THE BETTY HOWARD CENTER FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

Staff

Christopher Banks | Dean
301-891-4028 | cbanks@wau.edu

Fitzroy Thomas | Associate Dean
301-891-4115 | fthomas@wau.edu

Beulah Manuel | International Student
Program Director/DSO
301-891-4184 | bmanuel@wau.edu

Nedelka Sellers
First-Year Experience and Progressions Coordinator
301-891-0192 | nsellers@wau.edu

Vacancy
Administrative Assistant
301-891-4106 | bhcss@wau.edu

Information

The Betty Howard
Center for Student Success

Wilkinson Hall, Suite 133
Washington Adventist University
7600 Flower Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912-7796

Phone | 301-891-4106
Fax | 301-891-4548

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Betty Howard Center for Student Success aligns with the goals of the University’s 2030 Vision - of Distinctive Excellence in Student Success.  The Center uses a holistic approach in providing academic assistance for all undergraduate students, including mentoring and advising.

The Center guides students in making informed academic choices and empowers them to reach their full potential from their initial transition to Washington Adventist University through graduation.

THE BETTY HOWARD CENTER FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

Through the Betty Howard Center for Student Success, Washington Adventist University provides a variety of support and academic enrichment programs to assist students in adjusting to college and in achieving personal and professional goals.

The Betty Howard Center for Student Success is home to these programs and services:

The Betty Howard Center for Student Success coordinates and hosts the annual career fair, and is also the home of Alpha Chi and Phi Eta Sigma national honor societies.  See NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETIES  for descriptions.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT

The Betty Howard Center for Student Success provides services for students who need to improve verbal, written and reading skills. Students are enrolled in the appropriate developmental courses and assisted in planning realistic schedules suited to their needs.  Placement in these courses is determined on the basis of ACT/SAT scores, secondary school performance and English and math placement tests given before registration.  In addition, academic early alert services, advising, tutoring and workshops on academic success strategies are provided for all students as needed.

WAU RISING SCHOLARS PROGRAM

The WAU Rising Scholars Program is required for all WAU regularly accepted students whose cumulative high school GPA was between 2.0 and 2.49.  It is designed to provide students with tools to help them succeed in college, as well as help them earn academic credit towards graduation.

Through WAU Rising Scholars, students sharpen their study and writing skills and work with an academic success coach who will assist them in making a smooth transition from high school to college.  Through a prescribed curriculum, this program allows students to focus on academics while building confidence to succeed in college.

Participants will grow by practicing learning and study strategies, while building connections with their academic advisers, faculty and staff.

CAREER SERVICES

Career advising is provided by the staff in the BHCSS, as well as by individual faculty members.  Fitzroy Thomas coordinates career services campus-wide.

INFORMATION | Fitzroy Thomas

301-891-4106 | fthomas@wau.edu

EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION | Internships

Fitzroy Thomas | Director

Introduction

Experiential Education is a nationally recognized standard for registering work experience related to a student’s major.

Direct on-the-job experience in supervised and evaluated work placement improves the quality of education, while, in many cases, producing income for the students.  Such an experience provides “liberal” education in the traditional sense of increasing student options for appropriate employment during their academic experience and after graduation.

Experiential Education faculty advisers:

Requirements

For those departments/majors participating in the Experiential Education program, baccalaureate degrees require the completion of a full-time internship.  This can be completed on a part-time basis (COOP 351 ) for 15-20 hours per week, or on a full-time basis (COOP 360 ) for 30-40 hours per week.

All Experiential Education internships must last a minimum of 12 weeks from the starting date.

Students may combine full-time and part-time internships to fulfill Experiential Education graduation requirements, for a minimum of 360 clock hours.  Departments may require more hours depending on best practices and accreditation requirements.

All students may participate in the Experiential Education Program.  However, students majoring in the following programs are required to complete Experiential Education to graduate:

Student Eligibility for Experiential Education

The prerequisites are the same for those who participate voluntarily and those whose majors require it. Students must have:

1. Completed 30 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 2.0.
2. Completed 12 credit hours in their major field with a grade of “C” or better.
3. Good academic standing and the recommendation of their major adviser.
4. Completed COOP 210 - Introduction to Career Planning  (1 credit) or an equivalent course with a grade of C” or above.

Once registered for a cooperative work experience course, a student must maintain continuing eligibility by showing satisfactory progress toward a degree.

