Student Handbook

Academic Programs & Student Learning

ACADEMIC SUPPORT AND SPECIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

PRE-MEDICAL/PRE-DENTAL ADVISING
For students seeking a career in medicine, dentistry, optometry or other health professions, The Committee for the Health Professions provides information and advising relative to program requirements and admissions procedures and standards. The Committee can provide assistance to students regarding "MCATS" as well as school catalogs and application forms. Interested students should contact the Department of Biological Sciences.

PRE-LAW ADVISING
The Pre-Law Advising Committee provides information and advising to those students interested in pursuing a career in law. Special law-related seminars are offered as well as information on LSAT examination and law school admissions procedures. Interested students should contact the Director of Career Services for further information.

CAREER SERVICES
The Career Services Center assists students from all academic programs in exploring, preparing for, and attaining professional success. Career exploration and development should begin early in one's academic program with self-assessment, exploration, and research in order to determine career-life goals. Experiential learning (through practical experience/internships and leadership positions) allows students to apply the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom in a real-world setting. Job search services such as resume and interviewing skills workshops are offered to provide a foundation for students to build upon in the future. Opportunities to meet and interview with employers are available through on-campus recruiting and a number of job and internship fairs. Graduate school information and application assistance is also available.

INTERNSHIPS
Career-related experience is a tremendous asset for students as they begin their job search upon graduation. The Internship Program at York College of Pennsylvania helps provide students with a "competitive edge" in their field.

Academic internships are designed to allow students to gain meaningful, pre-professional experiences in their field of study prior to graduation and, in addition, earn college credit for their learning experiences. Many York College students participate in these semester-long internships, working side-by-side with professionals in their chosen field of study.

Student interns not only benefit from the "real life" learning experiences they encounter "on-the-job," but they also profit from networking with other professionals in their field. These valuable contacts often pay dividends for students as they seek employment after graduation. In some cases, York College student interns have secured a career position even before their diplomas were in hand!

Internships are arranged through the Assistant Director of Career Services and the appropriate Academic Department. Please be sure to communicate with these individuals as soon as possible if you are thinking about an internship-for-academic-credit since there is paperwork that must be completed and submitted before a designated deadline for you to be able to participate.

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
York College is committed to providing study abroad opportunities for its students. Each year the faculty and administration of York College work with interested students to arrange one semester or two semester programs of study with cooperating colleges and universities abroad. Opportunities may vary by academic program. Interested students should pick up a packet of student materials in the Career Services Center and review the literature on Study Abroad programs sponsored by York College or by other colleges and universities.

SERVICE LEARNING
York College is committed to providing service learning opportunities which will allow students to contribute to the community while obtaining valuable experience and enhanced employment credentials. Volunteer programs at York recognize that students can obtain valuable life experience through service learning and that employers frequently seek graduates who have been constructively involved in their community. Service Learning opportunities are available in a variety of organizations and can be selected based on a student's major or area of academic interest. Students interested in participating in Service Learning should contact the Office of Student Activities and Orientation.

INDEPENDENT STUDY
The Independent Study program affords an opportunity for students to undertake well defined individual research projects in association with a member of the faculty. Students interested in an independent study project should meet with an appropriate member of the faculty to develop a proposal for the independent research project. The faculty supervisor of the project will monitor the student's work, assign background reading or assignments, and evaluate the performance of the student during the project. Students who wish to participate in an independent study must complete an application form, pay a deposit at the Business Office, and obtain the approval of their supervisor, and the appropriate department chair. After all approvals are obtained, the form is forwarded to the Registrar's Office and the independent study will be officially added to the student's schedule.

SUMMER SESSIONS
York College offers thirteen weeks of summer session classes, divided into various semesters. Classes are held during the day and evening hours and provide an opportunity for students to make up work, accelerate their program, and facilitate the program of part-time matriculated students. Summer session programs are planned and administered by the Registrar's Office.

THE LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER
For students who want to work collaboratively on their coursework with peer or professional tutors, assistance is available the Learning Resource Center in the Humanities Building or by calling 815-1296. The Learning Resource Center (LRC) is open every weekday during the fall and spring semesters when classes are in session and on a modified schedule during the summer sessions. Specific programs and hours are posted at the start of each semester.

One-on-one math and writing consultations with professional and peer tutors are the primary areas of assistance. The LRC also offers peer tutoring and study groups for selected courses, as well as study skills workshops and consultations with a study skills specialist. Students seeking academic assistance should contact the LRC to schedule an appointment with the tutorial staff.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
York College will not discriminate against any qualified student with a disability or handicap in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The College will reasonably accommodate the needs of students with a handicap or disability provided such accommodation does not constitute a fundamental alteration of the school's program of education or otherwise constitute an undue burden. York College is dedicated to serving the needs of its students regardless of handicap or disability by providing a quality learning experience which will prepare graduates for productive roles in society.

Students requesting support or accommodations should meet with the Director of Academic Advising to provide documentation regarding the nature of their disability and to plan an appropriate strategy for completing their academic requirements.

