Undergraduate Catalog 2009-2010
Division of Advising and Academic Resources
Executive Director: Elizabeth Higgins
Director, Learning Foundations: Elaine Wright
Coordinator, Developmental Mathematics: J. Scott Perry
Director, Office of Support Services for Students with Disabilities: Joyce Branaman
The Division of Advising and Academic Resources facilitates student access to education, provides seamless support systems and services to enhance student learning, and provides support for the academic initiatives of the University community. The departments of the Division are responsible for a variety of services. Advising Services provides academic advising support for students without a declared major, students admitted to GO, and non-matriculated students. Advising Services also coordinates a number of University-wide activities. The Office of Support for Students with Disabilities reviews documentation and coordinates accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Learning Foundations coordinates developmental coursework in mathematics, the learning strategy courses, and the Learning Centers. Learning Foundations also coordinates the University’s tutor training program.
The developmental course (MAT 009) provides students with instruction to help them achieve college level readiness in mathematics. The Learning Center offers tutoring in writing, mathematics, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Academic Self-Management course (FRS 180) offers learning strategies to assist students with study skills and the transition into higher education and the information course (FRS 197) offers students the opportunity to go beyond Google. The Office of Support for Students with Disabilities Office provides a variety of services for students with disabilities.
Advising Services is also responsible for veterans’ certification and advising, providing transfer credit evaluations for all undergraduate international students, and New Student Advising and Registration Programs, USM’s orientation program. Advising Services is located in Payson Smith Hall in Portland (780-4040) and Upton Hall in Gorham (780-5652). Advising services are also available at Lewiston-Auburn College (753-6500).
FRS 180 Academic Self Management
This learning strategy course explores the six major control components that usually contribute to high academic achievement: motivation, methods of learning, use of time, monitoring of performance factors, and relationships to both physical and social environment. Presentations and readings involving learning research and theory are interconnected to student participation, assessment, and self-monitoring activities. Students will engage in the self-management and self-prescriptive process to determine what specific academic behaviors will best assist individual academic performance. Students must be registered in at least one other college course in order to provide an application-practice field. Cr 3.
FRS 197 Information Power Unleashed
This course unleashes the power of information, channeling students into a veiled world in which they will explore how to recognize when information is needed and how to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information. Topics will include basic computing skills, Web evaluation, locating and using books, articles and other media, critical thinking, plagiarism, citation style, primary and secondary sources, Boolean searching, and basic considerations in the writing process. Students will use USM library resources and those of other U.S. libraries and will be given a glimpse into the shadowy world of librarianship. Cr 1.
MAT 009 Developmental Mathematics
A review of fundamental topics of arithmetic needed for a study of algebra. This course will cover the following topics: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of fractions; use of decimals and percent; estimation; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of real numbers; exponents; order of arithmetic operations; distributive property; combining like terms; substitution to evaluate expressions and formulas; grouping symbols; addition and multiplication principle; formulas; sets; solving equations with fractions; translating English phrases into algebraic expressions; and solving word problems using geometric formulas. Successful completion of the course and the course exit exam at a C level (75%) or higher is required. Credit earned in MAT 009 does not apply or accumulate toward any degree program nor contributes to the GPA at the University of Southern Maine. After successful completion of MAT 009, students must then complete MAT 101B (College Readiness Mathematics) to fully meet college readiness in mathematics or place out of the math college readiness courses via a retake of the math placement exam. Cr 3.
