Cramped student services offices are now going to have more than enough room to spread their wings as plans have begun to give them their own building on Wallace Road.

The Student Success Center offers a number of services to its students with a goal of improving their success in an effort to increase the graduation rate.

Many services, however, are lacking the space they need to fulfill students’ needs completely.

The new facility will improve the awareness, visibility and accessibility of the programs, leading to increased academic achievement and retention, according to Board of Regent’s documents.

“What this will do is to open up some space in current departments that don’t have enough space and consolidate some of the programs that are spread out on campus to a more central location,” said Tom Oftedal, architect for facilities planning and management.

Private funding will support the construction of the new building which will provide more space for Student Success Center programs.

The Wallace Road Office Building is the planned location for the new Student Success Center facility.

The demolition is scheduled to start February 2005 and should be complete by the end of March. The building construction will start in May 2005, and construction will take a year to 14 months, Oftedal said.

“The new facility will serve more students and put it closer to where students reside,” said Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs.

Hill said the estimated cost of the project is $10 million, which will come solely from private funds.

The design for the new building will provide nearly 20,000 net square feet, which was decreased by approximately 4,000 net square feet from what was originally approved for the building program.

This was done to ensure the building would be constructed within the budget, but still maintain the program’s elements, according to regents documents.

The new facility will house the Christina Hixson Opportunity Awards Program, the Athletic Center for Educational Services and some of the student support services including tutoring and disability resources, according to Regent’s documents.

The Hixson program assists approximately 400 scholars through leadership, academic and community services, according to success center documents.

The new facility will allow access to computer labs, study lounges and areas for tutoring students.

Debra Sanborn, the Hixson program coordinator, said she believes it will be convenient for incoming students who live in the Maple-Willow-Larch dorms and the Richardson Court Association area to be closer to the services and allow for more learning communities.