Dartmouth is widely regarded as offering its students a superior quality of life. Undoubtedly, the College's resources and commitment to community aid that reputation. Dartmouth provides its students a full range services to support their intellectual and personal growth, and to help them make the most of all that the College has to offer.
Dartmouth's focus on individual attention and personal interaction begins during Orientation Week, a period designed to make each incoming student familiar with the College. At that time, each first-year student is assigned a faculty adviser, who helps in the selection of courses and provides other assistance during the first year of study. Undergraduate Advisers (UGA's) help first-year students get acquainted with the academic, social, and cultural aspects of Dartmouth life. First-year students may also seek advice and counseling from the Office of the Dean of First-Year Students, whose staff deals exclusively with the entering class and is particularly sensitive to their special needs, interests, and concerns.
The Academic Skills Center is a resource for students to develop and improve their learning strategies, enabling them to get the most out of their educational experience. The ASC offers a tutoring service, study groups, counseling and workshops for learning enhancement, and specialized courses such as Learning at Dartmouth and Effective Reading Improvement. Because there is a range of backgrounds and scholastic preparation in every entering class, Dartmouth's Intensive Academic Support (IAS) program works with students to address potential academic difficulties early in a student's college career. Students will be recommended for IAS based on placement tests administered during Orientation Week or as a result of fall term academic standing.
Dick's House, the student medical center, is open and staffed 24 hours a day. Dick's House offers a full array of medical services, from alcohol & drug education, to the treatment of acute illness, to prescription and x-ray services. In addition to facilities for students, Dick's House maintains a parents' guest room (generously supported by the Class of 1977) for Dartmouth parents when the attending physician recommends such an arrangement to benefit their ill or injured student. In addition, Dartmouth Medical School's world-class teaching hospital, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, is located within a five minutes drive from campus.
Dartmouth's Safety and Security personnel patrol the campus and offer escort services at all times during the day and night. Dartmouth's security patrols are supplemented by emergency blue light call-boxes throughout the campus. The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Town of Hanover also supply support to the College in cases of emergencies.
The Student Disabilities Coordinator serves students with physical and learning disabilities. Dartmouth has a number of residence halls which are accessible to mobility-impaired students. Accommodations for course load and terms in residence may be made, and classrooms may be moved if needed. Readers, note-takers, tape recorders and other services are also available. Students with diagnosed, College-verified learning disabilities may be granted academic adjustments.
Students with disabilities seeking admission are considered according to the same criteria as other students. There is no need to reveal any physical or perceptual disability during the application process, although students are free to do so.
