Letter from the Editor

We here at H&H are constantly pleased and often surprised by our contacts with people using the LASSI. Many of you are on a first name basis with one of our staff members (Priscilla, Mike, and/or Beth). Your conversations (phone and email) reflect that type of relationship.

We know that many of you are facing difficult challenges in your work. We know that you struggle with instructional, administrative, institutional, and economic problems. We try to be part of the solution you bring to these difficulties. We urge you to seek our assistance when that may be the case.

One of the major changes that we believe will effect your work in the next few years is a shift from dealing with problem situations to a concerted effort to identify and treat deficiencies before they become problems. We have seen this shift already in many programs that deal with specific at-risk student populations. On the horizon, we expect that same shift in the ways we deal with all students.

LASSI, PEEK, Becoming a Strategic Learner, and technology that bridges gaps in distance and communication are essential elements to implementing a program of attracting, selecting, and preparing students before they ever set foot on your campus.

To claim that these processes are new or revolutionary is not quite accurate because the academic parallels have long been in place for most of our universities. I took the College Boards in 1949 as part of the process at that time for attracting and selecting students to some institutions of higher education. Today most high schoolers take the SAT and/or ACT.

What our institutions have long held important within particular academic disciplines is now likely to be broadened as we accurately measure the study strategies and expectations of our students. We know, and research supports this statement, that LASSI assessments both diagnose problems that may interfere with academic success and prescribe interventions designed to eliminate and/or reduce those problems. We know that student expectations, as measured by PEEK, are another major factor in student retention. Interventions planned around those expectations can have significant effects on students whose expectations are not matched well with institutional realities.

H&H is ready to help you implement new programs that will make you and your institution leaders in this shift toward being proactive rather than reactive to student needs. H&H sees this shift as a needed effort to significantly improve student retention. Students will benefit from early treatment of academic problems just as patients benefit from early treatment for illnesses. Institutions will benefit economically and academically. Our society will benefit from a larger population of well-educated citizens. H&H is excited to be part of your efforts to bring these improvements to your campus. Give us a call if we can help.

Bob Hackworth