Student Life

The Student Development team is here to help you feel like Franklin College is your home away from home. The programs, activities, organizations, events, and support that are facilitated by the Student Development team will foster the sense of belonging that makes you feel like a Grizzly! You will have transformative learning experiences outside of the classroom that will complement your coursework and prepare you to be leaders in your professions and in the world. We work to foster a sense of community, engagement, inclusivity, support, and holistic wellness so that you can do your best academic work and become the best version of yourself!

As members of a community of learners, the college expects conduct that not only meets the expectations of laws and college regulations, but more importantly is consistent with the college’s values. Each member of the Franklin College community will develop a personal sense of responsibility as well as a concerned understanding for the rights and well-being of others.

All students are expected to know and observe the local, state, and federal laws as well as the college regulations as published in this catalog and in The Student Handbook: A Guide to Campus Life. The student handbook is published annually on the College’s website at http://www.franklincollege.edu/student-life/student-handbook.

Academic Resource Center

The Academic Resource Center, located on the first floor of Hamilton Library, provides students with opportunities to expand upon their knowledge and understanding in a collaborative and supportive environment. Popular ARC programs and services include the Write Place, Math Study Center and Supplemental Instruction. The ARC also coordinates accommodations for students with disabilities.

B.F. Hamilton Library

The primary goal of the library is to support and enhance the College’s academic programs. We do this by providing a wide variety of print and electronic resources based on the curriculum, along with guidance in the discovery, evaluation, and use of resources through classroom instruction and individual consultation. Research consultations are available in person, via e-mail, and over Zoom. Personal service for the entire community is a high priority.

Hamilton Library houses three floors of resources with more than 90,000 books and 6,000 videos. Additionally, the library’s website provides access to more than 17,000 full-text journals and newspapers and over 14,000 streaming videos. The library offers a variety of seating options for 275 students, including study carrels, group study rooms, casual study areas, and two computer labs. Wireless networking throughout the building provides internet access to the Franklin College community for laptop computers and other wireless devices.

Also housed in Hamilton Library are the Archives and Special Collections, with three distinct components. The Franklin College Archives contain material related to Franklin College, while the Indiana Baptist Archives contain information pertaining to the American Baptist Churches of Indiana-Kentucky. The third collection consists of the gubernatorial and other related papers of Roger D. Branigin, a Franklin College alumnus and governor of Indiana (1965-1969). These are the only Indiana state governor’s papers to be housed outside the state archives.

HamiltonONE, the library’s first floor, is an innovative collaboration between the Student Development and Academic Affairs Divisions, and provides a wide range of academic support to students through the Academic Resource Center, the Center for Student Success and Retention, and Library Services. Enhanced support for students is provided through cubbies on the second floor that facilitate group study but also provide specialized technology--a green wall for recording presentations in one, and a large monitor in the other to make collaboration easier. Both rooms, as well as two smaller ones in the same location, can be used as “Zoom rooms.” A lactation room is available on the second floor as well.

Career Development

Selecting a career is an important decision requiring knowledge about career opportunities and about one’s own interests, abilities and personal values. In a mobile society, a person is likely to make from three to five major career changes. Thus, though an initial career choice may be made while in college, it is important that one learns about the many career options available and how to go about selecting a career. For this reason, Franklin College offers career planning services for all students through their undergraduate and graduate student years and for alumni.

The career development office provides services to complement the undergraduate and graduate student education. Individual and group advising are the core of the comprehensive program that also includes career fairs, speakers on different career areas, and workshops on practical job search skills. A career resources library is available, and the office maintains an online job-listing service. Part-time, summer employment and internship listings are also available online. These services are provided at no cost to students and alumni. The career development office also coordinates the immersive term, semester-long, and summer internship programs, except for education major internships which are coordinated through the director of teacher education, and exercise science internships which are coordinated through the exercise science department. Internships are excellent opportunities for students to gain direct knowledge of a career, develop a professional network, and to gain valuable, practical work experience in that field.

Specific questions concerning these activities and services may be answered by contacting the career development office, located in the Ruth Lilly Center for Exploration (phone 317-738-8803).

Counseling Center

The Student Counseling Center, located on the second floor of the Student Center, provides free services to all full time students. Students may seek counseling for a variety of psychological and emotional issues. The center offers workshops to classes and campus groups on such topics as stress and time management, alcohol and other drugs, sexual assault and a variety of other psycho-social topics.

Disability Services

Franklin College is committed to providing equal access to students with disabilities. Reasonable and appropriate accommodations will be provided to students with disabilities to ensure equal access to academic programs and other college-sponsored activities. It is the responsibility of the student to identify him/herself and formally request accommodations. The Academic Resource Center invites any student wishing to request reasonable accommodations to meet with an ARC staff member to discuss past use of accommodations and disability related barriers they anticipate or are experiencing at the college. The process for determining accommodations is a collaborative one and may or may not require documentation. Medical records, psychoeducational testing and school records (such as IEP or 504 plan) may help guide the conversation and support specific requests. If this type of information is available, please submit it or bring it to your first meeting with the ARC staff member. Please do not delay meeting with the Academic Resource Center out of concern for not having appropriate paperwork.

Disability documentation submitted by a student is confidential. Franklin College will not release any part of the documentation without the student's informed consent.

Students who do not demonstrate foreign language proficiency at the 200-level or higher on the Franklin College placement exam or similar exam must successfully complete a Franklin College course in a foreign language numbered 111 or higher or the equivalent at another institution. Students with a disability that impairs the ability to acquire a foreign language may apply for a substitution for the language requirement. While substitutions may be considered, waivers are never granted. If the foreign language substitution is granted, the student must take two alternate courses from the approved substitution list. Please note that an exemption from meeting foreign

language requirements in high school or at another college or university does not guarantee a substitution at Franklin College.

