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Return to: University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast
Automobiles on Campus
Students, employees and frequent visitors of the university are required to purchase parking permits to register their automobiles with the university Security Department. Temporary permits are issued when a vehicle is to be on campus less than 14 days. Parking zones have been established along with other regulations. Penalties are assessed for violations of regulations.
Vehicle registration is valid for one academic year at the Gulf Park campus and the Gulf Coast Student Service Center. Keesler Air Force Base permits are issued free of charge each semester. Proof of insurance and a valid driver’s license must be shown before a Keesler permit can be issued. Permits may be obtained from The University of Southern Mississippi Keesler Teaching Site. Southern Miss Gulf Coast parking decals can be obtained at the Gulf Park campus security, GCSSC teaching site, and each day of student registration.
Bookstore
Course materials are offered for purchase and are available in new textbooks, used textbooks, e-books and rental books with some restrictions. Students with a Southern Miss identification card may charge their course materials to their university account provided that minimum payment has been made to the business office. Other forms of payment include Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover as well as Barnes and Nobles gift cards and cash. Course materials will be available for Gulf Park and Keesler classes in the Gulf Park Bookstore. Buyback is held on a daily basis at the Gulf Park Bookstore, however the best time to sell books back for maximum dollars back is toward the end of the semester when adoptions are in for the next semester.
Disability Accommodations (ODA)
In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (of 1990), Southern Miss does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment of employment in its programs or activities. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities are provided through the Office of Disability Accommodations (ODA). ODA verifies eligibility for accommodations and works with eligible students to develop and coordinate plans for the provision of accommodations. Eligible students include those who are enrolled in degree and nondegree programs offered by The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast, are considered qualified to meet all university program requirements despite a disability, and meet the definition of disability as defined by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA.
Accommodations may include exam modifications, assistive technology, document conversion, interpreters, note-takers and readers. In order to receive appropriate and timely accommodations, eligible students should contact the ODA before the semester begins to file an application and submit documentation of disability for review. The ODA is committed to creating a positive campus environment where students with disabilities are encouraged to pursue careers on the basis of personal interest and ability.
For an application and guidelines for documentation of disability, contact the Office for Disability Accommodations, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #8586, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001, or call 601.266.5024, 228.214.3232 or visit the Web site www.usm.edu/oda. Individuals with hearing impairments can use Mississippi Relay Services at 800.582.2233 (TTY) to contact campus offices.
Gulf Coast Library and Media Center
During 2002, Cox Library, Media Center and Curriculum Lab moved to the spacious new 55,000-square-foot building named The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Library and Media Center. Filled with natural light, this state-of-the-art facility has a Learning Commons that offers single and group computer work stations, presentation areas, and access to the Writing Center and Speaking Center.
The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Library serves as a resource center for the Gulf Park campus and the Keesler Teaching Site of Southern Miss Gulf Coast. It contains collections of print and nonprint material that directly support the instructional programs offered by Southern Miss Gulf Coast. This includes 52,138 books, 13,285 volumes in microforms, 2,096 units of software, and 14,537 volumes in the Curriculum Lab. The library currently subscribes to 100 periodical titles and has access to the Internet and more than 154 electronic databases, 107 of which offer the full text of many of the articles. The library uses the Library of Congress Classification System. Special collections include the Curriculum Lab and the Gulf Park College for Women Archives.
The university-wide library cooperative program gives Gulf Coast students and faculty access to most library resources on the Southern Miss campus in Hattiesburg. This program is facilitated by The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries’ online catalog, which can be searched in The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Library, as well as by remote access via the Internet, and/or from a home or office computer. A thrice-weekly shuttle transports library materials between the Southern Miss Hattiesburg campus, the Gulf Park campus and the GCSSC of Southern Miss Gulf Coast. The shuttle transports materials twice a week between the Keesler Teaching Site, the GCRL and the Gulf Park campus. Materials not available in The University of Southern Mississippi libraries are borrowed through interlibrary loan services from other lending libraries throughout the United States.
Audiovisual Services of The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Library Media Center has audiovisual equipment, most forms of media software and educational television available for use by faculty, students and staff. Graphic Services of The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Library Media Center can generate for students, faculty and staff items such as transparencies, posters, labels, forms, newsletters and brochures, and can assist with designing displays and presentations.
