Academic Advising
Academic Advising guides students in the development of meaningful educational plans that are compatible with their life goals. This program supports and complements the faculty advising system on campus and is available to all students at Elizabethtown College.
First-year students are assigned a faculty advisor, who also is their First-Year Seminar instructor. In their second semester, first-year students may declare a major and, if they do, will be assigned a faculty advisor from the school of their chosen major. Exploring students remain with their first-year advisor for another semester, and thereafter will be assigned to one of our professional advisors from Academic Advising until they declare a major. Additionally, our students benefit from support and guidance from trained peer mentors, peer academic advisors, resident assistants, and other Student Life professionals.
We strive to support students who are experiencing difficulty when that academic advice is the most productive – early and while there is still an opportunity to resolve concerns with a successful outcome. This office coordinates the use of Starfish Alert. This academic progress system provides a tool for intervention, referral and support. Additionally, Academic Advising provides support to all students at the College who are placed on academic probation.
The Director of Academic Advising or designee may conduct academic progress checks by contacting faculty to determine a student’s current academic standing, attendance, participation, and observable behavior in courses for the purpose of follow-up, support, or intervention.
The Director of Academic Advising or designee may notify faculty and staff when a student is unable to attend classes due to brief illness, hospitalization, death of a loved one, or other personal circumstances. The Courtesy Notification is to facilitate communication only and does not supersede individual course attendance policies. The student will be responsible for contacting faculty to discuss missed work. The student or family member may call (717) 361-1415 for more information. For more information regarding a Leave of Absence or withdrawal from the College, see Academic Policies.
Career Development Center
The Career Development Center assists students with all aspects of the career development process, from choosing a career or major, developing application materials, searching for internships, and implementing their post-graduate plans. Students are encouraged to connect in their first year with Career Development Center to develop goals that will integrate their passions, skills, and values as they pursue curricular and co-curricular activities.
Signature programs include:
Career Pathway courses provide students with the opportunity to engage in 1-credit classes. Topics include exploring career options, mapping your career plan, developing professional skills, and implementing your post-graduate plans.
Career Coaching provides individual career development assistance to students. Individual appointments are available for students to discuss topics ranging from making a career decision to implementing plans following graduation. Students are encouraged to connect with the Career Development Center in their first year to explore their career options and to develop the skills needed to tell their stories to employers and graduate schools.
Wings of Success Internship Program is a designated Signature Learning Experience (SLE). Built around the career readiness skills identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, students work with a Career Development staff member and an internship site supervisor to develop learning goals related to communication skills, teamwork, critical thinking, professionalism, leadership, and equity and inclusion.
Networking and Employer Connections help students reach their career goals. These connections are facilitated through career fairs, on-campus recruiting, career panels and presentations, employer site visits, mentoring, networking events, and the use of Handshake (our online job posting system).
For more information, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/career.
Center for Student Success
The Center for Student Success provides comprehensive academic support services to Elizabethtown College students. The Center is comprised of distinct, yet integrated, service areas, including Academic Advising, Disability Services, Learning Zone, and Writing Wing. Additionally, the Center’s Director chairs the Campus Wellness Network.
For more information, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/student-success.
Course Modifications for Non-native English Speakers
Elizabethtown College is committed to providing equal access to all courses, programs, and services for non-native (international and domestic) English speakers. The college supports students through tutoring, learning resources, course modifications, and learning opportunities.
Students interested in these programs should email Ms. Maria Petty, International Student Programs Advisor, or call (717) 361-1594.
Disability Services
Elizabethtown College is committed to providing equal access to all of its courses, programs and services for qualified students with disabilities in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
The Office of Disability Services requires documentation from the treating health care provider about a student’s condition in order to establish the presence of a disability, gain an understanding of how the disability affects the student’s ability to function in a college setting, and make informed decisions about reasonable accommodations and adjustments. All requests for academic adjustments and accommodations are reviewed by the Director of Disability Services.
For further clarification about policies for students with disabilities or for information about the College’s disability policy grievance procedures, please contact Lynne Davies, Director of Disability Services, at (717) 361-1227.
For more information, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/disability.
Learning Zone
The Learning Zone’s mission is to assist students working toward achieving their academic goals, in an open and safe environment while demonstrating integrity, respect, confidentiality, and professionalism. The Learning Zone fosters a student-centered learning environment and provides academic and writing peer tutor support. For more information, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/learning.
