Student Development

D&E offers plenty of opportunities for students to get involved, learn, and grow in new experiences both volunteering and working on campus.

A vital part of the Davis & Elkins College workforce consists of our student workers. Each year we hire several hundred students across campus and off campus too. For some students, this is their first job and it is a great way to develop essential work habits and enhance their resume.

We do not “place” students in jobs – we allow our process to mimic the real hiring process they will later encounter after graduation.

Students should bring original identification documents with them to campus for completing the Federal I-9 Form.  Copies cannot be accepted.  A list of acceptable documents is available here.

Most of our students utilize their Federal Work-Study awards, but we also hire students without Work-Study. We pay students once a month and those funds can be directly applied to their student accounts or be given in the form of a paycheck.

Contact Info for On Campus Student Employment:
Erin Quint, Payroll Coordinator
304-637-1346 * quinte@dewv.edu

community service

Community service is an important aspect of a Davis & Elkins College education. If you’d like to give back and make a difference, many opportunities exist on campus, within the local community and outside of the region.

A few examples include:

  • Volunteering to assist organizations or individuals with various projects in low-income communities.
  • Assisting low-income communities and organizations in addressing the causes and impacts of poverty, and creating ways to improve the quality of community service.
  • Building on the College’s relationship with low-income communities and organizations with a focus on improving the health, educational opportunities, and economic conditions in a community.

Students wishing to receive additional information may call Administrative Assistant for the Office of Student Life Lisa Senic at 304-637-1211 or via email.

Rotaract
The Rotaract Club of Davis & Elkins College provides an opportunity for students to enhance the knowledge and skills that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs of their communities and to promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Elkins, membership is open to students of good character and leadership potential between the ages of 18 and 30.

Vice President for Student Affairs Scott Goddard serves as club adviser. For information, call 304-637-1352 or 304-642-1352 or email.

writing center

Located in Charles E. Albert Hall, the Writing Center provides students with guidance and support on college papers and other writing assignments: not just English essays, but business theses and biology lab reports, history and political science research papers, psychology article reviews, take-home essay exams, job, and grad school applications, basic word processing, résumés, senior projects, and more.

The Writing Center is supervised by a Faculty Director from the Davis & Elkins College English Department, and trained student tutors (who are graduates of the Department’s Introduction to Journalism and Advanced Composition courses).

Students at Davis & Elkins can depend on getting the writing support they need. The Writing Center is open to everyone: every student, in every class.

The Naylor learning center

Academic Support for all D&E students is provided through The Naylor Learning Center.

The Mission of The Naylor Learning Center is three-fold:

To support the heightened performance of students and faculty campus-wide;

To transform the learning experience of students with learning disabilities;

And to facilitate greater access to higher education.

Disability Services

The Naylor Learning Center provides accommodations for students with disabilities (504 accommodations) who are not enrolled in the Supported Learning Program.

  • Disability must be documented by a clear psycho-educational evaluation/doctor evaluation.
  • 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 the SLP provides comprehensive support instead of merely providing accommodations as required by the ADA.

Additional resources can be found on the We Connect Now website.

Facilities
Davis & Elkins College is was founded in 1904 with many of the current classroom buildings having been built in the 1920s. The campus is in a mountainous region of West Virginia hence it is not easily navigable by individuals with moderate to severe ambulatory problems. Accommodations have been made to enable those with mild or temporary ambulatory problems to include:

  • Handicapped parking spaces
  • Curb cuts
  • Proper ramping in key areas
  • Restroom accessibility
  • Making accommodations by changing classrooms when necessary
  • Elevators in some recently built classroom buildings
  • Transporting students with temporary ambulation problems via security vehicles or golf carts
  • Moving students to different rooms in Darby and Gribble Residence Halls
  • Providing strobe lights for deaf students to synchronize with the fire alarm system
Supported Learning Program

Since 1989, Davis & Elkins College has offered a program providing individualized support to students with documented learning disabilities.

This comprehensive program moves far beyond federally mandated accommodations by taking a holistic approach to the development of these students. The program includes regular, weekly, one-hour sessions with a Supported Learning Program instructor. During these weekly meetings, strategies for time management, organizational skills, learning strategies and various study skills strategies are learned, implemented, and monitored. Specialized technology, along with specialized assistance, provides students with support for success in academics, social interaction, and independent living skills.

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

All students in the Supported Learning Program have access to the following services and forms of support:

  • Weekly one-hour meetings with a Supported Learning Program instructor.
  • Five hours of supervised study hall each week.
  • A one-credit class for all incoming students, “Study Skills for Success.”
  • Regular monitoring of progress throughout each semester focusing on student-specific goals and objectives.
  • Support and guidance in identifying learning strengths and weaknesses.
  • Help implementing effective time management and organizational skills.
  • Strategies for effective test taking, note taking, studying, etc.
  • Guidance in balancing the social and academic dimensions of college life.

Depending on a student’s learning disability and individual needs, students may also have access to the following forms of support:

  • Weekly group meetings for students with ADHD, ADD and Executive Function challenges.
  • Testing accommodations and other forms of academic support, such as proofreading.
  • Access to classroom notes provided by peer note takers.
  • Assistive technology (e.g. books on CD, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Kurzweil, Intel Reader).

Fill out an online application for the Supported Learning Program.

Connect Program

What’s next after high school? Am I ready for four more years of classes? Am I ready to live on my own? Do I have the skills to succeed in college? If you are asking yourself these questions and thinking about what’s next, then the Connect Program may be right for you.

What is the Connect Program?
The Davis & Elkins College Connect Program is a nine-month comprehensive academic readiness pre-college program that prepares recent high school graduates with learning disabilities to continue in higher education and to discover and embrace life opportunities and goals. It allows students to experience all the challenges of college such as exposure to dorm life, the rigors of college academics, making personal choices, managing personal time, and preparing one’s self socially and emotionally to lead a successful life.

Curriculum
Throughout the two-semester program, students will have the opportunity to earn up to 12 credit hours. Emphasizing the development of learning strategies and study skills along with social skills and executive functioning, Connect students receive support in and out of the classroom and are able to access on-campus resources. The program focuses on building confidence and independence, enabling students to become empowered to step out of their comfort zone and explore interests.

Goals

  • To help students identify their next step in life, whether college, a job or a career training program.
  • To identify learning styles and promote effective and independent use of learning strategies.
  • To prepare students for challenging academics, appropriate social interactions and personal independence.
  • To strengthen the ability to self-advocate with confidence.
  • To improve and develop strong executive functioning skills.
  • To better understand college demands and have an immersive college experience.
  • To nurture relationships with Supported Learning Program staff and students to understand individual strengths and weaknesses.

How to Apply
To apply, students can fill out an online application for the Connect Program. In addition to the online application, students need to submit copy of their IEP or 504 plan, secondary school transcripts, one letter of recommendation, a hand-written essay about learning differences/challenges, a psycho-educational evaluation, and a statement from their parent/guardian discussing their strengths, social skills, independent skills, medications, compliance level, personal concerns and future aspirations. All materials, other than the online application, should be mailed to: Davis & Elkins College Connect Program, Attn: Mary Ellen Schubert, 100 Campus Drive, Elkins, WV 26241.