Academic Advising
Champlain College places a high priority on student advising and considers it an integral part of the College experience. The advising process is designed to help students as they make important decisions related to their academic programs at Champlain and their career goals in general.
To this end, each student at Champlain is assigned a faculty advisor with whom they work to establish academic and professional goals and to select their courses for upcoming semesters.
Staff in the Registrar’s Office located in Perry Hall assist students in understanding their program evaluations and the requirements for graduation. They work closely with faculty advisors and program directors and are knowledgeable about the curriculum requirements for each program. They also assist students with registration processes and make referrals to College resources, as needed.
International Student Advising: In addition to the pressures normally experienced by college students, international students must cope with a new culture and a host of technical immigration regulations. The College has an international student advisor to help international students with these concerns and other issues.
Academic Support
Effective academic support outside the classroom can be as vital as what happens inside the classroom to academic success and an excellent college experience. Champlain College provides a range of academic support services which can be accessed individually or through workshops. All of our academic services are designed to help students meet their educational and career goals.
Champlain College Academic Coaching (http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/academic-support-programs_current-students/academic-coaching-program)
Champlain’s professional academic coaches work with students in individual and group sessions on areas such as: self-advocacy, goal-setting, motivation, mindfulness, time-management, organizational strategies, study skills and test preparation, and reading comprehension skills. To make an appointment, contact academiccoaching@champlain.edu.
Stern Center for Language and Learning (http://www.sterncenter.org)
In addition to the College’s own academic coaches, students may access the services of the Stern Center for Language and Learning on Champlain’s campus for an additional fee, arranged directly with the Stern Center. The Stern Center’s academic coaches assist students with building skills in executive functioning, social thinking, writing, reading and math. Contact them directly http://www.sterncenter.org/contact for more information about their services and fees.
Online Tutoring Through Smarthinking
(http://www.smarthinking.com/solutions/higher-education)
The College has contracted with Smarthinking to provide real-time online tutoring to students on a 24/7 basis covering math, business, writing, sciences and offering a range of tutorials. Tutors, who are teachers with advanced degrees, are available for live sessions until 3 am. Students can access Smarthinking through the College portal.
Tutoring for English Language Learners (ELL)
Champlain provides a professional educator trained in tutoring bilingual and multilingual students whose native language is not English. Tutoring is provided one-on-one and in small group settings and on-line. To make an appointment, contact Rebecca Baker at rbaker@champlain.edu.
Peer-Tutor Labs
Champlain supports several “Labs” staffed by trained students who provide content tutoring in the most high demand areas including: Accounting and Math, Information Technology, Oral Communication, and Writing. For more information and hours of operation, select the links below.
Accounting & Math Lab (http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/academic-support-programs_current-students/accounting-and-math-lab)
Champlain’s Accounting & Math Lab provides tutorial and homework assistant for students taking Math and Accounting courses.
Information Technology - ITS Peer Assist Lab
(http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/academic-support-programs_current-students/its-peer-assist-lab)
The ITS Peer Assist Lab provides tutoring and homework assistance to students taking Information Technology courses.
Oral Communication Lab (http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/academic-support-programs_current-students/oral-communication-lab)
Any Champlain student may meet with Oral Communication Lab tutors for a one-on-one or small group session. Lab tutors meet with students on an appointment basis and provide assistance with all aspects of oral communication assignments. To make an appointment, students should contact Eric Ronis (ronis@champlain.edu) at least 48 hours in advance.
Writing Center (http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/academic-information/academic-support-programs_current-students/writing-center)
The Champlain Writing Center is dedicated to creating a culture of writing across campus that values inquiry, creativity and public service. The Center provides free support to students, faculty and staff working on any writing project. To make an appointment, contact: writingcenter@champlain.edu or 802-383-6672.
Bookstore
The Champlain College Bookstore is located on the first floor of Joyce Hall and is open 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Friday.
The bookstore sells school supplies and all required texts and course materials. Also available are greeting cards, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and other sundries, postage stamps and a variety of items with the Champlain College insignia (T- shirts, sweatshirts, glassware, ceramics and more). Suggestions for new items that might be stocked are always welcome.
During “Book Rush” at the beginning of each semester, bookstore hours are extended so that you may purchase items needed for the first day of classes. Have your textbooks waiting for you at the bookstore by ordering online at www.champlain.bkstr.com. As a special service, the bookstore coordinates a winter and spring “Book Buy Back” so you can sell your used textbooks.
We encourage you to purchase your books through the bookstore to receive the best service. Students who order their books from sources other than the bookstore will not be eligible for tuition refunds if those books arrive late and jeopardize their ability to begin their coursework.
Rental options will appear as you order your books online. Fill out a one-time rental registration and you will be set to rent textbooks throughout your Champlain experience. Rentals are available online or in store.
