Academic Support & Resources

Davis & Elkins College is committed to providing our students with the academic support and resources you need to discover and excel.

Academic Support Services

Academic Skills ProgramFoundations (FND) 103, Academic Skills, is a two-semester special motivational process that provides goal orientation, confidence building, and resource management training for first-year students. Although open to all students, for some it may be a requirement as a condition of admission as determined by the Admission and Academic Standing Committee. As such, participation in all scheduled activities as well as the attainment of a specified grade point average is required. Program activities include weekly study skills groups, workshops, tutorial sessions and academic counseling. Students who satisfactorily complete all scheduled activities and earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.25 on a 4.0 scale at the end of the first semester will have met their requirement for admission to the College.

Those who show unsatisfactory progress (less than a 2.25 GPA and/or unsatisfactory progress in program activities) will be required to participate in the program another semester. Thereafter, those who have achieved less than a 2.0 cumulative grade point average will be permitted to continue in the College only if approved by the Admission and Academic Standing Committee. This course and its resources, as previously stated, are available to all D&E students upon request.

 
The Naylor Center for Teaching and Learning The Mission of the Naylor Center is three-fold: to transform the learning experience of students with learning disabilities, support the heightened performance of students, faculty and staff within the Center and across campus, and to create access to education by providing scholarships to students whose disabilities might be a barrier to their qualifying for other scholarship assistance.

The Center offers three distinct programs: The Supported Learning Program, The Academic Support Program, and Disability Services (504 Accommodations).

The Academic Support Program

• Tutoring: All peer-based tutoring on campus is coordinated through the Naylor Center. Tutors in any subject can be provided when possible and requested.
• Probation: Currently all students on Academic Probation are required to spend two hours a week in the Naylor Center. This time is to be used for studying – independently or in groups. Instructors do assist when requested.
• Retention: Students can be referred to the Naylor Center by professors who are concerned about a student's performance in class. Students can use the Center to form study groups, study hall, meet with a tutor, or receive strategies from an Instructor.

The Supported Learning Program Since 1987, Davis & Elkins College has offered a program to provide individual support to College students with specific learning disabilities. This comprehensive program includes regular sessions with one of the learning disabilities instructors and specialized assistance and technology not available elsewhere on campus.

To participate in the Supported Learning Program, a student must meet the admission requirements of the College and complete a separate application to the program. The program is fee based and accepts a limited number of students.

• Fee based program that provides comprehensive support to students with documented Specific Learning Disabilities and ADHD.
• Mandatory weekly meetings with an SLP Instructor.
• Monitor student’s progress throughout the semester.
• Offer testing accommodations; provide services such as outlines and proofreading.
• Help students identify preferred learning styles.
• Provide peer note takers when appropriate.
• Help students plan for effective time management. Encourage self-advocacy skills.
• Provide strategies for effective test taking, note taking, studying etc.
• Help students balance social/academic life of college.
• Provide assistive technology as needed (Books on CD, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Kurzweil)

Disability Services (504 Accommodations)

• Provides accommodations for students with disabilities that are not members of the SLP as required by federal law.
• Disability must be documented.
• It is the student’s responsibility to inform the college of their disability and request accommodations in accordance with their documentation.
• Students are not required to apply or join the fee-based Supported Learning Program, but it is important to note that the SLP provides comprehensive support instead of merely providing accommodations as required by the ADA.

Career ServicesCareer counseling is considered to be an important part of total life adjustment. Therefore, the Career Management Center is equipped to offer the entire range of career and vocational counseling services leading up to and including possible career placement.

Career services include the providing of workshops or individual assistance in preparing a resume, in preparing for the interview, in developing an effective and organized job search, and in creating a credential file for use by prospective employers or graduate school admissions offices. (This service requires no additional fee and includes the duplication and mailing of the file to prospective employers or graduate schools.)

Students are encouraged to begin career planning as freshmen so that by their senior year they are well on their way toward a meaningful life goal. This should mean that the transition between college and employment or graduate school will be made with a minimum amount of difficulty.

