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The Office of Academic Development provides quality academic and support
service programs for Northeastern students. The office is responsible for
the following areas: Academic Advising; Tutorial Center; English Language
Program (ELP); Handicap Educational Liaison Program (HELP); Special Programs,
which includes Student Support Services, Project Success and Proyecto Pa'Lante; Summer Transition Program; University-wide Placement and Competency examinations through the Testing Assessment Center; university-wide assessment; developmental
reading; transfer programs; math, reading and writing labs; and El Centro,
a community outreach center. This office works to establish or continue
liaisons between all support services within the University; encourages
innovative approaches to instruction; assists underprepared students; participates
in liaison activities with other institutions and supports services and
programs for entering student populations. Student and advisory councils
provide suggestions and feedback on the activities and programs of the office.
Advising Program
The University Advising Program provides academic and developmental
advising for all undergraduate students who have not declared majors. Through
the Advisement Center and its staff, each student is assigned a university
advisor, usually a faculty member, who guides the student through course
and program selection, testing and other general education requirements,
and the process of career choice and personal development. Students remain
with their university advisors until they declare a major, at which time
the major department will assign a major advisor.
Special advisors are available for students interested in preengineering,
pre-law and pre-professional health sciences programs. The Advisement Center
will provide further information.
Assessment and Testing
Located in Room 3026 of the Classroom Building, Assessment and Testing
administers and coordinates a variety of assessment programs and services.
The programs include Northeastern' s competency examination program (including
the English Competency Examination of reading and writing) and its placement
testing program for incoming freshmen and new transfer students with fewer
than 30 semester hours of transfer credit. The Center also coordinates assessment
activities throughout the University. Working in collaboration with students,
faculty members, department and program leaders, and university administrators,
the Center staff sponsors and promotes activities to assess the impact of
programs and services on student learning and projects to increase student
learning, satisfaction, and academic success.
Freshman Year Experience
The transition from high school to a university environment is socially
and intellectually challenging for students. Considerable evidence indicates
that the quality of a student's experience during his/her first year at
the university influences academic persistence in earning a baccalaureate
degree. The Freshman Year Experience complements classroom and university-wide
initiatives designed to enhance the learning environment and college experience
of NEIU students.
Course Offering - ACAD-103 Freshman Year Seminar, 3 cr.
Designed to help first year students develop the skills and behaviors
that lead to a successful transition to the University environment.
El Centro
El Centro de Recursos Educativos/Educational Resource Center is the
university's outreach center for the Hispanic-American community. Known as
El Centro, this field center provides educational opportunities to members
of the Hispanic community in or near their own neighborhoods. Located in
the northwest area of Chicago, El Centro is easily accessible to residents
of West Town, Humboldt Park and Logan Square.
El Centro orients community residents to higher education, provides
university resources, improves the quality of life and increases employment
opportunities through skills development. El Centro serves the non-traditional
college student population by providing admission, registration, academic
advisement and other student services on site.
During each academic year, El Centro offers courses including natural
sciences, behavioral and social sciences, and humanities which fulfill the
university's General Education Program requirement. Elective courses develop
students' competence in languages, mathematics, reading, and academic skills.
The sequences taught at El Centro by full- and part-time faculty permit
students to carry a full academic load of 12 credit hours during both the
fall and spring semesters, with additional credit hours during the summer.
Many courses are taught bilingually in Spanish and English. Both instruction
and course work may be conducted in the language agreed upon between students
and teachers. In addition to the courses offered for academic credit, non-credit
offerings, such as lecture series, seminars and workshops are held throughout
the academic year.
For more information, contact the El Centro office, 3119 North Pulaski Road,
Chicago, Illinois 60641. Telephone (773) 777-9955 from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Friday.
Project Success
The Project Success Program was developed at Northeastern Illinois University
in 1968. It is primarily comprised of members of inner-city minority groups;
however, any student who has the academic potential but lack the necessary
skills to meet the standard university admission requirements may qualify.
Academic advising, teaching, and tutorial guidance are utilized in the attempt
to motivate and enhance the academic and social capacities of these students.
In addition, confidence building along with the development of study habits
helps students to adjust academically, socially, and psychologically. These
services assist students in making significant changes in their attitudes,
values, and academic interests as they mature toward graduation. |
