School Psychology Student Handbook, 2006-07

Section I: General information and facilities

Program faculty and staff

Matthew Burns, associate professor, educational psychology, 346 Elliott Hall, 612-626-7324

Sandra Christenson, professor, educational psychology, 345 Elliott Hall, 612-624-0037

Matthew Lau, practicum/internship coordinator, psychologist for Minneapolis Public Schools, 323 Elliott Hall, 612-624-5832

Theodore Christ, assistant professor, educational psychology, 344 Elliott Hall, 612-624-7068

James Ysseldyke, professor, educational psychology, 354 Elliott Hall, 612-624-4014

Deb Lavoie, administrative assistant, 344 Elliott Hall, 612-624-4156

Adjunct faculty

Nicki Crick, professor, 134C Child Development, 612-625-8879

Byron Egeland, professor, 230 Child Development, 612-624-5273

Scott McConnell, professor, 215 Pattee, 612-624-6365

Rich Weinberg, professor, 180 Child Development, 612-624-3575

Program affiliates

Brian Abery, lecturer, 111 Pattee Hall, 612-625-5592

Ann Casey, Ph.D., special education assistant director, Minneapolis Public Schools, 925 Delaware St. SE, 55414, 612-668-5404

Camilla Lehr, Ph.D., Institute on Community Integration, 104 Pattee Hall, 612-624-0722

Yvonne Godber, Ph.D., Center of Excellence in Children's Mental Health, 612-626-0520

Martha Thurlow, Ph.D., National Center on Educ. Outcomes, 612-624-4826

Mark Sanders, Psy.D., LP, MPS, Safe and Healthy Schools Grant, 612-668-5489

Additional important phone numbers

Jennifer McComas, director of graduate studies, 347 Education Sciences Building, 612-624-5854

John Romano, department chair, educational psychology, 158 Education Sciences Building, 612-624-1099

Pam Matti, licensing specialist, Student Services, 110 Wulling Hall, 612-625-8042

Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Licensure Department, 1500 Hwy. 36 W., Roseville, MN 55113, 612-296-2046

Kathy Walter, assistant to the director of graduate studies, educational psychology, 250 Education Sciences Building, 612-624-1698

Joint program departmental numbers

Institute of Child Development, 612-624-0526

Psychology Department, 612-625-4042

Other educational psychology program phone numbers

Special education programs, 612-624-2342

Counseling and student personnel psychology program (CSPP), 612-624-6827

Psychological foundations of education, 612-624-6083

Graduate School phone numbers

Student programs, petitions, and thesis registration, 612-625-5833

Doctoral exam scheduling, preliminary exam, 612-625-4019

Doctoral exam scheduling, final exam, 612-625-0168

Graduation, doctoral, 612-625-0168

Graduation, master's, 612-625-4019

Transcripts, 200 Fraser Hall

Facilities

Offices
The school psychology program offices are located primarily on the 3rd floor of Elliott Hall, the psychology building. The Educational Psychology Department offices are located in the Education Sciences Building. Students typically have office space (if they have an assistantship) in the building where their research projects are housed. Most often these offices are located in Elliott Hall, Pattee Hall, Peik Hall, or the Institute for Child Development (ICD). Attempts are made to provide office space to school psychology students in Elliott Hall; however, due to space limitations there are no guaranteed spaces.

Office equipment
A typewriter is available for student use in 344 Elliott. Audio tape recorders can be checked out through Assessment TAs. An overhead projector and a slide projector can also be checked out from Deb Lavoie. Students have access to computers through research projects, University computer labs, and the School Psychology Student Resource Room. A computer lab fee will appear automatically on your fee statement regardless of your actual U of M computer use.

Keys
Building and office keys are issued to students in the program allowing you to enter the building after office hours and during weekends. Keys for individual offices and Elliott Hall are issued by the main Psychology Department office (N218 Elliott Hall). For safety reasons, do not prop open any outside doors during evening and weekend hours.

Security
Do not leave any unattended office doors open or unlocked at any time! Valuable computers, thesis research, money, radios, wallets/purses, and coats have been stolen during brief absences.

Mailboxes
Mailboxes located near 350 Elliott Hall are provided for current students and staff. Students with offices outside of Elliott Hall may have additional mailboxes in those buildings. Check your mailboxes often. Do not leave valuable items in these mailboxes as they are not in a secured area.

Bulletin boards
All general information notices such as job openings, scholarships, and lectures are posted on the bulletin board outside 344 Elliott. School Psychology Student Association also maintains a bulletin board outside of the resource room posting a calendar of events. Students should check these areas frequently.

