Editor’s note: COLLAB is on hiatus for the Summer 2025 semester but will return at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, in Ohm 205!
A growing initiative in the Business and Office Information Technology areas at KCC is helping students and faculty connect in new and innovative ways on campus, while boosting student success at the same time.
KCC’s COLLAB initiative reimagines the standard office-hours model for faculty, who traditionally open their offices for a set number of hours each week to meet with students who need one-on-one help. The COLLAB brings faculty from different but connected disciplines – Accounting, Business, Office Information Technology and more – together in an open computer lab each week, where students can drop in and work on projects and receive assistance from multiple faculty members in one place, at one time.
Office Information Technology Professor Brendan Welge, who spearheaded the launch of the program, says students have been using the COLLAB for everything from assignment help and tech support to mentoring, and even “a reliable place to work and study.”
“It’s become a trusted, low-barrier support hub, particularly helpful for students who may be unsure how or when to ask for help,” he says. “It’s also helped students from different programs connect, ask questions and grow more confident in their learning.”
Welge’s area piloted the COLLAB initiative – the title is a combination of the words “collaboration” and “lab” – in 2022, and it’s been steadily growing ever since. He says they were seeing between 25 and 30 students weekly this past semester.
“Beyond the numbers, we’re seeing real communities forming,” Welge says. “Students are more confident, are more willing to ask for help, are more connected to faculty and peers. And, for those students entering their second and third semester, we are witnessing them stepping up and providing meaningful peer support.”
Human Services student Fredrick Richardson, of Albion, is a COLLAB regular who heard about the opportunity in his first class with Welge and participated weekly after. The collaborative nature of the initiative helped with his projects, as he found it easier to work in the computer lab with others rather than on his own with just a laptop.
“What kept me coming back was the sense of unity,” Richardson says. “When I first walked into the classroom everyone was so friendly, and we all enjoyed trying to help each other with what we could.”
Welge says the experience has been similar for faculty, who’ve been building stronger relationships with each other in addition to students as they step out of their offices and work together in a shared space.
“Being side-by-side with colleagues each week makes it easier to share ideas, talk through challenges and support students in ways that feel more natural and collaborative,” Welge says. “It’s also helped strengthen relationships – with students and with each other – which has been a real bright spot in our week-to-week work.”
It’s this kind of support that Richardson says motivated him to keep coming back week to week, and which makes him quick to recommend the initiative to other students.
“I would highly recommend the COLLAB to all students,” Richardson says. “It’s definitely a beneficial learning tool for anyone who may be struggling, or may just need a little more confidence.”
This article first appeared in the June 2025 edition of BruIN magazine. To read the issue online, please visit kellogg.edu/bruinmagazine.
