815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
Cocurricular Environment
STUDENT SERVICES
Academic Advising and Programs
The Office of the Dean of Studies, in cooperation with the faculty and
the student affairs staff, provides academic guidance to students,
contributes to academic policy and curricular decisions, and
coordinates a wide range of academic opportunities. The Dean of
Studies Office assigns each entering advanced-standing student to a
member of the faculty who can advise the student about course
scheduling, about the college's general academic requirements, and
about the student's particular field of interest. Students may seek
further advice on these and other issues from the office. Questions
about leaves of absence, academic standing, choice of major,
internship credit, academic integrity, honors and prizes, student
opportunity funds, graduate fellowships, and other academic
opportunities and difficulties may be referred to this office. The
Office of the Dean of Studies, in collaboration with the Office of
Student Academic Services, also provides guidance to students seeking
academic support resources and services and provides support to
students who receive Unsatisfactory Work Notices. The Dean of Studies
Office publishes the annual Student Academic Handbook and the
Student Academic Handbook, Faculty Edition. These booklets
survey all academic programs and policies at Skidmore College.
Student Academic Services
The Office of Student Academic Services (SAS) provides a wide variety
of services to promote academic achievement and help students take
full advantage of the academic opportunities available at Skidmore. As
part of the college's commitment to academic excellence, the office
serves all students interested in improving their academic
performance, attending graduate school, or working as a tutor on
campus. The office organizes peer tutoring and study groups, and
offers one-on-one or small group academic support. Student Academic
Services also offers support to students who receive Unsatisfactory
Work Notices. The office works on a variety of issues with
international students, students of color, and athletes. Student
Academic Services sponsors workshops and provides assistance to
students submitting applications for specialized post-graduation
scholarships. The office also provides English as a Second Language
(ESL) support and works with students with disabilities.
Study AbroadOff-Campus Study & Exchanges
The Office of International Programs Office of Off-Campus Study & Exchanges organizes a wide range of
off-campus opportunities abroad for academically qualified students who wish to
enhance their on-campus educational experience. The office works
closely with academic departments and programs to ensure coordination
between programs at Skidmore and abroadinternational and domestic study opportunities. The office also
advises students on program choices and application procedures, helps
orient students to the cultural and personal challenges they will
encounter abroadoff campus, and helps reintegrate students into the life of the
college when they return from study abroad. The office provides
administrative oversight for Skidmore's programs in Paris, Madrid,
Alcalá, London, Beijing, and India, and provides support to Skidmore's
faculty-led short-term programs abroad and Skidmore's Approved Programs
a variety of short-term faculty-led programs, and for our domestic exchange program, National Student Exchange (NSE).
The office also provides support for all Skidmore approved programs.
Students must have a 3.0 GPA, appropriate academic
background, and the endorsement of the college in order to participate
in off-campus programs. abroad. The Office of Off-Campus Study and Exchange also works
with faculty on a variety of international opportunities. See
Off-Campus Study Programs for more details.)
The Office of Campus Life, composed of the Chaplain's Office,
Leadership Activities, Office of Student Diversity Programs,
Volunteer Office, the Intercultural Center, and the Center for Sex and Gender Relations,
promotes effective citizenship, social responsibility, and multicultural and interfaith understanding.
Through advising, training, and a diverse array of cocurricular learning experiences,
the Campus Life staff focuses its work with students on the individual in relation to others
and helps shape an environment in which students are eager and able to engage successfully in the life of the college.
The associate dean of student affairs leads the Campus Life Office staff, which includes the director of
student diversity programs; the chaplains; the coordinators of Jewish student life, Catholic student life,
and community service programs; and the associate and assistant directors of leadership activities.
The associate dean of student affairs organizes and facilitates the Leadership Institute
for first-year and sophomore students, coordinates the cocurricular activities of the Skidmore Honors Forum
and advises the SGA.
