Student Services on the DACC Campus

Counseling

DACC offers the following counseling services to students:

Career Counseling. Career testing and counsel­ing are available to help you make a realistic and satisfying career choice. Through these processes, students gain information about themselves and their interests, aptitudes, and character traits. With the help of a computerized career-development sys­tem, you can obtain current statewide and national information, including—

• Job descriptions
• Employment projections
• Average annual salaries
• Required educational training
• Apprenticeship programs
• On-the-job training opportunities
• Armed services occupations
• Schools offering two-year, four-year, and gradu­ate education
• Technical and vocational school information
• Tuition costs (in and out of state)
• Financial aid possibilities

The services mentioned above are free. For more information, telephone 527-7548 or go to room DAMA-117.

Academic Counseling/College Survival Skills. Success in college requires special personal skills. DACC offers seminars and workshops that assist you in learning how to cope with the demands of college. Seminar topics include stress management, communication skills, assertiveness training, return­ing to learning, sexual harassment prevention, and career decision making.

Personal Counseling. Personal and relationship problems can occasionally interfere with your stud­ies. Counselors at DACC are available for short-term counseling for students whose difficulties are school related and temporary in nature. Counselors can also provide students with a list of available counseling resources in the community. DACC counselors are located in the Student Services area, DAMA-117. For more information, telephone 527­7548 (TTY: 527-7647).

Tutorial Services/Student Success Center

One-on-one learning assistance is provided free of charge to students who are already enrolled in pro­grams, as well as to those who want to upgrade their skills prior to entering a program. Subjects include math, English, test-taking, study skills, and most of the program areas. Academic tutoring is available through the Student Success Center (527-7646). Tutorial services are also avail­able at the East Mesa Campus, and the Gadsden and Sunland Park centers.

Study Skills. Tutors can help you develop your skills in time management, listening, note taking, and test-taking. Find out about your own learning styles and develop techniques that can help you become a more successful student.

Video Instruction. Self-study can be accommodat­ed through video instruction. Many videos are avail­able in study skills, personal development, life skills, careers and occupations, college admissions, and math instruction. Check the Library Media Center (phone 527-7555) for additional videos.

Basic Skills

Students who need to upgrade their skills in reading, writing, math, language, test-taking, and study hab­its prior to enrolling may be referred by counselors to Adult Basic Education, located in the Quintana Learning Center, room DALR-160, 527-7540. ABE can design individualized study plans to fit these students’ levels and needs.

Services for Students with Disabilities

DACC is strongly committed to helping students with disabilities reach their individual goals. The Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) program will provide specialized support services to fulfill this commitment. This program may not be able to meet all needs; however, a reasonable effort will be made to facilitate physical and programmatic access. To provide quality services, SSD procedures include self-identification of persons with disabilities and de­termination of their eligibility for services. Students with disabilities must request services and provide appropriate documentation from schools, agencies, physicians, psychologists, and/or other qualified di­agnosticians.

If challenged by a disability, students may receive the following forms of free assistance: interpreters, note taking assistance, readers, enlarged print, re­cordings for the blind and dyslexic, computer/soft­ware adaptations, alternative assessments and evaluations, telecommunications device (TTY), alternative keyboards, accessible furniture, special­ized career information, and referral and liaison for many of these services. Equipment and accommo­dations are obtained with the assistance of agencies such as the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and the Commission for the Blind.

More information may be obtained from the Ser­vices for Students with Disabilities Office, DAMA­117 (voice 527-7548, TTY 527-7647).

Library Services

With its supportive learning environments and em­phasis on Internet-based resources, the DACC library system provides research assistance, infor­mation literacy instruction, and other library services to DACC students at all of its campuses, as well as to distance learners. The library system offers a variety of resources in both print and non-print for­mats, and promotes leading-edge technology and electronic resources.

The library Website is an Information Resource Portal that provides seamless, integrated access to a wide variety of electronic databases and Web-based resources. The Portal also supports DACC’s academic programs at all campuses and is acces­sible off campus, as well.

The NetLibrary database is a virtual library pro­viding access to more than 30,000 electronic books on a wide range of subjects. In addition, there are more than 1,000 audio-books that can be download­ed from a link on the library Website.

DACC libraries share an online library catalog with the NMSU and NMSU-Alamogordo libraries. There is express delivery service among the cam­puses, and students can pick up material from their most convenient location. Interlibrary loan services are available to all students for materials not owned by DACC or NMSU libraries.

