Using both statements as a foundation for enhancing student development and learning, the College has established, as a goal, that it will “maintain a nurturing learning environment by providing comprehensive support and intervention services for every individual (3).” It is the role of the Instruction and Student Services division “to plan, organize, and implement instructional programming (credit coursework) and student services that support student achievement of educational goals from inquiry through graduation (4).”

Student/Enrollment Services
The mission of the Student/Enrollment Services Department is to identify, recruit, enroll, and retain students through effective student-centered programs and services (5). The department includes Admissions, Registrar and Records, Testing, Financial Aid, Career Counseling, and the Student Leadership Association (SLA). As a unit, the staff members have focused on providing quality services in a timely manner to the campus community. In one example, a Student/Enrollment Services Hotline was activated to give faculty, working with students, quick access to staff during peak registration and drop/add periods (6). In a second example, the cross-training of staff enabled all staff to be better informed and capable of providing more complete information during face-to-face and telephone contacts with students. Success was demonstrated through the Student Climate Survey results that showed a mean score improvement in satisfaction with the areas of Admissions, Testing and Financial Aid ranging from 2.6% to 7.1% (7).

Admissions
The Admissions Office coordinates student recruitment and outreach activities for prospective students; provides assistance to prospective students during the application process; processes applications for admission and creates the student record; and uses effective communication strategies to market the process to the community. The dean of Student Services coordinates and administers all admission requirements, policies, and procedures. (8)

The Student Ambassadors group is redesigned with responsibility for representing SCC on and off campus, assisting the SCC Foundation in various ways with regard to fundraising and community relations, and assisting the Office of Admissions with recruitment and retention. Advised by the Admissions recruiter and the Foundation director, the Student Ambassadors work with SCC faculty and staff in various supporting roles. They reach out to both prospective and current students by making them aware of the programs and services available at SCC. They assist with student activities, new student orientation, New Century Scholars events, the annual golf tournament, Spring Dinner Theatre, and Commencement (9). In December 2005, the group sponsored a clothes and food drive to help families in need during the holiday season.

New student orientation, an early alert retention strategy, is planned and organized by a committee of faculty and staff and coordinated by the Admissions recruiter and the dean of Student Services (10). The orientation is designed to encourage student success. All new students in degree and diploma programs are required to participate in a live orientation program or the online version of orientation – completely re-designed for fall 2005 (11). Student registration for the next semester is restricted until participation is documented. During summer pre-registration for fall 2005, staff and available faculty registered 1,350 students with over 50% of the new students being registered during two orientations held in the summer –one morning program in June and one evening program in July. Student satisfaction with orientation was added to the Student Climate Satisfaction Survey for the first time in 2005. The first year’s results show a mean satisfaction of 3.13 (on a 4.00 scale) with the live orientation and 3.14 with the online orientation (12).

Concurrent with the new student orientation, the department found that the student handbook needed revision. The 2005-06 Student Handbook was re-designed to focus on providing student success information and resources that assist students in reaching their educational goals. Divided into three sections, the front section (yellow pages) provides campus and community resource information, “How to...” information, and critical financial aid information. The weekly planning calendar (white pages) was designed to be used by students for managing their time and balancing their lives with work and study. The names of the months are listed in English, Cherokee and Spanish – reflecting the three languages most likely encountered and used in the College’s service area. The regulations section (blue pages) provides access to all codes and rules that affect student life (13).

In planning and implementing annual recruiting activities, the results from the New Student Survey are considered. In the survey on question # 12, new students evaluate their most important sources of information about SCC. Campus visits are at the top of the list followed by the catalog and visits to the high school by the SCC recruiter.

In the survey on question # 15, new students evaluate the quality of the information that they receive from admissions about careers, programs of study and financial aid. The mean score for these items for 2005 ranged from 3.10 to 3.24 (on a 4.0 scale). Scores on these items have shown a steady improvement over the past 5 years (14). Future improvements are focusing on developing additional marketing materials such as the View Book, program flat sheets and career area brochures for use in recruiting. Faculty are being involved in recruiting through presentations in high school classes and to community groups, displays at high school and community-sponsored career events, and presentations to prospective students visiting the campus (15).

Testing Center
Testing Center staff will schedule and administer the Accuplacer College Placement Test (CPT) for students entering the College. The students’ test results are made available immediately after completion along with an interpretation of the scores with regard to placement into English and math classes. After registration, the Testing coordinator monitors the students who are enrolled in English and math classes to make sure the placement is accurate.

