Student Support Services

Student Support Services is comprised of four service units, Career Services, Counseling Services, Disability Services, and Learning Services, whose purpose is to engage student in successful strategies for thoughtful and informed living and learning. For more information see www.csp.edu/studentsupportservices/.

Career Services
Career Services at Concordia University is committed to preparing individuals to make thoughtful and informed choices about their vocation, to integrating career planning with academic and life experience, and to teaching skills that contribute to successful career management. A career counselor is on staff to assist students in connecting their academic studies to the world of work, to explore interests and values, and to learn strategies for marketing themselves to prospective employers. Books and web resources targeted to assist students in investigating different careers, internships, and job opportunities are available. Part- and full-time job positing and internship listings are available for viewing both in the office and online. Coordination of student participation in the annual job and internship fairs is also provided.

Career courses are also available and include:

• Career Exploration and Assessment (SSS150): Students relate self-understanding, life-style choices, personality inventory results, and career information to decisions about their own careers. Students will apply new insights about themselves to their investigation of career options and future life plans.
• Practical Strategies for Career Success (SSS250): A continuation of SSS150 Career Exploration and Assessment, this practical course helps students integrate individual talents, values, interests, and experiences and apply them to essential career search strategies. Students will explore career fields and job markets, and develop employment skills, such as interviewing, resume writing, and job retention, to prepare for today's world of work.

For those students unsure of a career direction, career assessment and counseling are available to help in career planning and decision-making. Contact: Pamela Braun, Career Specialist, (651)603-6241 or pbraun@csp.edu, or visit www.csp.edu/career/.

Counseling Services
Students sometimes experience stress, problems in their relationships with others, confusion about their life plans or career goals, or other kinds of emotional distress. These problems frequently interfere with academic success. Concordia Counseling Services can provide support for students experiencing such problems, and assist them in their process of self-understanding and problem resolution. When additional resources are necessary, Counseling Services can also provide information about other helping services in the Twin Cities area. Contact counselors at (651)641-8252 for an individual appointment. See also www.csp.edu/counseling/

Disability Services
Concordia University is committed to providing an accessible education to students who have disabilities. Enrolled students who have a disability that significantly limits one or more major life activities (e.g. learning, reading or walking) are eligible for services. Documentation of the disability is required and becomes part of the student's confidential file. Appropriate and reasonable accommodations are made on an individual basis in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Students who would like further information or believe they will be in need of accommodations should contact the Disabilities Specialist at (651)641-8272 (V) (651)603-6222 (TTY). See also www.csp.edu/disabilityservices/.

Learning Services
Learning Services is designed to assist students in learning skills and strategies that help them become independent and active learners and to achieve academic and personal success. Learning assistance is provided through individual academic counseling or through one of the several courses offered. Handouts and brochures on study skills such as time management, test anxiety, and note taking are also available. To schedule a time to meet one-on-one for individual assessment and instruction, contact Jan Baumgart at (651) 641-8769 or Baumgart@csp.edu, or visit www.csp.edu/learningservices/.

Learning Services courses include:

• College Foundations (SSS100): Covers skill-building for achieving educational goals in college. Includes study skills such as textbook reading, note taking, test preparation, test taking, and research skills. Life skills such as communication skills, time management, stress management, and memory and concentration strategies are also important components.
• College Reading (SSS110): Focuses on the types of reading that students will encounter in various academic disciplines. The course begins with general reading instruction and progresses toward the application of reading skills for different disciplines within the core curriculum. Instructions and practice on vocabulary development and speed-reading are also key elements of this class.
• College Turning Points (SSS120): Designed to teach students on academic alert successful strategies, learning techniques, and practical knowledge for success in college. Personal ideas and decision-making is reflected upon and written about in journals as well as discussed with peers in a similar academic situation.

Tutoring is a free service available for most courses and is intended to help students achieve academic success and independence, and improve their study skills. Students with strengths in any subject area can apply to become a paid tutor. Contact (651)641-8272 for more information.

Service Learning

Concordia University is committed to offering students opportunities to connect their academic endeavors with their surrounding community through service learning opportunities. Service Learning at Concordia is defined as, an approach to teaching and learning that intentionally combines meaningful community or public service with an academic application, development of civic responsibility and personal growth. Service learning opportunities are ones that are mutually beneficial. These opportunities are supported by faculty and accessible through various course offerings. Service learning opportunities can be found in a binder located in the Service Learning Office. Contact the service learning coordinator at (651)603-6297 for more information.

Convocations

Concordia is a locus for public intellectual inquiry as well as private scholarship. Therefore, the university holds convocations, or public presentations of scholarship, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month Concordia University St. Paul is in session, 10:15 Ð 11:15 a.m. Unless announced differently, the convocation are held in the BEC, Buenger Education Center. Students, faculty, staff, and, at times, the public are invited to attend. Speakers are drawn from CSP's faculty and from the greater world of scholarship as sponsored by individual departments. All scholars represent their disciplines within the wider context of intellectual inquiry and higher education to interest students, faculty and staff in other disciplines as well.

2005-2006 dates

• September 7 and 21, 2005
• October 5 and 19
• November 2 and 16
• December 7
• February 1 and 15, 2006
• March 15 and 29
• April 5 and 19
• April 26 Ð Academic Honors Convocation in the Buetow Music Auditorium

Writing Center

Students are encouraged to use the Writing Center, located in Administration 200, at any stage during the writing process. Writing Center tutors, who include students, staff, and faculty, are trained to assist writers with focus, content, clarity, grammar, and mechanics in their works-in-progress. Students not only receive help on their writing projects, but also learn how to improve their writing skills. Some of these skills may include prewriting, planning, drafting, using sources, revising, and editing. Students may sign up for a half-or full-hour appointment by stopping by the Center or calling (651) 603-6233.

Educational Technology Initiative

The world is rapidly embracing information technologies. As we move from an industrial economy to an information-based economy, it is imperative that we educate Concordia students to be thoughtful and informed in the uses of technology and its influences. The Educational Technology Initiative (ETI) at Concordia University provides a variety of information technologies to the university community. Many basic connectivity services are provided by the ETI. Students participating in the ETI now have connectivity in and out of the classroom with the use of University laptops. Students in good standing check out the laptop from the technology helpdesk for use during the entire semester. Students are responsible for the safety and security of this resource tool.

The ETI allows University departments and campus organizations to provide a variety of services to the university community and the general public, including announcements, campus calendars, etc. Examples of this type of service are the Student Bulletin, the CSP Update, campus telephone and electronic mail directories, WWW course materials, academic chat rooms, course schedules and forms. In general, documents which previously have been published in print form may be posted electronically, eliminating the need for additional paper distribution.

The ETI improves communication between the students, faculty and staff. Additionally, students have increased access to academic resources such as electronic and Web-based databases via the virtual library Web page. With the mobility of the laptop, the student learning experience increases beyond the classroom to provide 24-hour access to educational resources.

Extra-Institutional Credit and Life Experiences

Credit for academic competencies achieved outside of the classroom may be obtained by special examination, portfolio assessment or other faculty approved evaluation in a number of areas. The learning must be articulated, documented and measured in terms of the student's program of study, graduation requirements and the relationships to the university's mission, curricula and standards for student achievement.

To obtain this credit students must document the learning and file petitions to be approved by their advisor and the respective department. Grades are recorded as ÒPassÓ with no calculation in the cumulative grade point average. The extra institutional credit fee is assessed.