You may purchase your books in the store or online at www.champlain.bkstr.com. Online orders can either be shipped to your home, or you can place a prepaid pickup order and have the books waiting for you when you arrive on campus. Prepay pickup orders can be placed from July 16th through August 19th only. When you arrive on campus, come to the Bookstore with your ORDER NUMBER AND ID. If you do not have your order number, you cannot pick up your books.
When placing an online order, you may see as many as four choices of your required course materials. There will usually be an option for a new or used text. You may also notice a rental or digital option appearing. Rental is an excellent option for keeping your up-front cost down. Digital options are also available for some textbooks. Once downloaded, a digital book can be highlighted; notes can be taken and then shared with other students using the digital format. If you would like to experiment with a digital text, please go to CafeScribe.com where you can download a digital text for a trial period. All options can be purchased online or in the store. During the first week of class, all course materials can be refunded or exchanged with a Bookstore receipt. When ordering online, you will be asked if we can substitute new or used condition books if the option you picked is not available at the time. If you pick “no”, there will be no book in your order nor will you be charged. If you pick “yes”, then we will substitute new or used and the price will be adjusted accordingly.
Campus Dining Services, located across from the bookstore in the Student Life complex, is open to all students. Residential students participate in the College meal plan and simply present their ID card to the cashier; others may pay cash or purchase meal plans or blocks of meals.
Meals are served at seven different stations in this state-of-the-art facility. Offerings are diverse and include traditional pizza, grill items, plated entrees, specialty salads and more. Students are encouraged to interact with the chefs preparing their meal, and they can have unlimited servings while they are in the dining hall. Sodexo Campus Services is proud to partner with Champlain College in providing quality dining experiences for all diets. Please visit www.champlain.edu/Dining-Services.html for more information or find us on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/ChamplainDining
Vending machines providing coffee, soft drinks, juices, snacks and other on-the- go fare are located in various campus buildings.
The Career Services team extends a warm welcome to the Class of 2018, transfer students, and returning students. You are taking important steps toward transitioning to a successful professional life. Whether you are seeking an internship, part-time work, a fulltime job after graduation or a promotion Career Services offers a wide scope of resources to help you strategically prepare for and manage your career. Graduates who were most successful in finding good jobs in their field after graduation took advantage of College-provided opportunities to develop competencies and experiences that employers most value. Visit us online to:
- Learn about Drop-In Hours with peer-to-peer support to create or edit your resume and/or LinkedIn profile, write cover letters, and use JobSpot to search for work-study opportunities and part-time jobs
- See a list of upcoming events, including workshops, job and internship fairs, employer visits, and industry speakers
- Register for career management workshops
- Access major-specific resources
- Find out who your career advisor is and schedule an appointment to meet with your career advisor if you have not yet declared a major or are considering changing majors
www.champlain.edu/careerservices
If you would like to meet with a career advisor in person, contact us by e-mail, careerservices@champlain.edu, or call (802) 860-2720 to schedule an appointment. The Career Services office is located in the Garden House, 328 Maple Street (behind Juniper Hall). Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
- Visit our peer-to-peer drop-in hours for assistance with job searches, resume and LinkedIn profile development, hosted by our trained LEAD Peer Advisors.
Counseling Center and Accommodation Service
Confidential counseling services are available for students who are dealing with personal issues, mental health issues or academic concerns. Counselors at the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service can help students with concerns including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, adjustment issues, alcohol and drug use, physical or sexual abuse, relationship concerns, stress management, sexuality, and crisis management. The counselors meet with students individually and at times in groups (with the consent of all participants).
The counselors can help students manage crises in a number of ways. A counselor can accompany a student to the emergency department at the hospital in the case of a psychological emergency, or in the case of a sexual or physical assault, to the police department or family court as needed. The counselors can assist students in making contact with appropriate campus officials and community agencies and resources as necessary.
Through the services of our psychiatric nurse practitioner (PNP), students with more serious mental health needs can be medically evaluated and treated. The psychiatric nurse practitioner works closely with the counselors, and is skilled at diagnosing and treating mental health issues, including prescribing medication when indicated. Students must be involved in an ongoing relationship with one of our counselors in order to access the services of our PNP.
Counselors will make referrals to community resources when appropriate. Prevention and education are important components of the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service. Programming is offered throughout the year.
Counselors can also provide follow-up counseling in the aftermath of a personal crisis. Someone from the counseling staff is available 24 hours a day. The counselor on call can be reached through the College’s Campus Public Safety Office at (802) 865-6465.
