ACADEMIC RESOURCES

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Consistent with its mission to provide resources for excellent education and public service, the University of Nebraska at Kearney provides several resources that aid students and faculty in achieving educational success and that promote educational outreach into the local community.

ECAMPUS

eCampus at UNK has been meeting the educational needs of placebound, nontraditional adults for more than three decades by offering quality, affordable programs. UNK offers the same quality distance and online degree programs and courses that are offered on the campus. The majority of the eCampus courses are taught by credentialed faculty with Ph.D.'s who are committed to teaching excellence. eCampus supports faculty and students with numerous support services to ensure that online offerings provide students with a quality educational experience. These include training for online faculty, course consultations, test proctoring, as well as a wide range of resources to help students succeed with their online education.

As part of the eCampus unit, Video Services provides a wide range of video related services to the UNK community. Among these are interactive videoconferencing, desktop videoconferencing, streaming video, taping, and duplicating. In addition, Video Services oversees the delivery of Cable TV services to the campus.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Information Technology provides administrative and academic technology-based services to the campus and provides support for the campus network. Available services include technical assistance and desktop support for faculty and staff; training for faculty, staff and students using a wide variety of computing resources; Internet access; hardware and software configuration and purchasing assistance; server support; web development, instructional design, and multimedia services; and administrative application development.

A variety of platforms support administrative, instructional and research functions for faculty, staff and students. All students have UNK email accounts. BlackBoard is utilized for development and management of web-based courses.

Computer labs are maintained in each residence hall. Two general-purpose labs are located in the Calvin T. Ryan Library. General-purpose labs provide access to a standard suite of software, including browsers, word processing, and spreadsheets. There are student computer labs, some with Macintosh computers and some with Windows-based computers, located in each of the academic buildings, maintained by individual departments.

A wireless data network is available to students, faculty and staff in all campus buildings.

Students with disabilities and special needs should contact the Office of Academic Success for information regarding accommodations.

A computer store in Room 113, Otto Olsen Building, offers full retail services for those wishing to buy computer equipment, including configuration advice and demo units. Contracts with major vendors provide attractive educational discounts, with sales limited to faculty, staff, and students of UNK.

The Help Desk, located in Room 115, Otto Olsen Building, is available to answer questions, resolve problems and provide information about computer use and network services at UNK. Training sessions and hands-on assistance are offered for faculty, staff, and students wishing to learn more about many aspects of technology. The Help Desk is staffed from 8 am to 5 pm on Monday through Friday, but assistance is available 24x7. After hours phone calls are routed to an answering service, which also responds to emails and offers live chat. (See the Helpdesk link at http://its.unk.edu).

All of the residence halls offer network access to students in each room. With a wired or wireless connection to the UNK network, students who have their own computers can access campus computing resources and the Internet from their residence hall room.

Two sets of guidelines, the University of Nebraska Policy for Responsible Use of University Computers and Information Systems and Guidelines for the Use of Information Technology Resources at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, apply to faculty, staff and students at UNK.

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD

The role of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to protect human subjects who participate in research and to ensure that research conducted by UNK students, faculty, and staff complies with federal regulations. The IRB is an independent committee comprised of faculty from a variety of academic divisions, individuals with medical expertise, and community members.

The three general ethical principles that underlie the regulations concerning human subject research are: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. These principles guide IRB review of research conducted at UNK:

Respect for Persons - Prospective participants in research must be given enough information about the nature of the research, what is required of them, and the potential benefits and risks of participating to allow them to make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.

Beneficence - Research involving human subjects must maintain a favorable balance between benefits and risks. Many types of risk must be considered, including physical harm, psychological harm, harm to one's reputation or employment status, and financial harm. In any risk-potential situation, the benefits should outweigh the potential risk. Subjects must be aware of potential risks before consenting to participate in the research.

Justice - Researchers should fairly select subjects for research participation. Fairness refers to the subjects as individuals as well as to subjects as members of any social, racial, sexual, or ethnic group.

At the individual level, subjects cannot be selected only because they are favored by the researcher or disliked by the researcher (for example, only those failing a class are invited to participate). Additionally, certain groups should not be more burdened than others with being research subjects. On the other hand, groups should not be excluded from research because of prior beliefs or because they are difficult to reach as research subjects.

Depending on the research method and subjects, IRB review is conducted at three levels: exempt, expedited, and full board. Researchers should submit their protocols to the IRB prior to data collection. Researchers also must complete a training program. The link to the training, submission guidelines, and forms for IRB review are available from the IRB website: www.unk.edu/irb.

