Section III: Programs

(Educational Programs Standards for All Educational Programs)

3.4.9.  The institution provides appropriate academic support services.

JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Compliance.

NARRATIVE/JUSTIFICATION FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE

Northeast Alabama Community College demonstrates compliance. Through its mission to provide “Student services which assist individuals to formulate and achieve career, educational and personal goals through counseling and academic advisement services and provide opportunities to participate in social and cultural activities” (Mission and Goals Statement, Goal 8), the college provides a range of academic support services to meet the specific academic needs of its diverse student population. The goal is to improve the potential for academic success by helping students understand and apply learning strategies and to provide the services, materials, and equipment to do so.

Academic advising is an important academic support service at Northeast.  Upon enrollment, each student is assigned a faculty member as academic advisor. The match between advisor and student is made according to the student’s major program of study and the faculty advisor’s teaching field or other area of special knowledge. Students keep the same advisor for the duration of their enrollment at Northeast unless they change majors. This is designed to establish a mentoring relationship between advisor and student. Students who have not decided their majors are assigned to a counselor in the Office of Admissions and Students Services who serves as their academic advisor in order to assist them in exploring major programs of study and in making a sound decision concerning a major. Once a student declares a major, he or she is assigned an advisor in the corresponding field (See Table 2, Comprehensive Standard 3.4.13.).

Academic counseling. Students who experience academic difficulties may obtain assistance in the Office of Admissions and Student Services. A counselor is available to help students develop strategies in note taking, memory facilitation, time management, test preparation, and test-taking.  Northeast is an open-door institution in all aspects. Students are encouraged to discuss academic difficulties with their instructors as well as with their academic advisors. Instructors post office hours for their students and are most willing to work one-on-one with them when needed.

Study skills development. PSY 107, Study Skills, is a one-credit-hour course open to all students.  Those who are having academic difficulties are encouraged to enroll in this course which introduces students to effective techniques for listening in class, note taking, preparation for test taking, and an overall system of successful study.

Career counseling. It is well documented that students who formulate clear academic goals tend to persist and achieve those goals. PSY 106, Career Exploration, is a one-credit-hour course open to all students. Students who indicate they are undecided about a college major are strongly encouraged to enroll in this course, which includes an assessment through testing of strengths and weaknesses, general information about careers and job skills, values, and decision-making techniques, and career research. Students may also seek assistance from a counselor in the Office of Admissions and Student Services, located in the Student Center, or from their academic advisors for guidance in career planning.

Developmental programs. The Developmental Programs of the institution are designed to remediate deficiencies in writing skills, reading, and mathematics. The need for remediation is determined by scores on the COMPASS placement testing, a computerized test developed by the American College Testing Program (ACT) for placement in college level courses. Developmental course descriptions are listed in the college Catalog under the appropriate subject area. The table below indicates the high percentages of students who placed in developmental courses in each subject area for the 2003-2004-fall semester. Note: Not all first-time students are required to take the placement exam. State Board Policy 902.01 exempts the following: any student scoring 480 or above on the SAT I verbal and 480 or above on the SAT I math, and 20 or above on the ACT English and math who enroll in a System college within three years of high school graduation; students who have an associate degree or higher; and students who transfer degree-creditable college level English or mathematics courses with a grade of “C” or better; senior citizens, undeclared, and other non-award seeking majors who are taking classes for vocational reasons only; students in certain short certificate programs having no English or mathematics requirements; students who have completed required developmental coursework at another Alabama College System institution within the last three years; audit students; students who can provide documentation of assessment (COMPASS or ASSET) within the last three years; and transient students. Dually enrolled high school students in English or math may be exempted from the assessment requirements.

All students requiring developmental courses are issued an IEP, an Individualized Educational Plan, for the planning and documentation of developmental coursework. The academic advisor is responsible for overseeing this plan. The development of the QEP will greatly enhance the coordination of developmental studies through the Office of Admissions and Student Services.

Personal tutoring in English and math is available as a free service to students. The respective academic departments administer these services. Students who have shown academic excellence in the discipline are selected by the academic division chairs to act as tutors. English tutors are generally available 15-20 hours per week, math tutors 30-35 hours. The QEP will include training and coordination of tutoring services, which are available to all students, not only students in developmental courses.

Electronic tutorials. Numerous tutorials accompanying course textbooks are available either online or on a CD-Rom. Faculty explore the availability of sound electronic ancillary materials when selecting textbooks.

Several subject-specific computer labs as well as one general-use lab provide academic support to Northeast students:

The Writing Lab is equipped with five computer stations and is designed to give assistance to students who need help with writing and research assignments. The computers provide software to help with the writing process and grammar tutorials. They all have Internet access and word processing capability. Five additional stations have been budgeted for the 2003-2004 year.

The Nursing Lab is equipped with six computers with software tutorials designed to give nursing students assistance in their coursework.