Academic Resources & Facilities

Booth LibraryThe Booth Library, opened in 1992, is the centerpiece of the campus. Spanning the College glen to connect the northern and southern areas of the campus, the library combines an award winning design with the services and resources needed to meet the information needs of the College community. The collection numbers over 130,000 items and is accessed through a web based catalog. The library currently subscribes to over 200 periodicals and has access to numerous electronic resources. Many of these electronic resources are provided through the College’s membership in the Appalachian College Association including hundreds of full text journals, thousands of electronic books, and many reference databases from the Appalachian College Association’s William G. Bowen Central Library of Appalachia. The library also houses a large collection of media materials such as CDs, DVDs, and video tapes. In addition, the Booth Library is a Federal Depository with a U.S. government documents collection. Reference service and library instruction are available during most open hours.

The facility is an inviting place to work, with seating for 210, including carrels and seminar rooms for group study. The library also features a community room that is available for group meetings, a student lounge, a media center, a media previewing room, and a computer lab. Microform readers and copy facilities are available as well. The Scholars Room houses the special collections including the College archives.

Writing Center Located in Jennings Randolph Hall, the Writing Center and its online companion site provides help with all your college papers and writing assignments: not just English essays, but business theses and biology lab reports, history and political science research papers, psychology and sociology article reviews, take-home essay exams, job and grad school applications, basic word processing, resumés, senior projects, and so on. The Writing Center is staffed by a faculty director from the Davis & Elkins College English Department, and trained student tutors enrolled in our Introduction to Journalism and Advanced Composition courses- so you can count on getting the help you need. We are open to everyone: every student in every class.

Computer Services Center

The Computer Service Center is the administrative hub for all College computing, and serves the needs of both academic and administrative users. Campus Information Technology laboratories for general student use include facilities in the Booth Library (available 24/7), three labs in the Science Center, and in Albert Hall. These facilities run a core of word processing, database management, and spreadsheet programs, as well as departmental specific software in support of the academic program. Most classrooms have computer projection capability either through built-in systems or readily available portable systems. Campus administration requirements are met with a multitasking server running Datatel integrated software. All computers are connected to the campus fiber-optic network giving access to a variety of campus resources.

Flynn PlanetariumThe planetarium is located in Eshleman Science Center, was recently refurbished and now features seasonal public “star shows” each semester. Originally opened in the early 1970s, the facility houses a new Venus star projector and recliner-style seating for up to 35 people.

Eshleman Science CenterThe science center was completed in 1972, and houses classroom and laboratory facilities for the College’s natural sciences and nursing programs as well as classroom space for several other disciplines. A multi-purpose, 120-seat lecture hall, seminar rooms, planetarium, darkroom, greenhouse, classrooms, offices, and computer center and laboratories add to the versatility of Eshleman Science Center.

Harper-McNeeley Auditorium The auditorium has a seating capacity of 1,300 and is large enough for college assembly and meetings involving the entire student body. The Paull Gallery, which is adjacent to the balcony areas of the auditorium, allows space for viewing special works.

Sport Science Department's Exercise Physiology Lab Features a metabolic unit, Quinton treadmill, EKG machine, exercise bikes, and all equipment necessary for a quality program.

Kelly ObservatoryCompleted in 2000. It houses three telescopes, one made by Mathew J. Kelly of Elkins in 1928, formerly housed in the old observatory.

Pigeon Creek Experimental Watershed Encompasses 134.7 (54.53 hectares) acres of rural Randolph County, West Virginia. The watershed is located 1.2 miles (1.9 km) NE of the Davis & Elkins College campus on the outskirts of the city of Elkins. The area was designated as a research area during the summer of 2001 and is one of six small watersheds being investigated by member colleges of the Appalachian College Association. Institutions involved in the Collaboration through Appalachian Watershed Studies (CAWS) include Davis & Elkins College (West Virginia), Ferrum College (Virginia), Lindsey Wilson College (Kentucky), Montreat College (North Carolina), University of the South (Tennessee), and West Virginia Wesleyan College (West Virginia).

Robert E. Urban Nature Study Area An approximately 30-acre area that provides a resource for nature study, teaching, scientific research, recreation, and quiet reflection. It is also an important feature in the campus aesthetic, and a link to our historical and cultural heritage. Located on the ridge above Roxanna Booth and Gribble Residence Halls, the area has been maintained in a forested condition since the time that the Davis and Elkins families were living in the Graceland and Halliehurst Mansions.

The Nature Area includes several different ecosystem types, including a stand of old-growth Appalachian hardwood forest with a number of trees, mostly oaks, that attain breast height diameters of three feet or more. Another small part of the area was planted in white pine in the 1940s. A smaller portion yet is essentially in an old-field successional sequence. The area is traversed by the self-guiding S. Benton Talbot Nature Trail.