Satisfactory progress is defined as completing at least 32 semester credits within the previous two-year period.  Credits earned elsewhere may be counted toward eligibility provided they are ruled transferable to WAU by the Registrar’s Office.  Work experience is to be completed on a part-time basis (COOP 351 ) or a full-time basis (COOP 360 ) for a minimum of 12 weeks per semester.

Registration for COOP 351  or COOP 360  must be done during the last day to add/drop courses for the respective term in which a student will be doing their Experiential Education.  Registrations submitted after the add/drop period will not be accepted.

Application Procedures

Students interested in internships should discuss their plans both with their adviser and the associate dean of the Betty Howard Center.

As successful work experience requires proper planning, students are advised to begin the process no later than their sophomore year by successfully completing COOP 210  or an equivalent course.  As indicated, this course is a prerequisite to field placement.

Once an internship has been identified, a student must follow the procedures outlined in the Experiential Education checklist which is available online, from the departmental Experiential Education adviser, or from the Career Services office.  These procedures include:

• Completing the Internship Placement Information form
• Registering for the internship
• Completing the Learning Agreement form

Following the completion of the internship, a Student Evaluation and an Employer Evaluation must be completed and returned to the Career Services office before a grade can be submitted.  A Pass/Fail grade will be assigned.

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES

Washington Adventist University (WAU) is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Students with a documented disability can expect to receive reasonable accommodation to enable them to meet their academic and personal goals.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides resources to facilitate equal access to university programs, activities and services.  Working with WAU’s Counseling Services, the Disability Services staff serves as the liaison to the faculty and coordinates academic support services and accommodation for students.

In order to access any accommodations or services, students with disabilities need to register with the Office of Disability Services in the Betty Howard Center for Student Success located in Wilkinson Hall, Suite 133.  There is no automatic referral from Admissions or any other WAU office.

Please follow the guidelines below for accessing disability services.  WAU provides services that are free for all students who meet the eligibility requirement for such accommodations.  The university has no legal obligation to recognize any student as having a disability, nor provide accommodations, until that student has established eligibility through the office of disability services (ODS).

Guidelines for requesting disability accommodations and providing documentation are clearly outlined in our Procedures for Requesting Disability Accommodations, a document that is accessible in the Office of Disability Services and online.

Guidelines for accessing disability services include:

1. Prospective students with documented disabilities are advised by admissions counselors to contact ODS when they apply to the university in order to ensure timely advising and planning. Information about support services, including the disabilities program, is available on the WAU website, and in the university Academic Catalog (which is online) that is made available to both prospective and enrolled students.
2. Students with disabilities are encouraged to complete a Voluntary Declaration of Disability that informs the Disability Services office of their specific disability.
3. Those requesting accommodation must provide the office with documentation of the disability and complete a Request for Disability Accommodations as outlined in Guidelines for Providing Documentation of a Disability.
4. For those students who do not have documentation or whose documentation is more than three years old, WAU facilitates testing through referrals but does not provide the testing or evaluations required to document disabilities.  ODS will review the request and inform students of their eligibility status and the accommodation plan.
5. Once the request for accommodation has been approved, the student provide the office with completed Course Accommodation Request and Release of Information forms at the beginning of each semester.  The Office of Disability Services provides these forms.  The student should also make an appointment with ODS to review policies and procedure for the accommodation plan developed and learn how to access these services.
6. Instructors or other providers of services will then receive an accommodation letter explaining the accommodations necessary for that student.  Students must submit a new request for letters each semester.
7. Students are responsible for ongoing discussions with advisers and professors and for informing the Office of Disability Services of any barriers to participation in the academic or other areas of university life.
8. Student may request in writing to discontinue any information-sharing related to their ability at any time.  They can also request to discontinue their accommodations at any time.  Similarly, ODS asks that students who declare a disability but do not want to access accommodation explicitly state this in writing.

Typical services provided include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Arrangements for priority seating in the classroom.
2. Change of classroom where access is difficult for students with disabilities.
3. Extended time for tests and for completing assignments.
4. Ability to test in a quiet, proctored environment.
5. Alternative forms of tests and exams. Exams may be read orally, dictated or typed.
6. Availability of learning assistance programs such as study skills assessment and aids such as tape players and computers.
7. Utilization of note-takers.
8. Use of tutors for private instruction and for assistance with studying and testing.
9. Ongoing communication with faculty members and with other offices, including Facility Services, Campus Security, Counseling Services and Dining Services about academic and other adjustments to make programs more inclusive of students with disabilities.
10. Providing career and personal counseling to help address developmental and career needs of students with disabilities.

