A student success center that pulls together tools from across the Emporia State campus will celebrate its first academic year of service with a ribbon cutting and reception next week.
ACES, the Academic Center for Excellence and Success, opened in August on the second floor of William Allen White Library. A ribbon cutting and reception will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 27.
The center brings together tutoring services in biology, chemistry, math, research and psychology plus a Writing Center and the English Language Learner Lab.
“ACES is free for students with services to help them be academically successful,” said Gary Rapp, ACES director.
Created in space on the second floor of the library, ACES, like other learning commons on campus, is equipped with technology to help students working individually and in groups. Small groups can gather around high-top tables and work on presentations together by connecting their wireless devices to a flat-screen video display.
Larger groups can gather in a comfortable seating in a u-shaped design and obtain instruction or watch educational videos, followed by group 
discussion or use the expansive white board for test review or working math problems. All together the space has over 300 square feet of usable whiteboard space.
Since its opening, use of the center has increased steadily. As spring midterms wrapped up, students had signed into the center over 600 times since the beginning of the semester.
ACES isn’t all about study, Rapp said.
“Individual assistance is also available for students who need help with personal development growth such as time management, stress management, understanding learning styles, improving memory skills, study skills and mindfulness training. Sometimes what gets in the way of academic success is not all that academic,” he said.
“We are striving to make ACES as much about helping students learn how to successfully manage challenges in their life that can negatively impact their academic success as we are helping them study for exams.”