Academic Support Services

Office of Student Affairs

The Office of Student Affairs (x2262) provides programs and services for the benefit of the university's students in all locations and in all academic programs. These "co-curricular" programs complement the academic programs and are designed to promote student development and learning. They also assist students in addressing special needs or difficulties, and they seek to provide an environment that is positive and conducive to learning. The general goal within the Office of Student Affairs is to promote student satisfaction and, consequently, student persistence by attending to students' co-curricular needs and concerns.

National-Louis University believes that student life, academic work, and professional studies are interrelated parts of the university experience. Students are encouraged to develop their skills and themselves as individuals both through the formal academic programs and through the many co-curricular opportunities.

The Office of Student Affairs is headed by the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students. Staff members of the Office of Student Affairs will be available to assist students. For information, please contact (847) 475-1100 or (800) 443-5522, extension 2418. The fax number for the Office of Student Affairs is (847) 256-1057. Daytime hours are generally 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Evening and weekend hours are available by appointment. Appointments can be arranged at each of the NLU Chicagoland campus locations.

Services available through the Office of Student Affairs include: counseling, advocacy, career development and placement, health services, services for students with special needs, and special events.

Counseling

Short-term counseling for academic, personal, and vocational concerns is available through professional counselors. Through workshops, personal counseling, and support groups--each designed to enhance skill, awareness, and perspective--counselors are available to assist students in resolving any difficulties or roadblocks that hinder student progress toward academic success and satisfaction. Students are encouraged to confer with a professional counselor at any time about any matter, including family problems, relationships with others, time management, anxiety, depression, crisis situations, financial difficulties, adjustments to the transitions of university life, alcohol and substance abuse.

Confidential referrals to outside agencies and to medical resources are made by counselors, as appropriate or as requested. Confidentiality is always respected, and counseling records are maintained separately from academic records. Counselors are trained professionals who have completed a course of study at the Master's degree level or beyond.

Advocacy and Mediation in Disputes

Students who need information about some aspect of their university experience can receive assistance in solving and/or understanding the problem as well as the services of a third-party mediator in disputes involving University programs.

Career Development and Placement

Students and alumni are encouraged to seek the services of the staff of the Office of Career Development and Placement, which offers career planning on both an individual and group basis. In order to assist students in planning their careers and in designing strategies to carry out successful job searches, it uses a range of materials and computer resources. The Office of Career Development and Placement sponsors workshops, career fairs, and other events and gives special assistance in résumé writing, interview skills, credential file documentation, and job search strategies. It publicizes job opportunities in a weekly job bulletin.

Whether students are interested in a simple résumé review, a complex change in professional direction, or positioning for an internal promotion, NLU students can get professional assistance from the Office of Career Development and Placement. Services include the following:

values/skills/lifestyle awareness
decision-making
job search strategies
writing
interviewing skills
credential files referrals
career counseling
related workshops as needed
weekly job bulletin
annual career fair
career reference library
computerized résumé referrals

The Office of Career Development and Placement maintains data on the employment market as well as information regarding placement of recent graduates of all programs.

Health Services

Health Services Offices (x2258) are available on both the Chicago and Evanston campuses. Health Services are coordinated by registered nurses and nurse practitioners with consultation provided by a physician. The university physician is available by appointment at the Evanston Campus. Telephone consultations and referrals are also available.

Students with long-standing or complex medical problems should consult with Health Services upon admission to notify the university of special needs or to receive a referral list of physicians and clinics. All students living in university housing are urged to identify a personal physician in the area who may be contacted when need arises.

In case of emergencies or serious illness, emergency medical assistance should be requested through the Office of Student Affairs. Health Services staff is available to consult with students who become ill while attending National-Louis University. When illness causes an extended absence from class, it is the student's responsibility to contact the Registrar's Office (x2295). Documentation of the illness may be requested.

Health Insurance

A student health insurance plan is available for all students. Brochures describing the plan are available in the Office of Student Affairs (x2262) and from Health Services (x2258).

Services for Students with Special Needs

National-Louis University continuously seeks to ensure that its programs and services are fully accessible to students who have special needs. The Office of Student Affairs works with students to help them clarify their needs, and assists them in identifying and utilizing appropriate accommodations. This office also provides guidelines for documentation of a disability that may require academic accommodation.

Students may meet with staff members in the Office of Student Affairs in order to utilize most effectively the following services:

testing accommodations and other services;
priority registration;
tutoring and study skills;
individual and group counseling and support;
career counseling and job search assistance;
referral and liaison to state rehabilitation agencies;
access assistance for mobility impaired students;
other services and advocacy as needs are identified.

Special Events

The purpose of special events programming is to provide students an opportunity to socialize with their classmates, to meet other students enrolled at the university, and to encourage a meaningful bond between students and the larger institution that is National-Louis University. Examples include: dinner dances, convocations, workshops, seminars, miscellaneous outings (i.e., sporting events; comedy clubs, etc.).

