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Welcome to the Sanger team!  The Sanger Learning Center is a unit within the School of Undergraduate Studies (UGS).  For more than 65 years, the Sanger Learning Center has evolved to match the changing learning needs of UT Austin students.  Despite its many name changes over that time, the Sanger Learning Center has continually diversified and expanded its programs to facilitate student success and improve university graduation rates.  Our diverse programming requires a significant degree of specialization and staff expertise. Members of the professional staff hold advanced degrees in mathematics, history, biology, speech communication, educational psychology, marine science, molecular and cellular biology, English, and adult education. Our agency’s enduring objective is to help UT Austin students reach their highest potential in personal, career, and academic development. 

Our Mission

To fulfill our mission, the Sanger Learning Center provides a variety of services and resources for course support and study effectiveness, including content-based discussion sections and classes, peer tutoring, peer mentoring, and professional meetings, and workshops.

The Sanger Learning Center currently operates from Jester Residential Hall (JES) with two primary support teams; Course Support and Instruction and Academic Counseling Tutorial Services.  Each unit is organized around the program teams’ concept. Each team is led by a Program Coordinator who reports to the Sanger Learning Center’s Director and administers all aspects of their respective programs.

The Course Support and Instruction (CSI) area includes Supplemental Instruction (SI), Peer-Led Undergraduate Studying (PLUS), Strategic Communication, and Signature Course Teacher Assistant (TA) support. All CSI programs are tied to specific historically-difficult courses, meet with groups of student participants, and plan instructional events over multiple time points in a semester.

The Academic Counseling Tutoring Services area includes Peer Academic Coaching (PAC), Learning Specialist appointments, and Tutoring Instruction, which is delivered to groups of students or one-on-one. All programs in the academic counseling area emphasize study skills that will benefit students across multiple courses and disciplines.

In 2014, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies asked the Sanger Learning Center to create a new learning intervention for one of UT’s student Success Programs, the Discovery Scholars Program. New professional positions funded directly from the Office of the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Curriculum’s Office were filled and four to five Sanger professional staff operate as a third team providing academic counseling and content support to a group of approximately 1,500 UT students.

Also in 2014, the SLC created two new positions, Instructional Designers, whose roles are to research and help implement academic support projects not addressed by existing SLC programs. As a program area, they manage the SLC’s Math Refreshers and Reviews and work with Discovery Scholars students.

While the teams act independently in administering their program responsibilities, each team member spends considerable time and energy communicating and collaborating with students, staff members, and other stakeholders across campus.