students includes academic and career advising, mental health and financial aid counseling, veterans support, and disability access. The facility will also have spaces for study and tutoring, an equity lounge, a coffee shop, arts presentations, meeting rooms and gathering areas.
One of the facility’s many services, its student-government-run food pantry — which is “for students and by students” — purposefully doesn’t require recipients to “jump through hoops,” Penttila said. “There are no questions asked. New enhancements will include a refrigerator and freezer for perishable items.”
The Student Success Center will also serve as headquarters for student life activities such as events planning, recreational programs, student organizations, and clubs for climbing and kayaking, according to Katie Wilson, associate dean for student life. “Students will be able to take advantage of vibrant leadership opportunities,” she said, “and see how to thrive through non-academic pursuits.”
Student Input & Financial Buy-In
“Because this is a student-focused building, we were very intentional in gathering student input throughout the design process,” Penttila said. “We set up a lot of interactive feedback sessions; showed renderings; asked how to make the space more comfortable and inviting; and did a survey of students — including minority and disadvantaged — to gather individual feedback.”
For example, gathering areas such as the coffee shop are designed as “comfortable places to hang out and build friendships,” to quote Penttila, with amenities such as a fireplace, and muted lighting that complements the wood and furniture that were selected. In contrast, Penttila described the upstairs study room as “task centered, with brighter lighting.”
Not only did students impact how the facility would be designed, but — responding to the need for additional space and enhanced support services, the students even played a financial role in the project — raising $5 million toward the total cost of $21.75 million by voting to increase their fees.
“Home Away From Home” Facilitates Connections
Touting the benefits of having an array of services in a centralized location to “help students work through challenges and limitations,” Wilson also pointed to the fact that “more and more research (that) affirms the importance of belonging to student success. A feeling of isolation has lingered since COVID,” she said, and the Student Success Center “can facilitate connections, and serve as a ‘home away from home,’ a place students want to be.”
“Retention Is Critical”
As Wilson emphasized, a positive student experience and sense of belonging are “all aimed toward the goal of graduation. Retention is critical,” she said. This contention is backed by studies showing that students who don’t graduate tend to have lower-paying jobs, fewer professional opportunities, and increased constraints on their future ability to contribute to their community.
Toward that end, the health and wellness component of OSU-Cascades’ Student Success Center plays an important role, said Wilson. “Both fall under the umbrella of student success.”
She added that “health is health, and encompasses both body and mind, so there will be a part-time nurse, as well as counseling staff, to address student concerns.”
And, as student feedback showed, there shouldn’t be a stigma about seeking help for mental health challenges, Wilson said. “Rather, attaining and maintaining good mental health is an example of active self-care, and should be applauded.”
Keeping Pace With Enrollment Growth
Among its goals, the Student Success Center addresses an ongoing need for campus facilities and services to keep pace with student enrollment. First-year student enrollment at OSU-Cascades has increased for the ninth consecutive year, with a 2023 fall class of 225 students — representing the largest in OSU-Cascades’ history — and a 10.3% increase over 2022.
The total number of students enrolled at OSU-Cascades increased 3.3% over the previous year. The Bend campus now enrolls 1,313 students, comprised of 1,058 undergraduates and 255 graduate students.
Part of Three-Decade Campus Transformation
The new facility is part of the Long-Range Development Plan for OSU-Cascades that will take place over the next three decades. In addition to the Student Success Center, expansion plans include 13 new buildings, roads, sidewalks, parking, athletic fields, a pedestrian bike path, and green spaces on Bend’s west side. In total, 118 acres of OSU-Cascades properties — previously occupied by a pumice mine and a Deschutes County construction and demolition landfill — are being transformed into a 128-acre campus serving up to 5,000 students. The effort has been hailed as “one of the most innovative university development projects in the country.”
A Primary Goal: Environmental Sustainability
A primary goal of the expansion project is “environmental sustainability,” according to Penttila. “We’re creating a net-zero campus — which means OSU-Cascades consumes only as much energy as it produces, balances water availability and demand, and eliminates waste sent to landfills.” Toward that end, the Student Success Center — and future facilities –will leverage geothermal energy for heating and cooling,
In addition, as was the case with the adjacent Edward J. Ray Hall, mass timber is being used in the building’s construction. As explained by Christine Coffin, director of communications & community engagement, mass timber — a new category of wood product — is a strong, low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel used for load-bearing walls, floors, and roofs. Its benefits include being natural, renewable, and sustainable.
“I Didn’t Realize All That You’re Doing”
Although it isn’t slated to open until January, the Student Success Center was the focus of an open house in the spring that attracted some 200 people. A common response, according to Jarrod Penttila, was “Wow! I didn’t realize all that you’re doing.”
Known for his droll sense of humor, as well as his engineering expertise and long-term vision, Penttila added — when asked to provide the project’s status — “We’re moving along ahead of schedule and on budget. As a result, I’m pleased to say that I don’t have much to report.” His colleague Katie Wilson added in the same spirit: “We’ll know concept is a success if we run out of seats in the student lounges.”
