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This section contains information on the services and resources provided for graduate students on the main campus in Beckley, many of which are also available to distance learners and branch campus students. If you are studying at a branch campus, consult the catalog or student handbook for that campus for details of the services and resources available to you.
Bookstore
In addition to textbooks and school supplies, the University Bookstore stocks insignia items including sweatshirts, jackets, t-shirts, mugs, and umbrellas, as well as such everyday needs as cards and software. The bookstore accepts cash, checks, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and authorized charges to student accounts.
Bookstore hours when the University is in session are 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, with extended hours during regular and late registration periods.
In addition to the campus bookstore, the University provides bookstore services to off-campus learners. Books and other learning resources as well as insignia items can be purchased in person or ordered online or by phone. The University Web site has links to the online bookstore in the Current Students section and the Quick Links list that appears on the front page.
The bookstore’s textbook refund policy is based on publisher requirements for returns. You should become familiar with the policy, which is available at the bookstore, before you purchase any books or supplies.
At the end of each fall and spring semester, the bookstore buys back a limited number
of used textbooks based on needs for the
following academic year. A wholesale representative may also be available during buy-back to purchase used textbooks at their current wholesale value.
Career Services
The Student Affairs Office provides general assistance in resume writing and career selection as well as services to assist students who are interested in finding employment. Students are encouraged to make an appointment with Student Affairs. The library has additional career guidance resources, and internal and external job openings are posted on campus.
Chapel
The Mary Wiseman Chapel, located in the John W. Eye Conference Center, provides a place for meditation and spiritual enrichment. The chapel is open during the conference center’s hours of operation
and can also be reserved for use by groups.
Computer Laboratory
An open computer laboratory located in
the library provides access to work stations,
a variety of current software, and a laser printer. Computers may be used for both research and classroom assignments.
Cougar Den Student Union
The Cougar Den Student Union, in the lower level of the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center, provides a spot for eating, studying, and relaxing, as well for social,
cultural, educational, and school activities. The Cougar Den is home to the Cougar Buffet and Cougar Grill and has a variety of activity and game equipment.
Dining
Meal plans and spending accounts are available from Student Accounts. Three meal plans, providing for either 9, 15, or 19 meals a week, are available for purchase. Flexible Cougar Bucks accounts, which allow you to purchase food and beverages anywhere on campus with your student ID, are also available.
All meals are served in the Cougar Den Student Union. Limited meal hours are offered over Thanksgiving and during spring and semester breaks.
Disability Accommodations
The University accommodates physically and learning-challenged students and employees by providing ramp or elevator access to campus facilities and reasonable accommodations for academic services, courses, and activities. Contact the Student Affairs Office if you require accommodations for a disability.
E-mail Service
All registered students are automatically assigned an MSU e-mail address. Information on student e-mail account access is available on the Current Students section of the Web site.
Your MSU e-mail account is used for University notifications in such important areas as registration, financial aid, and graduation, as well as for correspondence from instructors. It is your responsibility to check your account regularly.
Health Insurance
For students who require health insurance, Student Accounts can provide information on private policies with comprehensive medical and surgical benefits.
Housing and Residence Life
While most campus-based graduate students choose to live off campus, some enjoy the convenience of campus housing. Hogan Hall, the University’s main residence hall, accommodates a significant number of graduate students, nontraditional students, and international students.
Each four-person suite has two double-
occupancy bedrooms that share bathroom facilities. High-speed Internet connections are included in each room. Rooms also
have hookups for telephone and cable and can accommodate microwave ovens, small refrigerators, and personal computers.
Hogan Hall is a coed facility housing men and women in separate suites. It is air conditioned and wheelchair accessible. Laundry facilities are provided as well as a common area containing vending and concession machines. The building is within walking distance of the rest of the campus, downtown Beckley, and the YMCA, where all University students have a complimentary membership.
To apply for campus housing, submit a housing application to the University’s Residence Life Office along with a room deposit. All residence hall assignments are made on a semester-to-semester basis. You may request a specific roommate on your application for housing. If you do not designate a roommate, the Residence Life Office will make selections based upon the criteria you designate. Private accommodations in double occupancy rooms may be available for an additional charge.
All resident students are required to purchase a meal plan. See Dining for more
information.
