Human Services Technology

 Department Student Handbook

(Please read this as you are responsible for knowing and adhering to the material herein.)

Welcome! This handbook has been designed to help you successfully complete your professional training in the human services field!

▫   You must meet the Department’s criteria to be formally accepted into the Program.

▫   This involves:

°         Formally declaring your major as Human Services Technology.

§  This can be accomplished by meeting with a counselor/ advisor in Student Services.

°         Obtaining 3 letters of recommendation.

§  These must not come from family members.

§  These do not have to be lengthy- just a paragraph or two that attests to your capacity for becoming an exemplary social services professional.

§  Letterhead is preferred.

§  These must be signed by the individual writing the letter.

§  Examples of individuals that students commonly use and that suffice as references include:

·         Former employers

·         Professional co-workers

·         Teachers

·         Clergy

·         Social service personnel

▫   You should have your letters of recommendation completed in full and turned in by the end of your first semester at the latest.

°         These are to be given to your advisor.

▫   You should read the handout titled “Guidelines for Students at Risk”.

°         You can obtain one of these from your advisor or possibly through the AB Tech website at www.abtech.edu.

°         Although many of its points do not apply directly to Human Services/ Social Services majors, some do.

°         Please be aware that human service professionals are at some risk for exposure to communicable diseases.

°         Please be aware that the part under the subsection, “Requirements for Current Applicants and Students”, does apply to Human Services/ Social Services majors.

§  It reads as follows: “To protect the safety of A-B Tech students and those they come in contact with during clinical training, the following polices and procedures will apply to any applicant for or student enrolled in a health or related program.  Upon enrollment, the student must inform his/ her… department head of any medical, psychological, or psychiatric conditions that affect his/ her ability to provide safe clinical care.  The student will be required to be individually assessed by his/ her personal physician [or a licensed mental health professional] at his/ her own expense to determine eligibility for continuation of the program.  Eligibility for continuation will be based upon the following:  The potential harm that the individual poses to others; the ability of the individual to accomplish the objectives of the course curriculum; whether or not a reasonable accommodation can be made that will enable the student to safely and efficiently accomplish the objectives and/ or tasks of the course or curriculum without significantly exposing the student or other persons to the risk of infection.”

§  You are responsible for notifying the Department Chair immediately about any previous, current, or newly developing medical, psychological, and psychiatric conditions that might interfere with a successful completion of the program, especially internship.

▫   You are responsible for meeting all College and departmental admission requirements.

°         Failure to meet acceptance requirements will prevent you from being eligible to complete an internship which affects your eligibility for graduation.

▫   Being enrolled in the Human Services/ Social Services Program means that you are pursuing credit toward an A.A.S. (Associate of Applied Science) degree in Human Services Technology with a concentration in Social Services.

°         You will not be a social worker when you graduate as you are not earning a degree in the Social Work field.

°         However, once you complete your degree, you will be trained to perform several of the job functions that social workers traditionally perform.

▫   You are responsible for making certain that your advisor has a copy of your current PI Form (i.e., “Student Placement Information Form”).

▫   This form contains your academic placement information, your test scores, and possible transfer credits.

▫   AB Tech has mandatory placement.

▫   This means that you are placed in classes on the basis of test scores, on college credit previously completed at AB Tech, and on any college credit successfully transferred into the AB Tech system.

▫   This might also mean that you will have to do some developmental coursework before you are eligible to take some of the classes required for the completion of your major.

▫   You must pass all departmental courses with a “C” or above for them to count toward the completion of your degree.

°         Departmental course are those with a SWK, HSE, DDT, SAB, MHA, and COE prefix.

▫   If you earn below a “C” in such a course, you will be required to retake the course and pass it with a “C” or above in order to have it count toward graduation.

▫   All 060, 070, and 080 classes must be taken together and passed with a “C” or above.

▫   If you must take more than one developmental course, you must take ACA 115 at the same time you take these courses.

▫   If you do not feel ready to take CIS 110, you can elect to take a keyboarding or a preliminary computer science course before taking CIS 110.

▫   You are free to take as many different kinds of courses as you would like.

°         However, be aware that only the successful completion of certain courses will count toward the completion of a Human Services/ Social Services degree.

▫   The “College Catalog” that is in effect at the time that you declare your major as Human Services/ Social Services outlines the specific courses that you must successfully complete in order to graduate with a Human Services/ Social Services degree.

