Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are some frequently asked questions and answers about services offered by the Jones Learning Center and what college life is like for learning center students. If you have questions that are not addressed here, please do not hesitate to contact us via email, or call us at (479) 979-1403.
Q. What is the Jones Learning Center?
A. The Jones Learning Center (JLC) is a facility on the campus of the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas that provides, for an additional fee, comprehensive, enhanced services to college students with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.
Q. What type of students use the JLC?
A. The JLC is designed for students whose primary disabilities are specific learning disabilities or AD/HD. The learning center does not offer services for students with other physical or mental disabilities.
Q. What are the requirements for admission to the JLC?
A. Students who wish to enroll at Ozarks as Jones Learning Center students must fulfill the following requirements: 1). Complete and return a JLC application with supporting documents. 2). Demonstrate average or above average intellectual abilities as measured by one of the Wechsler intelligence scales. 3). Have specific learning disabilities or AD/HD as the primary disability, with disabilities documented by a medical or psychological professional. 4). Show strength in at least one academic area. 5). Complete one or two days of psychological evaluation in the Jones Learning Center (see below), as well as participate in interviews with the JLC director and admissions committee.
Q. Does the JLC use ACT scores and grades as criteria for admission? What is your cutoff?
A. While good grades and high ACT scores will always act in a student's favor when applying for admission to the JLC, they are not used in and of themselves to determine eligibility for admission. There is therefore no lowest "cutoff score" below which an applicant will be refused admission.
Q. What type of psychological evaluation is required for JLC applicants?
A. A comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation is required for admission to the JLC. Its purpose is to document and confirm a student's disability as well as provide information about a student's academic strengths and weaknesses. This information helps the JLC staff better understand the student's educational needs and assists in creating an individual plan of study.
Tests are administered by the university's psychology specialist. Many questions and answers are presented orally, with a few written responses required. Generally, two-day evaluations are required for each applicant. If an applicant has completed equivalent testing within the past year, he or she may be able to finish testing in one day. The specific tests vary depending on the student, and include tests assessing intelligence, academic achievement, memory and reasoning skills.
Testing fees are:
- Two days: $750
- 1 1/2 days: $650
- 1 day: $600
The results of testing are discussed with the applicant and his or her parents immediately after the evaluation is completed. A written report is mailed a few weeks later.
Q. Do JLC students take different classes than other Ozarks students?
A. No, JLC students take the same classes as other Ozarks students, and are responsible for the same amount of classwork, including class papers and tests. However, JLC students have the option of taking class tests in the learning center under the supervision of a JLC staff member. They are allowed to have test questions read to them by the staff member, and a scribe, as needed, for essay questions. In addition, three developmental classes are offered in the JLC for those students who need foundational improvement during their freshman year.
Q. How much does the learning center cost?
A. JLC fees are charged over and above the cost of U of O's tuition, room, board and activity fees. The cost for JLC services for the 2007-08 school year is $8,138 per semester.
Q. What do the fees pay for?
A. Fees pay the salaries of professional and support staff members who work daily with JLC students. Our 4:1 student to staff ratio helps ensure that JLC students have readily available access to all the resources necessary for them to achieve academic success, including program coordinators (See below), reading, writing and math specialists, trained peer tutors and note-takers, audio texts, one-to-one test administration and cutting edge assistive learning technology.
Q. What is a program coordinator?
A. Program coordinators are trained JLC staff members, all of whom have master's degrees, who work closely with JLC students on their academic and personal progress in college. Program coordinators meet with their students on a daily basis to assist with all aspects of college life, from the rigors of coursework to the management of social life and personal needs. Coordinators help students understand their own, unique learning styles and provide support and training that adds to classroom instruction. They also work with professors to help students with their work for each course.
Q. What learning services are available to JLC students?
A. Numerous services are available to assist JLC students with coursework and test-taking:
- JLC students may request peer tutors for their courses. Tutors are other Ozarks students who are either currently enrolled in the same courses as a JLC student or who have taken the courses previously. Tutors have completed approximately four hours of tutor training.
- JLC students may request note-takers for each course. The note-takers, who are trained and are currently enrolled in the course along with the JLC student, produce notes that can be used for review of classroom discussions.
- JLC students may request course material auditorially, and can listen to material on CDs or tapes.
- JLC students have access to technology in the learning center including software that allows them to dictate written work (Dragon Naturally Speaking) and hear course material read to them course material over a computer (Kurzweil).
For more information on services available through the JLC, click here.