Although there are specific check-in and check-out dates for each semester, Hogan
Hall does remain open over Thanksgiving, during spring break, and between terms. You must notify the Housing Office if you wish to stay in the residence hall during one of these periods.
Students who have withdrawn from the University for any reason are not permitted to reside in campus housing, and students who are suspended or expelled for any reason forfeit their right to remain in the residence hall. Housing fees are subject to the same institutional refund policy and procedures as other University charges. Contact the Residence Life Office for information on eligibility for refunds.
All students who live on campus should become familiar with the University’s housing policies and regulations, which are included in the student handbook and residence life handbook. Students are held responsible for this information.
Identification Cards
All new students are required to obtain an identification card, and returning students must validate their ID for the current term. You must have a valid ID to check out materials from the library and to use the computer lab and other University services. The ID card service is located in the library.
Distance learners can obtain an ID from the School of Graduate Studies upon request.
Information Center
MSU’s Information Center provides easy access to a wide range of University information and services, including application and enrollment, academic programs, student services, assistance with general questions concerning scheduling and financial aid, and upcoming campus events. For University inquiries of any kind, contact the Information Center at 304.929.INFO (304.929.4636) or toll-free at 866.FOR.MSU1 (866.367.6781).
Library and Learning Resources
The University’s library is located on the second floor of the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center. Library holdings currently include more than 95,500 books and videotapes and 152 print periodical subscriptions as well as extensive electronic resources. Tables and carrels are available for research and study, and the Library Services staff provides professional assistance to the University’s students, faculty, and staff. Holdings are shelved in open stacks and can be easily searched and accessed through Athena, the library’s online catalog.
More than 7,000 periodicals dated from 1987 to the present are available in print or electronically. Older books and journals are kept in remote storage and are available by request.
Internet access on all computers allows students to easily search the automated catalogs of the Library of Congress and other libraries worldwide. The general public is invited to use the library, although public patrons are required to check out materials through the interlibrary loan department of a public library.
Electronic Resources
The library subscribes to a number of databases and full-text electronic journal indexes, which are available from on or off campus:
- Ebscohost has 16 separate subject-specific databases that can be searched individually or all at once. Databases provided are Academic Search Elite, Business Source Elita, CINAHL, Clinical Pharmacology, ERIC, Health Source Consumer Edition, Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition, Medline, Regional Business News, the Serials Directory, Communications and Mass Media Complete, Pre-CINAHL, American Humanities Index, AltHealth Watch, MasterFILE Premier, and Newspaper Source.
- ProQuest has 15 separate databases that are searched all at once by default, although they can also be searched individually if desired. Databases included are ABI/INFORM Global, Accounting and Tax, Banking Information Source, Business Dateline, Career and Technical Information, Pharmaceutical News Index, ProQuest Asian Business, ProQuest Computing, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, ProQuest Education Journals, ProQuest European Business, ProQuest Religion, ProQuest Telecommunications, and Research Library.
- StatRef Electronic Medical Library provides Web-based searchable access to 15 medical texts: Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Geriatric Medicine, Color Atlas and synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, Current OB/GYN Diagnosis and Treatment, Current Pediatric Diagnosis and Treatment, Current Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment, DSM IV-TR, Family Medicine, Mosby’s Drug Consult, Nurse’s Pocket Guide, Principles of Surgery, Stedman’s Dictionary, Stein’s Internal Medicine, and USP DI—Drug Information for the Health Care Professional.
- SIRS Knowledge Source provides full-text access to articles dealing with a broad range of social issues from both domestic and international periodicals.
- NewsBank provides full-text access to articles from national and international newspapers and wire services as well as the Magellan Geographix MGWorld Atlas.
- Westlaw is a legal database with access to federal, state, and tax cases, statutes, and rules, as well as legal periodicals. The KeyCite feature tracks the history of a law or case to see if it is still in good legal standing.
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online provides access to the electronic version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and the Collegiate Thesaurus.
- Serials Solutions allows for journal title searches of all the library’s print holdings and electronic periodicals databases.