°         Please be aware that this Catalog cannot be dated more than 5 years prior to the date of your graduation.

°         You are advised to pursue Human Services/ Social Services coursework in the sequence listed in this Catalog.

°         You are advised to use this Catalog to keep close track of the coursework that you take and appropriately pass.

▫   Taking classes out of proper sequence can affect when you will be eligible for graduation and your course load in future semesters.

°         Because of this you are advised against switching back and forth between day and night classes offered by the Human Services Technology Department and against dropping or adding courses without first consulting with your advisor.

▫   You should consult with your advisor before substituting courses during registration periods, including drop/ add periods (i.e., schedule adjustment periods).

°         It is generally okay for you to substitute one section of a no departmental course for another section of the same course.

°         However, you should not substitute courses with different prefixes for a course without first consulting with your advisor.

▫   Please be aware that some courses require you to pass the course lab in order to be eligible to pass the class.

°         This is true for several departmental courses.

▫   To protect your grade point average, you should discuss the prospect of withdrawing from a course with the course instructor before the last day designated in the semester to withdraw if you are not passing a course sufficiently enough.

°         Remember that you must pass all departmental courses with a “C” or above.

▫   If you fail to adequately pass a required course with the designated grade, you must pass the course prior to being eligible for graduation.

▫   You can retake a course as often as necessary in order to pass it.

▫   If you repeat a course and earn a higher grade, the higher grade becomes the official grade and is used in tabulating your grade point average.

°         All grades that you have earned for a course will appear on your transcript.

°         Only a grade of “D” or above can replace an existing grade in a particular course.

▫   You are responsible for notifying the Registrar’s Office about any course that you repeat in order to eliminate a previous lower grade for the same course.

▫   Students have 6 weeks to contest a grade.

▫   You are establishing a college record during your attendance at AB Tech.

°         Therefore, it is important for you to keep your grade point average as high as possible, particularly if you want to apply to another institution and if you want to qualify for financial aid.

▫   Being successful in the human services field generally requires that workers have strong English communication skills.

°         Please be aware that in order to pass departmental courses you will need to demonstrate good English communication skills, particularly written and oral skills.

▫   If you earned college credit at another institution, you are responsible for making certain that the AB Tech Registrar’s Office receives a sealed copy of your transcripts.

▫   Nondepartmental courses are evaluated by the Admissions Office for consideration for acceptance.

▫   Departmental courses may be forwarded to the Department Chair for consideration for acceptance.

▫   You must complete a certain portion of the coursework required for your degree at the College to be eligible for graduation.

°         Please refer to the “College Catalog” for more details about this requirement.

▫   All degree-seeking students must take ACA 115 in their first or second semester.

▫   If you are a previous or a returning student who has taken the course, you do not have to take this course.

▫   If you have more than 20 hours of course credit with the College, this course can be substituted for a course worth 1 or more credit hours.

▫   If you have two or more developmental courses, you must take ACA 115 at the same time that you take these courses.

▫   A full course load is considered to be 12 credit hours and above.

▫   The amount of course credit hours that you carry per semester affects the rate at which you will be eligible to graduate.

▫   Students pursuing a Human Services/ Social Services degree normally carry between 12 and 17 hours per semester when they are pursuing their degree on a full-time basis through the day program.

▫   You should be certain to consider any financial aid course load requirements when you are ready to design a schedule and sign-up for classes for an up-and-coming semester.

▫   You should select a reasonable course load relative to program requirements, financial aid requirements, and the demands in your personal and vocational life.

▫   Going to college full-time is about equivalent to holding down a full-time job.

▫   It is better to take fewer courses, relative to your demands, and be successful than to take too many and be unsuccessful.

▫   Although the first path takes longer, you still successfully remain on the road to achieving your dream for which persistence, even in the face of adversity, often proves critical.

▫   At times, a course that you intend to take might be cancelled due to low enrollment.

°         If this happens, please contact your advisor promptly to see if you can enroll for another course.

▫   Some courses have prerequisites which means that you have to complete preliminary coursework before you can take such a course.

▫   You should be aware that the prerequisites for courses can change and that you are required to meet the prerequisites that are in place at the time a course is taken, regardless of the version of the “College Catalog” that applies to your degree completion.

▫   Some courses have corequisites which means that you have to take any courses that are designated as course corequisites at the same time that you take such a course.

▫   Courses listed in the “Curriculum Schedule” might have additional abbreviations in front of their section numbers.

