By Cady Inabinett, Editor in chief  

The start of a new school year can be daunting for freshmen and returning students alike. Being back on the bricks may have you feeling a bit bewildered at times. The Alabamian wants to make navigating campus a little bit easier for you by helping to connect you to the resources you need. Compiled in this article is a list of campus resources available for free to students. 

Career Development Center: 

The Career Development Center offers a number of free resources related to career counseling and planning. Counselors at the Career Development Center help students explore their career options, find a major that aligns with their interests and career goals and connect with work opportunities. The Career Development Center also helps students strengthen their job market tools and skills, offering assistance in developing a resume and cover letter, networking techniques and job search strategies. The center offers interview preparation as well.  

The Career Development Center also has many resources available online, including informational guides on topics such as resume best practices, interview preparation, professional development and graduate school. 

For students in need of professional clothing for a job interview or other professional opportunities, the Career Development Center also maintains a professional clothing closet stocked with donated business and business-casual clothing items. Students can access the closet for free by making an appointment. 

The Career Development Center’s office is located on the second floor of Farmer Hall. Appointments are required to meet with a career counselor, and can be made by calling (205) 665-6262 or emailing career@montevallo.edu.  

Carmichael Library: 

Carmichael Library offers many more services than just loaning out materials and offering a quiet place to work—though it certainly has both of these services as well, boasting a collection of materials including books, articles and other media over its three floors as well as multiple study rooms.   

Carmichael Library can help students access the technology they need. The library has 40 public access computers spread across its three floors, with a variety of software available—including Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, Audacity and Java. Some equipment is also available for check out at the library’s circulation desk, including laptops, tablets, video cameras and voice recorders. 

Printers and copiers can also be accessed at the library. Printing costs 10 cents per page for black and white printing and 25 cents per page for color printing. Each student is allotted $15 for printing by the university for each semester. Printers at the library also offer a scan-to-email feature that is free to use.  

Through Carmichael Library, students can access InterLibrary Loan—a system that loans materials between other libraries, giving students the ability to access materials they may need that are not available at Carmichael Library. Through InterLibrary Loan, students can receive digital or hard-copy materials after making an account and requesting the materials through the InterLibrary Loan portal.  

Students conducting research who need help locating materials can also book a research consultation with a librarian at Carmichael Library. During a consultation, librarians can help students find sources for their research projects, cite sources and use the library’s website and databases to find materials on their own.  

Students interested in scheduling a research consultation can do so by filling out the research consultation request form available on the library’s website. Additionally, they can stop by the Research Help Desk located on the library’s main floor to speak with a librarian without an appointment. 

The library also has a number of resources available via its website, including access to online databases that the library is subscribed to, research guides for specific courses and a searchable card catalog of library materials.  

Also housed in the library’s building are the Milner Archives and Pat Scales Special Collections, the Digital Media Lab and the Solution Center. 

For the fall semester, Carmichael Library will be open 8 a.m. until midnight Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Fridays, 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. until midnight on Sundays.  

Counseling Services: 

Counseling Services offers free mental health services and resources to Montevallo students, faculty and staff. Services offered include individual counseling, case management, food and financial assistance and group counseling and workshops. Counseling is administered by licensed counselors and graduate interns who are under the supervision of a licensed counselor. All counseling sessions are confidential.  

Students interested in these services must make an appointment. Appointments can be made by calling (205) 665-6245, emailing counseling@montevallo.edu or at Counseling Services’ office in Puryear House during regular business hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. 

Students in need of immediate counseling assistance can also contact Counseling Services via phone or at their office during regular business hours. After hours, students in need of assistance can contact Counseling Services’ 24-hour support line, the Freddie Support Line, to speak to a licensed therapist by calling (833) 434-1217.  

Digital Media Lab: 

The Digital Media Lab, located on the ground floor of Carmichael Library, offers students, faculty and staff access to a wide range of digital media equipment and software. 

Software available on computers in the Digital Media Lab include Adobe Creative Cloud products, audio editing software such as Audacity and video editing software such as iMovie. 

Three 3D printers are also housed in the Digital Media Lab. Students interested in using the 3D Printers must follow the 3D printing policies that are available on Carmichael Library’s website. 

The Digital Media Lab is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. The lab is closed on Saturdays. 

Those in need of assistance with a project are asked to please contact Digital Media and Emerging Technologies Librarian Michael Price at least two weeks in advance. Price can be contacted at his email, mprice3@montevallo.edu, or by phone at (205) 665-6105.  