School Psychology Resource Room
The School Psychology Resource Room, located in 328 Elliott, is maintained for the exclusive use of faculty and students of school psychology, advisees of the school psychology faculty, and students enrolled in school psychology courses. This room contains books, some intervention materials, references, journals, research reports, master's theses & doctoral dissertations, coursework readings, and three computers. Reference materials and journals are NOT available for check-out; however, they may be temporarily removed for photocopying. All other resources are available for checkout using the posted procedures. Additional materials for use are located in N362a Elliott (see Testing/Intervention materials below). While many students may use these materials during their practicum experiences, NO resources may go with students on their internships. Students are responsible for all materials they check out, and will be held accountable for missing or damaged materials. The resource room is maintained and new materials are purchased with fees collected from students and the school psychology program budget. Purchases are made with input from the Student Resources Committee of the School Psychology Student Association and approval of the coordinator.

Resource Fees
Fees for first and second year students are mandatory. Students in third year and beyond may opt to pay fees to access resource room materials. Outside students who are enrolled in School Psychology courses also must pay fees to access these materials. Fees are higher for 1st and 2nd year students as many materials are maintained for their coursework.

Students materials fee
1st and 2nd year students: $75.00/yr.
3rd year students: $30.00/yr.
Outside students taking coursework: $10.00/yr.

Fees from first and second year students are collected by the assessment and intervention course instructors. Fees from other students are collected by Deb Lavoie, program secretary. Individual keys to the resource room are checked out to students in the main Psychology Department office (N218 Elliott hall). Students will need to pay a $10.00 deposit to get a resource room key and the $10.00 will be returned to them when they return the key. Resource fees include access to the assessment and intervention materials, the resource room computer and the printer, as well as testing protocols kept in N362a.

Testing/Intervention materials
All testing equipment and some intervention materials are kept in N362a Elliott and may be checked out using the posted procedures from the assessment teaching assistants during the regular academic year or Deb during summer session. The TAs and their office hours for each semester are posted on the door to N362. The assessment materials will be checked out according to the following priority: (1) assessment coursework, (2) practicum/internship, (3) school psychology faculty, (4) other student needs, and (5) educational psychology faculty. Students are responsible for all materials they check out. Students will be held accountable for missing or damaged materials.

Professional resources
Students have access to two job files (academic & professional service positions), a directory of other school psychology training programs in the U.S., a national compendium of the state certification/licensing requirements for school psychologists, and APA and NASP directories. These materials can be borrowed from Deb in 344 Elliott, however they cannot be checked out.

Meeting with faculty members
If you wish to meet with a faculty member, you should schedule an appointment with him or her directly as all faculty members keep their own calendars and make their own appointments.

Parking and transportation facilities
The Twin Cities campus has only 19,000 parking spaces to accommodate nearly 75,000 people per day, and meter monitors are always busy giving tickets to overtime/illegal parkers. Alternate means of transportation are encouraged.

Busing. Metro Transit operates 35 city bus routes serving the University directly; Route 52 buses are ideal, if your schedule permits. A U-Pass, offering unlimited rides on city buses at $50/semester, may be purchased online at http://buspass.umn.edu or calling 624-1523. Free Campus Connector buses run between the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses and three Campus Circulator buses run within the Minneapolis campus.

Biking. Bike hoops and racks can be found near most buildings and some sheltered parking is available for yearly rentals. Bike lockers equipped with an integrated locking system are available in Minneapolis and St. Paul. However, bikes locked to handrails, trees, fences, bus shelters, patio furniture, etc. will be ticketed and impounded.

Walking. The Twin Cities Campuses have a comprehensive tunnel and skyway system open usually from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (times depend on location). Escort services are available 24-hours daily by calling 624-9255.

If driving is necessary, there are carpool and commuter lots as well as hourly parking. Daily carpool lots (requires 2 or more passengers) are available if you enter before noon for $1.50. Commuter lots near campus cost $3.00 daily and are serviced by the Campus Circulator buses. Hourly parking lots, ramps, and garages are located around campus for $2.25/hour. One- or two-hour meters are available for $1.25/hour. Free on-street parking can be found near campus, but be sure to allow plenty of extra time because space is limited and you may have quite a hike! On-street regulations are strictly enforced especially during winter snow emergencies. Violators are frequently towed at their expense (approx. $100-$150). Snow emergency information can be heard by calling 612-348-SNOW for Minneapolis and 615/266-PLOW for St. Paul.

Many parking facilities and metered areas have designated disability parking spaces. A State of Minnesota disability permit or license plate is required to use these spaces. Meters are free; otherwise patrons pay the rate charged in parking facilities. For additional information, call the State of Minnesota at 651/296-6911 or Disability Services at 624-4037. University Paratransit is a specialized curb-to-curb transportation service provided to persons with either temporary or permanent disabilities. Service is free and is available on a first come first serve basis. Secondary accessible service is also available on the Campus Shuttle system. This service operates 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, throughout the year, except during vacation periods. Call 612-618-0318 to schedule a pick-up. Reservations are accepted up to two days in advance.

July 2006