The Foreign Language Lab is designed to give both tutorial and enrichment support to students enrolled in foreign language classes. Four computer stations are available with software tutorials and online activities keyed to the textbooks. These stations also offer Internet access and word processing.

The Learning Logic Math Lab, while providing primary instruction for developmental and technical math and intermediate algebra courses, is open over 65 hours per week both for organized classes and individual tutorials, which may be conducted concurrently. Students in non-developmental courses may use the lab for review. The lab is staffed full-time and has 36 computer stations. A second lab is planned for implementation by Fall 2004-2005.

The Statistics Lab provides four computer stations equipped with Minitab software to support both the statistics and the Math for Elementary Teachers curricula. This lab is used for class instruction, and students also have access outside of class. Any mathematics student may use this lab for research or word processing as well. In addition, students enrolled in online math courses use this lab to take on-campus exams.

A Computer Science Lab in the Pendley Administration Building is available to students both for class instruction and individual use. All computers have Internet access and several computer applications, including Word, Works, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. 

Academic support for students enrolled in online courses. The institution’s Distance Learning Policy specifies that the instructor have “structured, scheduled access and interaction with distance learning students.” Each instructor schedules an orientation session at the beginning of the semester to explain course procedures, methods of communication with the instructor, and access to academic support services. The instructor informs the students of his or her office hours for on-campus assistance; otherwise, assistance is provided via e-mail or telephone. The date, time, and location of the orientation session is published in the semester schedule, available both in print and online. Online students have access to the same learning resources as students enrolled in courses on campus. Of benefit to all NACC students are the online resources of the Learning Resources Center (LRC), which include the card catalog; the electronic book collection of over 27,000 titles; the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL), which provides several thousand full-text journal articles; the Reader’s Guide; Humanities Index; and Opposing Viewpoints. Further explanation of learning resources materials is included in Core Requirement 2.9 and Comprehensive Standards 3.8.1 and 3.8.2.

Academic support for dual enrollment students taking courses on the high school campus. Dual enrollment students have equitable access to academic support services. The availability of online services, as noted in the previous paragraph, is extremely beneficial to these students. The students have full access to the LRC and to all other services. Upon request these services may be provided on the high school campus. LRC personnel work closely with faculty to provide orientation to library use as well as materials which may be needed on the high school campus.

Faculty technology support. Every full-time faculty member has a computer in his or her office with Internet access and access to the college’s mainframe, IBM AS-400, a particular advantage in accessing student records for academic advising and counseling.  

The Learning Resources Center (LRC) plays a key role in academic support. The LRC houses books, periodicals, educational videos, audiovisual equipment, computer hardware and software, and other resources adequate to support the academic programs of the institution.  A competent staff is trained to assist students in their research endeavors as well as with technology support. The LRC may indeed be the heart of the institution. The tradition of libraries as bastions of silence has faded with the advent of Internet usage. At NACC the main floor of the LRC is a hubbub of activity as students conduct computer research through the Internet and online databases, check e-mail, and complete assignments via word processing. To aid students, the LRC staff provide a student station stocked with typical supplies, e.g. stapler, paper clips, pencils, tape, etc. Students may also peruse newspapers and other periodicals or use the audiovisual room to view movies or prepare PowerPoint presentations. The second floor offers quiet space for both individual and collaborative work. Core Requirement 2.9, along with the Library and Other Learning Resources section, in particular Comprehensive Standards 3.8.1 and 3.8.2, details and documents these support services and presents additional information concerning the various computer labs.

Further details about the institution’s use and availability of technology are included in Comprehensive Standard 3.4.14.

Disabilities services. Students who have a documented disability may receive assistance in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specific accommodations will depend upon the requirements of a particular course. Appropriate accommodations may include, but are not limited to, the following:

·                  Extended time on exams

·                  Permission to tape lectures

·                  Change in test format

·                  Priority registration

·                  Enlarged print/graphics

·                  Textbooks on tape

·                  Handouts of overhead materials

·                  Cordless FM system

·                  Removal of structural barriers

·                  Class note taker

·                  Use of spell checker

·                  Extra time for assignments

·                  Alternative evaluation methods

·                  Special parking

·                  Text telephone

·                  Services of a sign language interpreter

·                  Services of a classroom attendant

Students who have academic concerns related to a disability are encouraged to contact the institution’s ADA Coordinator. A campus organization, Able Student Alliance, brings together students coping with disabilities and non-disabled student volunteers for mutual assistance, comradeship, and community service projects. The non-disabled students may assist as study partners, tutors, readers, note takers or sharers, and typists as well as assisting in campus mobility and even providing transportation to and from campus.

The Student Handbook section of the Catalog, available both in print and online, includes student information pertaining to academic support services, as does the college Web site. Northeast provides academic support services to improve the potential for success of NACC students. The faculty and administration work diligently to provide appropriate services, materials, and equipment.

SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION

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