Student Academic Support

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The university’s Academic Advising Center is located in Hertz Hall, Room 107. It provides entering freshmen, continuing students, and transfer students with general advising information, and help. This includes information on the general education program, graduation requirements, transferability of credits, interpreting Central Academic Progress System (CAPS) reports, pre-major advising, and counseling students who are in academic difficulty. The center also offers special program advisors, advising seminars, college survival skills classes, and advising publications.

The Academic Advising Center provides personalized advising for minority and nontraditional students. The multicultural advisor offers guidance and assistance for minority students experiencing challenges associated with higher education. The multicultural advisor provides general advising, assists with academic planning and college success skills, and can arrange for free tutoring. The nontraditional advisor assists nontraditional students in navigating the university system, general advising, course selection, time management, and study skills development. The nontraditional student designation can be because of age (25 or older), or self identified based on family or other circumstances.

The Academic Advising Center manages UNIV 101, a required course for entering freshmen, that assists students with learning about the university’s policies and procedures, selecting a major, advising for general education, and other forms of support. For more information visit the Academic Advising Web site at www.cwu.edu/~acadadv.

The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) provides financial and academic support services to freshman students from migrant and seasonal farmworking backgrounds. It is funded by a grant from the Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education.

CAMP is designed to help students succeed as they begin their college careers by recruiting and assisting them through the CWU admissions process, and by providing them support during their freshman year. Eligible students receive a variety of services including scholarships, stipends, tutoring, study skills training, mentoring, career planning services, and cultural enrichment opportunities.

To qualify for the CAMP program the student must meet the following requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or eligible non-citizen
• Have freshman standing (fewer than 44 quarter credits)
• Meet criteria to determine migrant or seasonal farmworker status:
• Parent (or student, if independent) has worked for at least 75 days in the last 24 months in farmwork such as production of crops, dairy products, poultry, livestock, tree harvesting, or fish farming. Farmwork must be primary form of employment and be performed on a temporary or seasonal basis
  • OR student has participated in the Chapter 1 Migrant Education Program
  • OR student or parent qualifies for the WIA167 program
• To apply for the CAMP Program, call 509-963-1729 (toll free 1-866-298-4968 x1729) or download an application off the Web site at www.cwu.edu/~camp.

Career Services is a comprehensive career counseling and resource center designed to engage students as active participants in their career development from freshman year through alumni status. The central purpose of Career Services is to help students prepare for academic and career success. The office strives to serve the needs of individuals through these career-related programs and services.

UNIV 103: For those who are not certain which major or career path is right for them, Career Services offers a two-credit course, Career Exploration, on the Ellensburg campus. It is offered each quarter. One-on-one counseling can achieve the same results over time if a student cannot take the class.

Job Search Preparation: On-campus interviews take place in Barge Hall, Room 204 between students and a variety of businesses, government agencies, non-profit organizations, school districts, and the military. Educational placement files are managed through Career Services as well. Career events are offered throughout the year to bring together graduating seniors and organizations that are seeking well-trained graduates.

Career Counseling: Career counselors help students to make major and career decisions through a variety of assessments of skills, values, and interests. To prepare the students for their internship and career opportunities, career counselors provide information on developing strong resumes and cover letters, effective interviewing skills, and successful internship and career job search strategies. Those experiencing career transition are welcome to meet with a career counselor.

All those seeking assistance at Career Services are strongly encouraged to open an account on the Wildcat Career Network’s job search engine at www.cwu.edu/~career. Registration opens up the database of job and internship opportunities, and allows students to sign up for on-campus interviews and career events. There is no fee for this service.

Counselors are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Barge Hall, rooms 202 and 204-M in Ellensburg, and at CWU-Lynnwood and CWU-Des Moines as well.

Cooperative Education: Co-op Ed offers assistance to students wanting to take advantage of real-life work experience while they are in school. Many departments require an internship as part of the major; others accept a limited number of hours toward graduation. An internship is an opportunity to combine career, social, and personal growth with the educational process. The student works with their department advisor and the Career Services Co-op office in Barge Hall, Room 204-M to prepare the process that leads to a successful academic/work ex

University students, clubs, organizations and residence halls are encouraged to explore service opportunities, from short-term volunteer experiences to intensive capstone service programs, available through the Civic Engagement Center. The primary mission of the center is to provide community-based learning opportunities that enhance CWU’s co-curricular or curricular initiatives for students, administrators and faculty. The staff coordinates service opportunities within the community for students to use discipline-specific knowledge to service educational, environmental, human and public safety needs.