The accommodations that the university provides to all qualified persons with a documented disability are in line with its mission to remain a learning community committed to the vision of excellence and service in order to prepare students to become moral leaders in their communities and ​throughout the world.  Serving all students is part of WAU’s modeling of moral leadership.

INFORMATION | Fitzroy Thomas | Director of Disability Services

The Betty Howard Center for Student Success
Washington Adventist University
7600 Flower Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912-7796
301-891-4115 | fthomas@wau.edu

FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE| FYE

All new students with less than 30 credit hours of college credit are expected to enroll in INTD 105 - First-Year Experience .

The FYE program begins during the week of New Student Orientation each semester (see ACADEMIC CALENDAR ) and continues as a class for the first semester a student enrolls.  Co-curricular activities continue throughout the student’s entire first year.  The program is designed to assist students in their adjustment to university life.

Opportunities are provided for students to engage with the WAU campus community, become familiar with the campus learning resources, meet the faculty and staff, form social bonds and study groups with their peers, be celebrated on their achieved academic milestones, and get to know the campus facilities and surrounding area.  All first-year students are required to attend and pass the class.  Students who fail the FYE course must register for the course the following semester and must repeat it until they receive a passing grade.

INFORMATION | Nedelka Sellers
301-891-0192 | nsellers@wau.edu

GENERAL STUDIES DEGRE PROGRAM

The WAU General Studies degree program is an interdisciplinary curriculum coordinated by Fitzroy Thomas, associate dean of the Betty Howard Center for Student Success.

INFORMATION | For full details, please see GENERAL STUDIES .

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

All new freshmen and transfer students are required to attend and participate in new student orientation, which begins a week prior to the beginning of class.

During this time, students participate in activities and workshops designed to assist them with their transition to our campus community.  Also, during that week, students will be able to take necessary placement tests, meet their academic advisers, register for their classes and complete the financial clearance process.

PLACEMENT TESTING

Placement testing is requested by individual programs and departments.  Math and English placement tests for incoming freshmen are facilitated as needed by the Betty Howard Center for Student Success. (BHCSS)

There are several options for taking the tests:

1. Students may take the test on the WAU campus at no cost during regular office hours: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.  Students should call ahead and schedule a testing time so preparations can be made.
   It generally takes one hour to take each of the two tests.  Students should make sure they arrive early enough to accommodate for the time needed to complete the test(s) during the regular office hours listed for the BHCSS.
2. Students may take the test at an approved Accuplacer commercial testing site such as Sylvan Learning Center, Huntington Learning Center or at any college or university testing center that allows Accuplacer Remote testing.  Typically, there is a fee for this service.
   Students wishing to test at a remote site must contact the Betty Howard Center to obtain a Remote Testing Voucher Number that is needed to test remotely.  Students must then identify a testing site and schedule a time to take the test(s).  Once the test(s) are completed, the results will be automatically sent to the BHCSS.

WAU provides all confirmed students with access to free online resources to help them perform as well as possible on their placement tests.  Students will first be asked to do an assessment.  Then they will be given feedback and practice exercises to help improve their scores.  Students can begin preparing for their placement tests online at any time by contacting the Betty Howard Center for Student Success to obtain the login information.

Once students take their placement test(s), they may see an advisor and register for classes.

INFORMATION | Nedelka Sellers
301-891-4106 | nsellers@wau.edu

TESTING SERVICES

Testing services are provided by the Betty Howard Center for Student Success as follows:

• Proctoring of Foreign Language Challenge Tests for fulfillment of Foreign Language academic program degree requirement upon successfully passing the test.  Students register for this test at the BYU FLATS Test site.
• Proctoring of tests with accommodations to students receiving WAU disability service.  The instructor and the student complete the WAU Testing Authorization Form and follow the testing accommodations test scheduling procedure.

INFORMATION | Nedelka Sellers
301-891-4106 | nsellers@wau.edu

TUTORING

Tutoring is coordinated and managed by the Betty Howard Center for Student Success.  Students needing assistance should contact the Betty Howard Center for Student Success to be assigned a tutor.  At the beginning of the semester, the schedule for in-person tutoring is posted on the Desire2Learn (D2L) learning management system online. 

INFORMATION | Nedelka Sellers
301-891-4106 | nsellers@wau.edu

LEVEL I, LEVEL II AND LEVEL III REAPPLICATION

The Betty Howard Center for Student Success oversees the Level I, Level II, and Level III Reapplication process for students with an unsatisfactory academic status.

See ACADEMIC STANDING  for criteria and any applicable appeal process.