Student Support Services

Student Support Services at Shorter University functions to coordinate and provide supportive services to students so that they may be better equipped for success during their tenure at Shorter University. Support services include disability services, and career development services. The office is located on the Rome campus in the Fitton Student Union. Student Services at the College of Adult and Professional Programs provides student academic support with writing labs and the MathSMART program.

Career Services

This office provides material and on-line resources as well as one-on-one assistance for Shorter University students and alumni. The Career Development Coordinator works with students in choosing majors and minors, exploring career options, finding part and full-time jobs, applying for internships and graduate schools, and completing necessary documents for such endeavors, such as professional résumés and cover letters. This office works with state consortium groups to put on major job fairs during fall and spring terms, brings recruiters to campus, and holds workshops on job related topics. Jobs postings, as well as personal interest assessments and job search aides, are posted on the Career Center page of the Shorter University website.

Disability Services

Shorter University strives to provide access to programs and services to all qualified students with disabilities and is committed to adhering to the guidelines of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 033-122 Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The Student Support Services office is responsible for the coordination of services to students with disabilities.

The student is responsible to identify himself/herself voluntarily as having a disability to the Director of Student Support Services in order to receive services. Upon presentation of acceptable documentation, the Director will then address the needs of each student on an individual basis. Documentation of disability is kept confidential. Students are encouraged to become self-advocates.

Disability Accommodations Grievance Procedure

If a student with a disability feels that he or she has not received the accommodation(s) he or she is entitled to, the following information may be helpful:

• The ADA requires that accommodations be developed in a give-and-take dialogue process between the institution and the person with a disability. The student might need to meet with the Director of Student Support Services to discuss and explore appropriate, reasonable accommodations more completely. Students may need to meet with their professors, as well.

• Universities are not required to provide the requested or preferred accommodation. They are required to provide reasonable, appropriate, and effective accommodations for disabilities which have been adequately documented and for which the accommodation has been requested. The question, therefore, should be asked, “Is the accommodation that has been offered reasonable and effective?”

If reasonable accommodations are not implemented in an effective or timely manner:

The student should contact the Director of Student Support Services. The Director works with students with disabilities and University personnel to resolve disagreements regarding recommended accommodations. If no resolution is obtained, students who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of disability may choose to file a written grievance with the Disability Services Committee. Once the Director of Student Support Services receives such a written request, the Director will call a meeting of the Disability Services Committee for such a review and determination. The Director will inform the student in writing of the

Committee’s decision within 48 hours of the Committee’s meeting.

If the student believes her or she is entitled to accommodations not approved by the Director of Student Support Services:

The student may request in writing to the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students for the Disability Services Committee to review his or her documentation and the request for accommodation for reconsideration. Once the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students receives such a written request, a meeting of the Disability Services Committee will be called for such a review and determination. The Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students will inform the student in writing of the Committee’s decision within 48 hours of the Committee’s meeting.

A student may, at any time, choose to file a formal complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) instead of or in addition to requesting a review by the Director of Student Support Services and/or the Disability Services Committee. The contact information for OCR is below:

OCR Atlanta Office
U.S. Department of Education
61 Forsyth St., SW, Suite 19T70
Atlanta, GA 30303-6350
Voice: 404-562-6350 TDD: 404-331-7236
FAX: 404-562-6455
E-mail: OCR_Atlanta@ed.gov
Website: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/index.html

Writing Lab (online and on campus)

Writing Lab is a service provided to all students to assist with writing skills. The Writing Lab instructor can help students with grammar, sentence structure, and APA format. It is a service provided on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monthly schedules are posted for each campus.

The Shorter University College of Adult and Professional Programs launched its Online Writing Lab (OWL) in January 2011. The CAPP OWL is tied to and staffed by our writing lab faculty. These trained Masters and PhD level professionals review uploaded papers, correspond with students about their writing, and provide additional resources for students regarding writing. The OWL is a customized course which students can self-enroll in and use to increase knowledge about writing sentences, paragraphs, essays, organizing papers, and developing other writing and editing skills.

Students can enroll in the OWL for their campus or for the online program in MOODLE https://moodle.shorter.edu. The OWLs are designed to help support student writing within the CAPP.

Math SMART

MathSMART (Math Saturday Morning Arithmetic Review Time) is designed to prepare non-traditional returning adult students for MATH 1020, Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning, which is Shorter University’s basic college algebra course. Every student in the Associate of Science program is required to achieve a score of 70 percent on the exam prior to taking the course before MATH 1020. All Associate students must successfully pass the exam before being allowed to proceed in the program. Students are allowed to attend as many sessions as needed and at any campus location.

Student Support Calls

Shorter University CAPP has implemented a calling program to identify students with issues or concerns during their first few courses. Each new student will be called during and after the first three courses (not including the STDV course). Students will be asked how their classes are going and anyone with questions or concerns will be referred to appropriate contact persons for resolution.