Deciding where to go to college, figuring out how to pay for it and completing all the necessary forms is complicated. The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) is set up to help students gather the necessary information to make good decisions about their future educational plans and think clearly through the available options. EOC is available, principally, to help low-income adults, who are the first in their family to attend college, work through the admission process. For further information, call (509) 574-6895.

Ten national honor societies maintain chapters at the University.

Alpha Epsilon Rho is the national honor society for broadcasting. Founded in 1943, for the purpose of emphasizing superior scholarship and creative participation in telecommunication production and activity, it prepares its members for roles as responsible telecommunicators. Membership in Alpha Epsilon Rho is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are making the study of electronic media studies one of their major studies of interest and who meet high standards of scholarship.

The Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society, established in 1946, provides the opportunity to recognize the special achievements of adult students. Alpha Sigma Lambda acknowledges adult students who accomplish academic excellence while facing competing interests of family, work, and community. Members must have earned a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The CWU chapter of ASL is Psi Delta Omega and is advised by the Center for Student Empowerment. Invitations to join Psi Delta Omega are sent out at the beginning of each academic year, and induction ceremonies are held both at the Ellensburg campus and at one of the westside Centers.

The national honor society of Phi Kappa Phi has as its primary objective the recognition and encouragement of superior scholarship in all academic disciplines. Membership is open to undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty members by invitation, with election based on superior scholarship. New members are inducted each spring.

The honor society in education, Kappa Delta Pi, encourages high professional, intellectual and personal standards, and recognizes and honors outstanding achievement in the study of education. Membership is open to undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty by invitation. New members are inducted quarterly.

Tau Iota is Central’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society in history. Membership is composed of students and professors who have been elected upon the basis of excellence in the study and writing of history. The society’s objective is the promotion of the study of history by the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and thought among historians.

Delta Pi Epsilon is a post-baccalaureate honor society for business educators. Its objectives are to improve business education through research, recognize exceptional research achievements and publicize research in business education. Membership is open to business educators who meet scholastic criteria and exhibit a commitment to research in business education.

Pi Sigma Alpha (Mu Lambda chapter) is CWU’s honor society for students of political science. This is a national honorary, first organized in 1920, with more than 300 chapters throughout the country. Membership is based upon scholastic achievement and a genuine interest in the understanding of politics and political issues.

Phi Sigma Tau is the international honor society in philosophy. Its purpose is to recognize and encourage excellence in philosophic scholarship among students and faculty. Central’s local chapter (Washington Alpha) meets periodically to discuss philosophic issues in a spirit of friendship and conviviality. Membership is based on scholastic attainments.

Psi Chi is the national honor society in psychology, founded in 1929 for the purpose of encouraging, stimulating and maintaining scholarship in, and advancing the science of, psychology. Membership is open to graduates and undergraduates who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests and who meet the minimum qualifications. Psi Chi is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and a member of the Association of College Honor Societies.

Sigma Pi Sigma is the national physics honor society. It was founded in 1921, and now has over 400 chapters nationwide. It is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is affiliated with the American Institute of Physics and with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Membership is open to undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members. Students elected to membership must maintain high standards of general scholarship and outstanding achievement in physics. Besides providing an incentive for all physics students to rise to excellence, the society also encourages physics interest and science literacy in the general public.

Alpha Phi Sigma is the nationally recognized honor society for students in the criminal justice sciences. The society recognizes academic excellence by undergraduates as well as graduate students of criminal justice. The Honor Society is open to students who have a declared Law and Justice major or minor, who maintain a minimum of 3.0 overall GPA on a 4.0 scale, and over a 3.2 GPA, on a 4.0 scale, in Law and Justice courses. The student must also rank in the top 35 percent of their classes and have completed a minimum of four courses within the Law and Justice curriculum.

The mission of the Brooks Library is to provide resources and services to stimulate intellectual curiosity and to facilitate learning and research within the academic community.  The library’s personnel are engaged in the creation of collections of materials that support the curriculum and the provision of access to those materials. More specifically these activities include the collecting and preservation of materials, user instruction and guidance, information retrieval, analysis and organization, global access to library and information resources, and collaboration with instructional faculty in developing programs, collections, and research.