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Information related to International Education at UNK is available on the Graduate Studies website. Students can find the International Student Application form, as well as links to International Student Services and the English Language Institute. See the catalog description of the International Students Admission Procedure.

LIBRARY

The Calvin T. Ryan Library staff, in partnership with the classroom faculty, Academic Success staff and other members of the UNK community, provide students with opportunities to develop skills that support their current educational pursuits, further their career opportunities, enrich their personal lives, and, ultimately, prepare them for lifelong learning.

The library building was originally constructed in 1963, with an addition in 1983. It provides seating and services for more than 890 students, including group study rooms, lounge seating, individual study carrels, two computer labs, a coffee shop, and a multimedia production and practice room equipped with specialized production, presentation and website development software for student use. In recent years further changes have been made, including the addition of the first Learning Commons at a state college or university in Nebraska. The 4,800 square foot Learning Commons houses the UNK Writing Center, Academic Peer Tutoring, additional group study rooms, and other services and activities focused on student academic success.

Numerous computers, printers and scanners are available throughout the library. Wireless computers can be used almost anywhere in the building, and resources also include two high-quality microform digitizers. Students may check out laptop computers at the circulation desk for in-library use.

The library provides access to a wide range of computer-based information resources, including the library's catalog, an electronic reserves system, 200-plus online databases, 14,500 electronic books, and more than 79,000 full-text periodicals. Reference service is available in person and by telephone, e-mail or mobile phone during scheduled hours, along with 24/7 "chat" reference through a partnership with 430 other academic libraries worldwide. Several large online reference collections make reference information available to distance students as well as to those who use the library on-campus. The online portion of the library never closes, and these electronic resources are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to UNK students anywhere in the world who have a computer and Internet access. The library's homepage, http://library.unk.edu, provides general information about the library, as well as serving as a portal to all available print and digital resources.

The library's physical collections consist of over 285,000 print volumes and 94,000 non-print items encompassing a wide range of materials. The Library subscribes to approximately 800 current periodicals in print (magazines, journals, and newspapers), and maintains a collection of more than 117,000 bound periodical volumes. It is an official Federal government depository, and offers access to thousands of government documents in print and electronic form, in addition to documents from State of Nebraska agencies. A 2,400 item Special Collection includes titles on Nebraska history and the history of the American West. The library also houses the University Archives, comprised of print, non-print and online materials concerning the history of UNK and related information about its faculty, staff, administration, and students. The curriculum collections include an extensive pre-K through 12th grade textbook collection; lesson planning, curriculum development, classroom management and other practical teaching resources; games; kits; DVDs; and a spectacular juvenile literature collection.

The Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Division of the Library supports the research and instructional needs of the UNK community by providing access to materials not owned by the Library. This service is provided free of charge to UNK students, faculty, and staff.

The nine library faculty members, three managerial professionals, and thirteen support staff are dedicated to making the library an integral part of students' careers at UNK by acquiring and organizing information resources in a variety of formats, providing classroom and online instruction on the use of library resources, and consulting one-on-one with students in the library, via phone, and online.

MUSEUM OF NEBRASKA ART (MONA)

The Museum of Nebraska Art is unique among art museums, dedicated exclusively to telling the story of Nebraska through the art of Nebraska. MONA exhibits the work of a distinguished and diverse collection of artists including pieces by Nebraska artists as well as artwork featuring Nebraska subjects by artists from all over the world. A Kearney landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, MONA provides a fitting home for its collection of over 5,000 works. Located in downtown Kearney, MONA is a regional center for cultural activities where students enjoy opportunities to broaden their academic experiences through their association with the Museum and its collection. Visitors enjoy MONA by attending exhibitions, special educational workshops, lectures, and musical performances. Web and distance education programming provide connections to the Museum beyond central Nebraska as well. With no admission fee and convenient parking, MONA is an artistic treasure readily available to all. For more information, visit MONA's website: mona.unk.edu.

SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND HEARING CLINIC

The Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic is the academic center for the B.S.Ed. degree program in Communication Disorders and the M.S.Ed. degree program in Speech/Language Pathology. It offers a site for the integration of professional coursework with extensive practical experience under direct faculty supervision for those students choosing this major.

The Clinic offers clinical services in consultation, evaluation, and treatment for students, faculty, and the general public. Services are available for both children and adults with communication disorders related to articulation/phonological problems, language delay, reading and writing challenges, stuttering, voice problems, hearing loss, cochlear implants, cleft palate, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, laryngectomy, and language disorders secondary to head injury and stroke. The Clinic is located in the west end of the College of Education Building. Clients may park in the lot coming directly off Hwy. 30 by the main doors to the clinic. The Clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 9am to 5pm, Friday from 9 to noon, and selected evenings.

