Information for Students New to the Department
Welcome to the Psychology, Human Service and Education Department. I would like to briefly orient you to some of the procedures in our department and strongly encourage you to seek out an academic advisor to discuss your Plan of Study here at MVCC. First of all, we use a team approach to advisement in our department, which allows you to talk to any advisor who is available when you are. A list of faculty office hours for this semester is enclosed and is also available outside our office (Payne Hall 350) and at our departmental web page.
Many of the services you will need are located in the Student Services Center on the first floor of Payne Hall. Offices in the Center can help with questions regarding admission, financial aid, billing, transcripts, registration, changing majors, counseling, transferring and general advisement. The Helpdesk (792-5608) can direct you to the appropriate office.
The following programs are currently available in our department: Human Services, Chemical Dependency Practitioner, Liberal Arts & Sciences: General Studies/Childhood Education (jointly registered with SUNY Oneonta), Liberal Arts & Sciences: Psychology, and Recreation and Leisure Services. We also hope to have separate transfer programs available shortly in Teacher Education grades 1-6 or grades 7-12 (not the Oneonta program). In addition, specific course sequences have been designated for those seeking state or national certification for Teaching Assistant, Child Care (CDA), Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC), or Chemical Dependency Prevention. Please talk to an advisor for details on any of these programs.
You can access your "Plan of Study" online by clicking on the Student Information and Registration System. You will need to obtain a PIN # from the Registrar in order to access this secure site where you can also add and drop courses, check course availability, update your personal information, and get midterm and final grades. I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with this site. Instructions for how to register online, during the dates when online registration is available, are enclosed. Please do not wait until the week before classes to register. Some classes fill up and others need to be cancelled due to low enrollment - signing up early can help to avoid both problems.
We expect that you will take ED100 College Seminar as early as possible in your academic career. College Seminar is designed to provide you with information about departmental and college procedures, study skills, time management, writing, and campus resources that will help you to be successful in your program of study. Be sure to register for a section of ED100 that is designated for this department (Human Service or Elementary Education). If you have already taken this course in another department or at another school, you do not need to take it again.
Please pay close attention to prerequisites for courses, particularly for math and English. Both math and English courses require placement test scores as a prerequisite. You may notice that a developmental math elective (MA050 or MA045), as well as EN099 Introduction to College English and a developmental reading course (DS050, DS051, DS080, ED110) are on your Plan of Study. These courses should appear on everyone's Plan of Study, even if you don't need them, in order to allow students to register for appropriate courses if needed. If you need to take any of these prerequisite courses, please plan accordingly. The Human Services and Recreation and Leisure Services programs also have "Restricted Electives", which means that you need to speak with an advisor to select those electives and have them entered into your plan of study so you can register for them.
If you are in the jointly registered program with Oneonta in Childhood Education, there are a number of specific issues to keep in mind. The program is intended only for those seeking certification in grades 1-6 who anticipate staying on the MVCC campus for the full 4 years of the program. Those planning to transfer to a different school should consult with an advisor to discuss available options. Students should also note that the sequence of Oneonta courses on the MVCC campus (the 3rd and 4th years of the program) only begins in the Fall semester and that two courses need to be taken on the Oneonta campus over the summer once MVCC courses are completed and before starting Oneonta courses. This is a demanding program and I strongly encourage you to speak with an advisor about it in the first couple semesters.
As you get close to graduating, please remember that in order to graduate from any program at MVCC, you need to fill out a graduation card (available at the Registrar's office) early in the semester you plan to graduate and return it to the Registrar. You also need to have a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent on file in the Registrar's office in order to graduate.
