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Frequently Asked Questions About
Student Support Services
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Okay so what's a FAQ?
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FAQ is an internet acronym, and it stands for Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question about Student Support Services here at Lincoln University, you should come here to find out if we've already answered it.
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This section is to answer a lot of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that students ask us during presentations, in the office or on the street.
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What exactly is Student Support Services?
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Student Support Services is the product of a government decision in 1965 to help level the playing field for underrepresented students; that is, students whose needs aren't being met by the system as it now stands.
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So what is an "underrepresented student?"
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In this case, "underrepresented" can mean one of three things. Underrepresented students can be "first-generation" students, meaning neither of their parents ever got any kind of college degree, or they come from a low-income background, or they have some form of disability, be it a physical one or a learning disability.
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How do I qualify?
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This is both easy and hard to explain. The short answer is that you have to be a US citizen first. Then, in addition, you need to be one sort or another of underrepresented student.
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What do you mean low-income?
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There is a complex set of qualifications for determining low income. It depends on how many are in your family, whether or not you are a dependent, and your taxable income.
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Does any kind of disability qualify me?
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Yes, as long as it's documented. In the past we've had people with all kinds of different learning disabilities from ADHD to an inability to process what they read to lack of short-term memory. In addition we have had paralysis victims, those who have lost the use of a hand or other limb to blind people who would like texts read to them.
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How can Student Support Services help me?
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For qualifying students, SSS can provide tutoring, mentoring, advisement, decision making, and other services that will help you get through your classes and deal with college life.
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Tell me more about the tutoring.
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We have several tutors here who can help you in nearly every field in the general education requirement, and many others besides. Our staff is fully qualified and soon to be nationally certified to help you with any problem you might have in these classes!
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I'm getting good grades. Why should I come to Student Support Services?
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SSS provides a safe environment not only for those students who need academic help, but for those who need other forms of help, or who would simply like a place to congregate, to call "home" or to provide help for others.
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I'm getting good grades too, but I'm freaking out just being here. Can you help?
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Yes. We provide seminars and workshops every Thursday at 11:00 am that help students cope with college life and its difficulties. Some of our topics include managing time, budgeting money, releasing stress and improving self-esteem. Others include improving test-taking and note-taking abilities and how to improve memory.
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How can I help my friends?
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Encourage them to come to SSS to see if they qualify for our help. If you'd like to "go the extra mile" and be a volunteer tutor yourself, talk to Mrs. Stewart or Mark Worthen in South Dawson Hall about helping out!
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What's this mentoring deal?
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Student Support Services provides mentoring for certain at-risk students who wish to have constant help throughout their college career. Our mentors will help you achieve your dreams by talking to you about your situation, helping you find resources on campus, or simply providing a listening ear. If you're interested in becoming a part of our program, talk to Stan in our office at South Dawson Hall, or apply for the program at our mentoring web page
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What other activities does SSS do?
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Once or twice a semester, SSS will host a trip off campus to investigate career possibilities at different places, such as Jefferson City Correctional Center or Fulton State Hospital. Other trips are cultural opportunities to places where some students might not otherwise have had a chance to go, such as the theatre or the Black History Museum in Kansas City. Check the web site home page for announcements about where and when the next trip is.
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Will SSS lend me money for school or books?
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No. It's not our function to hand out money; that's for Financial Aid. It is our function to help students learn how to learn and how to deal with the college situation.
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Is SSS a Lincoln University thing?
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Yes and no. We are a national program with a Federal Grant to fulfill the purposes we've outlined. We're just a part of the program, a "chapter" if you will, organized here under the umbrella and auspices of Lincoln University.
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Who is the boss of SSS?
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That all depends. Here at Lincoln, it's Ruby Stewart, and she reports to both Student Affairs here at the university, and to the Department of Education in the US Government.
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And Trio is what, again?
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Trio is the nationwide agency created by Congress in that landmark 1965 decision. Student Support Services is one branch of Trio. Other branches are: The McNair Program, which aids underrepresented graduate students, Talent Search and also Upward Bound, both of which give specific help to college-bound high school students, and The Educational Opportunity Centers, which target candidates for continuing and adult education.
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