TESTING CENTER

The Testing Center, located in College of Education Building, provides Computer Based Testing and Paper/Pencil Testing for a wide array of areas. Our Computed Based Testing system delivers both linear exams (all items are presented in order) and adaptive tests (the computer uses the candidate's response to each item to deliver subsequent items and ends when the computer is able to make a pass/fail determination).

Computer Based testing is offered year round, Monday through Friday, by appointment only. Paper/Pencil testing is conducted on specific published dates with pre-registration required. Study materials are available for certain programs.

The Testing Center services are available to all University of Nebraska students as well as students from surrounding Colleges and the general public.

The following Computer Based Tests are currently available through the Testing Center:

AAMC Association of American Medical Colleges (MCAT)
CLEP      College-Level Examination Program
GRE Graduate Records Examination
NASD Regular and Continuing Education
NBPTS National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
NEINS Nebraska Insurance
PRAXIS I Professional Assessments for Teachers
iBT - TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language
Many other Prometric Tests - To view a full list of Prometric tests given at our site go to www.prometric.com.

The following paper/pencil tests are currently available through the Testing Center:

ACT      Residual American Testing Program (Valid for admission to UNK ONLY)
DANTES Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support
GRE Subject Tests Graduate Records Examination
LSAT Law School Admissions Test
PRAXIS II Professional Assessments for Teachers

WALKER ART GALLERY

The Walker Art Gallery is dedicated to serving the students, faculty and staff of the Department of Art and Art History, the University campus community and the Kearney region, by presenting exhibitions of accomplished visual expression. Three such exhibitions are presented each academic year, drawn from regional as well as national sources. Each of these exhibitions is selected for its educational and inspirational value to the students, as well as artistic merit and intent. As a rule, exhibiting artists and designers lecture on their work, or offer gallery talks.

The Walker Art Gallery devotes over half of its exhibition schedule to the UNK art students. There is an annual juried student art exhibition, and a series, each semester, of capstone senior exhibitions. The students are given the primary responsibility for the installation and deinstallation of their exhibitions, thus gaining invaluable practicum experience.

WRITING CENTER

The Writing Center is located in UNK's new Learning Commons on the second floor of C.T. Ryan Library. The Center provides writing assistance at no charge 7 days a week to all UNK students, faculty and staff. Assistance includes one-on-one consulting, interactive workshops, and helpful resources, such as handbooks, handouts, and internet links.

Most one-one one consulting takes place face-to-face, with consultations lasting 30 minutes (for 1-3 pages) to one hour (for 4-7 pages). Visitors can bring any piece of writing at any stage in the writing process for help with pre-writing and drafting, generating a thesis, supporting ideas, organizing paragraphs, writing clearly and concisely, citing outside sources, editing for grammar and punctuation errors, and more. Many writers find it helpful to come as soon as an assignment is given, again when they reach an impasse of some kind, and then once (or twice) more when they are making their final revisions.

As an alternative to face to face consulting, UNK students, faculty, and staff can submit work electronically for eConsulting by using the WC's Online Appointment book to upload papers. Writers receive feedback on one paper at a time, and submitted papers are reviewed on a first-come, first-serve. When reviewing a paper, the eConsultant uses margin comments to provide in-text feedback and suggestions, tailored to the writer's listed concerns. The reviewed draft and a detailed summary of the eConsultant's suggestions are then sent to the writer by return e-mail within two to four days of a submission.

All kinds of writers use our services, including highly successful writers who know that every writer needs a reader, less confident writers who want to improve their skills and learn new techniques, and writers learning English in conjunction with college level writing. In keeping with our goal to help all writers improve their own skills, writing consultants will not correct, edit, proofread, or write any part of the paper; they will help writers identify patterns of error and develop better options and strategies.

Since the Writing Center has boasted over 1,000 consultations every semester since 2002, appointments are strongly encouraged and are best made online. Visit www.unk.edu/acad/writing_center/ for exact hours and to make an appointment. All writers are allotted up to 120 minutes of assistance each week. Missing an appointment constitutes a no-show. Writers with three no-shows in a single semester are blocked from making appointments for the remainder of the term; they have to rely on walk-in availability.

Our interactive workshops address specific writing topics—such as revision strategies, proper punctuation, citation styles, and writing lengthy papers—in a lively small group setting. Our growing collection of helpful handbooks, handouts and links are available both at the Writing Center and via our website.

26 Jun 2012

gradcat@unk.edu