Accessing Library and Learning Resources from Off Campus
In addition to the resources on campus, Mountain State University provides library and learning resources to off-campus learners, including the services of an academic resource librarian who specializes in distance learning resources. When you register, you will receive a packet of information on distance education library resources, including contact information for the academic resource librarian and other library staff members; step-by-step instructions for using University databases and checking out library materials; and information on strategies for conducting online research.
Multimedia Facilities
A computer- assisted classroom and teleconferencing facility, located in the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center, is provided in cooperation with the West Virginia Army National Guard and the U.S. Department of Defense. The facility is used for National Guard training and University distance learning programs; when not in use, it is available for rental to campus and community members.
Multimedia classrooms and facilities are located in the Health Sciences Building and the Margaret A. Carter Auditorium.
Parking
The University provides parking for students in lots throughout the campus. You are required to register your vehicle with the University to obtain a campus parking permit. A separate permit from Housing and Residence Life is required to park in the Hogan Hall lot.
Students with a valid permit may park in any area not reserved for faculty and staff. You may be fined or your vehicle towed at your expense if you park illegally, in a no-parking lane, or in an unauthorized space.
All students are expected to act responsibly and to respect the rights of private property owners in the area. Those who violate
parking regulations are subject to disciplinary action.
Practicum Center
The Practicum Center serves as a centralized information center for all students who are required to complete an internship or practicum experience. Located in Section F of the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center, it is the starting place for University approval of any internship or practicum experience.
Safety and Security
The University works to maintain a safe environment for its students, faculty, and staff. A campus crime and safety log, which also includes Crime Alert notices, annual crime reports, and announcements of student development safety seminars, is available at the library reserve desk.
The University’s Campus Safety Office and physical plant staff monitor the activities in academic and administrative buildings, grounds, and parking lots with a concern for safety and security. Foot and vehicular patrols of campus facilities and grounds take place 24 hours a day. The physical plant staff also regularly inspects campus facilities, makes any repairs affecting safety and security, and responds to reports of potential hazards.
While campus safety and physical plant personnel are unarmed and cannot make arrests, they do carry mobile phones from which they can receive or place intercampus or off-campus calls, coordinate campus alerts, and contact the Emergency Operations Center or the Beckley Police Department. Police response time is three minutes or less.
Campus Safety officers receive training in numerous subjects related to public safety and law enforcement, including criminal investigations, arrest, search and seizure, patrol procedures and tactics, and other legal matters.
Campus Safety officers may provide assistance for a full range of public safety services, including crime reports, investigations, emergencies, enforcement of state laws, and campus incidents requiring police assistance. They work closely with the Beckley Police Department, Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Detachment of the West Virginia State Police.
A private security firm provides assistance to Campus Safety as needed. These officers are equipped with radios and perform foot and vehicular patrols.
Administrators periodically conduct walks of the entire campus to review lighting and other safety-related environmental concerns. Contact the Operations/Student Development Office to report hazards or make recommendations on improvement of safety and security.
Crime Statistics
The University maintains crime statistics in accordance with Title II of Public Law 101-542, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crimes Statistics Act. Statistics are available on line at www.mountainstate.edu/current/policies/crimechart.aspx or from the Student Affairs Office.
Emergency Reporting
Students and faculty and staff members are responsible for reporting any campus emergency, incident, or safety and security concern. From campus phones, dial 1349 or 1330 to reach campus safety or physical plant staff. Off campus, dial 304.929.1349 or 304.929.1330; after hours and on weekends and holidays, dial 304.890.2722.
Dial 911 (9911 from campus phones) for situations that require law enforcement or emergency personnel.
Lost and Found
Campus Safety maintains a campuswide lost-and-found service.
Sports and Recreation
Students receive a complimentary membership to the Beckley–Raleigh County YMCA, which is located within walking distance of campus and has facilities for swimming, workouts, basketball, racquetball, and other sports and activities. A current student ID is required for admission. An intramural athletics program, open to all students, provides team and individual competition in a variety of sports.
Intercollegiate Athletics
The Cougars compete in NAIA Division I men’s basketball and women’s softball and volleyball. The basketball team won the 2004 NAIA National Championship.
Students with a current ID receive free admission to all regular home games. Basketball games are played at the Raleigh County Armory–Civic Center (capacity 4,700), softball games at Warren Wilson Stadium, and volleyball games in Van Meter Gymnasium.
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