The Martin Methodist College administration, faculty, and staff are available to all Martin Methodist College students and to prospective students to assist in academic scheduling. Each student who enters the college is assigned a faculty mentor who assists with schedules and academic concerns. Generally a new, first-time freshman or transfer student is pre-registered and advised by the admissions office. New students beginning the FLEX program are mentored initially by the coordinator of that program. After the initial semester, all students are reassigned to the program coordinator or a professor in their major field. Students who are undecided about a major are assigned to faculty members whose mentoring loads are not full, until such time as a major is selected. It is the immediate responsibility of all students, including FLEX students, to make contact with their assigned mentors in person, by phone, or by e-mail in order to ensure proper scheduling of the academic program of study while at Martin. Faculty mentors may serve in the area of personal counseling, along with staff members, when students are confronted with adjustment difficulties. The Office of the Campus Minister serves students in the area of spiritual and personal counseling. Students needing counseling by more specialized professionals should schedule an appointment with the Director of Counseling Services.
Counseling Services
The mission of the Counseling Center is to provide service within the college environment that contributes to academic success, personal growth, and the positive community life of the college. The Counseling Center seeks to provide services that promote independence and stability among students. Both personal counseling and career services are available. Individual counseling is offered for a variety of mental health issues, including depression, low self-esteem, relationship issues, anxiety, stress management, learning disabilities, trauma recovery, family-of-origin issues, grief counseling, and marital and engagement counseling. The Counseling Center also seeks to assist students in all phases of career development. Students are encouraged to seek assistance with career planning early in their college years. Career services include career counseling, job listings, career publications, job fairs, graduate school fairs, seminars, and workshops.
Career Services
Career counseling consists of a number of activities to help the student better know himself or herself. Stage one is the gathering of information from an intake interview which enables the counselor to know something about the student’s academic, work, and social background. This is followed by the Kuder Interest Assessment and the Super Values evaluation. The results of these assessments are used to discuss career options as it relates to the student’s academic timeline.
Information is gathered as to where the student wants to work and how the living location can limit or expand career options.
The student is asked to consider a “Shadow Day” which would allow the person to hopefully work with someone in the area or areas that he or she might be considering. This experience is valuable. The student learns what the position has to offer even though it maybe only one experience on one day with only one person. I have found that the passion that the individual has for his or her job is as valuable as what the student sees and experiences.
The final stage is the development of a plan to reach whatever career goal is decided and discuss the length of time it might take to obtain the training or degree. This could possibly involve a transfer to another institution if Martin does not have the desired curriculum.
