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Graduate Catalog 2002-2004

Student Life:


Student Life Services
Aurora University provides many services, facilities, and programs for its graduate students, including resident and commuter students. For detailed information, consult the “A-Book,” an on-line manual provided for students by the Student Life Office.

Housing: Aurora University has four on-campus residence halls — Wilkinson, Jenks, Memorial-Davis, and Watkins Halls — with accommodations for approximately 500 residents. Both undergraduates and graduates are welcome to apply for residential accommodations. Housing applications for graduate students are on a space-available basis. In most halls, single, double, and triple rooms are available, as well as suites. Recreation and study areas and laundry facilities are located in each residence hall.

Food Service on Campus: Students on meal plans eat in the Upper Level Cafeteria in Alumni Hall. Commuter students are also welcome to eat in the cafeteria, either by paying a flat per-meal rate at the door, or purchasing a commuter meal ticket through the Sodexho Food Service. The Spartan Spot is located in the lower level of Stephens Hall and serves hot and cold fast food. The “Spot” is also available as a social gathering place and study area. Limited food and beverage service is also available in Dunham Hall.

AU Bookstore: Textbooks are available in the bookstore located in Dunham Hall. A form is also available for students wishing to order their books online.
Campus Safety: The Campus Safety Department provides an escort to walk students to cars upon request.

Career and Counseling Services

Center for Faith and Action: The Aurora University Center for Faith and Action was founded to sustain multi-faith understanding and action. It will focus on curriculum, University and community service, and academic and scholarly activities. The Center is dedicated to discovering and deepening connections between faith and daily life, advocating and working for justice, and promoting human dignity for all people.

Campus Ministries: Campus Ministries aims to help students affirm their religious identity while living in an interfaith environment. It sponsors inspirational programs, community service opportunities, and classroom consultations on faith-related issues. It also coordinates the activities of student organizations, such as Alpha-Omega, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and Gospel Choir. The office is located next to the Lowery-Wackerlin Chapel on the third floor of Eckhart Hall.

Counseling Center: Contact the Campus Counseling Center for information on services available free of charge to students, as well as for referral information to services in the community. The Campus Counseling Center helps students work through the common social and personal problems associated with orientation to college life.

Career Services Center: The Center offers a variety of workshops, seminars, and individual services to assist students in identifying their career goals and working toward them in an organized and effective way. Assistance in writing resumes and sharpening interviewing skills is also available. Career fairs and other placement activities are offered both on campus and throughout Illinois in connection with the Illinois Small College Placement Association. The services of the Center are available free of charge to all Aurora University undergraduate and graduate students and alumni.

Learning Center: The Learning Center provides trained peer tutors in a variety of disciplines, as well as professional tutors in math, writing, and study skills. Workshops in word processing and computer-based tutorials also are available. Services are free to all Aurora University students — undergraduate or graduate. The Center is open six days a week and has evening hours.

Student Clubs and Organizations: Over three dozen student clubs and organizations are established at Aurora University. Both undergraduate and graduate students, whether resident or commuting, are eligible to organize a student group and apply for recognition and funding.

Wellness Center: The Center is located in the lobby area of Jenks Hall, where a licensed registered nurse is available on campus weekdays for assessment and treatment, consultation and referral, and immunization compliance guidelines. The Director of the Center provides wellness programming on campus as well.

Statement of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Aurora University is committed to making reasonable accommodation and to providing accessibility to its programs, activities, and employment for all persons defined as having documented disabilities based on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 As Amended
A federal statute, The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 took effect on November 19, 1974. Specifically, this statute governs (1) student access to records maintained by educational institutions, and (2) release of such records.

