Sacramento’s State Student Technology Center promotes student success by providing the latest technology to all students and teaching them how to use it effectively.

In the past year, the center served over 5,000 students through workshops, walk-ins and class seminars. The center used to serve only a couple hundred students a year, but the hiring of full-time employees allowed the center to expand their services.

Larry Gilbert, vice president and chief information officer of Information Resources and Technology, said the center grew out of student interest and need for technology.

Gilbert knew the center would be effective at Sac State because he had pioneered a similar program at Western Washington University.

“I realized that on this campus we had the same issues where there was tremendous demand from the students for student technology support services,” Gilbert said.  

When Gilbert arrived at the university, Sac State students wanted an expansion of wireless internet, a laptop-loan program, and a way to improve their technological skills in order succeed in the classroom, he said.

Gilbert thought that providing students with the latest in academic-related software was important.

Today, the Student Technology Center provides students the latest versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe products, including Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop, and Illustrator programs and teaches them how to utilize the programs.

The center also provides students with access to software that aids the development of web design, film and audio-recording.   

Students can borrow laptops from the center to complete assignments or improve their software skills.

Maureen McQuestion, director of academic support, said the center helps students be successful in their classes by teaching them how to utilize software and format their work.

“They can come in as individuals or small groups and walk in to this room and if (they) have specific questions about the assignment or the technology needed to complete the assignment we can help you (them) with that,” McQuestion said.

Each workshop focuses on the type of work students need to produce, including formatting essays in AP, MLA or Chicago style, setting margins and tabs, creating automatic citations, inputting data into Microsoft Excel and designing web pages.  

Professors often schedule workshops at the center to ensure students have knowledge of the technology and software required in the course.  

McQuestion said the peer-teaching model helps students succeed because they feel more comfortable.

The services provided by the center also benefit students in the their professional lives by giving them access and training in the software and technology they will be expected to utilize in a work-environment.

“The skills and the software that are learned in the Student Technology Center are going to be completely applicable to job searching and job hunting, keeping and retaining a job,”  McQuestion said.