Testing Center staff administer the CPT to area high school seniors who are vocational completers – the test serves as a state measurement for the high school. High school students also take the CPT to meet the admission requirement for dual enrollment.

Additionally, the Testing Center staff schedule and coordinate the Health Occupations Aptitude Exam (HOAE) administration. This test is given to students seeking to be admitted to selective admission Health Science Programs. Scoring, interpreting and relaying score results is done by the Testing coordinator working with the faculty in the various programs (16).

Registrar’s Office
The Registrar’s Office supports the registration process; maintains student records, grades, and transcripts; conducts commencement audits; and assures the accuracy and integrity of the student records (17). Student residency classification decisions and international student visa decisions are made by this office. The registrar monitors visa status and makes regular reports as required by the Immigration division of U.S. Dept of Homeland Security. The registrar works closely with faculty advisors on use of the registration and record system. The Registrar’s Office is responsible for managing Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) requirements and rights for students. For example, students may exercise their right to restrict access to their records by contacting the office and making the request in written form.

Financial Aid
SCC is approved to participate in Title IV Programs. The Financial Aid Office administers federal and state grants, scholarships, student loans and work-study. The staff assists students and parents in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), awards aid, and monitors compliance with eligibility standards. The director assists veterans by processing federal paperwork required for receiving their benefits and monitors compliance. The office staff offer numerous workshops to high school students, parents and adult students, participate in statewide FAFSA Day workshops and work with students and prospective students on a one-to-one basis (18).

Career Center
The Career counselor provides assessment and counseling to assist current and prospective students in evaluating their skills, interests, aptitudes, and abilities. Appointments may be scheduled for individual assistance in resume preparation, developing interviewing skills, career assessment and reviewing job-seeking strategies. Classroom and workshop presentations are regularly scheduled (19).

The Career Center also helps students clarify where they are in the career planning process and assists them in progressing towards identifying and achieving their educational/career objectives. The Career Counselor serves as academic advisor to students who are undecided about declaring a major.

Academic Advising
The College has established a comprehensive advising program in which each student applying to the college is assigned a faculty member trained as an academic advisor. Students uncertain or undecided about career goals are assigned to the Career counselor for academic advising. Students selected to participate in Student Support Services (SSS) are assigned an academic co-advisor within the SSS program.

The primary responsibility of an academic advisor is to guide students in making wise selections of course offerings with careful attention to institutional policies and degree requirements. In addition, effective advising assists students in identifying available internal and external resources that can have a positive impact on their SCC experience. Consideration of each student as a unique individual with unique needs is recognized as the foundation of the College’s advising program. The mission of academic advising and an array of valuable resources for use by advisors and students are included on the College’s academic advising web page. (21)

The College has an active, divisionally represented, Advising Committee (22), which designs and guides on-going advisor training and development opportunities for faculty and staff serving as advisors (23). This committee is also responsible for distributing timely advising updates (24) that are routinely sent to faculty and staff and are posted on the college’s web page. Flyers are sent to students each semester reminding them of the importance of working with their assigned advisor. (25) Student satisfaction with academic advising was added to the Student Climate Satisfaction Survey for the first time in 2004. In 2005, the mean satisfaction score showed improvement over the first year’s rate (26).

Student Support Services
The College has been funded since 1990 for a Title IV, Student Support Services (SSS) education grant through the Department of Education. SSS provides students opportunities for academic development and assistance with basic college requirements and serves to motivate students towards the successful completion of their post-secondary education. The goals of Student Support Services are to increase College retention, graduation and/or transfer rates and to foster an institutional climate supportive of serving the targeted SSS population. To qualify for services students must have a need for academic support and then meet one of three criteria: first-generation college, income eligibility, or have a documented disability. (27)

Support services are offered in the following areas: counseling and advising; assistance with transfer to a four year institution; cultural enrichment; volunteer enrichment; classroom accommodations for students with documented disabilities; financial support through our scholarship workshops/supplemental grant aid program and professional development funds; career exploration; “motheread/fatheread;” college and community-wide resource referrals; and tutoring instruction provided through our certified tutoring program. SSS also has an extensive loan program including lap-tops, PDA’s and classroom tools to help students achieve their academic goals. Also available to students is a large resource area equipped with three open, Internet-connected computers and a wide variety of course-ready, job-ready, resource-ready materials in text, video and software mediums.

