Special Resources

Click on any of the following links for information:

• Advanced Technology Studies
• Distance Learning
• Graduate Student Association
• Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute
• Office of Information Technology and Center for Instruction, Research, and Technology
• Library Services
• Research Support Services
• Student Internships

SPECIAL RESOURCES

Indiana State University has many resources which, as an integral part of the institution, facilitate learning, contribute to the total education and success of its students, and also serve faculty and administrators in performance of their duties and the enhancement of their continuing professional development. What follows are selections of examples of special resources available at Indiana State University.

 Indiana State Unviversity is committed to the use of advanced information technologies in support of teaching, research, and student learning.  To enhance the academic enviornment, Indiana State has invested in a number of information technology resources including:  state-of-the-art general use and discipline-aligned computer labortories; Internet and high-speed campus network connections; technology-enhanced classrooms; distance learning classrooms; Web and media production services; high performance computing services; course management system (Blackboard); interactive and multimedia design servies; and access to a wide variety of commercial and course-specific software.  A complete list of the Office of Information Technology and the Center for Instruction, Research, and Technology services can be found on-line at www.indstate.edu/oit and www.indstate.edu/cirt.

In addtion to this list of resources, a technology guide has been created.  This guide has been designed specifically for students and can help students learn how to attach to the Indiana State computer network; access e-mail and Internet services; setup their computer; avoid viruses and spyware; obtain software; use the wireless network; access telephone and cable television services; find a campus computer laboratory; or get help with a problem.  The Technology@Indiana State:  Student Guide is available both on-line and in print.  The on-line version can be found at www.indstate.edu/oit1/pubs/techpubs/studtechguide.html.  The print version is mailed each fall to students’ home addresses and can also be picked up at the Office of Information Technology walk-in Help Desk, located in the Student Computing Complex.

The library collections include more than 1.4 million items. Graduate students may check out most materials for a 120-day loan period, using their student ID. More than 110 full-time service computers are available throughout the library. Eleven computers are equipped with scanners and one computer has ZoomText capabilities that will enlarge print and screen, and read aloud for the visually challenged.  Printers and photocopiers are also available.  A café featuring cofee, soda, soup, and sandwiches is available in the library.  For library hours, call 812-237-2375, or visit the library’s Web site at http://library.indstate.edu

Reference Services. Reference and research assistance may be obtained in various ways: in person at the reference desk, by phone at 812-237-2580, by e-mail at http://library.indstate.edu/askus.html, or by on-line chat at http://library.indstate.edu/tools/reflive.html during regular library hours. To access the on-line services, go to the library’s Web site at http://library.indstate.edu and select “Reference Live Chat” or “Email a Librarian” from the left column.

Database Searching. A growing number of e-journals, electronic indexes, abstracts, and full text databases are available to the ISU community via the library’s Web page menu at http://library.indstate.edu In addition, the library now offers WebFeat, a federated search engine application that lets the user search many resources from one interface so that different interface designs for different databases do not impede the research process. This software simplifies searching strategies while allowing users optiumum and seamless search returns.  For more information on how to use these resources or suggestions on effective searching of databases, contact the library’s reference desk at 812-237-2580.

Instruction Services. Two classrooms and an instructional computer laboratory are available for librarian-conducted instruction. To receive more information or to make an appointment, call 812-237-2604 or visit the instruction Web site at http://library.indstate.edu/about/units/instruction/liohome.html

Individualized Instruction Workshops. Individuals may request specific, one-on-one instruction or use the self-guided on-line instructions and tutorials on database searching and other topics available at http://library.indstate.edu/tools/tutorials/ These tutorials address practical concerns of conducting library research, including library and Internet research strategies.  On-line library research guides are available at http://library.indstate.edu/about/units/instruction/topic.html

Support for Distance Education Courses. Reference, instructional, and document delivery services are available. Access library services for distance students through the “Services” link on the library Web page at http://library.indstate.edu A librarian has been designated the distance education coordinator. For reference assistance, call 812-237-2580 or 1-800-851-4279; for document delivery or interlibrary loan questions, call 812-237-2566.

Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan borrows books, dissertations, reports, and other materials not available in the ISU library.  Copies of journal articles, book chapters, and other print materials may also be requested and are delivered to students’ desktops eletronically.  Interlibrary loan requests are accepted via the ILLiad system accessible from “Interlibrary Loan” under the “Services” link on the library’s home page at http://library.indstate.edu/ Additional information can be obtained there or by contacting Interlibrary Loan at 812-237-2566, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Special Collections. Located on the third floor of the library, the Special Collections Department contains rare and other materials in the form of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, and similar items. Among its major collections are the world-renowned Cordell Collection of Dictionaries, which is partially on permanent display; the Eugene V. Debs Collection, which contains over 10,000 items related to the famous social activist; and the Indiana Collection, which offers a wide array of prominent literary works, county histories, and even books on sports figures such as Larry Bird. For more information, visit http://library.indstate.edu/about/units/rbsc/

Library Hours. During the fall and spring semesters the library is open Sunday through Thursday until 2:00 a.m. For a complete list of hours, check the Web site at http://library.indstate.edu/about/calendar.html or call 812-237-2375.

Wabash Valley Visions and Voices.  Wabash Valley Visions and Voices is a digital memory dedicated to the documentation and the preservation of the history and cultural heritage of the Wabash Valley in a digital format made accessible through the Internet at http://visions.indstate.edu.  Based at Cunningham Memorial Library, the project is a collaborative effort by libraries, cultural organizations, community groups, and area residents.  The searchable database holds still and moving pictures, sound files, artifacts, manuscripts, yearbooks, and printed texts, both historic and recent in origin.