Center for Sex and Gender Relations:
The Center for Sex and Gender Relations works with students, faculty,
and staff to educate and support healthy and equitable relationships,
both personal and professional, between and among women and men. Begun
as a student-driven initiative, the center is operated and staffed by
Peer Advocates who are trained to respond to issues of sexual health
and sexual assault. The center also sponsors a variety of educational
programs and cocurricular activities throughout the year and
encourages student-faculty collaborative research projects and other
academic endeavors related to the study of sex and gender. An advisory
council, composed of two Head Peer Advocates, two student affairs
advisors representing Health Promotion and Residential Life, and the
Associate Dean, establishes the mission and goals of the center and
oversees its operation and programs.
Intercultural Center:
The Intercultural Center in Case College Center provides a program
of co-curricular activities that welcomes, acknowledges, and
celebrates diverse traditions. The center offers a visual presence
and an annual calendar of programs, seminars, workshops, and
exhibits that support academic programs and faculty whose teaching and scholarship is broadly concerned
with diversity. The Intercultural Center is a common meeting place for such organizations as the
Asian Cultural Association, RAICES, Ujima, Network, Skidmore Pride Alliance, and the Jewish Student Union.
It also serves as a meeting center for interfaith activities. The center promotes an intercultural exchange
of ideas and traditions among students, faculty, and staff that lead to a greater understanding of one's
citizenship in a global community.
Leadership Activities:
The Leadership Activities Office provides advising and training to students who serve in various leadership capacities in the Student Government Association (SGA) and in student clubs and organizations. The staff coordinates a Friday and Saturday late-night entertainment program and helps students plan and implement major cocurricular activities, entertainment, class events, and theme weekends. In addition, the office sponsors a number of leadership skills-development programs for current and aspiring leaders. Special attention is given to the overall quality and diversity of the cocurricular life program and to the development of program initiatives that promote school spirit, healthy social interaction, and social responsibility.
Student Diversity Programs: The Office of Student Diversity Programs
provides leadership and administrative direction for the planning,
organization, and implementation of cocurricular diversity programs on
campus. The office promotes diversity education, cross-cultural and
intercultural dialogue, and multicultural traditions on campus through
the planning of theme months with student groups and through its
coordination of the Intercultural Center's educational and social
programs. In addition, the director of student diversity programs
collaborates with the director of intercultural studies and other
members of the faculty in bridging in-classroom and out-of-classroom
learning by developing cocurricular programs and activities that are
integrated with the intercultural studies curriculum. The director
of student diversity programs serves as a primary resource and advisor to student organizations that
promote diversity awareness, understanding, and celebration, and
assists these groups in fulfilling their annual goals and presenting
successful events.
Religious Life: Skidmore
College is respectful of and responsive to those in the community
who practice the religion of their choice, providing, as often
as possible, options to the Skidmore community that are inclusive
both in tone and content. Skidmore welcomes student religious
groups whose purposes are in harmony with the educational goals
of the college and whose activities are open to the college
community. Indeed, Skidmore embraces religious pluralism in
its desire to be a vitally diverse community, though its practices
and policies are secular in nature and its imperative is to
ensure that students can meet the academic requirements of the
New York State Department of Education.
The Chaplain's Office addresses many of the critical issues that face contemporary college students.
Through a multifaith approach to religious life on campus, the office provides worship and fellowship
experiences for Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish students, and facilitates those of other faith
backgrounds in finding appropriate resources in the area. Students, faculty, and staff are invited for
interreligious dialogue through biweekly discussions on current events, academic lectures, and activities
designed to address the character of both individuals and communities. Through projects addressing
social justice concerns, retreats, and partnerships with neighboring religious communities,
the Chaplain's Office helps students seeking means to address issues of identity and well-being.
Faculty and administrators exercise the fullest measure of good
faith to insure that students are able to fulfill their religious
obligations and practices without suffering any loss of grade
or programmatic access. Absences for religious observances will
not be counted among the number of "allowed absences" per course.
Faculty members have the responsibility to make available to
each student who is absent from class because of religious obligations
the opportunity to make up any missed coursework, exams, or
course requirements. Because Skidmore calendar policy prohibits
scheduling activities during study and exam periods, student
clubs and organizations desiring to schedule religious observances
during these periods may do so only by notifying the dean of
the faculty in writing and by following the scheduling procedures
of the Office of Leadership Activities.
