If you haven’t seen it yet, comfy new seating and collaborative learning clusters create a whole new environment in the NUHS Learning Resource Center. The LRC upgrades create inviting areas for casual study and group learning. Also, by diverting conversation into the new area, the remaining study sections of the LRC will remain quieter.

Panoramic View of Study Lounge

“The lack of collaborative learning areas and the fact that study group rooms were often full, meant that the areas set aside for quiet library study were often invaded by clusters of students wanting to work on projects with each other,” explains says Tom Rohner, NUHS director of facilities.

So Rohner and his crew took out cubicles from the area west of the circulation desk and installed clustered seating areas, complete with tables and electrical outlets for laptops, to give students more places where they can work together.

The new LRC area also has new carpeting and new LED lighting to replace old metal halide fixtures. In addition, the old radiology training room in the LRC is a new collaborative learning room for additional group study space specifically designed for larger groups.

Panoramic View of Collaborative Learning Room

In Janse Hall, room 141 also received a facelift. “Everything is new: new carpeting, new tables, new chairs, and new blackout shades,” says Tom Rohner. “The biggest improvement we invested in was bringing a fiber optic Internet connection to this classroom, as well as to rooms 139 and 140. We’ve also improved the overall sound transmission between the remote site and this classroom by placing microphones on the tables versus suspending the microphones from the ceiling. Additionally, we had the ceiling cameras programmed to zoom in on the person speaking into any activated microphone. These changes will improve interactive capabilities so that we can communicate more effectively with our cohorts in Florida.”

“Movable tables and chairs also give us a more global use for that room,” he says. “Especially when we have meetings on campus, like last year’s Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Having D141 as a multipurpose room, gives us the flexibility we need with accommodating special events and activities.”

“All of our facility updates and changes are about creating and stimulating what we call a ‘student-centric’ experience,” says Rohner. “We’ve evaluated our student’s preferred learning and social styles to create a more inviting and comfortable campus environment.”