Disability Support Services: 

For students with disabilities, Disability Support Services offers assistance for disability access and accommodations. DSS can help students receive and coordinate accommodations such as accessible parking, testing accommodations, housing-related accommodations and more. Students who would like to request an accommodation can do so at any point in time, but some accommodations—such as housing-related accommodations and requesting alternative format class materials, such as materials in Braille—have deadlines in order to guarantee that accommodations can be made.  

Additionally, students who believe that they have been discriminated against because of their disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or under the Americans with Disabilities Act can file complaints with DSS to begin an internal disability grievance procedure. All complaints must be filed in writing within 30 days of the alleged act of discrimination or the student becoming aware of the alleged discrimination. These complaints must contain the name and contact information of the student alleging discrimination, a description of the alleged violation and any relevant information about the alleged act of discrimination—such as the names of university buildings or employees involved. Complaints should be addressed to Disability Compliance Officer, Station 6250, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, AL, 35115. 

DSS’s office is located in the rear central lower wing of Main Hall. Students can also contact DSS via email at dss@montevallo.edu and by phone at (205) 655-6250. 

Falcon Success Center: 

One resource for students looking for academic support is the Falcon Success Center. The center runs several free programs focused on offering students academic support.  

One of these services is the Learning Enrichment Center, which offers free tutoring services for a variety of courses and subject areas. Tutoring is offered via multiple modalities including individual tutoring, small group tutoring, online tutoring and drop-in tutoring. Tutors are students who have undergone training and have taken the courses that they are tutoring. Additionally, they must receive a faculty recommendation in order to tutor for the course.  

The Learning Enrichment Center is located in the bottom floor of Carmichael Library. Students who would like to schedule a tutoring appointment can schedule one online, by email at enrichment@montevallo.edu and by phone at (205) 665-6113. 

Student Success Coaching is another service offered by the Falcon Success Center. The center’s Student Success Coach, Elisabeth Ownbey, can meet with students to provide guidance related to academic success skills such as time management, note-taking tips, organization and more. 

Appointments for success coaching can be made online. Students can also contact Ownbey via email at eownbey@montevallo.edu or via phone at (205) 665-6451.  

The Falcon Success Center is located in the Van Tuyll House. They can be contacted by phone at (205) 665-6092 and by email at falconsuccesscenter@montevallo.edu.  

Harbert Writing Center: 

The Harbert Writing Center offers free writing consultation services to students. Students who need help with writing assignments in any class can schedule an appointment with one of the center’s consultants, who are trained to help with all aspects of the writing process—from brainstorming ideas to proofreading and editing the final product. The Harbert Writing Center utilizes peer-to-peer consulting, meaning trained students provide consultations. Writing Center appointments are available in-person in Humanities Room 311 or virtually Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Consulting sessions can be scheduled in advanced if a student wishes to work with a specific consultant or can be conducted on a drop-in basis. Evening appointments are also available virtually Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Students can schedule an appointment at montevallo.mywconline.com. 

The Harbert Writing Center can also be contacted at their email, writingcenter@montevallo.edu, and by phone at (205) 476-2024.  

Solution Center: 

The Solution Center, located on the ground floor of Carmichael Library, can assist students, faculty and staff with computer services and network issues. Issues related to university email, Banner, Canvas, connecting to FalconNet and printing can be addressed by the Solution Center.  

The Solution Center cannot repair personal equipment. 

The Solution Center is open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Fridays. They can also be contacted by phone at (205) 665-6512 or by email at solutioncenter@montevallo.edu.  

Student Health Services: 

Student Health Services is an on-campus clinic that provides basic medical care services for free. Services offered by Student Health Services include diagnosis and treatment of minor injuries and illnesses, provision of select prescription and over-the-counter medicines, select diagnosis testing, vaccination clinics, HIV and sexually transmitted infections testing clinics and referral to off-campus medical services if needed.  

The clinic can also issue students excuses for missed classes. However, getting an excuse for any classes missed to visit Student Health Services is not guaranteed, and is up to the discretion of the provider.  

Appointments are required to meet with Student Health Services. Students can make an appointment by calling (205) 665-6275 during the office’s hours, Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Their office is located in the East Wing of Main Hall. Student Health Services can also be contacted via email, healthserv@montevallo.edu.