  1. Under the first heading, student access to records, the law requires all educational institutions to allow attending students and former students access to their personal records.
    1. At Aurora University the records of attending students include the general file in the Academic Advisement Office or graduate program office, the permanent academic record in the Registrar’s Office, financial records in the Student Accounts Office, the financial aid files in the Financial Aid Office, and where appropriate, the files in the Education Department Office, and Career Resource Center.
    2. The files of former students are found in the Alumni Office, Registrar’s Office, and, where appropriate, in the Education Program Office, and Career Resource Center.
    3. Specifically exempted from viewing by the student are the financial records of students’ parents and the confidential recommendations and statements written for and placed in the file prior to January 1, 1975. A student may or may not sign a waiver of his/her right to access to recommendations and statements written for and about him/her after January 1, 1975.
    4. Copies of student records will be furnished upon written request of the student. Official transcripts of a student’s college academic record are available. Student credentials maintained by the Education Program Placement Service are also available. The first set of five credentials is free of charge; all subsequent sets of five are issued at a rate of $2.00. Other student records for which copies are requested will be issued at a charge of $.25 per page with a minimum charge of $2.00.
  2. The law requires educational institutions to provide hearings for students to challenge any record that they consider inaccurate or misleading. Aurora University, in complying with this law, has established the following procedures for implementing it.
    1. A student must present a written request to see the contents of his/her files to the appropriate office. An appointment will then be made for him/her to read his/her file in the presence of a member of the University staff. Identification will be required at the time of the appointment. A student may read the contents of these files, but may not remove or destroy any of the contents.
    2. An University Judicial Board hearing may be requested by a student for the purpose of challenging any record he/she considers inaccurate or misleading, under the terms of General Campus Regulation Number 16. The decision of University Judicial Board will be appropriately implemented in all such cases. If the decision is not to amend the record, the student will be allowed to place a written comment or explanation in his/her file. If the contested portion of the file is disclosed to anybody, the student’s statement will also be disclosed.
  3. Under the second heading, the release of student records, the law requires prior written consent of the student before releasing personally identifiable data about him/her from the records to other than a specified list of exceptions that includes school officials, officials of other schools in which a student seeks to enroll, parents of “income tax dependent” students, appropriate government officials, accrediting organizations, in response to a legal subpoena and to certain others if the knowledge of such information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons.
    1. Excepted from this requirement is “directory information,” including the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, current registration, degrees, honors, and awards received, and the most recent previous educational institution attended by the student.
    2. Such information may be made public once the institution gives notice of the categories of information that it has designated as such “directory information” and allows a reasonable period of time after such notice has been given for a student to inform the institution that some or all of the information designated should not be released without his/her prior written consent. This announcement constitutes such public notice.
    3. A chart showing which school personnel have access to various records may be found and inspected in any office containing student records.

Policy for Students with Learning Disabilities

Policy Statement
Aurora University will provide reasonable accommodations for students with a diagnosed and verified learning disability, physical disability or psychological disability. In order to access such services, the student must present a diagnostic report for review by the University. A diagnostic report indicating a learning disability must be prepared by a qualified psycho-educational practitioner and be based on standardized, reliable and valid testing instruments. The report must include testing of intellectual ability and achievement, a specific diagnosis, and recommended accommodations based on the diagnosis. Students with physical or psychological disabilities will need documentation from an appropriate medical or psychiatric practitioner, indicating diagnosis, impact of the disability and/or treatment plan on major life activities, expected duration of the condition and/or treatment and recommendations for accommodations. Documentation for students with disabilities must be recent, having been prepared within the past three years. Documentation for students with psychological disabilities should have been prepared within the past six months. Students with disabilities will have full access to all facilities and services of the University on the same basis as all other students.

Statement for Students with Special Needs
Individuals who have any situation/condition, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in class or access class materials are encouraged to inform the instructor at the beginning of the term. Adaptations of teaching methods, class materials or testing may be made as needed to provide equitable participation.

Definition
A learning disability may exist in the presence of average-to-superior intelligence and adequate sensory and motor systems. The marked discrepancy between intellectual capacity and achievement is what characterizes a learning disability. Many learning disabled students have high intellectual ability and creative talent, the development of which benefits society as much as the well being of these individuals. Although the majority of learning disabled students can be characterized as having difficulty with reading, writing skills and math skills, the degree and scope of these difficulties varies, as do the defects in the underlying psychological processes. For these reasons, academic adjustments must be made on an individual basis.

