Nov 08, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalogue 
    
2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalogue Archived Catalogue

Student Support Offices and Services


 

Career Center

The central purpose of Career Center is to help students prepare for academic and career success. The center assists freshmen and sophomores with self-assessment, values clarification and occupational data to help them make informed choices of academic majors. The Career Center also provides opportunities for internships and discovering the relationship of skills acquired to the broader work world. The Career Center helps graduating seniors translate their academic achievements, co-curricular activities and work experiences into successful job campaigns or graduate school applications. For more information, visit Career Center on the Internet at: www.uncw.edu/career.

Disability Resource Center

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) is the designated office providing services and information to students with disabilities enrolled or considering enrollment at UNCW. DRC serves as a full-time advocate for students with disabilities, and as a resource for UNCW faculty, staff and administration. Through intentional partnerships, DRC strives to create an atmosphere that encourages students’ independence, responsibility for self, effective communication skills and a respect for the diverse learning experience.

Students with disabilities are a rapidly growing minority at UNCW, as elsewhere in American higher education. The obligation to accommodate students with disabilities is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act; DRC is central to the University’s goal of extending beyond the legal requirement, undertaking a moral responsibility to fulfill the promise of access. As such, DRC offers assistance to qualified students with disabilities, providing them the opportunity to accomplish their educational goals and derive all of the benefits of campus life.

SEA.lab (Strategy Enhancement for Achievement)

Established to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities who self-identify to DRC, SEA.lab offers the assistance of experienced and knowledgeable staff, including learning specialists, to aid students in their development of skills necessary for academic success.

Through SEA.lab, students have an opportunity to explore various strategies and techniques to assist them in their goals toward overall academic achievement. SEA.lab offers workshops and 1:1 instruction on topics such as:

  • Time Management & Organizational
  • Reading Strategies & Notetaking
  • Test-taking & Final Exam Preparation
  • Understanding One’s Disability
  • Self-Advocacy and Metacognitive Development

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is open and accessible to students with disabilities. However, students with disabilities needing accomodations should contact Disability Resource Center and provide appropriate docymentation of the disabiity. For more information, including documentation guidelines and requirements, you may call (910) 962-7555 or visit the DRC website: www.uncw.edu/disability.

Minority Student Services

Please see the Institutional Diversity Office in the section on Student Life .

University Learning Center

The University Learning Center’s (ULC) mission is to help all UNCW students become successful, independent learners. We do this by Hiring peer educators, which provides the unique opportunity for students to learn with their more experienced and successful peers in a collaborative learning environment. All of our peer educators are faculty-recommended, meet minimum GPA requirements, and engage in an internationally certified training program. Each of our academic support services is free to all UNCW students:

  • Academic Achievement
  • Math Services
  • Supplemental Instruction
  • Tutoring Services
  • Writing Services

Call (910)962-7857 or e-mail ulc@uncw.edu with questions. Visit our web site today to schedule an appointment. Also see our web site for more detailed information: www.uncw.edu/ulc. Learn more about each of these programs below:

Academic Achievement

Academic Achievement Services at the ULC provides assistance for all UNCW students as they develop their academic skill sets and work toward achieving their academic goals. Through group workshops and one-on-one peer mentoring, students will find training and support for skills such as time management, note-taking, and test preparation.

Students who work with a peer mentor will:

  • Meet for one hour each week.
  • Identify their academic strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Learn to set realistic academic goals.
  • Create a plan for developing productive study habits and achieving their academic goals

Math Services

Math Services at the ULC provides assistance for all UNCW students as they develop and improve their math skills. The Math Lab offers drop-in tutoring in an open learning lab and we provide one-on-one math appointments for select math, physics and computer science courses. Not only are our math tutors trained in helping students master concepts, but they also understand the anxiety that can accompany learning math. They are sensitive to students’ differing levels of math comprehension and are eager to help students develop their math skills.

Students who work with a math tutor will:

  • Improve their understanding of math principles and concepts.
  • Work with math tutors individually or in small groups.
  • Simply ask a math tutor a question or engage in a more detailed consultation.
  • Work on computers equipped with software commonly used in math courses.

Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental Instruction (SI) at the ULC provides a series of peer-led and course-specific group study sessions several times a week to help students in traditionally difficult courses. SI leaders are trained to work with students on both course content and study skills application – what to learn and how to learn it. All leaders have successfully completed the course they support and “retake” it with the students they tutor, as well as regularly meeting with the professor. Students enrolled in supported courses will be introduced to the SI leader at the beginning of the semester and receive a schedule of sessions within the first two weeks of the class (soon after drop/add). The complete schedule is also listed on our Web site. No advanced registration is necessary.

Students who attend one, some or all sessions:

  • Discover appropriate applications of study strategies, e.g., note taking, graphic organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition, problem solving and test preparation, as they review content material.
  • Have the opportunity to become actively involved in the course material for refining learning skills.
  • Earn higher course grades and withdraw less often than non-SI participants.
  • Interact with other students in a social/learning environment.

Tutoring Services

Learning Services at the ULC provides academic support in the form of content tutoring for most of the University Studies courses. This mission translates into a tutoring practice that integrates what to study with how to study, thereby fostering independent learning and the development of academic skills that will transfer to other courses.

Students who work with a Learning Services tutor will:

  • Meet for up to two hours each week.
  • Increase comprehension in course content.
  • Hone study and test-taking skills.
  • Discuss academic goals and develop strategies to achieve them.

Writing Services

Writing Services at the ULC provides assistance for all UNCW students as they develop and improve their writing skills. The writing center offers one-on-one or small group writing consultations for developing drafts, and students can drop in at the writing lab for quick help with their writing questions. Writing consultations are non-judgmental and non-evaluative; instead, writing consultants help students identify areas to improve. Students will strengthen writing skills as the consultant guides them through the revision process. Short papers or sections of papers (ten pages or less) can be submitted online for response (see our Web site for details).

Students who work with a writing consultant will:

  • Be helped with course papers, cover letters, and application essays.
  • Work on any stage of the writing process: brainstorming, revising a rough draft, or refining a polished draft.
  • Learn about editing, citation, and documentation (MLA, APA, etc.).
  • Talk through their ideas and develop a revision plan.

University Testing Services

University Testing Services (UTS) provides secure computer-based and paper-based testing and test proctoring services for UNCW and the surrounding communities. The staff strives to provide a quality testing experience that is fair, efficient, and accessible in a professionally monitored facility. Admissions and certification testing programs as well as proctoring services for online courses are available through UTS.  Other proctoring services may be provided on a space-available basis. Please contact us at: testingservices@uncw.edu to inquire about availability or for additional information about testing and proctoring services and online scheduling.

Testing programs coordinated by or administered in UTS include: CLEP, COMPASS, DSST, GRE, LSAT, MAT, Math Placement, the PRAXIS I and II series, TEAS and ibt-TOEFL. Each national program has testing dates, eligibility, registration and payment requirements that are determined by the testing companies. This information can be found in registration materials or on their respective Web sites.  Links to local appointment, payment and scheduling information can be found on our website http://www.uncw.edu/testingservices .

Accommodated testing for candidates with disabilities or for Title IX compliance is available; however, candidates must follow the requirements for submission of requested documentation for review and approval either to the national companies (for major testing programs/ETS) or to the Disability Resource Center or the Title IX/Cleary Office (for smaller or campus-based programs), if not already registered with the DRC or if not referred by the Title IX/Cleary Office. University Testing does not determine a candidate’s eligibility for accommodations or accommodations available for the candidate. To avoid delays, please discuss your needs with Testing Services staff prior to appearing for your testing appointment.  Also, be reminded that not all testing programs are administered in the DePaolo Hall Testing Center; check the confirmation or admissions information received when registering for your test for the specific reporting location.

Generally, services provided in the Testing Center are by appointment and require payment in advance. Appointments for national testing (ETS programs) are determined by contacting the relevant company either by phone or online. For the remaining programs or proctoring services, available appointments may be viewed through an online registration and payment system, RegisterBlast, accessible on the UTS homepage. Valid (unexpired) government-issued photo identification with a signature (Driver’s License, passport, Military ID, etc.) is always required for testing. For additional information or to make an appointment, please call (910) 962-7444, come by our offices in DePaolo Hall, Room 1021, or visit our Web site at http://www.uncw.edu/testingservices.