BSN Student Handbook

A. NURSING ADMINISTRATION OFFICES AND CLASSROOMS

The School of Nursing is in Canseco Hall (CNS), on the East side of the TAMIU campus. The Dean, Nursing Chair, Director, and Coordinator offices are located on the 3rd floor of the CH. Teaching laboratories and classrooms are located on the first and second floors of the building. The simulation lab is located on the second floor of the building. Faculty offices are located in CNS on the third floor.

B. SUE AND RADCLIFFE KILLAM LIBRARY

Students and faculty at Texas A&M International University benefit from an attractive library facility that is well equipped to handle traditional print library resources as well as the rapidly expanding electronic library services. They also enjoy an excellent discovery tool and access to the library collections through the WorldShare Management System’s WorldCat Discovery. The collection consists of 1,118,342 titles including print books, eBooks, audiovisual materials and Federal and Texas State Government Documents. Additionally the library has over 160,000 journal and magazine titles and houses substantial collections in microfilm and microfiche as well as archival materials in the Special Collections.

The Texas A&M International University library belongs to TexShare, a state-wide resource sharing network featuring joint electronic databases, an interlibrary loan agreement supported by a courier service administered through Amigos Library Services, and a universal library ID card. The Killam Library is also a member of OCLC, a world-wide library network, which makes the collections of other institutions available to our library through interlibrary loan. Killam Library’s institutional repository is part of the Digital Commons Network and facilitates publication of locally produced digital materials such as thesis, dissertations and electronic journals. The library also belongs to a consortium of other Texas A&M University System libraries, which achieves greater value and more extensive resources through collective licensing of databases. More information on the Killam Library is available on the university web page (www.tamiu.edu/library).

C. COMPUTER FACILITIES AND SERVICES

Student computer labs are available to all students. The computer labs are located in the Cowart Hall (C building), in the Sue & Radcliffe Killam Library first and second floor, in Pellegrino (PH), in the Lamar Bruni Vergara, and in Student Center second floor. All computers

in the labs have a log on screen. To receive a username and password, one must setup an account at dusty.tamiu.edu The computer laboratories are used for a variety of computer-assisted tutorials as well as giving students access to the Internet, Email and word-processing for the preparation of reports and assignments.

TAMIU nursing students and faculty may use the Laredo Regional Campus library as walk-in visitors. From on-campus they will have access through the library computers to all of the databases of the main campus in San Antonio as well as to all of the electronic journals accessible from those databases. The only charge is for printing. However, students can even avoid the cost of printing if they save their articles on a USB drive or email the articles to their email accounts and print them later where they have free printing. The Laredo Regional Campus is located at 1937 E. Bustamante Street. The phone number is 956.523.7404. They are open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

Support staff for computer education, troubleshooting and repairs is available within the CSON and from the University. All staff are knowledgeable about computer utilization, with varying levels of expertise. Specialized knowledge and skills are available from the University Office of Information Technology (OIT) help desk. OIT has solutions for problems as simple as network access and computer trouble shooting to complex instructional design and advanced telecommunications applications to facilitate the learning process.

Minimum Technology Requirements:

It is recommended that students meet the technical requirements listed on the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ webpage when using the Blackboard (Bb), the learning management system (LMS) of the University. Below is information regarding orientation to Bb. Additionally, students can find assistance in Bb under the “Student Support” tab of Bb information on technology support services, academic support services, student support services, and accessibility support services may be found there. Additionally, Atomic Learning training videos may be beneficial if any students lack technology skills.

Students should have knowledge of basic computer and Internet skills, as mentioned on the TAMIU Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ webpage.

TAMIU Email for Students

All students must set up a TAMIU email account. TAMIU email is a program that provides current and former students with a web-based, life-long e-mail account. With this

account, you can receive e-mail via the web from any computer with Internet access. There are several other features such as an on-line calendar, address book, and notification of upcoming University events. With the TAMIU email, your account can be used as a primary or secondary email address in which you can read or respond to their email via the web. Your e-mail address will be Your NETID@dusty.tamiu.edu. Information regarding your TAMIU email can be found on this website Student Email.

TAMIU Uconnect

Uconnect is a single sign-on portal that provides the TAMIU community with the ability to access, send and receive information and collaborate in a secure and reliable way. This communication tool is customized according to a user’s role such as student, faculty and staff allowing the filtering of information that is only targeted to each role. TAMIU Uconnect portal is accessible on this website Uconnect Portal.

D. CLINICAL SITES

Memorandum of understanding (MOU) and affiliation agreements have been established between the Texas A&M International University, CSON and clinical practice facilities. Clinical practice facilities consist of inpatient facilities/hospitals, long term care facilities and community-based settings for nursing students to complete their clinical hours of practice. These MOU and affiliation agreements imply the CSON will adhere to the clinical facility policies and procedures at all times. A listing of these facilities is available upon request from the CNHS Administrative office.

Any facility, may at any time, deny clinical practice privileges of students for failure to follow policies, procedures, and requirements. This may result in failure to satisfy clinical components of the program and may also result in dismissal from the program.