Academic Support Services

St. John Fisher College offers a variety of services to support students’ academic work. All of these services exist to serve you and help ensure that you are successful in your college career. Fisher’s academic support services provide you with many resources to help you develop and improve the skills necessary to grow academically, personally, and professionally. For more information about any of the services below, visit www.sjfc.edu.

Academic Laboratories

Biology

The Department of Biology maintains six teaching and eight undergraduate research laboratories that provide students hands-on experience with equipment and techniques that are of fundamental importance to the field of biology. Resources include molecular biology capabilities, cell and bacterial culture equipment, indoor greenhouse, Zebrafish housing unit, compound fluorescent microscope, and designated faculty and student research space.

Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry includes laboratories for courses or research, two instrumentation laboratories, and a computer laboratory. The department’s modern, research-grade instrumentation includes infrared and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometers, multinuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, atomic absorption spectrometer, differential scanning calorimeters, and vapor-phase and high-performance liquid chromatographs.

Physics

The Department of Physics has four well-designed laboratories and a room with well-equipped benches, computers, and storage space for individual research. Among the modern instruments in these laboratories are e/m apparatus, Franck Hertz apparatus, x-ray diffraction apparatus, precision optical bench, and portable six-inch reflecting telescopes.

Center for Career and Academic Planning

The Center for Career and Academic Planning offers an integrated approach to student success at St. John Fisher College. Advisors help students to excel academically, explore careers and industries, develop professional skills and experiences, and finish their degree on time.

Information Technology

For compete details about information technology on campus, visit the Office of Information Technology (OIT) website.

Computer Labs

Computer labs across campus offer access to a variety of software, including productivity and academic applications, and a variety of hardware, including PCs, printers, and scanners. The Kearney Academic Computing Lab is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via card-swipe access when the College is open. Hours are posted in the open area of the lab.

Service Desk

The OIT Service Desk, located in the basement of Kearney Hall with a satellite desk in Lavery Library, is the primary contact for all support issues and service requests. In-addition to walk-up assistance, the Service Desk provides 24/7 phone support for issues such as password resets and account access. Current hours are posted on the OIT website.

Library

The Charles J. Lavery Library meets the information needs of 21st century students. A blend of traditional and electronic resources covering a broad range of subjects is available to the Fisher Community. The library’s print collection is complemented by an extensive offering of online scholarly resources available at Lavery Library. Information resources include over 300,000 volumes and access to approximately 50,000 print and electronic periodic tables.

The library provides a variety of study venues. Individual and group study areas, a computer lab, and a floor designated for quiet study make the library a popular spot on campus for research, meetings, and instruction.

Research Assistance

Professional librarians welcome students to the Research Help Desk during day and evening hours, answering questions via phone, email, and videoconferencing. Our librarians are information specialists committed to the academic success of all students. Their schedule is supplemented by a 24/7 Chat-with-a-Librarian service, so students can get assistance with their research whenever they need it.

Learning Commons

The Learning Commons supports student learning, research, and use of technology. This state-of-the-art facility enables students to conduct research and produce projects in one location, steps from a Help Desk staffed by technology students and librarians. In the Learning Commons, students have access to PC workstations, Macintosh multimedia workstations, and group workstations. Throughout the library there are additional PC workstations as well as Wi-Fi.  Students may also borrow laptops at the checkout desk for short-term use in the library.

K-12 Resource Center

Geared toward educators and pre-service educators at all levels, the K–12 Resource Center occupies 1, 250 square feet on the lower level of Lavery Library. The Center simulates the typical K–12 school library, and offers a rage of fiction, non-fiction, school textbooks, and lesson-planning resources all aligned with New York State standards. Ample work space combined with ready access to materials and the professional assistance of the education librarian, provide an ideal environment for project and lesson development.

Instruction

Librarians welcome opportunities for instructing groups or individuals and offer current instruction in the use of all types of information sources.  Classes in information literacy are taught in all subject areas using hands-on techniques and active learning.

Interlibrary Services

Lavery Library Interlibrary Loan is a free service provided to the Fisher community. The library is a member of the Rochester Regional Library Council, which represents a collection of more than 3,400,000 titles.  We are also a member of the IDS Project, which began in New York State, then spread across the country as far as Hawaii, and now represents the collections of over 110 academic libraries.  Lavery Library works within these two associations to swiftly provide quality resources not owned by this library. Lavery Library’s Interlibrary Loan service also extends beyond the region to obtain resources from national and international libraries.

Math Center

The Math Center is a supportive learning environment that is committed to helping students become confident and independent learners of mathematics. The Math Center offers tutors for mathematics and related courses as well as other resources including textbooks for all math courses, tutorial handbooks, basic skills practice books, and handouts on math study skills. Computers provide access to many software applications used in various current mathematics, science, and computer science courses.Hours vary by semester. Math Center services are free of charge to all Fisher students. Students do not have to be taking a math course to use facility.

Media Center

The Media Center has a full-color television studio, sound recording facilities, and film production and editing facilities, as well as a complete range of the standard equipment used for audiovisual support and production.

Nursing Learning Resource Center

The Nursing Learning Resource Center provides students with hands-on experiences to learn technical, assessment, and critical thinking skills that prepare them for the competencies required for patient care in clinical practice sites. The facility contains two major nursing laboratories. The Nursing Skills Lab is an undergraduate skills laboratory with equipment, supplies, and medium fidelity simulation mannequins for practice of technical skills in simulated hospital or nursing home settings. The Health Assessment Lab includes examination tables and equipment found in ambulatory/primary care settings.

The Wegmans School of Nursing is also home to the Glover-Crask Simulation Center, a 10,400-square foot space that mirrors a hospital unit. Center features include individual simulation rooms, community space used for home care visit role-play and scenarios, control room for faculty simulation facilitation, debriefing rooms, classrooms, and faculty offices. The Simulation Center provides enhanced training and experience through the use of a Pyxis MedStation system, the leading automated medication dispensing system supporting decentralized medication management.

Student Accessibility Services

St. John Fisher College is committed to assisting students with documented disabilities who are otherwise qualified for admission to the College, in compliance with Section 504 of the 1973 Federal Rehabilitation Act and Title III of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, as amended). Students with documented disabilities (physical, learning, and/or psychological) who may need academic accommodations are advised to refer to the Student Accessibility Services website. For additional information, students may call or make an appointment with the coordinator of student accessibility services in the Student Accessibility Services Office, Kearney 300, (585) 385-5252.

Writing Center

The Writing Center assist students with writing tasks from all disciplines and during all stages of the writing process. Individualized service and extensive writer participation enable students to become more skillful writers. Resources include a library of style manuals, handbooks, dictionaries, workbooks, and user-friendly handouts. Computers and printers are also available for student use during regular operating hours. Hours vary by semester. Writing Center services are free of charge to all Fisher students. “Walk-ins” are welcome but subject to tutor availability.

Veterans Affairs

The veterans affairs certifying official, located in the Registrar’s Office, Kearney 201, provides students with information and assistance relating to veterans’ benefits and concerns. The certifying official may be contacted by phone at (585) 385-8031. For information on educational benefits and eligibility, visit the VA online at: benefits.va.gov/gibill/ or call 1 (800) 442-4551.