Academic Services
ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT. Academic Advisement is an important part of a student's progress through a chosen program of study at WWU. Academic advisers assist students in their consideration of life goals and in developing an educational plan to meet those goals. Academic advisers provide students with information about career options, academic policy, procedures, resources and programs. Specific attention is given to appropriate placement and satisfactory academic progress. If a student fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the academic adviser works with the student to develop a plan to achieve academic success.
All degree seeking undergraduate students are assigned an academic adviser to assist them in making the most of their university experience. Preprofessional students are assigned academic advisers who are familiar with specific professional programs.
CAREER CENTER. The Career Center provides services that assist students with the process of self-assessment to determine a major, investigate potential careers, and develop the skills necessary to secure employment. Assessment tools such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory are used to assess interests and personality at no charge to the student. A Career Values Card Sort is used to identify career values. Students are encouraged to select occupations to explore through job shadow and informational interview experiences. Connections are made through the Career Network database to facilitate the process of exploring careers. The Career Center hosts a Graduate School Fair, a Career and Internship Fair, and other events that give students the opportunity to network with professionals and learn more about potential career paths. The yearly Etiquette Dinner is another opportunity to develop skills and knowledge that will benefit career development. For more information, contact the Career Center at 527-2664.
Placement Services. Each quarter the Career Center coordinates visits from graduate schools and professional programs, providing the opportunity for students to participate in interviews for acceptance to these programs without the necessity of traveling long distances. Students have the opportunity to receive assistance with the job search process by attending workshops presented or hosted by the Career Center. The topics include: resume writing, job search skills, interview techniques, and applying to graduate school.
Cooperative Education. The University provides a cooperative education program that integrates academic learning with a work environment. Students receive academic credit for a pre-arranged work experience. (See listing under specific departments/schools for credit and grading applicable to that major.) Department co-op advisers and students determine an appropriate work site in collaboration with the Cooperative Education Coordinator. The Coordinator then monitors the students' paperwork and progress throughout the quarter. For more information, contact the Career Center at 527-2664.
Service Learning. Many academic courses offer opportunities for students to participate in service work in the community.
KGTS/POSITIVE LIFE RADIO is federally licensed as an educational, community-service station. Positive Life Radio's mission is to be a community of believers promoting positive values through Christian music radio. This is accomplished by; 1. Stirring listeners toward a deeper relationship with Christ, 2. Equipping WWU students to impact their community through broadcast training, 3. Serving the Pacific Northwest through 5 partner stations and 13 translators. Owned by Walla Walla University and operated as an Academic Support department the station serves the Communications and Languages Department and others by training students in broadcasting, management, audio production, sales and development, engineering and research. KGTS/Positive Life Radio is funded primarily by listeners and local businesses with support from WWU.
The Positive Life Radio Network serves other Northwest radio stations with Christian music and programs 24 hours each day. Students receive practical experience in network programming and management.
LIBRARIES. The combined WWU libraries contain over 180,000 items, including books, videos, DVDs, e-books, and journals. Access to thousands of journal articles is provided through full-text databases.
Research starts on the WWU Libraries home page (library.wallawalla.edu). The online catalog, along with over 98 article databases to which the Library subscribes, can be searched here. Links to web pages at the Portland and Montana campuses are also available.
Books and Media. Using the online catalog, students can search collections of books, media, e-books, and journals at the Peterson Memorial Library, Curriculum Library, Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory, Montana MSW sites, and the branch Nursing Library in Portland, Oregon.
Summit borrowing, made available through membership in the Orbis Cascade Alliance, offers direct access to over 28 million books, sound recordings, films, and video tapes held by 36 other academic libraries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. College Place and Portland students, faculty and staff may request items directly through the Summit Catalog. Materials may be requested for pickup at the Peterson or Portland libraries and are delivered within three to four days. Presently, the Summit service is not available to the Montana MSW sites.
Articles and Indexes. Online databases selected to support the university's curriculum are available through the WWU Libraries home page, under the Articles tab of the main search box. Example databases include:
- Academic Search Premier
- ProQuest
- CINAHL
- PsychArticles
- SocIndex with Full Text
- Computer and Applied Sciences Complete
- JSTOR Arts and Sciences
- E.G. White Writings online
- SDA Periodical Index
Subscriptions for many of the library's databases are made possible by membership in library consortia such as the Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE) and the Orbis Cascade Alliance.
Peterson Memorial Library. Located on our College Place campus, this main library for the Walla Walla University community houses the majority of the libraries' print collections. A variety of individual and group study areas are available, including the library board room which may be reserved for group meetings or study sessions. Microform readers make microfilm material accessible and TV/VCR/DVD units located throughout the library provide viewing points for media. A PC lab with computers, a scanner, and a printer allow students to do research and write papers all at one location.
Curriculum Library. Located in Smith Hall, this library contains professional literature on education, K-12 textbooks, children's literature, magazines, standardized tests, math and science manipulatives, games, and curriculum guides.
Portland School of Nursing Library. This facility serves nursing students and faculty on WWU's Portland, Oregon campus.
Montana Libraries. Small site collections are available in Billings and Missoula to meet the immediate needs of students enrolled in the MSW program at those locations.
Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. A small collection of books is located at the marine laboratory. It provides basic resources to students enrolled in summer biology classes.
TEACHING LEARNING CENTER. The Teaching Learning Center (TLC) offers drop-in tutoring free of charge and private tutoring for a minimal fee to all students enrolled at Walla Walla University. Tutoring is offered to students taking classes in the areas of business, mathematics, engineering, languages, science, and writing. Tutoring in additional areas is available upon sufficient demand. The writing center helps students with papers assigned for any class, and reading and study skills classes are offered to improve those specific academic skills. Disability support services are available for students with documented disabilities.
VETERANS BENEFITS. Walla Walla University is an approved training institution for veterans eligible for educational benefits. The required course load is twelve hours per quarter in order to maintain eligibility to receive maximum benefits. If you have questions about veterans policies, please contact the Veterans Administration coordinator in the Academic Records Office (509) 527-2491.