▫   Such abbreviations have specific meanings:

°         W = the class is web-supported.

°         O = the class is online and is an internet class.

°         L = the class is a late-start class.

°         V = the class is a telecourse via TV.

°         Z = the class is delivered via the North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH).

°         + = the class is an honors course.

°         Y = the class occurs primarily on-line with some limited meeting times.

°         C = the course is a co-op

°         D = the class is a day class.

°         N = the class is an evening class.

°         S = the class meets on Saturdays.

°         RD = the class is a day class that meets at the Madison Campus.

°         RN = the class is an evening class that meets at the Madison Campus.

°         ED = the class is a day class that meets at the Enka Campus.

°         EN = the class is an evening class that meets at the Enka Campus.

°         XD = the class is an off-campus day class.

°         XN = the class is an off-campus evening class.

°         MD (odd #) = the class is a first mini-mester day class.

°         MN (odd #) = the class is a first mini-mester evening class.

°         MS (odd #) = the class is a second mini-mester day class.

°         MN (even #) = the class is a second mini-mester evening class.

°         MS (even #) = the class is a second mini-mester class that meets on Saturdays and/ or Sundays only.

°         I = the class is an independent study.

▫   Courses designated with an “O” or “Y” are online courses, either fully online or partially online.

▫   In order to register for these courses, you must have completed a previous online course or the online course orientation which is available at www.abtech.edu through the “Distance Learning” link.

°         The online course orientation can also be found at http://its.waketech.edu/ncnet/index.php?cid=2.

°         If you have not taken an online course before, you must provide your advisor with documentation that you have completed this online orientation before your advisor can register you for an online course.

▫   The online component of courses at the College are administered through a program called BlackBoard.

▫   To access your course through BlackBoard:

°         Go to www.abtech.edu

°         Click on the “Distance Learning” link.

°         Once there, click on the link that allows you to access BlackBoard.

°         Once you arrive at the BlackBoard website, you must login.

§  Your username or userid should be your first name, middle initial, last name all in lowercase letters and run together with no commas.

·         E.g., “johnfkennedy”

§  Your password should be your student identification number.

▫   Once you are allowed entry into BlackBoard, you will arrive at your homepage for BlackBoard which should have all of the courses that you are currently registered for listed to the right.

▫   You should click on the course that you wish to access.

▫   Under each course’s site, you will find links related to announcements, course information, staff information, assignments, communication, discussion boards, external links, tools, and the Holly Library.

°         You should familiarize yourself with all of these links to learn how they relate to each particular course that you are taking; they should possess information that you need to succeed in the course.

▫   You should check the homepage of each of your courses, especially courses that are 100% online, regularly in order to stay on top of what is occurring in the course (i.e., 2-3 times or more per week).

▫   If you run into problems using BlackBoard, you should do the following:

°         If you can login okay and access your course(s) okay, but the course materials that you need are not there as they should be, promptly contact your instructor.

°         For all technical issues, please click on the “Distance Learning” link found at www.abtech.edu and use the contact information found there to try to resolve your problem.

▫   All students pursuing a Human Services Technology degree take courses offered in traditional, hybrid, and online formats.

°         Approximately 50% of the course contact hours needed to complete the degree can be earned through a distance format.

▫   You are welcome to audit a course.

▫   However, audit work does not receive credit and does not count toward degree requirements.

▫   Financial assistance does not cover audit work.

▫   All prerequisites must be met before a course can be audited.

▫   Simply stopping class attendance does not withdraw a student from a course.

▫   In order to withdraw from a course, you must complete this process formally through the Registrar’s Office.

▫   If you stop attending a class, have excessive absences, and do not properly complete the withdraw procedure through the Registrar’s Office, your grade will turn into a “U” (an “unofficial withdraw grade”) which equates to an “F”.

▫   If you are not passing a course sufficiently enough, you should discuss the prospect of withdrawing from the course with the course instructor before the last day in the semester designated for withdraw.

°         Remember that you must pass all departmental courses with a “C” or above.

▫   You should discuss the prospect of adding, withdrawing, or substituting courses with your advisor before doing so.

°         Failure to do so can alter the rate at which you graduate.

▫   You should remain aware of how financial aid affects your course load requirements when making a decision to add or withdraw from a course.

°         You should contact your financial aid officer as you decide to add or withdraw from courses.

▫   If you drop a class, you should seriously consider when that course will be offered again.

