Academic Support

Next Steps: Adult Education Center

The Next Steps: Adult Education Center provides adults with an opportunity to continue their education by gaining skills to pass the high school equivalency test, prepare for post-secondary education, or learn English as a Second Language. Instructional services include classes on and off campus, individual and small group tutoring, and computer-assisted instruction, including online instruction. Classes are offered in short, five-week sessions and other services are on-going. Registration and skills assessment are required. Services are offered on an open entry/open exit basis. This means that students can register throughout the year on a drop-in basis at the Next Steps: Adult Education Center at UNM-Valencia Campus, and they can participate in the program until their goals are met.

Services include:

1) High school equivalency test preparation (in English and Spanish) for persons seeking a high school diploma.
2) Preparation for postsecondary education for adults performing below a 12th grade level.
3) Reading and writing instruction for persons wanting to improve basic literacy skills.
4) English as a Second Language for non-native speakers of English wishing to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing ability.
5) Citizenship instruction for persons wanting to become United States citizens.

The Next Steps: Adult Education Center works as a partner with the Valencia County Literacy Council. The literacy program manages volunteer tutors who provide 1-on-1 and small group instruction for persons who cannot read and write or who cannot speak English well. The council also offers family literacy services.

The Next Steps: Adult Education Center’s services are designed for adults. Sixteen and seventeen-year- olds may be accepted into the program with a withdrawal form from the high school last attended before enrolling in the program. In addition, a parent or guardian must be present at time of registration to complete an Underage Agreement Form in order for sixteen and seventeen-year-olds to receive services from the Next Steps: Adult Education Center.

Each May, the Next Steps: Adult Education Center is pleased to host a high school equivalency graduation ceremony to recognize and honor students for their success.

 

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act, effective in 1990, was established in order to ensure that individuals with disabilities were given equal treatment and not discriminated against in employment, academic programs, and services.

UNM-Valencia Campus faculty and staff are recognized for their willingness and ability to meet the needs of traditional students as well as minority students and special populations. Our recruitment strategies emphasize our small class sizes and faculty dedicated to helping our students achieve their educational goals. We acknowledge that many of our students have needs and pressures that traditional students rarely face; therefore, we focus a great deal of our efforts in assisting students with reentry, basic skills, and special needs. Many students with disabilities choose this campus because the size, modern architecture, and convenient parking offer physical accessibility not found at larger and older facilities. Similarly, the small class sizes, individualized attention, specialized learning resources, and excellent tutorial program are attractive to students with learning disabilities or alternative learning styles.

Equal Access Services offer valuable tools to assist all students in their educational needs.


 

Equal Access Services

The Equal Access Services (EAS) program provides students with documented disabilities and their instructors support services they may need to create a successful learning experience. Special learning materials, adaptive equipment, interpreters, readers, and alternative exam settings are available to students with documented disabilities. These services are housed in the Student Services building.

UNM-Valencia is subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and is committed to providing equal educational opportunity. Qualified students with disabilities needing accommodation to fully participate in the programs and services offered by the Valencia Campus should contact the Equal Access Services Coordinator at 505.925.8910 or stop by Advisement Services.

EAS will collaborate with students to determine what services and accommodations are needed. Each semester, we provide a printed memorandum to the faculty and staff of the university detailing the accommodations. EAS encourages students to meet with course instructors to discuss the accommodations and how they can be implemented.

Additional information concerning equal access can be provided by the Rehabilitation Act/Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, the director of Equal Opportunity Programs at UNM-Main Campus, 505.277.5251 (voice /TDD).

 

Campus Library

The UNM-Valencia Campus Library houses more than 40,000 books and periodicals, more than 3,000 films, several hundred maps, and reserve items for many courses. Most of the Library’s resources are automated. Access to LIBROS, the Library’s catalog, various periodical databases, and the Internet is available through the twenty computers that are in the Library. Tours and classes on using the resources are also available. Materials not housed in the Valencia Campus Library can be borrowed through the Interlibrary Loan Service.

The Library is located in the Learning Resource Center and is open from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first and third Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays. The telephone number is 505.925.8990.

 

Wellness Center

The Wellness Center is located in the Student Community Center complex next to the Bookstore on the southeast side of the campus. The center includes a cardio room, weight room, group fitness room, fitness assessment room, classroom, showers and locker rooms.

Our mission is to improve the quality of life and health of the campus community concerning all aspects of wellness by providing education, safe effective exercise activities, and assistance in developing a healthy lifestyle.

For more information about the Wellness Center and the hours and days of operation, please call 505.925.8830 or visit http://valencia.unm.edu/wellness-center/index.html.


