Some of the Academic Labs are having difficulty adjusting to their moves to the Educational Laboratories Building, which now houses the Math, Science, English, Writing and Reading Labs all under one roof.

In the past several years, the Academic Labs were housed within departments as stand-alone facilities. But with the 29 percent enrollment growth of the college, the president and her executive team began exploring alternative uses for classroom space.

“The goal is always to look at how you’re utilizing the rooms. Is that the best utilization for students?

Can you bring services together so that it is less expensive for the college to utilize the services or to implement the services? Are the students able to navigate the college a little bit better?” said Dr. Ana “Cha” Guzmán, President of Palo Alto.

Silas Escalante, education skills specialist for the Writing Lab, said the teaching environment is not as good as last year. There are fewer computers, one dry erase board, a noisier environment and more students to instruct. But, he said some students have expressed their satisfaction with the writing lab.

Yvonne Richards, an instructional skills specialist for the Reading Lab, said that there isn’t a problem with the noise level during the day.

Rose Frias, a freshman who has attended the Reading Lab since last semester, disagreed. “The lab is much noisier this semester,” she said.

Mary Jo Garcia, English instructional skills specialist, said there is reduced staffing because of less space.

Tracy Pomerinke, an instruction specialist for the Science Lab, said they don’t offer practice practicals in the same format as before, but that they have adapted to the new format.

Carlos Mendez, Jr., a sophomore, said the Science Lab is smaller and there are not as many tutors as last semester.

“We had maybe some initial noise issues, which have been resolved. We do not have a space issue, and we do not have an issue with loss of faculty and contacts, so for us it’s all worked out quite well,” said Dr. Elizabeth Tanner, chair of the Mathematics Department.

Darvis Cosper, an instructional skills specialist for the Math Lab, said, “The students seem to enjoy the change, because it’s more space. We have more workshops available for the students.”

Bebe Smith, a sophomore who uses the Math Lab, had a different opinion about the space. She said, “The tables are overcrowded and you can hear other people’s conversations. It’s a distraction because they’re so close together.”

The Educational Laboratories building is located next to the General Education Building, parallel to the Faculty Offices Building. The services are free for Palo Alto students.