STUDENT ACADEMIC RECORDS
A record of a student's academic progress is maintained by the Director of Records. Academic advisors, counselors, and heads of departments utilize the Records Office when assisting students. Students may consult the Records Office on matters relating to their academic progress and when requesting transcripts. Transcripts may be released upon written request of the student provided all financial obligations to York College have been met. Students are charged $5 for each transcript request.

ACADEMIC FACILITIES AND POLICIES

ADULT LEARNER CENTER
Adult students are encouraged to visit the Adult Learner Center, located in the Campbell Hall lobby, Room 200. The Center is an adult student's primary resource for information and assistance at York College and is open Monday through Thursday evenings from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 8:30-11 a.m. during the fall and spring semesters whenever classes are in session. Contact the Adult Learner Center at Ext. 1208. Stop in and find out about:

  • Academic Advising
  • Registration for Courses and Drop/Add
  • Payment of Tuition and Fees
  • CLEP Information and Registration
  • Parking Stickers
  • Many Other Helpful Resources

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION CENTER
The Business Administration Center contains the main academic computer, micro-computer laboratories, classrooms, faculty offices, and the Glatfelter Telecommunications Center.

APPELL LIFE-SCIENCES BUILDING
The Appell Life-Sciences Building is located adjacent to Campbell Hall and together with Campbell provides space for classrooms and laboratories. It also contains faculty offices.

CAMPBELL HALL
Campbell Hall is the major classroom building. Students should check lobby bulletin boards for important College information and announcements.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Information Technology provides state-of-the-art information systems to all faculty, staff, and students. Students are assigned a network account that allows them to access file storage, networked programs, email, the World Wide Web, and printing. York College network services are provided by a variety of servers to desktop computers via a campus-wide fiber optic network connecting all academic, administrative, and residential buildings. There are more than 16 wireless buildings on the York College campus, half of which are completely wireless and the other half are area specific wireless.

Six general purpose labs and 13 special purpose computer labs are currently available when classes are in session. For the Spring of 2008, there will be 10 general purpose labs and a larger number of special purpose labs planned. Click here for a listing of Help Desk and computer lab hours.

Information Technology Policy Statement
Appropriate use of computers and information networks includes adherence to the normal requirements of ethical and legal behavior in a College community. The use of resources such as computers or computer networks that are shared by all members of the campus imposes certain obligations. In particular, individuals, data, hardware, software, and computing resources have value and must be treated accordingly.

Legitimate use of a computer or computer network is not limited to what we are capable of doing with it. Although some limitations are built into computer operating systems, these restrictions do not limit completely what we can do and see. We are responsible for our actions whether or not the rules are built into the system, and whether or not we can circumvent those rules.

The following specific principles of computer and network systems at York College are applicable to all students, faculty, staff, administration and guests on/off campus and apply to all York College information resources including the telephone system. Access to computer systems and networks owned or operated by York College imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to College policies, and local, state, and federal laws. As users we agree to the following policies:

1. Privacy Policy 

York College upholds the right of its students, staff, and faculty to privacy, confidentiality, and non-interference in their use of computer systems and network. In order to preserve these rights, the College does not engage in routine viewing of computer data. Examples of this include reading of email, tracking web sites visited or looking through user's files. However, certain parameters may be monitored on the individual level such as the level of disk utilization for example. Other activities are monitored on an aggregate level to aid in planning system capacity. Examples of aggregate parameters include the total number and size of email messages arriving at the College and network bandwidth utilization. The College may perform more detailed monitoring activities in certain cases. For example: monitoring system performance or problem resolution such as a sudden decrease in the network's throughput. Monitoring can also occur when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a law or College policy has been broken which includes but is not limited to an indication that a system has been compromised (or "hacked"). When these exceptions are invoked, the College will take care to ensure that due process is properly followed, and that the exposure of information is limited as to the extent possible.
 
Users must be aware that the technical aspects of electronic communications and storage require that information such as electronic mail messages be logged, stored and occasionally analyzed. Where such logging is performed as part of the normal business of maintaining a well-running computer system, confidentiality of the information by computer center staff will be maintained. Users must also respect the privacy and rules governing the use of information accessible through computer systems or networks, even if that information is not securely protected. Access only information that is your own, that is publicly available or to which you have been given authorized access. York College will not sell or resell e-mail addresses to outside parties.
 
Students should be aware that certain aspects of their privacy relating to academic records are governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Details of that law are available in the print and on-line versions of the Student Handbook.

Refer to the following links:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OM/fpco/ferpa/index.html
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.pdf

2. Property Rights

Users must respect the ownership of proprietary software and data. While computers make it very easy to make flawless copies of information, software programs and data can be protected by one or more legal means such as copyright, patent or license agreement. Users must take care not to violate these laws or agreements by such actions as making unauthorized copies of software or data. Provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) require York College to vigorously pursue specific complaints about potential copyright infringement.
 