Academic accommodations and support services are available through the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service for students who have documented learning challenges or other conditions requiring accommodations. The Center is staffed by professionals trained in understanding and managing learning, physical and mental health challenges. Champlain College will make all reasonable accommodations for the documented needs of an otherwise qualified student or applicant for admission. In order to be eligible to receive academic accommodations or other accommodations in residence halls, classrooms or extracurricular activities, students must provide documentation and meet with one of the designated counselors in the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service office. It is the responsibility of the student to provide the documentation, meet with the appropriate counselor and provide each faculty member with the accommodation forms. More detailed information regarding the College’s accommodations procedures is available from the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service (http://www.champlain.edu/student-life/student-services/accommodations-services.) Students managing special learning, physical or emotional challenges are provided with reasonable accommodations, but are also held to the same standard of academic achievement as all other students.
Students with grievances related to an accommodations-related determination or procedures for, or provision of, accommodations, are encouraged to resolve the complaint with the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service (802-865-5484) whenever possible. If the student’s grievance is directly related to the actions of the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service, they may immediately file a grievance with the Assistant Vice President for Student Life in student-related matters (802-865-6426). Such grievances will be handled as described in the College’s Grievance Procedure for the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service.
The Student Health Services Center is available to help you with health concerns or problems, either directly or by referral to an appropriate physician. You may call for an appointment or simply walk in. A nurse practitioner is on campus weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Student Health Center is open to all students, whether covered by the College insurance program or through their parents’ or guardians’ policies. There is no charge for visits to this office.
Notification of Illness: It is the responsibility of you or your physician to report serious illness or hospitalization to your parents or legal guardians; you should not assume that anyone else will notify them.
In addition, it is your responsibility to notify your instructors of any illness that prevents you from attending class or completing assignments, and to arrange to make up any classes you miss. The Student Health Center cannot excuse you from class. However, in the event of a serious illness, the Nurse Practioner, working with staff from the Counseling Center and Accommodation Service, will help to contact faculty and make appropriate plans for your continued academic success, as practicable and given academic requirements. The staff in the Student Health Center will also work with your health-care providers in coordinating your treatment and recovery to the extent appropriate given the nature and scope of the College’s residential and academic programs.
Insurance: When you were billed for admission to Champlain College, you received information detailing the provisions of a College-sponsored insurance plan. If you participate in this group policy and wish to make a claim, you must submit the claim as soon as possible after the onset of any illness, accident or injury that requires medical attention beyond that provided by Champlain College. The staff in the Student Health Center can help you fill out the claim form. Keep in mind, however, that the College-sponsored plan is a secondary insurance policy that is to be used only after you submit a claim through your parents’ or your own primary policy.
Medical Leave Policy: See Reenrollment and Readmission to Champlain College.
Upon arrival on campus, each first-year student is issued an identification card. This card serves as the official College ID, library card and dining services card for those on a meal plan. For residential students, the card is encoded for access to their residence hall and room.
Online students may request an ID card by e-mailing a photo to: newstudentids@champlain.edu. Your picture should be a color individual head shot in .JPG format; no hat, no sunglasses. In the e-mail subject line, use firstname.lastname. Include an address where the ID card should be mailed.
All students must show their ID for access to the Fitness Center and to ride any of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) buses at no charge. Optional conversion of the ID card to a debit card is available. Use of the CC Cash Card is convenient at various campus locations, as well as at numerous area vendors.
Students should keep their ID cards from year to year until graduating. Lost, damaged or stolen cards may be replaced for a fee.
The Champlain College library is housed in the Robert E. & Holly D. Miller Information Commons and provides information services to support the research and instructional needs of the Champlain College community. The library provides books, periodicals, online journals, e-books and audiovisual materials, as well as laptop computers that students may use within the Miller Information Commons. In addition to these resources, the library staff provides reference services, interlibrary loan services and instruction sessions for students and faculty. The Information Commons houses computing labs as well as quiet study rooms for individual or group student use.
The library is open over 100 hours per week during the school year. Reference librarians are available to assist students during most open hours.
Hours for holidays and intersession periods are posted on the library Website before each break.
All library patrons must present a current official Champlain College ID card at the circulation desk in order to borrow materials or when asked by a staff member. Patrons are responsible for returning or renewing all items charged to their account on or before the date on which they are due. Patrons with overdue items will be unable to check out additional items and will be billed. The library will make reasonable efforts to contact patrons with overdue materials; however, it is the responsibility of the patron to know when materials are due and to return them promptly. The full list of library policies and procedures, as well as contact information for library staff, may be found on the library Website: www.champlain.edu/Library.html.
Life Experience and Action Dimension (LEAD)
LEAD is one element of Champlain’s required curriculum that spans all four years of your Champlain College education and gives you the tools you need for personal growth in three areas: engaged citizenship, lifelong career management and financial sophistication.
Getting Started: To prepare for LEAD, you will need to complete the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and a financial literacy survey before Orientation in the fall. The MBTI personality styles inventory will be used in a variety of ways as you learn more about yourself, your community and your lifelong plans, while the financial survey will help us plot a baseline for our future programming. (You will be receiving more detailed information over the summer.)