The student college I.D. serves as a library card for checking out books, which are loaned for three weeks, and audiovisual materials, which are loaned for one week. Extended loan periods are available to Crimson Scholars.

During the fall and spring semesters, the library on the central campus is open from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. Monday through Thursday, 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Fri­day, and 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. on Saturday. The library is closed on Sundays. Call 527-7555 for summer hours or additional information. Holiday and interim hours will be posted.

The East Mesa Campus library is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. Call 528-7260 for general information about the library and summer hours.

Student Computer Access

DACC has approximately 900 computers for student use. Most are located in classrooms, where they are integrated into the teaching process. Additionally, all DACC campuses and satellite centers have open computer laboratories, affording access to student E-mail accounts, the Internet, and Web course tools (WebCT), as well as other services provided through NMSUs Information and Communication Technolo­gies unit (see section titled, Information and Com­munication Technologies, under the heading, Stu­dent Services on the NMSU Campus). Students will find software for word processing, spreadsheets, drawing and image processing, presentations, and scientific computation, as well as other tools to as­sist them in a successful college career.

Wireless network access is provided in the com­mons area at both the Central and East Mesa cam­puses and more wireless networks are planned in the future for the other satellite campuses.

Hours for the open laboratory on the central cam­pus is 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat­urday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Call 527-7561 for more information. Hours for the East Mesa open lab is 8 a.m. to 9:30 pm Monday through Thursday, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 pm on Sat­urday and closed Sunday. Call 528-7265 for more information.

Books and Supplies

Students are responsible for buying their own text­books, routine school supplies, and personal items. The community college operates a well-equipped bookstore in rm. DACL-170 of the General Class­room Building. It is arranged for self-service, with textbooks displayed by course number. In addition to textbooks, the bookstore sells calculators, educa­tional supplies, and other types of merchandise.

The bookstore is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Extended hours will be announced during registration periods for fall and spring semesters.

Cooperative Education

Cooperative Education, also known as “Co-op,” helps students gain hands-on experience through part-time, paid employment for which they receive academic credit. It is a college program that provides real-world work experience in a career-related field. The program is a partnership that includes employ­ers, students, and DACC faculty and staff working in a cooperative effort to make the students’ education­al experience rewarding and meaningful. Through Co-op, students are afforded these opportunities:

Work with professionals in their chosen career field. While Co-op students learn how to adapt to different employment situations, they also learn to work with colleagues in a professional environment.

• Apply knowledge and reinforce new skills learned in technical areas.
• Improve job-search skills.
• Explore possibilities for full-time employment after graduation. Co-op lets students form deci­sions about job compatibility and think about fu­ture employment opportunities.

Cooperative Education students benefit by:

• Gaining practical experience in their chosen fields.
• Learning the standards for evaluating career op­tions.
• Earning money for college expenses.
• Working with computer software and high-tech equipment.
• Learning how to adapt to different job situations.
• Establishing contacts for letters of reference.
• Networking for future employment.
• Interacting professionally with peers. For more information call 527-7525.

Career Placement Services

The ultimate goal of most students is gainful em­ployment at the conclusion of their academic career. Through a variety of services, the Career Placement Office, located in room DAMA-99, assists students in achieving this goal. Services are free of charge.
Students are advised to contact the office early in their first semester at DACC, in order that they might familiarize themselves with the services avail­able and have adequate time to explore career op­tions. Every effort is made to maintain up-to-date information concerning job projections, salaries, and company profiles.

Students may receive help with résumé writing, interviewing skills, job-retention skills, and the cre­ation of a job-search portfolio. The Career Place­ment Office posts job announcements, and screens and refers qualified candidates to local and regional employers.

Besides assisting students in their search for a job after graduation, the Career Placement Office also facilitates part-time employment opportunities for students while they are completing their degrees.
Additionally, the Career Placement Office:

• Establishes student/employer contacts and arranges cooperative experiences, workshops, lectures, and career fairs.
• Provides student access to computers for job-seeking on the Internet.
• Arranges on-campus and off-campus interviews at employer request.
• Maintains up-to-date literature and resource information on job trends, employer profiles, and career choices.
• Hosts an annual, community-wide career fair. For more information, call 527-7525.

Student Government/Student Activities

The Associated Students of DACC is the student government entity for the community college. This ASNMSU–chartered organization provides student input to community college administrators, organiz­es and supports student activities, and assists the community with various charitable events. To find out more about student government, or when and where meetings are held, call 527-7618.

The Office of Student Activities at the central campus of DACC is in room 109, 527-7618.