“When school’s a hassle, just call L.A.S.S.L.!”

That’s one of the mottos of L.A.S.S.L. – the Learning Assistance and Study Skills Lab. L.A.S.S.L. is a program of the Counseling and Student Development Center and focuses on teaching students study skills essential for achieving academic potential.

L.A.S.S.L. is not a tutorial program, however. “We keep our tutoring services to a minimum—it’s not in our job description,” said graduate assistant Mark Ludden, one of three L.A.S.S.L. staff members. “We are eager to refer them to tutors, though.”

L.A.S.S.L., which is over a decade old, aids students through both individual consultations and workshops. Workshops are held three to five times a week and consultations can be scheduled any time. This year, over 200 students have taken advantage of their services, Ludden said.

Student clients come from all walks of campus life. Many referrals come from the Athletic Counseling Program, as student athletes often find they have heavy demands on their time and need to learn how to schedule studying.

Other organizations utilizing L.A.S.S.L.‘s services are the University Latino Resources and the Minority Student Advisement Program (M.S.A.P.), a support group for regularly-admitted minority students. Fraternities and sororities also work with L.A.S.S.L. and schedule workshops for their members.

A good number of L.A.S.S.L.’s clients are freshmen and sophomores, many of whom are still adjusting to college life and habits, he said. Resident Assistants also come to L.A.S.S.L. to coordinate programs for floormates. “There are lots of ways we can serve people,” Ludden said, adding, “We’re making a very deliberate attempt this semester and next to market our services on a higher profile basis.”

Ludden said that attempt is due in part to L.A.S.S.L.‘s move from Swen Parson Hall to the more obscure Jensen Apartments last spring. L.A.S.S.L. currently shares an office with the paraprofessional program and M.S.A.P., who are also under the direction of the Counseling and Student Development Center.

“Because it has been moved, our number one goal is to make sure people are aware of L.A.S.S.L. and where it is,” said L.A.S.S.L. director Dr. Denise Hatter. “We would like to increase the visibiltity and utilization of our services.”

Students utilize L.A.S.S.L. for a variety of reasons. “Many students study five hours and feel they’ve studied hard, then find out they didn’t do so well. If they’d known how to study, they might have done better,” Hatter explained, adding, “There are different types of tools and techniques that can make the process easier.”

Such techniques are explained in both individual consultations and workshops. In one-on-one consultations, a trained staff member meets with a student to explore current study habits and then suggests new strategies and techniques. “L.A.S.S.L. is for both trouble students and overachievers. We target our approach to an individual’s need