Community Services: The
Office of Community Service Programs facilitates programs that foster an awareness of an individual's place
within a community and the role she or he can play to help those lacking in a variety of
life necessities. The coordinator of community service programs supports faculty in their endeavors
to engage students in service-learning experiences throughout Saratoga County.
The coordinator also works with the Skidmore-Schuylerville School District partnership,
Expanding Horizons, to promote school activities that draw upon Skidmore students' knowledge,
talents, and skills. The student organization Benef-action, to which the coordinator also serves as an advisor, sponsors many fund-raising activities on campus for local charities
and promotes participation in a variety of national volunteer programs such as Special Olympics,
Make A Difference Day, and walk-a-thons.
Skidmore provides a cocurricular environment that enhances and
enriches the academic program through opportunities for personal
and social growth, self-discovery, and an appreciation of one's
responsibilities to others. At Skidmore, residential living
is an integral part of the student's education. At its best,
residential living fosters a sense of community; facilitates
the integration of the individual into campus activities and
organizations; exposes students in a direct and personal way
to a pluralistic community of people with divergent points of
view, values, lifestyles, and background experiences; encourages
an atmosphere of free and wide-ranging expression of ideas;
and develops in each person capacities for self-direction and
deep concern for others.
Residential life is not always comfortable, supportive, or secure.
Interpersonal tensions, serious value conflicts, and discomfort
caused by living in close proximity with large numbers of students
are not unusual. Learning to respond maturely, responsibly,
and creatively to adversity are important elements in self-growth.
Skidmore provides resources through its residence-hall staff,
Counseling Center, Chaplain's Office, and other student affairs
staff, to help students adjust to residential life.
Skidmore regards its students as maturing adults
and expects them to accept a large measure of responsibility
for their personal and social lives. Skidmore's room-change
and off-campus living policies reflect the belief that students
often learn more about themselves and others by working through
difficult situations rather than escaping them.
All continuing full-time students and students returning from
leaves of absence are required to participate in the room selection
process, held each spring semester. Room selection is a random-drawing procedure giving
preference to class (seniors choose first, juniors choose second,
etc.). The procedure provides students with a wide range of
living options, including college-supervised residence apartments.
All first-year students are required to live in college-supervised
housing, except those living at home with a parent or guardian
at the start of their freshman year. All students living in
the residence-hall system sign a room and board agreement that
outlines their rights and responsibilities.
The residence halls, central to life on campus, offer a diversity
of programs and are supervised by a network of trained upperclass
students. Hall councils, composed of elected student representatives, develop a variety
of events and programs for the halls.
Moore and Keyes Quadrangles
Moore Quad consists of Kimball, Penfield,
Wilmarth, and McClellan residence halls. Each hall houses approximately
140 students on three floors in single, double, or triple rooms.
In addition, each of the halls has a large living room. There
are kitchenette facilities, a study room, and a small lounge
on each floor.
Keyes Quad has comparable facilities. Howe, Rounds, and Wait
residence halls accommodate 340 students, while Jonsson Tower
houses another 280. The latter, a twelve-story building, is
the tallest on campus. Atop Jonsson Tower is the penthouse,
with lounge and kitchen facilities for hall use and other college
activities.
Wiecking Hall
This facility, located just south of McClellan and Penfield,
accommodates 128 students on three floors of single and double
rooms. By design, the building's flexible arrangement provides
opportunities for both privacy and social interaction. The seminar
area on the first floor is designed to integrate academic and
residential life.
Scribner Village Apartments
Scribner Village houses
283 students. There are fifteen houses containing fifty-six
units that accommodate four, five, six, or seven students. Each
apartment is fully furnished and has an appropriately equipped
kitchen. Students living in Scribner Village may elect to join
the meal plan or to prepare their own food in the apartment
kitchen.
Northwoods Apartments
The new Northwoods Apartments house 380 upper-class students in
loft and garden-style apartments. Each unit contains ten
three- or four-person apartments. Fully furnished, each apartment
has an appropriately equipped kitchen. As with Scribner Village,
students may elect to join a college meal plan.
