VI. ACADEMIC SERVICES 1

The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship reports to the Associate Provost/Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Policies set by the Scholarly Research Council guide the operations of the office. The Associate Dean of Research implements research policies and procedures; promotes and coordinates university research; facilitates and approves applications for extramural research funding; and supervises the implementation and reporting requirements of funded projects.

The policies and procedures of the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship are found at http://www.andrews.edu/services/research/.

The Counseling and Testing Center endorses a holistic approach as it provides support services to students in the areas of personal counseling, career counseling, educational counseling, and standardized testing.

Counseling for personal needs assists students in coping with feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, guilt, anxiety and depression, interpersonal relationships (especially with immediate family, spouse, dating partners and roommates), personality development, identity, self-image and self-esteem.

Career counseling encourages the discovery of personal interests, needs, values, aptitudes, abilities and goals; acquaints the student with the world of work; and explores the compatibility between major subjects and career fields.

Educational counseling enables the student to explore and define educational goals and attitudes, identify and strengthen abilities, determine sources of motivation, and develop effective study skills. Standardized testing is available for mental ability, scholastic achievement, reading, personality, career interests, general educational development, English language proficiency, and professional admission and credential exams.

Professional psychologists as well as masters and doctoral interns in counseling, provide services to students by appointment. Counseling services are free of charge to enrolled university students and their spouses. Outreach and consultations are available to the university community. The Center maintains strict confidentiality to protect its clients and their records, and is accredited with the International Association of Counseling Services.

The Student Success Center offers a number of academic support services to students with the goal of enhancing their success in their educational experience. These services are coordinated by a staff of academic success professionals; through a comprehensive case management team approach in partnership with advisors, department chairs, and deans of schools. Special emphasis is given to student success in persisting to graduation.

Services include comprehensive assessment of learning styles and study patterns with the development of plans for achieving academic and career goals, arrangement of learning disability accommodations, referral to specialized services to develop improved math, reading, and writing skills, assistance with career planning, and access to tutoring services.

Students in the undergraduate programs are provided with academic advising in their major field from their first through senior years. Each student is assigned a faculty advisor by the Advising Coordinator with the advice of the academic department. The advisor’s approval is required for course registration each term. Students may request a change of advisor through the Student Success Center. Advisors receive special training in effective techniques of guiding a student through the selected academic program and the development of mentoring skills for collaborative advising. Specific advising procedures are described in the Undergraduate Advisors Handbook (see also policy #2:165).

The purpose of the Student Success Center is to assist deans, teachers, and advisors in the nurturing and retention of students while studying at the university.

Students in the undergraduate schools are provided with academic advising in their major field from their first year through senior years. Academic departments structure their own programs. Each student is assigned an academic advisor, who aids the student with registration each semester. Advisors are chosen by department chairs, but the student may request a change in advisor.

To aid advisors a number of documents and systems have been developed:

1. Undergraduate Advisor Handbook

An undergraduate advisor handbook containing general advising information, referral sources and techniques, and current year information is distributed to all advisors and updated each year.

2. Undergraduate Academic Curricula Guides

Academic Curricula guides are produced by individual departments and programs. These guides, updated each year, give suggested curricula for core courses, cognates, recommended electives, and general education requirements for each degree or program.

3. Undergraduate Advisor Training

Advisor training sessions are held prior to each school year and at other times where advising problems and techniques are reviewed. New programs and changes are brought to the attention of the advisors through e-mail.

4. First-year Orientation

A structured orientation program has been developed for all freshmen which extends for five days prior to the start of fall semester. During this time comprehensive testing is completed and student test scores are made available to advisors online in IVue.

5. Mid-quarter Progress Reports

A system of mid-quarter progress reports for students on academic probation is employed to aid advisors in planning and counseling students for retention.

6. IVue Alerts

Alerts about students who are struggling are posted online by faculty, advisors, and staff. Alerts are perused by the Student Intervention Coordinator. Students and academic advisors are contacted and appropriate referrals are made to help alleviate problems.

Support for the development and strengthening of academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics are provided through special centers associated with departments and collaborating with the Student Success Center.

The University Center for Reading and Learning Assessment (UCRLA) addresses learning and reading-skill needs through college classes and tutoring. Academic assessment and tutoring services are available to students, faculty, staff, and community for a fee. Reading skills developed in the center include speed-reading, study reading, vocabulary, word recognition or decoding skills, spelling, and handwriting. The UCRLA also helps students develop memory, understand learning styles, and build skills in time management. The UCRLA is provided by and located in the School of Education.

The Writing Center provides students with individualized instruction by fellow students on basic writing skills and strategies. Services of the center include computer-assisted tutorial sessions, drop-in help, and a library of rhetoric and usage texts. The Writing Center also offers occasional review sessions on general writing problems. The Writing Center is provided by the Department of English.

The Center for Intensive English Programs (CIEP) offers classes in writing, grammar, reading, and oral/aural communication for students whose first language is not English and who do not meet English proficiency requirements for regular admittance to university classes. The CIEP also coordinates a program for preparation and testing English language proficiency using the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery). The Center for Intensive English Programs is provided by the College of Arts and Sciences.

The Mathematics Tutoring Center helps reduce math anxiety, fosters self-confidence in quantitative problem solving, and assists students with specific course-related math problems. The Mathematics Center is provided by the Department of Mathematics in the Science Complex.

The Student Success Center (SSC) exists for the sole purpose of helping students succeed in college. The SSC identifies student needs: to facilitate their physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual development; and to provide resources for faculty, staff, and parents who share concerns for student success. The SSC supplements the educational process by providing academic guidance, support, and developmental instruction. The SSC operates with a referral to all other campus support centers. It also manages the Academic Skills Program, a campus-wide tutoring service; facilitates accommodations for students with disabilities; provides guidance for undecided students; and oversees Academic Advising.

Academic Probation Student Support
Students admitted under academic probation status are provided support services through a structured program which guides and monitors progress in achieving regular academic status. Within this program special advising, supervised study halls, help sessions, and regular monitoring of achievement in courses is provided. This program is supervised by the School of Education for undergraduate students in collaboration with the other schools of the university.

Affiliation and extension activities are administered by the Dean of the School of Distance Education and the Director of Off-Campus Programs. See policies #1:430:3 and #1:440:8.

Ombudspersons are appointed by and report directly to the president. They are available to assist a student, staff, or faculty member to resolve any complex relationship problem, which remains unsolved after the student, staff, or faculty member has followed the normal channels for handling such matters, or has encountered an obstacle in doing so. For more details on ombudspersons, the reader is referred to policy #2:166 and 2:160.