Students and other library users have 24/7 Web-based access to over 1.3 million books, films, government documents, maps, audio recordings, videos, and DVDs on site in the Brooks Library. Additionally, the library provides similar access to more than 25 million information items from the academic libraries of the Northwest that belong to the Orbis Cascade Alliance. Full-text electronic and/or paper subscriptions to over 15,000 periodicals and academic journals are available electronically or on site.

Library staff are available to provide personal service to students over ninety hours per week. Group study areas and an open computer lab are available to users who visit the main library in Ellensburg. Students at the centers have access through a toll-free phone number or e-mail access to reference librarians. Internet connectivity for personal laptops is available on each floor of the library and laptops are available for checkout by students. The library’s staff, services, and collections support the educational efforts of students, foster intellectual, social and ethical development, and show students how to locate, use, and evaluate information to equip them for independent, lifelong learning.

Student Support Services (SSS) is a federally funded TRIO program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. SSS provides opportunities for academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and serves to motivate students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education. Students who are first generation, low income, or who have a disability are eligible for the program on a space available basis. The program may also provide grant aid to current, active, SSS participants who are receiving Federal Pell Grants and are freshman or sophomore status. The goal of SSS is to increase the college retention and graduation rates of its participants and facilitate the process of transition from one level of higher education to the next. SSS is funded 80 percent by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education and 20 percent by CWU.

Washington Trio Expansion Program (WaTEP)

Washington TRIO Expansion program is funded by the State of Washington 2007 and is designed to serve 250 TRIO eligible students each year. Students must be first generation, low income, and/or students with disabilities, who are not otherwise served in a regular Student Support Services program. Students will have access to services such as those found in the SSS program with the ultimate goal to help retain and graduate them from the university.

Academic Achievement Programs: Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction

Individual tutorial assistance is provided for students participating in Student Support Services, Washington Achievers Scholars Program, College Assistance Migrant Program, and Multicultural Student Services.

Supplemental Instruction provides student-led, out-of-class study sessions designed to teach students critical thinking, problem-solving, and organizational skills that will enable them to master abstract and complex material. Supplemental Instruction is offered in several classes each quarter and is open to any student enrolled in those classes.

Testing and Assessment Services

Testing and Assessment Services provides support to CWU students, faculty, and staff as well as the central Washington community. Information, including a list of exams and dates, is available from their offices in Bouillon Hall, Room 125, or on its Web site

at www.cwu.edu/~testing, or by phoning 509-963-1847.

CWU Testing and Assessment Services administers over 25 exams, scans exams for faculty, and processes Student Evaluations of Instruction. Their services include consulting on the assessment of learning outcomes, survey design and analysis, and analysis of data.

CWU Testing Services is an Educational Testing Services (ETS) certified test center. They administer exams including:

1. Placement into CWU courses or programs (COMPASS, math placement, and the communications test)
2. College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests
3. English proficiency tests for non-native speakers, e.g., Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)
4. Tests for other topics including the General Education Development (GED), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), PRAXIS, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), etc.

The University Math Center provides academic support in quantitative skills for students in courses across the curriculum. There are two main avenues of support. The UMC staffs and operates three levels of developmental math courses to prepare students for college-level mathematics. Placement and registration are arranged through the UMC, Hertz Hall, Room 101. Individual tutoring is available for these courses.

The University Math Center’s second avenue of support is through the Drop-in Help Lab located in Hertz 104. Students are encouraged to use the lab for any course with a quantitative component. Trained peer tutors are on staff to guide students through the process of solving problems. No appointment is necessary—students may either stop by with a specific question or use the lab as a place to do homework alone or with classmates. Current lab hours, placement information, and answers to frequently asked questions about the UMC’s services are available at  www.cwu.edu/~mathcenter.

Trained peer consultants work with students of all levels and disciplines, guiding them toward written communication that will be effective in a global and diverse environment, during and after their studies at CWU.

Consultants meet one-on-one with students in the center and reach out throughout the university. Consultants lead interactive workshops with small and large groups of students, tailored to the needs of each course; for example, they may discuss thesis development, research, elements of argument, organization, punctuation, citation, or peer review.

The center’s services are free and available both in-person and on-line, at the main campus and the University Centers. In Ellensburg, one-on-one consultations are available six days a week, at Hertz Hall, Room 103, the library’s Fishbowl, and the SURC, Room 273. Students may drop by or make appointments.

Live, interactive online consultations are available by appointment, for students of all campuses. For more information, go to the Web site, www.cwu.edu/~writingcenter, or call 509-963-1296.