OTHER STUDENT RESOURCES AT SMU
In addition to support provided by the A-LEC, we would like to make you aware of some other campus resources. To begin with the most obvious--but also the most important--your professors and their teaching assistants should be seen as the first people to go to with questions, both about course material and about how best to study for their courses. SMU takes pride in having a faculty that is more accessible, and more interested in working with students, than many schools in which faculty must, at times, handle much larger classes. We know your professors have already let you know about their office hours and their availability, but you still may not imagine that you yourself could or would actually initiate a conversation with one of them. Our strong advice is: do it, if only to prove to yourself that you can. We can almost guarantee that you will be glad you did.
The Mathematics Help Room provides drop-in tutoring for SMU students in first-year mathematics courses 4:30 - 7:30 PM Mondays through Thursdays in 255 Clements Hall.
Another kind of academic support is provided by your academic adviser, whether based in the Dedman College Advising Center (before your major is declared) or in your academic department or school of record. Discussing your academic plans (and hopes and fears) with an interested and knowledgeable adviser can produce quite important results, not only because of what you learn directly from her or him, but also--surprisingly--because your own sense of what you're doing becomes clearer as you discuss it with another person who knows the academic world and its issues.
SMU's Counseling and Testing Center provides the opportunity to work with professionally trained counselors on more personal issues, and also offers the psychological testing services that are sometimes needed by students with learning disabilities. The Center is located in the Health Center (south of Umphrey Lee, west of the Cox School of Business); its number is 768-2211. Also located in the Health Center are Mental Health Services (768-2860) and the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (768-4021).
For all students with disabilities--including physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and others--the most important connection to make is with Rebecca Marin, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (220 Memorial Health Center, 768-4557). She will help to connect you with other resources you may need and can help you negotiate with professors any special accommodations that are appropriate. We recommend checking in with the Coordinator's office right away, to get acquainted and to get your documentation on file. (This step is required before accommodations can be arranged!) Some students with disabilities are not aware that, although they may have included information about their disability issues in their application materials, SMU Admissions is required by law to keep this information confidential and not to pass it on to other parts of the University. For this reason it is especially important that the student, once on campus, initiate contact with the Coordinator. Some students are reluctant to acknowledge disability issues, or even to consider being tested to learn if they have such issues, because they feel that they should be fully independent and not ask for any accommodations. We applaud this determination to be independent, but we strongly advise students to take the process far enough to actually do the testing, if they haven't already, and to make contact with the Coordinator's office. Then, if a need for accommodation does arise, the process of arranging it will be simpler and much quicker. The Coordinator's office will take great care to maintain confidentiality in regard to students' personal information.
SMU's Office of Intercultural Education and Minority Student Affairs (318 Hughes-Trigg Student Center, 768-4580) is especially concerned with all issues relating to multicultural diversity on campus. Full-time staff members are available to address specific concerns affecting African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, and Native American SMU students.
SMU's International Student Adviser (3108 Fondren Dr., 768-4475), is a key contact for students who come to SMU from outside the United States.
SMU's Career Center offers a wide range of resources and services for SMU students who are looking past graduation to the day when they will be seeking a job or planning a career. Although you may not be at that point yet, it can be extremely useful to start making yourself aware of options and possibilities. Check out their web site for more detail on their activities!
SMU's Office of New Student Programs coordinates many activities and services designed to help each new student's transition to college. These activities include AARO, Mustang Corral, Orientation Leadership Institute, Week of Welcome, and Encore.
We end with a strong recommendation to make yourself aware of the activities of the Office of Community Involvement (307 Hughes-Trigg, 768-8403) Volunteer activities can enrich your experience at SMU in more ways than you might ever imagine.
A-LEC HOME PAGESMU HOME PAGE