Guidelines for using the Wellness Center are:

  1. Anyone eighteen years and older or who has graduated from high school may access the facility by enrolling in a Physical Education class. The cardio/weight room is accessible by enrolling in a Weight Training or Introduction to Fitness class. (An orientation is mandatory for students enrolled in the Introduction to Fitness class.)
  2. Students log in and out to record visits.
  3. Students are required to complete an “Informed Consent and Waiver” form.
  4. If the instructor deems it necessary, the student may be asked to follow up with a signed consent form from their doctor.
  5. Daily use lockers are available in the locker rooms for your valuables and personal items. Please return the key for the locker before leaving the center.
  6. The center does not provide a towel service at this time.
  7. Food is not permitted in the Wellness Center at any time. Water is the only beverage permitted and must be kept in a spill proof, plastic container.
  8. Instructors can help with any question you may have regarding your exercise program.
  9. Student assistants are available to take questions, suggestions and comments relating to equipment, policies and rules.

Dress requirements are:

  1. Athletic footwear is required to exercise in the group fitness room and cardio/weight room. No open-toe shoes, sandals, or boots, or shoes of any kind with metal hooks will be allowed in the cardio/weight room.
  2. Wear comfortable, clean, athletic clothing. No jeans, belts or exposed metal.
  3. No weightlifting belts with metal buckles.

 

Small Business Development Center

The mission of the Small Business Development Center is to strengthen the economy of the UNM-Valencia service area by providing direct assistance, entrepreneurial education, and resource linkages that are designed to facilitate the retention and expansion of existing small businesses and foster the creation of new businesses.

The Small Business Development Center assists business owners and potential owners in making decisions affecting their businesses. The center offers four types of services: training, counseling, referral, and library resources. The training component involves workshops, and seminars. Business counselors provide 1-on-1 counseling for those wanting more attention of a confidential nature. Library resources include a business library, government publications, statistics, business literature and access to the Internet. The center works with clients in writing business plans, organizing loan packages, creating marketing plans and much more. Counseling is offered free of charge but there are nominal fees charged for the workshops.

The center is located at the UNM-Valencia Workforce Training Center, with services provided to Socorro and Mountainair on a regular basis. Appointments with a counselor can be made in person or by calling 505.925.8980. Materials are available on a walk-in basis.

 

Teaching and Learning Center

The Teaching and Learning Center seeks to enhance teaching and learning, improve student and faculty success and stimulate instructional effectiveness. The center hosts a variety of faculty workshops and seminars and offers a wide range of instructional resources. The Teaching and Learning Center is located in the Business and Technology Building.

Resources

The Teaching and Learning Center has a library of books on instructional technology, education, and personal growth. The center also has a large collection of web-based resources on many pedagogical areas, classroom management, and learning and teaching activities.

Workshops

Workshops are offered in a wide range of areas including computers, audio visual equipment, online and hybrid instruction, pedagogy, and classroom management. Brown bag lunch seminars will be held covering a variety of topics.

Goals

1) Conduct workshops and classes. Each term the Teaching and Learning Center will provide workshops, classes and seminars to help the faculty and staff learn new skills and concepts so that they may better support student learning. Classes will include computer software applications, instructional media development, electronic communication skills and teaching methods.
2) Provide individual consultations to faculty and staff. Faculty can receive assistance developing strategies to improve student learning. Resources, mentors, and information will be provided. All consultations will be confidential.
3) Offer instructional technology tutorials. The Center will provide tutorials for faculty and staff that need help with computer applications and technology.
4) Encourage collaboration between UNM-Valencia faculty and the wider educational community to improve teaching and learning. The Teaching and Learning Center will provide opportunities for faculty to support, publicize, and demonstrate the use of best practices and innovative approaches to teaching and learning by establishing formal and informal communications forums. The Teaching and Learning Center will publicize all training opportunities, workshops, and sessions in its calendar of events and activities.

 

Learning Commons

Each person learns in a unique way, and the Learning Commons offers a comfortable atmosphere and services to facilitate learning regardless of learning style. This is a place where you can study in a quiet room, engage in the dynamics of a study group, research and write your papers or develop spreadsheets, work with a tutor, or take advantage of computer assisted instructional software and other study resources.

Free for all students currently enrolled at the UNM-Valencia Campus, services include the following:

  1. Peer and professional tutoring (group and individual)
  2. Walk-in assistance
  3. Tutorial appointments
  4. Study groups
  5. Special topic workshops
  6. Computer labs staffed with trained personnel
  7. State-of-the-art computer hardware and software
  8. Study areas to work alone or in groups
  9. Study resources (textbooks, videos, audio tapes)
  10. Study guides and handouts

The Learning Commons is student focused and attempts to accommodate all student needs. The Learning Commons encompasses a Mathematics Center, a STEM Center, and a Writing Center, in addition to other types of tutoring. In addition to regular services, the Learning Commons attempts to find a tutor or schedule a study group for a particular class at students’ requests. The Learning Commons is open Monday through Friday, with evening hours Monday through Thursday. Call 505.925.8907 to schedule an appointment.