The fourth floor of Building 10 at Sinclair Community College offers several resources that may be of value to students, including the Testing Center, Disability Services, Center for Student Success and the New Student Enrollment Center. Each of these offices has a specific mission aimed toward assisting students, no matter how far into their degree program they are.
Testing Center
The Testing Center is a resource available for students who may need to take the Accuplacer test, make up a test that they missed for a class or are required to undergo a proctored exam. According to the Testing Center’s website, upon entering, they must sign in at the kiosk located in Building 10, on the fourth floor in room 444. The center is run on a walk-in basis, which means that students may be required to wait. It is required that individuals show their I.D. and must turn off their cell phones upon entering. The hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During fall and spring semester, the Testing Center offers Saturday hours, which are 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Disability Services
For students who feel as if they have an unfair disadvantage because of a disability, don’t be discouraged. Sinclair Community College has a Disability Services office for students with physical, learning and mental disabilities.
The Disability Services office is for students who have a documented disability and are looking for academic and/or physical accommodations around campus.
“The most common learning accommodation is extended time on exams in a distraction reduced environment,” Holly Brown-Wright, manager of Disability Services said.
Brown-Wright said this is appropriate for most learning disabilities.
Disability Services also offers note taking assistance, sign language interpreters, preferred seating for students who may need to sit closer to the front and permission to tape record the lecture.
Brown-Wright’s job is to review the documentation and determine the appropriate accommodations for the specific student.
She said her job is to know the law — what’s fair and not fair.
“We’re here to level the playing field for students with disabilities,” Brown-Wright said.
There are other counselors with different skills in the Disability Services office including those who specialize in physical, learning and mental disabilities.
Although there are counselors with education on specific disabilities, the office does not diagnose disabilities.
“A student has to have a documented diagnosis from a doctor, psychiatrist or a psychologist,” Brown-Wright said.
She said the process to being registered takes a few steps. Brown-Wright said the person has to be a current Sinclair student, and they have to self-identify as a student with a disability.
“We have forms that they have to take to their doctor to fill out [about] their disabilities and restrictions. Once they bring it back, they get set up with an interview and we evaluate what they need,” Brown-Wright said.
The Disability Services office is available at any time for disabled students. She said students can come at their own time; some students come for help right away, others try to overcome their issues by handling academics on their own.
“We can do it at any time, but you want to do it as soon as possible. It’s best to do two weeks before the term so everything is in place when you start classes,” Brown-Wright said.
Once a student at Sinclair is registered with the office, they are always registered. The only time Disability Services would re-evaluate a student is if their mental state is unstable.
Disability Services assists with physical accommodations around campus as well.
“I think most people, on the face of it, think that the office is here just to help students with disability accommodations, but we’re here to make all students accessible,” Brown-Wright said. “We make sure the whole campus is available to all students with any disability.”
She said this could include installations, such as electronic doors, wheelchair access, shorter counters, etc.
In Brown-Wright’s words, the purpose of the office is to assist students with disabilities in their academic pursuits.
“We just try to help out in any way possible,” Brown-Wright said.
For access to the Disability Services office, visit Building 10,Room 421. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Center for Student Success
Housed under the Center for Student Success is Pathway to Completion, Minority Student Success, the Ombudsman, Sinclair Talks, the Young Scholars Program and the Counseling office.
Pathway to Completion is a program designed to coach new students through their degree program.
“The coaches do, not only the academic advising piece, but also making the whole college experience a little more doable for students who are [really] intimidated and [really] unsure,” Theresa Parker, manager of Center for Student Success said. “I kind of say it makes this 26,000 plus student college a little smaller, because this student has this one person they can go to for everything.”
According to Parker, the program has a 98 percent retention rate. To get involved with Pathway to Completion, the students must be referred out of the Testing Center.
According to Parker, the Minority Student Success program is available for students who feel like a minority on campus. Through the program, students involved are referred to programs that could help them have better success in college. To get involved, the student can be referred by an instructor, or they can walk into the office and request involvement.
Parker said the college Ombudsman is available to help students navigate the policies of Sinclair. That means that if a student has already tried resolving an issue they are having with a particular department on campus and can’t seem to find a way to understand it or make it work for them, they can see the Ombudsman.
Sinclair Talks is a program that features presentations on various topics that may interest students. Parker said they host between 60 and 70 talks each semester. For a schedule of the talks for this semester, visit sinclair.edu/talks.
The Young Scholars Program starts in middle school and follows young students up until they start college at Sinclair. Through the program, students are able to earn a full scholarship at Sinclair.
The counselors at Sinclair are available to assist students who need emotional and academic support.
They are not able to diagnose students, but they are able to refer students to someone in the community who can. Re-admitted and students on academic intervention work directly with the counselors.
The Counselors are also responsible to oversee the Second Chance Scholarship, which is available for students with very few classes to take with no financial aid left.
In addition, the Center features a success wall. On this wall, students who have accomplished something through the center get their photo taken and a few sentences explaining what the Center helped them accomplish.
New Student Enrollment Center
Janet Schmitt, manager of The New Student Enrollment Center said the center is like the front door of Sinclair, meaning that the center is the first place incoming students go.
“Our responsibility is to be the front door of Sinclair and to case manage students from the moment we meet the student, whether that’s in a high school setting, or a workforce setting, someone who comes to us and reaches out to us, so really meet all new students and support them as they complete the enrollment process,” she said.
When a student first enters the New Student Enrollment Center, they are greeted, then walked through the “how to begin” process.
Schmitt said this means assisting students through the application process, then they determine whether a student is degree-seeking or taking classes for personal interest. If necessary, the student will be directed toward the Accuplacer test, then possibly arranged with a campus visit or appointment with an enrollment advisor. From that point, a student would attend new student orientation, then the Enrollment Center would be sure to make referrals to advising, financial aid and other student services, if necessary.
“We really are the intake of everyone, and our job in the Enrollment Center itself is to identify who you are as a student, and develop a pathway that is specially designed for you and your needs,” she said.
Sinclair Central is also an element that is run through the New Student Enrollment Center. It is a program designed for students who are looking to complete some enrollment process steps themselves, but wish to have someone there to be sure everything is completed correctly.
The New Student Enrollment Center and Sinclair Central’s hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. during fall and spring semester.