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Year 1:
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Engaged Citizenship and Financial Sophistication
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Get Involved! As a first-year student, you are required to participate in at least one community service or engaged citizen opportunity. Examples include the following:
- Cook a meal at the Ronald McDonald House
- Mentor a child as part of the DREAM program
- Get a feel for what it’s like to be homeless by taking part in our Tent City experience
- Participate in a cultural simulation
- Propose an activity of your own
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Start Early with Financial Sophistication! You will have a Financial Sophistication requirement each year at Champlain. While students are welcome to choose from a menu of workshops, online and in-person, the suggested first-year workshops include:
- Attend the “Game of Life” event which simulates “real world” expenses and personal income.
- Attend Check-It-Out, a workshop that teaches you how to compare savings and checking account products from different banks.
- Budget and Goal Setting Workshops
- Understanding Credit Workshops
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Year 2:
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Lifelong Career Management and Financial Sophistication
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Start Thinking Strategically!
- Attend Sophomore Symposium in the fall, a conference-style program with a professional keynote speaker and breakout sessions on Lifelong Career Management topics
- Learn how to strategically market yourself by attending a workshop with students in your major, facilitated by the Career Advisor for your division or develop a plan for achieving your career aspirations to be discussed with your Faculty Advisor.
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Continue your Financial Sophistication!
- Continue to develop basic financial literacy skills by participating in at least one financial workshop: managing a budget, buying a car, paying back student loans, understanding benefits in a job offer, and more.
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Year 3:
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Lifelong Career Management and Financial Sophistication
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Follow Your Goals!
- Expand your ability to build your career by choosing from many professional workshops-social networking, online job research, interviewing skills, cover letters, etc.
- Expand on your basic financial literacy skills through in-person seminars and online activities listed above.
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Year 4:
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Financial Assessment
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How Did We Do?
- End your LEAD program by taking the financial literacy assessment again. This assessment is not graded, but helps us understand how LEAD is doing in teaching the broad subject of Financial Sophistication.
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Since LEAD is part of Champlain’s required integrated curriculum, students must complete all required elements in order to register for the next semester’s courses.
LEAD questions and concerns should be directed to Jen Sweeney at (802) 383-6608 or jsweeney@champlain.edu.
Military and Veterans Services
Veterans Services Office
The Veterans Services Office is part of the Office of Financial Aid. It was created to provide easy access to military and VA education, benefit information and services for our military and veteran students throughout the campus.
Services include:
- VA and military education benefits counseling
- Certification of enrollment to the VA
- VA financial processing
- Troubleshooting VA and military education benefit issues
- Advocate for military and veterans on campus
- Coordinate services with VA vocational rehabilitation counselors
- Fax documents to the VA Regional Processing Office (RPO)
- Assistance completing: Veterans Online Application (VONAPP), Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or other related applications
Military and Veteran Education Benefits
Champlain College is recognized as a military-friendly institution, partly because of the many military and veteran education benefit programs the College participates in. We are committed to the Yellow Ribbon Program (http://www.champlain.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/financial-aid-undergraduate/military-and-veterans/yellow-ribbon-program), all the Veterans Affairs GI Bills
(www.gibill.va.gov), VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (www.vetsuccess.gov), Military Tuition Assistance and ROTC scholarships (http://www.goarmy.com/rotc.html) through our affiliation with the UVM Green Mountain Battalion.
Military Tuition Assistance
Military Tuition Assistance (MiTA) is funded by the Department of Defense and can pay up to 100% of tuition and fee expenses up to limits imposed by each branch of service. MiTA can be used in conjunction with Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bills, Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill) and Chapter 33 (Post 9/11 GI Bill) through the “Top-Up” program to pay for tuition and fees. (http://www.champlain.edu/current-students/financial-aid-and-student-accounts/financial-aid/military-and-veterans)
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) helps Champlain’s students, faculty and staff engage in initiatives that enable all campus stakeholders to have a positive experience and helps our students graduate with the skills they need to thrive in a global, multicultural and interdependent world. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion works in collaboration with Academic Affairs, the Department of Student Life, students, faculty and staff to create and support a diverse and rich community that provides many opportunities for all to be engaged, involved, supported and celebrated. The office is located in the IDX Student Life Center.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion sponsors a wide-ranging variety of programs and events.
Traditional Programs: Welcome Back Celebration (Fall), Diversity and Inclusion Lunch workshops and panels, and student-initiated programs.
Student Support Initiatives: New American Scholarship student support; outreach and advocacy for all students, with a special focus on underrepresented and non-dominant groups.
The ODI has capacity to support Students of Color, New Americans and Low income students, while connecting other special populations and non-dominant groups (Women, LGBTQ, Veterans, students with disabilities, first generation college students, etc.) with support services and advocates across campus (Student life, financial aid etc.).
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