Iowa Central Community College takes pride in its curriculum standards and capacity to offer high levels of academic and personal support for students. As an institution of higher learning, we are dedicated to student success and continue to grow in support of our mission to offer a meaningful educational experience for all who attend our college.

As we look to the future, we believe that increasing student success should be one of our top priorities. Iowa Central Community College has many outstanding student success programs; however, as part of the college’s campuswide effort to increase student success, and to create success programs that are unique to Iowa Central, the college will open The Triton Enrichment Center to all students, staff and faculty this fall.

Enrichment is defined as something that is meaningful, substantial, and rewarding. The goal of The Triton Enrichment Center is to remain proactive in terms of student success and to enhance the lives of all who utilize the enrichment center. To achieve this goal, The Triton Enrichment Center will provide a holistic approach to student success as it coordinates the personal needs of the students and their academic achievement the Enrichment Center staff will act as a liaison between students and services on campus and connect students accordingly. Students can be referred to The Triton Enrichment Center through alerts, referrals, and walk-in visits. It is our purpose to understand what success means to each student and then to assist them in the realization of their goals. For example: Some students may be interested in taking a few classes to sharpen skills; some students may want to pursue an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree and then transfer to a four-year university; while other students may pursue an Associate of Professional Studies, Associate of Applied Arts or an Applied Science and Technology degree to enter into a number of high demand jobs in our region.

Enrichment services will be tailored to each student according to the student’s goals and success plan both in and out of the classroom. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Student mentoring (staff and faculty volunteer to mentor individual students,

Success coaching (working one on one with students in the TEC and connecting students to services across campus),

Activity management (time management),

Goal setting and

Soft skills professionalism.

Students can utilize study tables and desktop computers as another place to study on campus. Students may utilize the lounge area as another place on campus for social connections.

We want our students to take full advantage of the student support services offered on our campus. New students may feel overwhelmed by the many demands of college and The Triton Enrichment Center is another place on campus where students can integrate into their campus environment and find another home away from home.

In addition, The Triton Enrichment Center will be collaborating across campus in an effort to continue our excellent success strategies already in place. We will be providing professional development for students, staff, and faculty that will assist with personal and professional growth with a learning support component. We will periodically share research best practices as they relate to student success. Furthermore, in the next year, Iowa Central will be implementing a new student success collaborative that will be based on research, technology, and consulting. These tools will be another addition to enhance student success for our students.

We invite you to visit The Triton Enrichment Center on our beautiful campus. We are located in the Student Support Services building in Room 124. You may contact us by calling 574-1192, or email us at: crippin@iowacentral.edu.

Tracy Crippin-Haake is director of The Triton Enrichment Center at Iowa Central.