Technology
The responsibility of managing technology on the Gulf Coast is placed in the Information Technology (iTech) Department. Technology issues are planned, installed, set up and maintained by technicians that reside at Stennis Space Center, Gulf Park and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL).
Classrooms
Most classrooms have ceiling-mounted projectors and associated drop-down or pull-down screens. Cables are provided at the front of the classroom for connection to computers, DVD/VCR players, document cameras and/or other electronics.
Passwords/E-mail
Students, faculty and staff members are able to have passwords reset at any iTech office. Passwords may be reset for SOAR, SOARFIN, Blackboard, Orca and e-mail. New e-mail and Orca accounts may also be activated within iTech. Please bring your Southern Miss ID card for identification.
Computers/Software
Computers may be ordered or set up, and software installed for faculty and staff. Support for student computers is limited to assisting with wireless setup and basic software and operating system questions. iTech is not authorized to repair or work on student computers or faculty and staff personal computers.
Computer Labs
Computer labs and community computers with printing capabilities are available to enrolled students, faculty and staff at Stennis Space Center, Gulf Park, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the Gulf Coast Student Service Center. Computers in labs may be used when classes are not being held in the lab. Identical software configurations are on each computer; any deviation is so marked on the computer. Any added files or changes to the computers’ configuration are automatically removed on logout.
Telephones
Telephone and fax lines are maintained by iTech at all Gulf Coast locations, except Stennis Space Center. A very limited number of public telephones are available.
Interactive Video Network (IVN)
Some classrooms are set up to provide interactive audio/video for classroom presentations, distance-learning opportunities, and meetings among distant partners. The IVN system enables faculty and students to see, speak and hear, as well as share documents and other information simultaneously between two or more connected sites. All sites have interaction with the originating site (instructor’s site) and all remote sites. Technical and instructional support is provided to faculty and students at all locations using the delivery system. Through IVN, credit programming taught from Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Southern Miss Stennis Space Center, Southern Miss Gulf Park, Gulf Coast Student Service Center or the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory might be attended at any of the other locations when scheduled. This technology is also used for educational and business purposes beyond Southern Miss by connecting classrooms and conference rooms worldwide to our rooms on our campuses.
Technology Learning Center (Institute for Disability Study)
The Technology Learning Center (TLC), originally known as the Toy Library and established in 1990, is a community-based, university-directed, nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing education, independence, and quality of life for persons with disabilities. A division of the Institute for Disability Studies, TLC serves adults and youth with disabilities, their families, teachers and therapists through specialized training and a library of adapted equipment and assistive technology.
TLC provides an extensive library of assistive technology tools that can be borrowed by anyone with a disability including the following:
- Specially adapted toys (activated by switches) for children who cannot play with ordinary toys
- Environmental control devices (designed to activate everyday household appliances)
- Specially designed computer access devices (for persons who cannot use an ordinary keyboard or mouse)
- Augmentative communication devices (for people who are unable to speak)
- Positioning equipment (to aid with sitting or standing)
- Wheelchair tennis equipment
- Wheelchair basketball equipment
- Adapted arts and crafts equipment
- Adapted fishing gear
- Beach wheelchairs
- Adapted golf equipment
- Hand cycles
- Kayaks
- Table tennis equipment
Recreation programs directed by TLC are designed to facilitate sports and recreation for people with disabilities. Wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball and table tennis lessons are available at no cost to anyone with a disability. Individual training sessions are provided for any type of equipment that is borrowed.
TLC provides a hands-on technology lab where teachers and Southern Miss teacher education students have the opportunity to try out various technology and software that support educational goals for children with disabilities. A lab where future teachers can see, touch and experiment with various technology provides an opportunity to obtain the knowledge necessary to effectively use assistive technology in schools.
Individuals interested in TLC’s services may call 228.214.2400 Monday through Friday for an appointment. The TLC Web site is www.usm.edu/gulfcoast/technology-learning-center.
Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute
As a research and outreach center, the Workplace Learning and Performance Institute (WLPI) (a) extracts and develops models of best practices in workplace learning and performance and disseminates models in print, electronically and face-to-face; (b) fosters better integration and new development of technologies related to workplace learning and performance; (c) implements a systematic approach to measure workplace learning and performance; (d) provides products and services that help workforce development professionals do their jobs effectively and efficiently; (e) serves as a repository of public sector return-on-investment impact studies and programs; and (f) provides professional development opportunities for training and human resources department professionals. |
