Student Academic Support

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The University’s Academic Advising Center is located in Hertz 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 ethnic minority and nontraditional students. The multicultural advisor can assist with time management and study skills development, arrange for free tutoring and peer advising, and recommend academic, employment and professional opportunities. 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 http://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 204 between students and a variety of businesses, government agencies, non-profit organi-zations, 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, the 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 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 204-M to prepare the process that leads to a successful academic/work experience.

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 primary mission of the James E. Brooks Library is to support the mission and goals of the University, particularly in its commitment to teaching as the means to facilitate learning. To this end, the University libraries utilize the best available technologies to provide access and delivery of print, digital, and micro-format information and media services to the Ellensburg campus and University centers. Circulation services, the library catalog (CATTRAX), and borrowing from other regional college and university libraries through the Orbis Cascade Alliance (SUMMIT), are available online at http://www.lib.cwu.edu/. Also available electronically are access and delivery of information, via interlibrary loan for materials not found in the library collection, as well as services for those at the University centers.

Library personnel are available to give assistance with reference, research, and the location of materials. Individual orientation tours are conducted at the beginning of each quarter and bibliographic instruction sessions are given upon request throughout the year.

Students have around-the-clock 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 on site as well as off-campus to anyone with a Connection Card.

Library faculty and staff are available to provide personal service upon request in the Reference, Serials, Documents, Music, Circulation and Media Circulation departments. Many group study areas and a computer lab are available to users who visit the main library in Ellensburg. Internet connectivity for personal laptops is available on each floor of the library and laptops are available for checkout by students. The Library’s services and collections support quality education to students, foster their 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 Department of Education, as defined by the 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 Department of Education and 20 percent by CWU.

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 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 125, their Web site at http://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 is arranged through the UMC office in Hertz 101. Individual tutoring is available for these courses as needed.

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 http://www.cwu.edu/~mathcenter.

The University Writing Center provides tutoring assistance to CWU students who need help with composition. Faculty consultants and teaching assistants are trained to address both immediate concerns and deep-seated deficiencies in writing. We are knowledgeable readers prepared to guide students through a document, helping to address its problems with conventions, organization, reasoning, content, and–whenever possible–discipline-specific rhetoric. Our staff members also help students prepare for relevant sections of the Compass and West B tests.

In addition, the Writing Center works closely with Undergraduate Affairs, the Department of English, and the General Education Committee to oversee teaching and assessment of student writing throughout the curriculum. Our staff members offer workshops to faculty and students respectively, and we are available for classroom visits as well as individual consultations on assignment design, evaluation, and other pedagogical concerns.

Located in Hertz 101/103, we may be reached at http://www.cwu.edu/~writingcenter, or at 963-1296.