Faculty Resources

JSCC Library

The Jackson State Community College Library exists to support the students, faculty, and staff in their research and information needs.

Acquisitions

Faculty members are encouraged to order library materials for their students and for their research needs. The library staff will work closely with faculty to provide brochures, web sites, and reviews that contain information about books, DVDs, and other resources that faculty might want to order.

Faculty should provide as much information as possible about the materials they wish to have the library purchase. For example, author, title, date of publication, price, publisher, producer, and distributor should be included on an order request card, e-mail, or written correspondence. A website address or printed information concerning the item requested might also be sent with the order request.

Materials that will be used primarily within a particular discipline or class (wall maps, charts, manuals, work books, etc.) should be purchased with division funds.

Circulation

To check out materials from the library, faculty may use their Jackson State employee ID card. Faculty may borrow library materials for one year.

Reserves

The library will provide a location for reserve materials that faculty wish all their students to read. Faculty should give library staff ample time to prepare materials before assignments are made. At least two business days should be allowed between bringing an item to the library for reserve and making the assignment available to students.

Library Instruction

Librarians support the college curriculum and student development through library instruction and promotion of information literacy. Information literacy develops critical thinking and analytical skills, which benefit students academically, intellectually, and socially.

Information literacy involves training students to use library materials, develop search strategies, prepare for research assignments, find needed resources of all types, evaluate resources, create citations, and avoid plagiarism.

Faculty members are encouraged to develop assignments that utilize library materials. Librarians will gladly work with faculty to create the assignments.

Library instruction is provided through various instructional delivery systems. The library has an instructional room with 24 computers for student use and one computer for the librarian, as well as a projector and screen. In this classroom, hands-on library work can be accomplished. The librarians will also go to the students’ classrooms to provide instruction and can prepare lessons to be placed within an online course.

Reference Services and Preparation of Subject Guides

Library personnel assist faculty, staff, students, and community members who need help in locating information. Librarians will utilize all types of resources to answer questions and will work with all who need assistance in performing research and using the library resources.

Librarians can assist in finding information for class presentations and material for online classes, as well as for faculty publications.

The Jackson State Community College Library can also prepare subject guides of library resources for particular courses. They are also available on the JSCC Library web site by going to “Research and Writing Help” and then “Library Subject Guides”

In addition, faculty members who are pursuing advanced degrees should feel free to contact the librarians for assistance in doing literature reviews and research.

Interlibrary Loan

Items that are not owned by the library may be requested through interlibrary loan.

The library can obtain books and photocopies of articles from almost all academic libraries in the country. The time to receive the materials back from other libraries may vary.

Displays

The library has two large and one small display cases for student, staff, and faculty displays. Faculty may wish to display materials concerning their discipline or a club that they sponsor. In addition, faculty may display items related to a hobby or craft in which they are interested or travel that they have done that would be of interest to library patrons.

Meetings

The library has a conference room that can be reserved for small group meetings or classes of up to ten participants. It may also be used as a small group study room for use by students. The Library Instruction Room with 24 computers, an instructor presenter/computer, a screen, and a projector may be used for workshops and training sessions.

Embedded Librarians

Faculty are encouraged to include librarians within their online courses to assist students in doing research assignments. Librarians can have their own discussion forum, such as “Ask a Librarian,” or students can e-mail librarians within the structure of the online course itself since the librarian will have a class e-mail address.

In addition, librarians can prepare lists of resources for particular classes or develop tutorials that can be placed into a special area of the online course.

Instructional Technology Assistance

The Distance Education staff provides faculty with the following instructional support services:

• eLearn (Desire2Learn) technical support for online, hybrid, and ground course formats
• Training on all instructional technologies such as eLearn, BlueJeans, Zoom, Turnitin, Nearpod, TextHelp, ReadSpeaker, Respondus Lockdown Browser, Ally, etc.
• Video conference assistance for live and pre-recorded lectures
• Online course development and redevelopment support
• Technical assistance with instructional applications and software

To make an appointment with an Instructional Technology Coordinator, please submit an inquiry via the Helpdesk Ticketing System 24/7 at helpmeonline.jscc.edu

Assistance Center

The Academic Assistance Center (AAC) exists to assist students and faculty by:

Providing a free mentoring program in as many disciplines as possible. This includes regular appointments with a mentor on a long-term basis throughout the semester, appointments on a short-term basis with students seeking tutorial help as needed, and one-time appointments. Both individual and small-group mentoring sessions are available. The AAC also trains and supplies mentors and/or lab assistants for the Math Lab, the SMART Math Center, the Learning Resource Centers in Lexington, Savannah, Humboldt, and Paris.      

Providing computer and software assistance. There are 60 computers available for student use.  Special programs such as Adobe Design, Visual Studio, Cisco Packet Tracer, FileZilla FTP, Chem Doodle and Lockdown Browser have been installed on specific computers for student use.  A Computer Lab Coordinator and assistants assist students working with computer programs and software.

Providing proctored testing for the faculty teaching online courses. Contact the AAC for guidance and assistance with online testing support for students. 

Providing proctored testing for program certifications in such areas as EMT, Paramedics, and various computer fields.

Providing Testing Support for Students with Disabilities.

Providing alternate test accommodations for students who have registered with the Disability Resource Center and have approved accommodations.  Faculty must complete the Test Administration Instruction Form and submit it along with the exam prior to the student’s appointment date.  Faculty and student should arrange the test date and student schedules their appointment using the JSCC Online Registration System at least 36 hours in advance.  However, depending on the accommodation, staff may need more than 36 hours to provide service.  Therefore, it may be best to contact the Academic Assistance Center.