A learning disability is any of a diverse group of conditions that cause significant difficulties in perception, either auditory, visual, and/or spatial. Of presumed neurological origin, it covers disorders that impair such functions as reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), and mathematical calculation (dyscalculia), aural receptive dysphasia, sequential memory, and minimal brain dysfunction. Learning disabilities, even of the same type, will vary widely between and among students. Learning disabilities are defined as a “handicapping condition” under Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and as a permanent life condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The act required post-secondary educational institutions to make “reasonable adjustments” for such students with disabilities in order for them to fulfill academic requirements.

Identification Procedures
Students with disabilities who are seeking accommodations must identify themselves to the University by contacting the Learning Center. If a request for accommodation comes to the Admission Office, staff will correspond with the student or parent indicating the need to provide a diagnostic report to the Learning Center. A student’s disability will in no way impact the decision of the University to admit or decline an applicant. When a student approaches the Learning Center, staff will outline the policy and the need for a verifiable diagnosis. If a student does not have appropriate documentation of a learning disability, the Learning Center staff will offer assistance to the student in locating qualified individuals in the Chicagoland area who can provide a psycho-educational evaluation.

Institutional Review and Reasonable Accommodations
Upon receipt of the diagnostic report, the Learning Center staff will review and verify the report. If a diagnosis of a learning disability is not confirmed, the Learning Center will inform the student and refer the student to other appropriate courses of help. If the diagnostic report is acceptable, then the Learning Center will provide the student with documentation which indicates that the student has been recognized as having a disability. This documentation also indicates what reasonable accommodations might be appropriate for the student to receive. The Learning Center staff will not share specific information on a student’s disability with faculty members unless requested to do so by the student.

A “reasonable accommodation” is any accommodation offered by a faculty member, department or the University which enables a student to participate equitably in a class and access course materials without fundamentally altering the service being provided. Reasonable accommodations may include testing accommodations (e.g., additional time, quiet environment, readers and scribes), classroom accommodations (e.g., changes to the physical environment of a classroom, adjustments in how materials is presented in class), providing course materials in an accessible form (e.g., readings on cassette or disk, notetakers), or access to assistive technology (e.g., use of on-campus computers with adaptive software). The Learning Center staff initially determines what would be reasonable accommodations, taking note of the preferences of the student requesting accommodations. The student then may request those accommodations from a faculty member by presenting to the faculty member the documentation provided by the Learning Center. In considering requested accommodations, the faculty member may instead choose to suggest other appropriate accommodations. The faculty member and student are encouraged to consult the Learning Center in this event.

Confidentiality
Any documentation concerning a disability provided by a student to the Learning Center is confidential. The faculty and staff of the University will not have access to these materials unless a student specifically requests that an individual be allowed to view these documents or share in this information. In the event that a student were to challenge a determination made by the Learning Center, it would, of course, be necessary for the appropriate University officials to access these materials in order to review the Learning Center’s determination.

Student Responsibility
It is understood that it may be necessary for a learning disabled student to put in extra work, use a tutor, and/or seek special help outside of class. The student has a responsibility to fulfill his/her part by continuing extra help as recommended for his/her particular problem. If a student requires specialized services beyond what is normally provided by the university, these services must be paid by the student.

Grievance Procedure
Any student who desires to challenge the accommodations made in his or her case should follow the procedures outlined:

Athletics
Aurora University has a long history of excellence in intercollegiate athletics. A member of NCAA Division III, AU fields intercollegiate teams in football, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, volleyball, softball, and golf — often with championship results. About 40% of all undergraduate resident students, and many commuters, participate in intercollegiate athletics.

For those with a more private interest in sports and fitness, there is an extensive campus recreation and intramural program. Facilities include racquetball courts, weight room, and fitness center, which are available to both resident and commuter students.