°         Human Services/ Social Services courses are only offered at certain times during the academic year.

§  Most departmental courses are offered only one time per year.

°         If a course is a prerequisite for another course, this can impact when you will be eligible to sign up for the second course.

°         Such occurrences can delay the rate at which you progress toward graduation.

▫   You should be certain to consider any financial aid course load requirements when you are ready to design a schedule and to sign-up for classes for an up-and-coming semester.

▫   You are responsible for working out the details of any financial aid that you receive with your financial aid officer at the College.

▫   Some financial aid agreements have special rules about course load requirements, attendance, dropping out of classes, adding classes, and passing classes.

▫   If you are a student receiving financial aid, you are responsible for appropriately keeping up with any required paperwork in order to continue your financial aid.

▫   The Financial Aid Office can help you learn about scholarship availability and with any other funding issues that you might have.

▫   You should remain aware that the quality of your past and current academic records can impact your eligibility for future financial aid.

▫   The Financial Aid Offices is located in the Bailey Building.

▫   You are responsible for keeping track of your progress toward meeting the department’s academic requirements for graduation.

°         You should not rely on your advisor to do this for you.

▫   You should remember that you are required to pass specific courses with a grade of “C” or above before they will count toward graduation requirements.

°         All departmental courses have this requirement.

°         Nondepartmental courses might also have this requirement.

°         If you earn below a “C” grade in such a course, you will need to retake it until you pass it in order for it to count toward graduation.

▫   You are advised to keep track of your academic progress in the appropriate “College Catalog”, your “official” Catalog.

°         You can use this information as a point of comparison against the College’s record of your progress.

§  Your “official” Catalog is determined by your academic advisor in consultation with you.

§  It should be the Catalog that is in effect at the time that you formally declare your major as Human Services/ Social Services in the AB Tech system.

§  The official Catalog that is used to assess your progress toward graduation must be dated no more than five years prior to the date of your graduation (e.g., a student graduating in 2007 cannot use a Catalog dated earlier than 2003-2004).

§  You should be aware that prerequisites for courses change frequently and that you will be required to meet the prerequisites which are in place at the time a course is taken, regardless of the information about prerequisites that are listed in your official Catalog.

°         You are advised to keep track of your academic progress in your official Catalog as you complete each semester instead of waiting to assess your progress when you believe that you are eligible for graduation.

▫   The College and the Department rely predominately on two types of instructors—those who are full-time instructors and those who are adjuncts.

▫   Full-time instructors are employed on a full-time basis by the College in a specific department(s).

▫   Adjunct instructors usually have expertise in a specific subject-matter, are not full-time or part-time College employees, do not maintain an office at the College, and contract with the College to teach a specific course(s) on a course-by-course, semester-by-semester basis.

▫   Departmental adjuncts come from varying professional backgrounds, are often actively engaged in human services practice in the community, and bring a wealth of practice experience to the classroom.

▫   You should be provided with contact information for your instructors when you sign up for courses taught by them.

▫   Please feel free to inquire about the professional backgrounds of your instructors as you become curious.

▫   The Department Chair is Megan Getty-Odom, M.S.W./ L.C.S.W..

o   She functions as the primary administrative coordinator for the Human Services Technology program and as the department’s sole full-time instructor, advisor, and intership coordinator.

o   She holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters degree in Social Work (M.S.W.).

o   She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (L.C.S.W.) in North Carolina which entitles her to practice independently as a psychotherapist in the State.

o   She worked for several years in the human services field prior to obtaining an M.S.W. in 1990.

o   Her post-masters experience has predominately involved community college teaching and providing psychotherapeutic services, including:

§  Case management and treatment for those experiencing developmental disabilities/ delays, substance abuse, medical disorders, and, primarily, psychiatric difficulties.

§  Case management and treatment for children, teens, adults, and the elderly.

§  Individual, family, and group therapy.

§  Clinical supervision and program administration.

ú  Your fellow Human Services Technology majors and future colleagues:

°         Are of varied ages and backgrounds.

°         Are typically, but not always, female. (Males work and are needed in the profession but they happen to be a minority in number.)

°         Are often, but not always, more “mature” students.

°         May be a member of a minority group and may be bi- or multi-lingual.

°         Often, but not always, have a history of previous employment either inside or outside of the social services field.

°         Often, but not always, have experienced or witnessed significant life events, especially human struggles, and may have been consumers of services themselves or have had significant others who have been consumers of services.

