COLLEGE OF EDUCATION - CLINICS, CENTERS AND SERVICES

• About Clinics, Centers, and Services
• Museum of Education
• Office of Student Affairs (SA) [Formerly Intercollegiate Teacher Education and Student Affairs]
• Children's Center
• South Carolina Educational Policy Center (SCEPC)
• Office of Instructional Support
• Electronic Classroom
• Distance Education
• Rehabilitation Counseling Clinic
• International Office
• Center for Community Education Development
• Professional Development Schools
• Middle Level Education Program and the Center for Excellence in Middle Level Initiatives

Service to the community represents a large portion of the College's mission. Centers and clinics are tangible ways for College of Education faculty members to provide direct assistance to parents, children, and others who need their expertise. In addition, a number of programs and projects are designed to assist teachers, administrators, and school districts locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

The Museum of Education, located on the first floor of the College of Education Building, is one of the few active museums of education in the United States. The facility includes archival materials, reference volumes, special collections, and exhibits. Among the most noted collections are South Carolina college and university catalogs and yearbooks, South Carolina K-12 textbooks, the John Hawley college and university postcard collection, and the professional papers of a number of educational leaders. Also in the Museum's holdings are reference volumes, photos and artifacts, audio and video recordings, and South Carolina biographical and school files.

The Office of Student Affairs (SA) [Formerly Office of Intercollegiate Teacher Education and Student Affairs] assists prospective students with information about the four departments and their degree programs. ITESA maintains student records, provides certification information and verification, offers student advisement services, coordinates field experiences, and directs accreditation reviews. In addition, ITESA serves as the coordinating office for the professional education programs located within the seven colleges of the Professional Education Unit.

The Children's Center provides a program of high quality, developmentally appropriate care and education for young children (infancy through age five) of University families. Enrollment at the Center is representative of the University community and well suited for demonstration, research, and the professional preparation of teachers of young children . In addition to the preparation of early childhood education professionals, the Center serves as a child study laboratory for students from art, music, physical education, psychology, journalism, and speech and hearing. It also serves as a training site for child care programs in the area.

Under the auspices of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies the South Carolina Educational Policy Center (SCEPC) serves as a vehicle for focusing research on education policy issues. The Policy Center has contracted with various agencies to conduct studies and evaluations related to school improvement, school administration, student assessment, school finance, class size, personnel practices, teacher leadership, teacher recruitment, teacher certification, remedial and compensatory education, and student learning. Current contract work includes a school accountability project entitled An Investigation of Technical Issues Related to the Establishment of a South Carolina Accountability System. Call Dr. Diane M. Monrad, Director, at (803) 777-7416 or e-mail her at dmonrad@gwm.sc.edu for additional information.

Office of Instructional Support serves as an important resource for the University and South Carolina teachers. The Office of Instructional Support model classroom, allows faculty to model appropriate teaching of computer techniques within a traditional traditional classroom, while the software library contains over 800 titles of instructional and productivity software including one of the most comprehensive collections of mathematics and science software in the Southeast.

The Electronic Classroom offers the latest in broadcast technology and is used for videotaping as well as live, interactive programming that reaches all USC campuses and state technical colleges. The Electronic Classroom's Advanced Placement Calculus television course was the first live, interactive college credit telecourse in the Satellite Educational Resources Consortium (SERC) Star Schools program. The University of South Carolina is participating in the project along with SC ETV and the State Department of Education. Students can receive USC transmissions and courses produced at other institutions at remote locations, a capability to be extended to international staff development via satellite. Courses available through telecommunication instruction include Microcomputers and Instruction, The Effective Teacher, and Teaching Mathematics to Young Children. Telecommunication courses are also offered for teachers of the visually impaired and preschool handicapped.

Distance Education is based on the mission that education opportunities should be available to teachers statewide. Students of education have the opportunity to participate in classes at their convenience; this opportunity is accomplished by offering classes on VHS and/or live interactive television links coordinated by the Office of Distance Education and the College of Education.

The Rehabilitation Counseling Clinic offers testing and counseling services to clients referred by community agencies or self referred for personal problems or career counseling. graduate students work with clients with a variety of personal, family, mental,behavioral,and drug abuse problems,and career development needs. Students develop counseling skills and assessment techniques to address clients' individual problems or needs.

While the College's foremost obligation is service to South Carolinians, a number of programs position the College in international prominence. The International Office coordinates visits of international scholars and administers the Services to Overseas Schools Program. Since 1982, this program has orchestrated onsite graduate courses, telecommunications courses, inservice workshops, research, and technical assistance for overseas school personnel. Courses such as Curriculum Design for International Schools, Guidance Techniques for Classroom Teachers, Microcomputers and Instruction, and Reading in the Content Area have been offered in Africa, South America, and Asia. The College continues its multiyear exchange with the University of the Philippines' College of Education to conduct research and exchange professional expertise. Faculty members from the University of South Carolina's Department of Educational Leadership and Policies through its Minority Administrators Program offer programs and courses adapted to train South African school principals.

The Center for Community Education Development, in operation since 1973, assists schools and school districts in planning, developing, and implementing community education programs designed to meet the educational needs, concerns, and interests of the local community. In cooperation with the Center for Community Education
Development at the State Department of Education, the Center offers technical assistance, training, and research services. For the past two years, the Center has been involved in the design, development, and implementation of community service learning in South Carolina's public schools and through adult education programs.

Professional Development Schools (PDS) are unique collaborative partnerships between local schools and universities, creating a continuous examination and renewal of teacher education and preK-12 schooling. The mission of each PDS is to provide an exemplary learning community where all students learn at a high level and future teachers receive the best possible preparation for their roles as educators, administrators, and counselors.

A Middle Level Education Program is being planned to meet the needs of pre- professional and professional educators who will teach or are teaching in the middle grades. The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education is striving to constantly improve the effectiveness of middle school teachers as part of the statewide initiative for middle level education. The Center for Excellence in Middle Level Initiatives offers a more comprehensive look at new innovations in this area.