By
Marianne Green
Arizona Summer Wildcat
ILC to offer new technology and social scene
The $21 million Integrated Learning Center is near completion and ready for incoming freshman to flood its hallways.
Since August 1999, students at the University of Arizona have awaited the arrival of the ILC, sometimes referred to as the "freshman hole," located between the Main Library and Modern Languages building on the UA Mall.
Dedicated to the incoming freshman class of 2001, the ILC will make it easier for first-year students to acclimate themselves to university life.
"It will take the hassle out of being a freshman," said Sharon Kha, a UA spokeswoman. "It will be more than just a collection of classrooms - it will be an assembly of services."
With 10 classrooms, four lecture halls and advising and tutoring services all in one location, project planners are sure the ILC will raise freshman retention rates.
UA's retention rate is at 77 percent, one of the worst in the nation when compared to peer institutions, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Some UA students believe the center will have a positive impact on the lives of freshman students.
"It will help facilitate freshman acclimation by simplifying the education process," said Debra Sheets, an English and political science junior.
Though the classrooms will not be available for freshmen when the school year begins, instructors will be able to conduct some classes in the ILC as soon as the structure is completed in January.
Freshmen will also be able to take advantage of the advising services and computer areas in the fall.
"Counselors and tutors will be available after hours," said Jim Black, project manager for the ILC.
The Freshman Year Center, currently located inside Bear Down Gym, will also relocate to the ILC in August.
If some freshmen are more independent, an Academic Messaging Center will be set up outside the ILC where students can plan their semester courses. The center consists of a series of computer terminals that can tell students what classes they will need to complete a degree, Black said.
In addition to the messaging center, students can also plug in their laptops through data ports located by benches outside.
"(We will do) anything we can do to make students' jobs easier," Black said.
The benches in the courtyard and the stairwells will also make it easier for students to socialize with their classmates, Black said.
"Running into people everyday that are in the positions they are in creates a group of people that (freshmen) can talk to," Kha said.
The ILC also features an Information Commons - an area with the capability to house 250 computer terminals - that will connect to the basement of the Main Library and will be available for students to use once school starts.
"The most effective part (of the ILC) will be the (Information) Commons," Kha said. "It accommodates groups of people to do reports together and it is open 24 hours a day."
Information desks will also be set up in the commons for students to get help with research anytime, Black said.
Once the classrooms open, student will find even more technological advancements available for them to use.
"Any lecture can be taped and stored for student viewing through video cameras set up in every classroom," Black said.
If a student misses class, they can pull up the lecture on their computers and watch the lecture live, Black said.
"It is an interesting concept to have all of this (technology) available at your fingertips," Black said.
Electronic whiteboards will allow instructor's to save the notes they have written during class.
Black said the advancements could offer all kinds of possibilities for future students.
"Two freshmen could meet and get married here," Black said. "The ILC is equipped for it."