°         Are not primarily gratified by money.

°         Have a sincere desire to help others.

°         Are very interested in human behavior and how the mind works.

°         Are “people people” even if they aren’t overly socially outgoing.

°         Are individuals who are interested in learning about and in developing their capacities in the following areas of human functioning:

§  Relationship boundaries

§  Problem-solving

§  Assertion

§  Patience

§  Cognitive flexibility

§  Self-awareness

§  Other-awareness

§  Congruence

§  Responsibility

§  Acceptance

§  Genuineness

§  Integrity

§  Empathy

§  Cultural Sensitivity

§  Respect

§  Resourcefulness

§  Objectivity

§  Fairness

§  Character development

§  Ethics

§  Professionalism

§  Compassion

§  Etc.

▫   Student Services exists to help you with admission issues, financial aid issues, disability support services, counseling, and etc.

▫   It includes the Counseling Center which exists to help with child care assistance, academic counseling, personal counseling, placement testing, Veteran’s services, and etc.

▫   Within Student Services there are personnel who are dedicated to help you problem-solve ways to overcome barriers that you might face in completing your education; these individuals are called “Student Success Advocates”.

▫   Please contact an instructor if you would like the support of a “Student Success Advocate” so that an instructor can refer you for assistance.

▫   Both Student Services and the Counseling Center are located in the Bailey Building.

▫   Information about Student Services and the Counseling Center is available through the College’s website at www.abtech.edu.

▫   The support services provided by Student Services, the Counseling Center, and the Student Success Advocates are free to students who are enrolled at the College.

▫   The Academic Learning Center is located in the Laurel Building.

▫   It provides open computer labs, a writing center, and English and Math tutoring labs for students.

▫   If you are interested in the English and/ or Math tutoring labs, you must have an instructor’s referral before you will be allowed to take part in them.

▫   You should contact a course instructor regarding such referrals.

▫   Information about The Academic Learning Center is available through the College’s website at www.abtech.edu.

▫   Students who are currently enrolled at the College are provided with a free College-sponsored email account to help them progress through their studies.

▫   Students should check their email account a couple of times per week to stay current on events that affect them.

▫   The College relies on the student email system to communicate important information that affects students.

°         For instance, final grades for each course will be mailed to this email account at the end of each semester.

▫   In order to access your student email account:

°         You will need your student identification number.

°         Go to www.abtech.edu.

°         Click on the section for “students”.

°         Click on the link to email.

°         Follow the instructions listed on that link.

▫   Please report any access problems that you have to the webmaster.

▫   The College’s website offers many online resources for students.

▫   The website’s address is www.abtech.edu.

▫   It is the site for accessing on-line course information, including BlackBoard.

▫   It contains a link to the College’s bookstore which allows you to look at the required texts for various courses and their costs.

▫   This site provides information including: College news and events, College announcements, registration, payment, distance learning, financial aid, the library, inclement weather, activity days, security, parking, academic programs offered by the College, career development, continuing education, disability services, transfer advising, records, regulations, and faculty/ staff/ department/ division contact information.

▫   This site also provides access to the College calendar, class schedules, the “Student Handbook and Calendar”, the “College Catalog”, and the “Curriculum Schedule”.

▫   The Department’s webpage can be accessed through the College’s website or through www.abtech.edu/ah/ss/default.asp.

°         It, too, has several resources available to help Human Services majors.

▫   All ABS (Adult Basic Skills) work is to be completed at the Pines Building.

▫   If you have to complete any ABS work, you are responsible for initiating contact with the staff in the Pines Building to arrange for the completion of this work.

▫   ABS work is completed once you are able to test into a relevant English, reading, and/ or math course.

▫   You are responsible for providing your advisor with verification that you have tested into a relevant English, reading, and/ or math course.

▫   You should begin any ABS work that you have to complete promptly so that it will minimally affect when you are eligible to graduate.

▫   Computers are available for student use at the Academic Learning Center which is located in the Laurel Building and through the Holly Learning Resource Center which is the College’s library.

▫   Many public libraries also have computers available for public use.

▫   You should not assume that you will be entitled to use the computers and printers located in the College’s classrooms or those of College staff (including your instructors) for the completion of academic assignments or for personal use.

▫   Information about the Academic Learning Center and the Holly Learning Resource Center can be found through the College’s website at www.abtech.edu.

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