The 2004-05 Student Support Services Performance Report for the department indicates 188 students participating in the program with a 65% retention rate of student participants from fall 2004 to fall 2005. The data reported showed that 81% of the student participants were in good academic standing at the end of the program year. Overall, the program has been very successful in working with students (28).

Disability Services
In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, Southwestern Community College upholds the policy that all students will be provided equal access to the institution and that no other qualified person shall be excluded from participation in, declined the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any College program or activity. Students are responsible for contacting the disabilities office and providing documentation. Disability Services is administered and coordinated through the Student Support Services Program (29).

Tutoring
The tutoring program is available to all full and part time students at Southwestern Community College. Students may receive up to seven hours of free tutoring services in most subject areas, subject to the availability of tutors. Students are individually matched with peer or faculty tutors for the duration of each semester. Academic Support Groups provide trained group leaders for students who want to study together for specific courses. The Southwestern Community College tutoring program is certified through internationally recognized College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). Campus tutoring is administered and coordinated through the Student Support Services Program (30).

During the 2006 spring semester the College increased student tutoring options with the addition of online tutoring through SmarThinking. SmarThinking provides highly qualified online tutors in various academic disciplines including English, economics, accounting, science, Spanish, and mathematics (30a).

Student Leadership Association
Prior to 2003, the College had a long history of student involvement through the Student Government Association (SGA). The SGA was replaced by the Student Leadership Association (SLA). Formed to give greater focus to student learning, leadership development, and campus involvement in student life, the SLA is focused on providing education related programs and activities while serving as primary advocates for students. They implement campus-wide activities, educational and cultural events while being responsible for student activity fees paid by students during registration. The SLA office is located in the Student Lounge area in Bradford Hall.

The SLA is composed of a team of 12-14 students who provide the leadership and direction of the organization. Within these members, there are seven officers, including the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, meeting facilitator, public information officer and the student activities coordinator. These groups of student leaders receive leadership training, hold monthly meetings, and plan some of the campus events and activities. They are a voice for student concerns and work closely with the SLA advisors in planning the year’s activities. Students are encouraged to enrich their college experience at SCC by attending and participating in SLA activities. The Career counselor serves as the SLA’s primary advisor, the registrar serves as a co-advisor and the dean of Student Services serves as a special advisor on leadership financial matters. The SLA organization and activities are detailed in the SLA Handbook (31).

Students who want to be considered for SLA leadership must have strong leadership skills, have a 2.75 GPA and be enrolled with a minimum of 6 credit hours. Interested students will have an opportunity to complete an application and, for those meeting qualifications, there will be scheduled interviews for selection.

Students are encouraged to form clubs and organizations focusing on special interests or curriculum programs. Although clubs have membership requirements, no organization at SCC discriminates on the basis of race, color, sex, age, disability, religion, nationality, or political preference. Requirements for establishing student clubs and organizations are detailed in the SLA handbook. Active clubs for 2005-06 include (32):

The SLA involves campus clubs in campus events by offering financial incentives when club members participate in planning, publicizing, organizing, and setting up and cleaning up after the events. During 2005, SLA sponsored a Valentine’s Dance, Spring Fling, Summer Hamburger Grill, Fall Welcome Back Event, and a Pet Food Drive for Hurricane Katrina and Rita animals. The SLA was a co-sponsor for the Constitution & Citizenship Day (33). All events were well attended by students and faculty. The Student Climate Survey found an increase from 2004 to 2005 in student satisfaction with the SLA, campus clubs and their sponsored activities (34).

College Services Support Student Learning
For several years, the college has used surveys (such as the Student Climate Survey) to gage student satisfaction with services to students and the campus environment. In 2005, the College decided to take another assessment step by participating in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). CCSSE is used for assessing quality in community college education. The results assist colleges in focusing on good educational practices — defined as practices that promote high levels of student learning and retention — and identifying areas in which community colleges can improve their programs and services for students.

The benchmarks report for SCC indicated a mean of 57.3 on the “Support for Learners” benchmark. This score exceeded the mean score by 5.0 points of a group of NC community colleges participating in the survey and by 7.0 points over all colleges participating in the survey. When viewed by part-time versus full-time status and by the number of credit hours earned, the score remained higher than both comparison groups (35). The outcomes indicate that SCC is providing effective support for students.