University Archives.  The University Archives is a repository for all records of enduring value officially made by Indiana State University.  Additionally, materials of historical value related to the function and life of the University are also retained.  The archive preserves the collections for long-term storage and makes materials available upon request to students, staff, faculty, or public citizens for research and reference.  University Archives is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Office of Sponsored Programs is a pre-award grant and contract office. The primary mission of the office is to assist ISU faculty, staff, and students in obtaining external funds to support their research, creative, service, and other activities. The office also provides University review and record keeping functions for all proposals submitted and funded, and a variety of other administrative tasks. Support to the Institutional Review Board for review of human subject research is also provided. The office offers both source-finding and proposal development assistance. To assist proposal writers in their search for grant funding, the office maintains electronic databases and other sources of information, which describe governmental (public) and foundation/endowment (private) grant programs and organizations. Once a potential grant program is identified, the professional staff in the office can assist with the various phases of proposal preparation and budget and assurance issues, and other topics involved with externally sponsored activities. Persons interested in these services can find this information and more on the Office of Sponsored Programs home page www.indstate.edu/osp

The Consortium for Advanced Technological Studies was organized to offer the doctor of philosophy in technology management. This is a unique organization of five universities having studies in technology including Bowling Green State University; University of Central Missouri; East Carolina University; Indiana State University; and North Carolina A&T State University. The Consortium brings together leading schools/colleges of technology in the United States to capitalize on existing resources and faculty expertise in specialized areas of technology. The Consortium universities have been recognized for providing continued leadership to the industrial technology profession.

Indiana State University offers several courses and degree programs via distance learning. Distance programs are designed for working professionals who cannot commute to campus, and for the growing number of individuals who prefer courses delivered via the Internet. Many courses and programs can be completed entirely via distance learning. Other “distance friendly” programs require minimal visits to the ISU campus. For more information about distance learning, contact the Office of Distance Support Services at 888-237-8080 or http://www.indstate.edu/distance/

Internship programs off campus and special clinical facilities on campus are integral parts of many degree programs at Indiana State University. They offer the kind of practical on-the-job experience and cooperative links with industry and community agencies which foster the advancement of knowledge. Graduate training and work experience are available in such areas as college student affairs administration, communication disorders, counseling, criminology, economics, education, geography and geology, history, political science, psychology, school administration, and sociology. Among the clinical facilities on campus which are used in the development of specialized skills are the Counseling Clinic, the Porter School Psychology Center, the Psychology Clinic, and the Rowe Center for Communicative Disorders. For more detailed descriptions of these programs and facilities, see individual departmental listings.

The Graduate Student Association is the official representational body for ISU graduate students. This organization hopes to work strategically in order to facilitate and enhance communication between graduate students and ISU administrative offices as well as other campus organizations. The association’s functions and operations are currently funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs through the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.  The Graduate Student Association is currently involved in many student activities such as the Graduate/Undergraduate Research Showcase, Graduate School Day, and Graduate Student Orientation programs. As the Graduate Student Association recruits more students into its membership and attracts representatives from each department, it strives to promote and advance the academic interests and experiences of graduate students including assisting ISU with recruitment and retention of graduate students. The Graduate Student Association also strives to facilitate the professional development of its members as they work closely with other major student organizations at ISU and with other graduate student associations throughout the country.  Additional information about the Graduate Student Association is available at http://www.indstate.edu/gsa/.

Students accepted into the Indiana University School of Medicine may take the first two years of their regular four-year medical program at a statewide campus including the Terre Haute site located on the campus of Indiana State University. The basic sciences are taught during the first two years. The first year program includes courses in biochemistry, concepts in health and disease, gross anatomy, histology, immunology, introduction to medicine, microbiology, neuroscience, and physiology. Clinical exposure is provided to medical students in cooperation with Union Hospital, the Hamilton Center, Terre Haute Regional Hospital, and community physicians. After successful completion of the first year of medical school, students take the second year of courses, which include biostatistics, introduction to medicine, medical genetics, general and systemic pathology, and pharmacology. Medical students then transfer to the Indianapolis campus for their third and fourth years. Several of the third year clerkship rotations and fourth year clinical electives have also been established in community hospitals throughout Indiana, including Terre Haute, as part of the Indiana University statewide system for medical education. This system is presently expanding in the number of students accepted and the number of four-year sites.

In fall 2008, the Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute inaugurated the Medical School Rural Program in which selected incoming students attend all four years at the Terre Haute campus. This program emphasizes early and rapid acquisition of clinical skills, the study of medicine from the perspectives of the rural physician and rural patients, and an understanding of the community context of rural medicine. It is believed that this novel program provides needed physicians to rural communities as well as provides educational opportunities for students from rural areas of Indiana.

Since 1997, Indiana State University and Indiana University School of Medicine, Terre Haute have conducted a joint Bachelors/Medical Degree Program. Interested and qualified high school students from rural counties apply and are admitted simultaneously to college and medical school. Provided that the students maintain a qualifying grade point average and obtain a competitive MCAT score during their four years of college at Indiana State University, they are directly admitted to the Indiana University School of Medicine to complete their four years of medical school. To date, 12 physicians have graduated from this program.  Requests for further information about the Medical Education Program should be directed to Dr. Taihung Duong, director. Information is also available at http://web.indstate.edu/thcme