Page 69 - SU Catalog 2017_18

68 Southern Union State Community College Southern Union State Community College
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
Gary Branch, Dean of Student Development
The purpose of the Student Development Division is to accommodate students in gaining
access to Southern Union by providing pre-admission counseling, academic advising, place-
ment testing, orientation, special needs counseling and special accommodations, tutorial 2.
assistance and other support services. The Student Development Division seeks to facilitate
the successful movement of students through the educational process to the completion of
their identified goals, including the pursuit and continuation of undergraduate education,
personal enrichment, specific job skills, and career preparation or development.
OBJECTIVES
1. To provide administrative leadership that will result in the effective interaction of
student development services with other programs and services of the college to fulfill
the institution’s mission.
2. To maintain cooperative relationships with other educational institutions and services
to facilitate smooth student articulation, student transfer, and graduation.
3. To provide counseling services which will facilitate the educational, vocational, social,
and personal development of each student.
4. To provide a systematic and effective academic advising program.
5. To provide a broad range of testing services for students to enhance their success in
their individual educational programs.
6. To provide a comprehensive orientation program for all new students.
7. To provide effective tutorial services to assist students with academic deficiencies in
math and English.
8. To coordinate recruitment activities which reflect and highlight the role and mission of
the college.
A. ACADEMIC ADVISING
At Southern Union, academic advising is an extension of the educational process with
its primary purpose to assist students in selecting appropriate course work for desired
programs of study. Professional academic advisors and specified faculty are available
on all campuses to assist students.
The College provides transfer guides to students for Alabama state colleges and universi-
ties. Transfer guides may be obtained from the academic advisors or by accessing the
following website: stars.troy.edu. Students planning to transfer to another college or
university upon completing their studies at Southern Union have the ultimate respon-
sibility for determining specific admission and course requirements at their intended
transfer institution.
B. ASSESSMENT SERVICES
1. Placement Testing
All new students are required to take the Accuplacer placement test in English,
reading, and math prior to enrollment in classes unless appropriate exemptions
are on file with the Admissions Office (see exemptions). There is no fee for the
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Accuplacer test. Students must first, however, submit an application for admission
to the Admission Office prior to testing (see the Admission Requirements section
of this catalog).
Accuplacer
A. Students included in any one of the following categories are required to take
the Accuplacer prior to registering for classes:
1. All students who have no previously attended college, and do not have
appropriate ACT/SAT/GED/COMPASS/ASSET scores. Scores may not
be more tha three years old.
2. All entering students who register for four or more credit hours of courses
per semester where appropriate placement scores are not required.
3. Transfer students who have not successfully completed a college level
English, Math, and/or Reading with a “C” or higher.
4. If successful completion of a college level English, Reading, or Math
course at a regionally accredited institution cannot be verified with a
transcript, faxed transcript, or a student grade report at registration, then
the student is required to take the Accuplace. (Unofficial transcripts or
reports are only used for registration purposes. All official transcripts must
be received before the end of the first term of enrollment.)
B. Exemptions:
1. Students who have the required scores for the Accuplacer, SAT, ACT,
COMPASS or GED test that are less than three years old.
2. Transient students who submit a completed transient form.
3. Students who enroll as non-credit students (Training for Business and
Industry, Continuing Education).
4. Students who successfully completed a college level English or math
course with a “C” or better at a regionally accredited institution as verified
by offciail transcripts, faxed transcripts, or student grade reports are
exempt from the Accuplacer for English, math and reading. (Unofficial
transcripts or reports are only used for registration purposes. All official
transcripts must be received before the end of the first term of enrollement.)
5. Students who scored 440 or higher prior to 2016 on the Writing compnent
of the SAT, 510 or higher after 2016 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
component of the SAT, or 18 or higher on the English component of the ACT are
exempt from the Accuplacer for Writing.
6. Students scoring 480 or higher prior to 2016 on the Reading component
of the SAT, 510 or higher after 2016 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
component of the SAT, or 20 or higher on the Reading component of the ACT are
exempt from the Accuplacer for Reading.
7. Students scoring 480 or higher prior to 2016 on the Math component of the
SAT, 510 or higher after 2016 on the Math component of the SAT, or 20 or higher
on the Math component of the ACT are exempt from the Accuplacer for Math.