Student Service is a priority at Lewis and Clark, and we'd like you to let us know how we're doing through our online surveys. Check out our Admissions and Financial Aid pages today, and locate the survey links along the right hand column of each page.
This year, Lewis and Clark Community College is celebrating 40 years of success, which wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of each individual student in the classroom and the College’s focus on providing students with every possible support service to make attaining their educational goals an easy process.
From the moment a student enrolls until the time he or she graduates, Lewis and Clark’s student service personnel work diligently to transition students on to their next step, whether it be entering the work force, re-entering the work force or transferring on to a four-year school.
Lately, there has been a push within the College to improve student services further.
Various individuals and departments who work with students every day have gone through training with the Disney Corporation within the past year to improve their people skills, and student service has become a focus of performance evaluations as well as strategic plans.
“We want to provide the best service possible for our students. They’re the reason we exist, so for us, taking care of the students would be the same way a business tries to take care of its customers. We want to ensure that when students come here they’re getting not only a high quality education that’s going to help them, but also that the service they receive here is good enough that they can focus on the academics while everything else falls into place,” said Kent Scheffel, Vice President of Enrollment Services. “We would like for the entire educational experience to be a positive one for students.”
Yvette McLemore, assistant director of Academic Advisement, said it’s her department’s job to make sure students are able to meet degree and certificate requirements during their time here, and that they are able to transition seamlessly to their next step.
“We do so by communicating and networking with program coordinators and college representatives on program changes and updates and making sure students are informed. The end result is always rewarding – graduation,” she said.
Nursing Division Assistant Diane McDonough has taken service training to heart and knows the importance of good service.
“It’s important for the (Nursing) department as well as the College to make that good first impression and let that student know we are here to help them,” she said.
McDonough is sometimes a student’s first contact at the College. She answers questions and helps prospective nursing students understand the process of joining the program. She also tries to keep in touch with them throughout their educational experiences at Lewis and Clark.
“I always encourage students to call me back if they have any questions along the way, to stay in touch,” she said.
Virginia Dollins, assistant at the N.O. Nelson campus in Edwardsville, said eye contact and acknowledging students by name goes a long way as well.
“One thing we’ve learned to do if we aren’t able to help them is find the person who can, and never think, ‘that’s not my job,’” she said. “We want to reinforce with them the great choice they made by attending Lewis and Clark.”
Kellie Wilson, Community Education Center Coordinator in Carlinville, said seeing the students complete their education is a rewarding experience.
“I was at Commencement the other night and had a young man come up and shake my hand,” she said. “He thanked me for helping him meet his two-year goal at Lewis and Clark. It’s just a really good feeling to know that I’ve helped.”
Although most students are familiar with the services the College offers in the Enrollment Center, such as placement testing, academic and financial aid advising, the College offers numerous others for students to aid them in their voyage to success.
Here are just a few of the Student Services offered at Lewis and Clark:
• Academic Advisement
• Counseling
• Career and Employment Services
• Child Care
• Assistance and Services for Students with Disabilities
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
• Health Services/Nurse Managed Center
• Learning Resource Center/Library
• Free Tutoring Services for Math and English
• Student Support Services (Grade Monitoring & Textbook Lending)
• Student Activities and Clubs
• Financial Aid & Veteran’s Affairs
• Tuition assistance through the Foundation and Financial Aid
• Access to the Fitness Center and Use of Athletic Facilities
• Online and Web-Blended Classes
“No matter what the service is we provide students, we are always looking for feedback so that we can continue to improve our offerings for students,” Scheffel said. “We have established an e-mail address where individuals can submit feedback about how we’re doing.”
If you would like to offer your thoughts and experiences related to student services at Lewis and Clark send an e-mail to
service@lc.edu.