Some specific examples of property rights violations include but are not limited to:
  • Making copies of College-owned software for home use
  • Making copies of personally-owned software for others to use
  • Sharing of copyrighted music or video files
  • Using the works or ideas of others without giving credit

Detailed information on copyright may be found at the Library of Congress web site at the following link: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ and information about DMCA at http://www.copyright.gov/reports/studies/dmca/dmca_executive.html

3. Use of Resources

Be considerate in the use of shared computer information resources. Refrain from monopolizing systems, overloading networks with excessive data, degrading services, or wasting computer time, connect time, disk space, printer paper, manuals or other resources. The College encourages the use of electronic sharing of documents especially for draft and intermediate copies. Users are encouraged to limit printing to that which is only necessary.

In making acceptable use of information resources you must not use the College systems for commercial or partisan political purposes such as using electronic mail to circulate advertising for products, services or for political candidates. Protect your username(s), password(s), pin(s) and computer system(s) from unauthorized use. You are responsible for all activities on your username or activities that originate from your system. College computers and network resources are for instructional, administrative, research and limited personal use only. They are not for private or business use. Selected game playing is permitted as an instructional exercise. However, game playing is considered wasteful if it is dominating resources needed by other users. The only games allowed on College-owned computers are those installed and regulated by Information Technology as requested by academic departments. Respect the finite capacity of the systems and network. Limit your use so as to not interfere unreasonably with the activity of other users. While not an exhaustive list the following are examples of activities that are specifically prohibited:
  • Do not mail chain letters to other people. If you receive one from off campus, delete it. If someone at York College sent the mail to you, please forward the message to abuse@ycp.edu for administrative action.
  • Do not send mass e-mail or spam e-mail for College business or for any commercial business reasons. Repetitive messages relating to activities, advertisements, products or regular announcements will dilute the effectiveness of the e-mail system.
  • Do not post messages to large numbers of news groups or mail lists.
  • Do not post chain letters of money-making schemes to mail lists or news groups.
  • Do not store large data sets on the network such as video or music files.
  • Do not print excessively. The College printers are intended for academic purposes. You should limit your printing to one copy of a document.
  • Do not abuse the computer or telephone systems or use them to threaten or invade the privacy of others.
Examples of strictly unacceptable activity include, but are not limited to:
  • Using another individual's password
  • Sharing your password with another individual
  • Attempting to circumvent or analyze security features
  • Engaging in any activity that might be purposefully harmful to systems or to any information stored thereon, such as creating or propagating viruses, disrupting services, damaging files or making unauthorized modifications to College data, grades or transcripts.
  • Modifying or disrupting network infrastructure. Users are not permitted to connect network devices such as hubs or routers.
  • Attaching servers to the network without proper authorization from Information Technology. Computers may not run servers such as telnet, http, or ftp that are available to the public Internet. All non-Information Technology computers are strictly prohibited from running critical services such as dns and dhcp.
  • Connecting wireless devices or wireless networking equipment without prior College permission.
  • Participating in any illegal activities using the campus computer network
  • Using mail, chat or messaging services to harass or intimidate another person, for example, by broadcasting unsolicited messages, by repeatedly sending unwanted mail, or by using someone else's name or username.

4. Harassment

All users must adhere to the policies set forward in the Student, Faculty, Staff and Administrative Handbooks regarding sexual and other forms of harassment. These policies apply in any format or forum including electronic.

5. College Enforcement

The College considers any violation of the policy statement to be a serious offense and reserves the right to copy and examine any files or information residing on College systems allegedly related to unacceptable use, and to protect its network from systems and events that threaten or degrade operations. York College is not responsible in any way for non-College owned equipment. Since York College is responsible for and has access to all resources, those who violate these standards of behavior may be subject to disciplinary actions including but not limited to loss of network access at the discretion of the Information Technology Department. In the case of outside agencies requesting information or equipment during any investigation the College will comply with FERPA and HIPAA guidelines. This policy is subject to change by York College as necessary.

Updated 06/01/2007

LIFE-SCIENCES ANNEX
The Annex contains classrooms, faculty offices, stage workshop, and maintenance headquarters. It is located at the north end of the Appell Life-Sciences Building.

SCHMIDT LIBRARY
Welcome to Schmidt Library, where information literacy, research service, instructional media production, and access to all types of information are important priorities. Facilities include research and study areas, technology enhanced group conference rooms, wireless network access, and YCP archives.

The Schmidt Library Web provides access for students on and off campus to books, databases, full-text journals, and instructional media collections.

Check the Schmidt Library Web for more information on hours and services.  For general information about the Library, call Information Services at 815-1345. For research assistance from a Library Faculty member, call 815-1356.

McKAY HALL
McKay Hall contains laboratories and offices for the mechanical engineering and sport management programs. McKay Hall is located one block west of the main campus and provides ample student and faculty parking on site.

McKAY NURSING EDUCATION CENTER
McKay Nursing Education Center contains the offices, labs, and classrooms that support the College's nursing program. This facility also houses the Physical Education Offices, the Office of Special Programs, and classrooms.

MUSIC, ART & COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
This fine arts building houses classrooms, as well as specialized studios for art, music, and communications. The MAC Center provides York faculty and students with state-of-the-art facilities.

Back to Academic Programs and Student Learning