Maryville College
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The campus offers free access to the Academic Support Center which is open for all students to come and receive academic aid for their classes. This includes supplemental instruction, tutors, study group leaders, individualized aid on writing and formatting papers, a specialized testing center for people with disabilities, and note-taking assistance. All incoming students are also assigned a peer mentor to work with them through their first year of college and provide them with information and support to get them connected to various organizations or support centers to alleviate some of the stress of the first year of school. There is also a full-time Director of Counseling Services and a full-time intern who offers free services to any Maryville College student. The college sponsors two respect summits each semester that are geared toward building community, understanding, and respect among all students, but they are specifically focused on serving underrepresented groups. The mission of MC Military Student Services is to provide veterans and military students a local support network encompassing the following : To assist in the active recruitment of veterans, military, and dependent applicants; To assist in the smooth transition of such students once they have registered; To provide assistance in career planning and post-graduation concerns; To coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, including support of the MC Student Veterans Association and the creation and staffing of a center to provide a hub for veteran related activities; To provide comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff on issues and challenges unique to veterans and the armed services The mission of the MC Villamaria program is the following: To strengthen current partnerships and develop new partnerships with Latino or Latino-relevant businesses, churches, and organizations. To host annual Latin American cultural celebrations which will attract large numbers of community members. Among the attendees will be a significant number of Latino community members, including high school students. In partnership with members of the Latino community, to foster a vibrant consortium of Latino-focused scholarly community-based research, resulting in an annual spring showcase of research results. To recruit and enroll higher numbers of Latino students. Co-curricular support comes out of the office of the Dean of Students and provides support for student clubs and or groups, including but not limited to groups such as the the Black Student Association and the Gay-Straight Alliance.

The College strives to maintain an environment free from discrimination and harassment of individuals based on race, color, gender, age, ethnic or national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation or political views. Members of the College community are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that shows respect for all persons and to refrain from behavior that creates an offensive, demeaning, intimidating, or hostile environment. Maryville College condemns and will not tolerate any form of discrimination, intolerance, gender harassment, abuse, or racism as manifested by institutional or individual attitudes, policies, or behaviors. Physical, sexual, verbal, or written harassment or abuse of any person is a serious offense and could result in dismissal from the College. Further, telephone abuse/harassment is a federal offense and is prosecutable under the law. It may result in a $2,000 fine and/or one year in jail. Any person who has been subjected to offensive behavior should, as a first step, discuss the incident with the person who has been offensive and ask that the behavior cease. If such a discussion is not possible or if the request is ignored, then the person should seek to resolve the problem through consultation with the Assistant Dean of Students, the Vice President and Dean of Students, or the College Equal Opportunity Officer. Any of these persons or their designee may attempt mediation. If the issue is not resolved satisfactorily, the formal judicial process may be initiated. Complaints against students are handled as stated in the student judicial process (see “Judicial Processes and Student Rights” in this chapter). Complaints against faculty or staff are handled under policies for those groups. Students wishing to file a complaint should see the Associate Dean (for faculty) or the Director of Human Resources (for staff) for information on procedures.