Learning, Student Engagement & Success

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The Learning, Student Engagement, & Success Division at Vance-Granville Community College offers programs for educational improvement as well as a variety of services to ensure student success. Services that are available to students in Advising & College Success include advising, counseling, minority male mentoring, disability services, career and tutorial services.

ADVISING AND COLLEGE SUCCESS

VGCC seeks to provide a supportive environment that encourages and assists students in developing and achieving their personal and educational goals.

Whether students are having personal issues, difficulty with a class, or need direction, getting help is the smart thing to do. One of the great things about Vance-Granville Community College is that assistance is readily available and free.

VGCC offers several services including: career services, academic advising and tutoring services. Visit one of our three offices: Main Campus, Building 8, South Campus, Room G102, and Franklin Campus, Main Building.

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ACADEMIC ADVISING

Academic Advising assists students in the planning and developing of educational and career goals. Students must have their selected courses approved by their Academic Advisor prior to registration. During the drop/add period of the term, students must contact their advisor to add a course, but may drop courses through their myVGCC account. It is highly recommended that students discuss all registration changes with their advisor. For more information, please see the Drop and Add and Withdrawal sections of the catalog.

Students are also encouraged to meet with their Academic Advisor at a time other than registration each term to discuss their academic progress and planning.

Although Academic Advisors assist students in planning course schedules, the final responsibility for meeting all academic requirements for graduation rests with the student.

Note: Students receiving financial aid and/or Veteran’s Assistance will receive aid only for courses included in their program of study. Financial aid recipients should consult with the Financial Aid Office before making changes to course schedules.

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ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER

The Academic Success Center (ASC) provides free, walk-in and appointment-based tutorial services for various subjects and is available on all VGCC campuses. Both individual and group tutoring is offered by professional tutors.

Additionally, free online tutoring support is available to students through the online tutorial service Upswing. Students can schedule appointments for any course through Upswing or use Upswing’s drop-in tutorial services for help in Math and English courses as well as sciences, humanities, accounting, business, computer information, and various other disciplines. Services include live tutoring and writing assignment submission and review. Students can access Upswing through its link in every course’s Moodle page or by visiting www.vgcc.upswing.io. Please contact the Academic Success Center Coordinator for any information regarding the ASC or visit the ASC website at www.vgcc.edu/asc.

The Academic Success Center is also present in Moodle, providing academic support references for English, writing, Mathematics, and the Sciences. The Moodle ASC offers study aids, videos, and discussion forums available to students to maximize their academic performance.

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CAREER SERVICES

Career Services offers free services and resources to prospective students, current students, and alumni of Vance- Granville Community College who need assistance with career development. Free career assessments are available to help individuals understand their personal interests, abilities, skills, and values. Career Services staff can help students to understand this information, explore careers and academic programs, and establish career goals. By setting career goals early, students can choose the best academic program to achieve their goals for both personal and professional success. The completion of the Career Planning Assessment (jotform.com) is the first step for students to share career goals, educational plans, and understand the services that Career Services provides. Exploring Career Coach (Career Coach Assessment (lightcastcc.com) is the second step in this process and is free to anyone visiting the VGCC website. It also provides up-to-date and regional information about wages, employment and training for careers. Additional online career exploration and assessment tools are available at www.vgcc.edu/career-services.

Job search assistance is also available to students and alumni. Current and former students can get help with resumes and job search correspondence, interview preparation, mock interviews, career coaching, and how to dress for interviews. Career Services also offers class visits, workshops, career fairs, and other events to help connect students with local employers. 

VGCC’s College Central Network (CCN) and Career Coach offers online local and national jobs boards, resume builders, and several other resources such as electronic career portfolios, Career Advice Documents, podcasts, videos on various topics, career articles, and a Job Search Toolkit. Students and alumni can access CCN’s many job search resources from any location on or off campus free of charge at https://www.collegecentral.com/vgcc/. Additionally, Career Coach can be used to access jobs at Career Coach (Welcome to Career Coach (lightcastcc.com). Employers can register with VGCC’s College Central Network (CCN)and Career Coach to post and manage their employment opportunities independently and at no charge.

Please contact the Director of Career Services for more information or visit www.vgcc.edu/career-services/.

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COUNSELING, ACCESSIBILITY, & SUPPORT SERVICES (CASS)

The Counseling, Accessibility, & Support Services (CASS) Department helps students who may be experiencing difficulties that influence student success. Services are available to all students. Stress due to academic, career, or personal problems, which may interfere with their ability to take full advantage of educational opportunities, factor into utilizing services. The CASS Department Representative conducts consultations with faculty and staff for student advocacy needs, program development, and outreach programming. CASS personnel are actively involved with retention activities.