Writing Center

The JSCC Writing Center offers free one-on-one support for students in personal and academic writing projects they undertake during their time at the college. The central goal of the Writing Center is to help students become better writers, so the consultant’s focus is always the writer's learning, not the simple correction of a single essay. The center was founded to realize the college's first Quality Enhancement Plan, which sought to enhance students' writing ability across the campus's many disciplines.

At the Writing Center, students work with trained peer and professional consultants who answer writers' questions, either within an essay or about general writing conventions. Student writers may request help on any aspect of writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, or editing, including grammar and mechanics, organization, generation of ideas, use of sources, and conventions across disciplines. Students are encouraged to make appointments for sessions, walk-in appointments are always welcomed, consultant availability permitting.

Faculty are encouraged to send writing assignments and expectations to the Writing Center for inclusion in consultant training materials. Faculty are also welcome to participate in one or more tutor training sessions each semester to help consultants understand the specific conventions and expectations within the discipline.

In service to its mission to the college, the Writing Center has expanded its services in a number of ways. For students located outside of the main campus, writing consultants have been made available at the satellite campus locations. Beyond this, the Writing Center also offers online, asynchronous writing consultations in order to meet students’ busy schedules while still providing the same quality service.    

Office of Information Technology

The mission of the Office of Information Technology is to deliver the highest quality technology and customer service, in the most cost-effective manner, to support the college's mission and enable students, faculty, staff, and the community to effectively meet their goals.

Faculty who have questions about classroom or office technology or special technology needs are encouraged to contact OIT. Technology problems and issues are to be reported through the work order system provided on jWeb.

Physical Plant

The mission of the Physical Plant Department is to provide support for the Jackson State Community College mission by keeping physical facilities in good condition. Physical facilities are the costliest tool in the education process, and maintaining them in a safe and secure condition is representative of our department ideal. The community, school staff, and students are empowered by the achievement of this ideal, thus providing the mission support that is required. Faculty who encounter maintenance issues are encouraged to notify the Physical Plant using the Work Order form in jWeb.

Campus Safety and Security

The Office of Campus Security and Safety will provide diligent maintenance and security patrol services in order to prevent accidents, eliminate fire and safety hazards, deter crime, provide for the safe removal and disposal of unsafe equipment and material, and correct any other unsafe conditions that are found.

Disability Resource Center

The college's Disability Resource Center (DRC) and Distance Education Office staff work to support faculty in serving students with diagnosed disabilities. The DRC staff assist those students in identifying appropriate accommodations to ensure their equal access to educational programs and activities, per the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

The DRC staff also work with faculty to help determine, based on specific course and program requirements, what accommodations are reasonable, and, as needed, how to deliver those accommodations. The Dean of Students can be contacted for further information and discussion.

The Distance Education Office staff are available to support faculty with technology and related guidance to ensure accessibility of all course and program materials  for students, based on the impact of their diagnosed disabilities.

Institutional Research and Accountability

The primary mission of the Office of Institutional Research and Accountability is to provide accurate and unbiased data to the Jackson State Community to enable data driven decisions.  Responsibilities of Institutional Research and Accountability include:

Oversight of accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

• Strategic Planning
• Quality Assurance reporting
• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reporting
• Providing data to aid continuous program improvement
• Providing data for external accountability

Communications

The Office of Communication serves to fulfill public relations, marketing, advertising and web administration needs pertaining to the College.

The mission of this office is to facilitate effective communication between parties within the institution and the community at-large regarding the brand and all that Jackson State has to offer.

Registration Center

The Registration Center provides guidance to new students attending Jackson State for the first time through the Great Expectations Orientation and Registration program.

All degree-seeking students attending Jackson State for the first time are required to complete an orientation. Our 4-hour orientation is designed to get you off to a good start by providing practical knowledge that will help you succeed.

After students have met with their advisor and discussed "their academic planning and goals" students may opt to plug into jWeb to register or they may visit the Registration Center for assistance.

Registration assistants can help you plan your class schedule according to your daily demands (based on class availability).  Likewise, the registration assistants can aid with registering for those classes.

Veterans Affairs

The college’s Veterans Affairs Office staff supports current and former service members, and their dependents, who attend JSCC. These students may receive military benefits to help pay their tuition and fees, and/or receive regular monthly stipends to help cover other expenses. These benefits are based on the number of credit hours they take and complete each semester, and confirmation that all courses are required on their degree plan. Faculty advisors are asked to consider these requirements as they help students create their semester schedules.

The college’s School Certifying Official (SCO) must authorize qualified student schedules with the VA each term. In addition, the SCO must report course drops or withdrawals and last dates of attendance during the semester, and failing grades due to attendance (FA) with reported last dates of attendance at the conclusion of each term. Reports of course drops and last dates of attendance often require that the college or student repay funds to the VA. The earlier attendance problems are identified and addressed, the better.  

Students whose course work is interrupted during a semester because of documented military deployment or required training, are to be allowed to make up missed assignments and tests within a reasonable time upon their return. They also are to be allowed to resume their place in their degree program without penalty.

The college’s SCO can be reached at (731) 425-2618. The Veterans Affairs Office and the Military Student Center are located in the Administration Building, Rooms 124 and 126.