The High Library
The High Library, located on Elizabethtown campus, offers many resources for students. The physical building houses books, DVDs, and journal and magazine subscriptions. Study space is also available for students and faculty. (Students may reserve group study rooms via an online reservation system: http://etown.libcal.com/reserve/reserveroom.)
The library’s homepage is a great place to start for all academic research, as the library subscribes to more than 100 searchable databases with lots of full-text articles, e-books, and other materials: http://www.etown.edu/library. Off-campus users will be prompted to enter their Etown usernames and passwords in order to access the library’s online resources. (Students should contact their academic advising coordinator if they cannot log in or access information.)
The library’s homepage features the following links and tools:
- Type a topic into the big QuickSearch box to search many general and subject-specific databases simultaneously.
- Choose the “Databases & Articles” button to view an alphabetical list of all databases. The list includes a helpful description of each database’s content.
- Use the “Journal Finder” tab to see if the library subscribes to a specific journal, magazine, or newspaper. (Search by the publication’s title.)
- Choose the “Research Help” button to view tips and tutorials for starting any research project.
- Choose the “Ask a Librarian” button to submit questions and to find contact information for the library staff. Students should not hesitate to reach out to the librarians for research assistance of any kind. The librarians are reachable via phone, email, text, and online-chat during the workday, and via email and text on evenings and weekends.
- On-campus study space is also available for students and faculty to use through the “Reserve a Study Room” button.
The library’s schedule of hours is posted on the website: http://etown.libcal.com/. Note that summer and holiday hours may vary.
Students who wish to check materials out of the library are first encouraged to obtain a College ID card from Campus Security. Students without a current College ID should contact an academic advising coordinator prior to coming to campus.
Students may also take advantage of the library’s reciprocal borrowing agreements with other area institutions:
- ACLCP is an association of Pennsylvania college and university libraries that includes Franklin & Marshall College, Harrisburg Area Community College, Lebanon Valley College, Penn State Harrisburg, and York College. Students may borrow books and other physical items from any ACLCP library listed here: http://www2.aclcp.org/?Members. Note that students are required to present a valid College ID card in order to borrow materials from these institutions. For more details, see the lending policy on ACLCP’s web page: http://www2.aclcp.org/?Policy%20001.
- PALCI is an association of college and university libraries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia. Students may borrow books and other physical items from many PALCI libraries as well. Consult the “List of Participating Libraries” on PALCI’s On-Site Borrowing web page: http://www.palci.org/on-site-borrowing/. Prior to traveling to another PALCI library, students should ask the Elizabethtown librarians to complete an Authorization Form (also on PALCI’s web page) that will grant permission to borrow materials.
Some local libraries, including those that belong to ACLCP and PALCI, offer on-site search access to several online resources and database subscriptions. As these permissions are determined separately by each institution, students may contact individual libraries to investigate this option.
Starfish
Starfish is a software tool that enhances advising relationships and student success at Elizabethtown College. Students receive real time feedback, encouragement and acknowledgement through flags and kudos and can easily connect to faculty, advisors, and staff through a network of information and services. The “Raise your Hand” feature allows students to ask questions about topics such as financial aid, residence life, major/minor inquiries and more. The “Success Network” is a personal list of individuals on campus to which a student is directly linked. Starfish (717) 361-1415 or www.etown.edu/offices/advising/starfish.
Strengths Education
At Elizabethtown College, we believe that every single person has unique natural talents. Our goal is to help each person discover their strengths and unlock their potential. We begin by utilizing the CliftonStrengths assessment, backed by 50 years of research and developed by Gallup. Students have the opportunity to complete this online inventory, which returns their top 5 themes of talent, and engage in educational opportunities to learn how to utilize their strengths to succeed.
For more information, please visit www.etown.edu/strengthsfinder.
The Writing Wing
The Writing Wing can help all students improve their writing with the help of student tutors who are trained and updated on their skills by a faculty member who teaches writing at Elizabethtown, and who is a professional writer. Writing Wing tutors are friendly, and it’s easy for students connect with them for an hour-long session. Many tutors are education or English majors, but there are also some from other majors. We emphasize a chain of events frequently called the writing process. It’s not simply a proofreading service; instead, it’s a learning service aimed at helping students become better writers. The Writing Wing also conducts workshops about all aspects of writing for faculty and students and can act as a resource about writing for anyone in the campus community.
To learn more about The Writing Wing, please visit www.etown.edu/offices/writing-wing, or to stop by and see us in the Baugher Student Center, second floor, in Learning Services.