Off Campus
In consideration of Skidmore's commitment to an educational
philosophy that supports the importance of living in campus
housing and in consideration of its financial obligations, all
freshman full-time students must live in college-supervised
housing. However, for a limited number of upperclassmen, the
option of living off campus is available through the room selection
process. (See the Room Selection Guide for specific options
and requirements.) Preference is first given to seniors, and
then to juniors. Exceptions to this policy may be made in the
following situations: students living with a parent and/or guardian
and commuting daily, students who turn twenty-two years old
before the start of the academic year, married students, and
students with children.
Health Services provides a general range of services including, but not
limited to: treatment of general medical problems and injuries;
immunizations; birth control counseling; and gynecologic
examinations. Health Services maintains a limited on-site laboratory
that can assist with many common health care needs. Throat cultures,
specialized blood tests, gynecological, and STD tests are sent to an
outside laboratory. Referrals to specialists, both in the local
community and in neighboring cities, can be arranged as need arises.
Health Services also provides educational opportunities that focus on
health maintenance, increasing health awareness, and illness
prevention.
There is no charge for visits to Health Services. Students (or their health
insurers) are responsible for bills relating to emergency room visits,
outside laboratory and X-ray tests, visits to specialists,
immunizations, and prescription medications. All students are required to complete a
health form and immunization record in order to register for classes.
Proof of adequate U.S.-based medical insurance is mandatory, and a
student health insurance policy is available through the college. All
visits are confidential; no information is shared without a student's
permission.
The Health Services staff includes physicians, nurse practitioners,
college-health certified registered nurses, a health promotions coordinator, a
nutritionist, and other clinical and administrative personnel
experienced in working with college students. The office is located on
the first floor of Jonsson Tower.
The Counseling Center is committed to serving the developmental and
psychological/psychiatric needs of the student body and to acting as a
resource for the Skidmore College community. The center provides a range
of professional services, including assessment and referral, short-term
treatment, crisis consultation, group therapy, outreach, education, and
medication management. Students requiring longer-term, more intensive or
specialized treatment services may be referred to community providers as
appropriate. The office is staffed by mental health professionals from
several disciplines. The center serves as a training site for advanced
graduate students in psychology. All services are
confidential and free of charge. The center is located on the ground floor of
Jonsson Tower, across from Health Services.
The Office of Career Services offers a wide array of services
that help all interested students and alumni clarify their career
goals and pursue career or graduate school opportunities. The
following services are available to Skidmore students and alumni:
Career counseling is provided by appointment, during which a professional career counselor facilitates
exploration of personal values, interests, skills, and aspirations—the
building blocks of satisfying academic- and work-related decisions. Advising
on graduate/professional school; career
research; internship and job search; resume and cover letter development;
and interview preparation is also available by appointment and during drop-in hours.
The Career Services Web site
(www.skidmore.edu/administration/career)
has an extensive array of links to research, networking, internship/job recruiting,
and graduate school resources. A computer lab and an extensive
collection of books and directories are available in the office's reference center
to support an individual's efforts.
In addition to subscribing to numerous job-listing resources, the office regularly publishes
newsletters to keep students and alumni aware of pertinent opportunities and their deadlines,
including job and internship listings, recruiting events, and networking programs.
The Alumni/Parent Career Network has more than 2,000 volunteers
prepared to help people explore the world of work and to identify
appropriate job and internship leads. Many career advisors volunteer
to sponsor students who participate in the annual Job Shadowing
Program. Students can spend anywhere from one day to three weeks on the job, shadowing
a sponsor.
Annual networking programs in regions including New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and other cities,
and on-campus events such as the "A-B-C" (Alumni Back to Campus) program link students with alumni.
These events are useful both for gathering information about
potential career options and for identifying job and internship leads.
A monthly recruiting program for seniors and recent graduates includes on- and off-campus
interview opportunities. Consortia recruiting events for seniors, such as the ECCD Boston
and New York City career days, and CIC programs across the country, offer additional opportunities.
Services and programs for underclass students include internship
listings, a job-shadowing program, and advising
regarding choice of majors/career. Career Services staff are happy to
talk with all students and encourage them to initiate contact with the office during their
first year.