The CASS department maintains relationships with community advocacy agencies and mental health services to accommodate students who may have mental health issues. Counseling Services are free and confidentiality is adhered to within legal and ethical parameters.

VGCC also offers the Student Assistance Program (SAP) to all students and their household members for FREE! This valuable resource is housed under The Cass Department. The SAP offers help for personal, professional, or school concerns by providing free, confidential, short-term counseling and personal consultation. Additionally, the SAP provides student-life resources for such issues as legal and financial consultation, online learning, and resources. Appointments are virtual, telephonic or face-to-face and available during both daytime and evening hours. (24 hours/7days a week). The SAP is an excellent resource tool for instructors to incorporate into lessons and to promote regular usage for research articles, seminars (live and recorded), and so much more.

For more information, visit the VGCC website at https://www.vgcc.edu/office-of-accessibility.

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ACCESSIBILITY POLICIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states:
“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.”

“Otherwise qualified” in the ADA means that only those people who are able to meet the technical and academic qualifications for entry into a school, program, or activity are protected by the ADA. This means accommodations which call for a “fundamental alteration” of a program or which would impose an undue financial or administrative burden are not required.

The College has no responsibility for identification and evaluation of students with disabilities. If an evaluation is needed, the expense is the student’s responsibility.

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Procedure for Requesting Reasonable Accommodations

To initiate a request for accommodations, a student must do the following:

• Meet the admission requirements: application for admission, transcripts, and placement testing. An alternate placement testing format must be arranged in advance.
• Self-identify to the CASS department, faculty, or staff member that he or she has a disability and is requesting accommodations.
• Arrange an appointment with the CASS department to determine if he or she qualifies for reasonable accommodations 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester.
• Provide appropriate documentation of the diagnosed disability (see the guidelines that follow).
• Allow ten (10) business days for all documentation to be reviewed and processed for potential accommodations. This process must be completed before accommodations are approved or denied. Additional time may be required to fully provide reasonable accommodations.
• Request specific accommodation(s), for optimal service, prior to the first day of class. Requests for accommodations can be made at any point in the semester. Requests made after the beginning of the semester are not retroactive to the beginning of the semester of the request.
• The CASS department sends an Accommodation Letter to all parties to sign and date once accommodations are approved.
• A completed electronic copy of the Accommodations Letter is sent to all parties confirming that accommodations are in place.

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Accessibility Services Documentation Guidelines

Students seeking academic accommodations are required to submit documentation verifying eligibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act. All documentation is confidential and is not considered a part of the academic transcript. The following guidelines are provided in the interest of identifying evaluation reports appropriate to document eligibility.

• The documentation must be comprehensive and include a clear diagnostic statement.
• Documentation must be current (within five years) and comprehensive.
• Reports must contain the names, titles, and license information of the evaluator(s), and the dates of evaluation(s).
• Reports must be submitted on professional letterhead. Prescription pads and copies of letterhead are not acceptable.
• Reports should contain recommendations for reasonable accommodations suitable for a postsecondary academic setting. Specific suggestions to best assist the identified student are also very helpful.

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Americans with Disabilities Act Complaint Procedure

Vance-Granville Community College has adopted an internal procedure which provides for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Complaints should be addressed to the Dean of Students, Equity, Retention & Success, who has designated the CASS department to coordinate accessibility services for students.

• A complaint should be filed in writing, contain the name and address of the person filing it, and briefly describe the alleged violation of the regulations.
• A complaint should be filed within 30 calendar days after the Complainant becomes aware of the alleged violation.
• An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow the filing of a complaint. The investigation shall be informal but thorough and afford all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint.
• A written determination as to the validity of the complaint and a description of the resolution, if any, shall be issued and forwarded to the complainant no later than 10 calendar days after its filing.
• The complainant can request a reconsideration of the case if he/she is dissatisfied with the resolution. The request for reconsideration should be made to the Dean of Students, Equity, Retention & Success within 10 calendar days.
• The Dean of Students, Equity, Retention & Success shall maintain the files and records relating to the complaints filed.
• The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint filed hereunder shall not be impaired by nor shall the use of this procedure be a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.

Other remedies include the filing of an ADA complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, a department of the U.S. Department of Education or other responsible federal agencies. For more information, visit the VGCC website at https://www.vgcc.edu/office-of-accessibility.

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NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

One of the most important things you can do to assure your success as a new student is to get to know your new college. Attending New Student Orientation is a great start for new students and refresher for students who haven’t enrolled for three or more years. Completion of an orientation session is required (exception: visiting/non-degree seeking students); face to face sessions are being held at our Main, Franklin, and South Campuses and it is also available online. During New Student Orientation you will learn about steps to complete enrollment, financial aid, how to log in to your online accounts, as well as the support services available. For more information, visit the VGCC website at https://www.vgcc.edu/how-to-apply/orientation.

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