2007-08 Academic Catalog	home FAQs request

Academic Resources

Academic Enhancement Center

The Academic Enhancement Center (AEC) is designed to meet a variety of student needs. Whether for a first-year student making the transition to college, or an upperclass student trying to get the most out of the academic experience, the AEC can provide assistance. Professional staff members provide such services as academic counseling, learning styles assessment, and study skills instruction. Peer tutoring is available on a walk-in basis during scheduled hours for math courses. Individual tutoring for most other content areas is available on an appointment basis. The AEC also offers a variety of materials to help students prepare for many graduate school tests, such as the GRE, LSAT and GMAT.

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program is coordinated by the AEC. SI consists of peer-assisted review/study sessions tied to a specific course. Courses that have the SI component vary each semester; check your course syllabus for availability and times when the SI sessions are offered.

The Academic Enhancement Center also serves as a clearinghouse of information about the various academic and other support resources and services available across campus. Much of this information is available on the center’s Web site at http://student.cord.edu/dept/aec/index.shtml. The center is located in the lower level of Fjelstad Hall, Room BO2. AEC staff can be reached at 218.299.4551.

The CHARIS Ecumenical Center

An ecumenical center for church and community, CHARIS provides continuing theological education in Fargo-Moorhead and elsewhere in the Upper Midwest, including conferences, seminars, workshops and theological courses. CHARIS is also involved in regional ecumenical work, especially with regional expressions of the six denominations affiliated with CHARIS. The director is Dr. Arland Jacobson; Jacki Knapp-Raaen is the administrative assistant. For more information, call 218.299.3566.

Communiversity

A “university for the community,” Communiversity provides non-credit liberal arts courses and cultural events for the Fargo-Moorhead area. There are no tests, papers or prerequisites, and the courses are inexpensive and sometimes free. Dr. Arland Jacobson is the director. For more information, call 218.299.3438.

Disability Services

The Counseling Center offers services for students with documented disabilities. If you have disability-related concerns or questions, contact Monica Kersting, director of the Counseling Center and Disability Services, at 218.299.3514 or stop by Academy 106. For academic services available to students with disabilities, see “Policy for the Accommodation of Students with Disabilities."

Information and Technology Services

Access to networked computing resources is an important component of instruction at Concordia College. All members of the campus community receive a network account that allows access to e-mail, the Internet and campus computing facilities. Campus members are expected to use this privilege in a responsible and ethical manner.

Network access is available in all residence hall rooms through direct connection to the campus Ethernet network. Residential students are encouraged, but not required, to bring their personal computers to campus. Help is available through 702 Communications to configure student personal computers for network or dial-up access to the network.

Concordia provides a variety of computer labs/clusters (both Windows and Macintosh) in the Library, in classroom buildings and in the residence halls. These facilities support general class use, Library reference needs through various databases (many of which are full text), specific departmental programs and open computing use. Departments with specialized computing facilities include art (graphic design lab); biology, chemistry, physics and psychology (each of which has department-specific data acquisition and analysis workstations), communication (media lab), computer science (compilers and application development suites, Unix hardware), English (portable writing lab), and music (MIDI composition lab). A number of the labs are staffed evenings and weekends with student assistants.

Other technology facilities include technology classrooms, which are equipped with installed computers, DVD/VCRs, projectors and audio systems for display of multimedia and online resources. For more detailed information concerning current facilities, resources and policies, visit the Academic Computing Web site at http://computing.cord.edu.

The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) provides a wide variety of services, training, and IT equipment to all members of the Concordia community. CIT is responsible for the acquisition, installation, maintenance and related training on most of the classroom/departmental instructional equipment across campus including the tech classrooms. Additionally, CIT provides equipment, assistance, and support for computer-based presentations (e.g., Power Point) including preparation and setup. The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) is located in the southwest corner of the Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre building. CIT provides a variety of fee-based services including color laser printing/copying, wide format poster printing, scanning, OCR, fax and lamination. CIT also loans IT equipment, including a variety of projectors, tape recorders, screens, etc., free of charge for short-term use. Notebook computers and digital projectors are also available for loan to faculty and staff. Audio CD copies of most campus concerts and events are available for purchase at the CIT office. Please call 218.299.4201 for more information on CIT facilities, equipment and services.

Digital Media Services (DMS)            

Digital Media Services (DMS) supports instructional use of video by classes, and also provides video services to campus and community groups. DMS is located in Olin 131 and includes a multi-configuration television studio, digital and analog video editing studios, a master control center with off-air recording and video transfer facilities, and staff offices.

Services provided by DMS include taping of classroom presentations, maintenance of classroom video equipment, taping and video playback services for campus and community events (Athletics, C-400, synod meetings, etc.), satellite downlinks, two-way videoconferencing, off-air recording, video copying and transferring among all formats (when copyright law allows), video production projects, and use of studio facilities. DMS also maintains the Concordia Cable system, which provides local broadcast, cable, and college programming to the residence halls.

Library

The Carl B. Ylvisaker Library serves the Concordia College community by providing information resources and services that support the mission of the college. The Library maintains a collection of more than 300,000 books, 50 newspapers, and 1,500 periodical subscriptions that are available through an online catalog that also includes the holdings of many other college and university libraries. In addition, the Library provides nearly 100 electronic databases with many articles available in full text format. Materials not available at Concordia are supplied to faculty and students through interlibrary loan.

The Library provides basic resources required for the undergraduate study of the liberal arts. Students have full access to the Library’s online catalog and electronic databases whether they are on campus or studying in a remote location. The Library provides reference services to students studying overseas or in off-campus domestic programs. In addition, the Curriculum Center, located on the second floor of the Library, includes a large collection of quality children’s literature and serves the resource needs of education students. The Music Resource Center provides a collection of scores, reference books, and sound recordings for the use of music students.

Reference librarians are available to assist students during most of the 97 hours per week that the Library is open. Reference services are provided at the Reference Desk, by telephone, via e-mail, or by instant text messaging for all registered students. Instruction in the use of Library resources is offered to all first-year students and to students in specific research-based courses or by requesting one-on-one instruction with a librarian.

The College Archives, located on the fourth floor of the Library, is the repository for the official records and publications of the college. The Archives is open to anyone who wishes to do research on the history of the college.

Tri-College University Libraries include the libraries at Concordia, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and North Dakota State University. Concordia students have full privileges at all three libraries. Combined holdings of the Tri-College University Libraries exceed 1.25 million books and 5,000 journals. An overnight courier service delivers books and articles within 24 hours and links libraries through the region.

The Tri-College Film Library provides approximately 4,000 education videos for classroom and scholarly use.

Writing Center

Located on the lower level of Fjelstad Hall, the Writing Center serves as a learning resource for all students at Concordia College. Staffed by trained peer tutors, the Writing Center provides a place for students to ask questions about and receive assistance with their college-level writing skills. Students who are interested in setting up appointments may call 218.299.4551 or stop by the Writing Center. Drop-ins are welcome, though students with appointments have priority. The center also has computers, a printer, and writing resource materials available for students use. No appointment is necessary to use computers or writing resources.