Information about special events is published through newsletters and calendars. Information is also posted on resource boards, discussed at student representative meetings, and disseminated through campus and/or United States Postal services.

Student Information and Regulations

A university requires an environment conducive to intellectual and personal growth of its students. National-Louis University seeks to cultivate a sense of personal integrity in each of its students. Students are expected, therefore, to strive toward this objective and to develop as individuals in a manner that is consistent with the educational purposes of the university.

National-Louis University has no religious affiliation and welcomes students of all persuasions. Tolerance of others, respect for differences, and cooperation for the good of all are expected in both precept and practice. A consistent policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, handicap, or national origin is adhered to in all matters affecting the students and faculty of the university.

Additional Student Services

Typing services list: Listing of individuals who will type students' papers for a fee.
Student Newsletter: A quarterly publication, The NLU News, focuses on issues and information of interest to students earning degrees through NLU field programs.
Student ID cards: ID cards are automatically sent to new students within four weeks of their class-start date. Students who do not get one, who change their address or last name, or who need to replace a lost card, may call the Office of Student Affairs.
Student Representative System: Coordinated by the Office of Student Affairs, this association of elected representatives from each field-group meets quarterly to discuss topics of interest to all field students. Faculty and program leaders are invited to attend these meetings. Common problems and solutions are freely discussed, as well as the general needs of the students enrolled in NLU field programs. Student Representatives also distribute to their classmates information from the Office of Student Affairs.

Any currently enrolled student can use any of these services and programs.

Alumni may take advantage of the Career Development and Placement services at any time. The first five credential-file referrals will be made at no charge; additional referrals will be $3 each.

Library Resources

National-Louis University Library collections and services are offered to thousands of NLU students nationwide. Whether students are enrolled in on-campus or off-campus programs, all National-Louis University students have access to the resources of the university library.

The four Illinois campuses of NLU (Evanston, Chicago, Wheaton, and Wheeling) have libraries with collections of more than one million books, periodicals, and microforms that support the undergraduate and graduate curricula. ILLINET Online is the University Library's automated card catalog and circulation system. ILLINET Online provides all NLU students access to the materials in the NLU library collection and the collections of 40 plus academic libraries and more than 800 public libraries throughout the state of Illinois. In addition to having book borrowing privileges through the ILLINET Online system, the NLU library will reimburse out-of-state students up to $100 per year for a guest library card at any library in the area.

CD-ROM (compact disc-read only memory) databases support students' library research and information needs. The database available at the campus libraries in Illinois and the academic centers support the curricula at each location. These databases provide indexing and abstracting of journal articles in the subject areas of education, allied health, science, sociology, psychology, management and business, as well as general periodicals and dissertations.

The librarians and staff at the university's Evanston library, support the academic programs by providing database searches, reference assistance, and book and journal article delivery services. Student reference and library information requests are handled through the university's Evanston library that maintains a seven-day-a-week toll free reference hotline (800) 443-5522, extension 2505.

Computer Labs

Computer labs and National-Louis University serve as a focus for making computing resources and services available to students and faculty. They are used by classes requiring computers, academic computing seminars, students and faculty doing class work and for faculty demonstration. Each lab contains 8 to 20 microcomputers, some of which are connected to printers. Other equipment, such as overhead projector computer displays, oversized or color displays, networks, text and graphic scanners, laser printers, CD-ROM and videodisc players and specialized hardware are available in some labs.

Evanston Campus labs include: one IBM PC lab, an Apple/Macintosh lab, and an Apple lab in the Baker Demonstration School.
Chicago Campus labs include: one IBM PC lab, an Apple/Macintosh lab in the fifth floor library and a terminal lab for working on the mainframe.
Wheaton Campus labs include: one IBM PC lab, an Apple/Macintosh lab and a networked IBM PC lab.
Wheeling Campus provides networked labs: both IBM PC and Apple/Macintosh.

Software Availability

Each campus has a software library housed in that campus's library resource center. These programs are available for checkout for use within the computer labs by students, or for general (one-week) checkout by faculty. Some programs in the libraries are duplicated on several campuses, and for those which are not there is a procedure for requesting a program to be transferred to another campus on a temporary basis. Each fall the Academic Computing Advisory Committee solicits recommendations from faculty for further software purchases for the software libraries.

Computer services arranges institution-wide site licenses of software. Current site licenses include MicroSoft Office (IBM and Mac), SPSS (IBM), and the MECC collection (Mac). Copies of these programs for on-campus use by faculty and students can be arranged through the library.

The duplication of copyrighted software is a federal offense. National-Louis University employees and students are enjoined to possess and use only legal copies of all software. Call computer services for further information about "software piracy."

Consulting

Computer services makes available consulting resources to all students. Students may request assistance from the consultants working in the various computer labs. Lab consultant hours vary, depending on lab use and the demands of the quarter.

ACE Doctoral Handbook: Academic Support
Contact: thea@chicago1.nl.edu