Franklin College mathematics courses are designed to provide students with fundamental knowledge of and facility with concepts and processes in mathematics. In cases where a student has a disability that profoundly impairs academic performance in the quantitative area and precludes him or her from completing the mathematics requirement, the student may petition for a course substitution. Mathematics and the concepts learned in mathematics are considered essential components of many programs of study and substitutions may not be considered for all programs. Except in extraordinary circumstances, a petition will only be considered in programs of study where LA 103 is the terminal mathematics course. While substitutions may be considered, waivers are never granted. If the mathematics course substitution is granted, the student must take one alternate course from the approved substitution list. Please note that an exemption from meeting mathematics requirements in high school or at another college or university does not guarantee a substitution at Franklin College.

For further information regarding Disability Services please contact the Director of the Academic Resource Center or visit the ARC website.

Health Services

Health Services, located on the second floor of the Student Center, is prepared to assist students with health concerns. The Health Center is staffed by a registered nurse five days a week. All services are confidential and are offered to students at no charge. When appropriate, referrals may be made to medical or mental health agencies. There is an option of having a virtual physician evaluation for illnesses, and this service will be billed to insurance. STI screening is offered by the Marion County Health Department once a month with no charge. The Health Center Coordinator also provides educational materials to students on various topics.

Launch: Franklin College’s First-Year Experience Program

College is the only time in your life purely devoted to self-discovery. At Franklin College, we know how lifechanging these four years are – which is why we created Launch. Launch is a yearlong program that propels your transition into college and empowers your social, personal and academic growth. While every first-year student will participate in each aspect of Launch, your Launch experience is completely tailored to YOU. You’ll be intellectually invigorated because you will take courses focused on topics that intrigue you. You’ll be inspired by a personal panel of advisers focused specifically on your success. You’ll get to know your character and the talents that make you different from everyone else. And you’ll have access to every resource and person you could ever need along the way. So buckle up and prepare for takeoff as you get ready to meet your best self, overcome new and exciting challenges and launch your success at Franklin College.

New Student Registration Day

Registration Day is the kickoff to a time in your life that’s dedicated to becoming your best self. This day will set you up for success as you prepare for a four-year journey of self-discovery. During Registration Day, you’ll:  Meet with a faculty Academic Adviser: Academic Advisers serve as personal mentors who will help turn your life goals into a four-year plan that prepares you to pursue your biggest dreams.  Attend exploratory sessions: You’ll attend sessions that will grease your personal growth gears. In one, you’ll reflect on your educational past, what’s worked, what hasn’t and how to make the most of your college career. In another, you’ll look to the future and learn to empower yourself for success in your academic, social and professional lives.  Meet a Launch Team: Like every first-year student, you have a personal panel of advocates to challenge you, inspire you and help you thrive. You’ll meet a Launch Team and learn more about the magical formula that makes this approach so successful.

 Welcome your parents to the community: Registration Day features several sessions specifically for parents. They can attend talks on topics like financial aid and how best to support you during the next four years.  Take care of some logistics: Take your photo for your student ID, register for classes, preference your firstyear seminar and get to know campus.

Welcome Week

Welcome Week is dedicated to setting you up for a successful first semester of college. Think of this week as sacred space reserved specifically for getting you ready for the next step in your life. In addition to moving in and getting oriented to campus, you’ll participate in several events, activities and workshops, including:  Becoming a Part of Our Tradition: Celebrate the official start of your college career as you participate in legacies passed down for more than 180 years. Attend the Opening Convocation and Bell Ceremony, smile for the annual class photo and take a walk around Dame Mall to commemorate your Franklin College initiation.  Building Community: Participate in a host of events designed specifically for you to meet your fellow classmates, faculty and staff and create a sense of belonging at a college that cares.  Being Engaged: Check out the college’s 40+ student organizations at the Student Activities Fair, attend sessions that provide valuable tools and resources for success, meet your Launch Team and First-Year Seminar classmates for the first time.  Learning the Ins and Outs: You’ll attend programs that share college expectations and policies, introduce you to technology we use on campus, check your academic schedule one more time before classes start and discover where everything is on campus.

First-Year Seminar

As part of your fall semester course load, you’ll take a three-credit First-Year Seminar, a class you’ll select solely based on your personal passions. While you examine a topic like religion and the Marvel universe, young adult literature and social change, or the culture of competitive sports, you’ll do so in the company of like-minded peers who share your interests. Find your tribe and have fun gaining skills that will aid you in your other classes, including:  Critically reading and analyzing text  Creating connections between course topics  Asking meaningful questions  Engaging in academic discourse

Launch Lab

Think of Launch Lab as your weekly personal growth hour. In this lab, you’ll gain personal development skills while creating community with people who are also building their best lives. Together you’ll learn how to advocate for yourselves, how to fail resiliently, how to center your body and mind and how to make the most of your strengths. While most weeks you’ll meet exclusively with your First-Year Seminar class, the entire first-year class will attend Launch Lab together three times during the semester during Community Hours, covering topics like:  Transitioning to Franklin College: What to expect as you adjust to college life  Taking Care of Yourself: Assessing and caring for your physical and emotional health  Valuing Others: Expressing gratitude, fostering inclusivity and creating community

Pivot

Pivot is the college’s annual on-campus personal development summit that takes place at the end of Immersive Term. As an attendee, you’ll participate in a series of interactive and energizing workshops, honing skills you’ll need to succeed in the real world. Instead of centering on lectures and textbooks, Pivot workshops feature handson learning.

Don’t just read about cooking – master a new dish. Don’t just study art – knit your first scarf. As one of the only colleges in the country offering this kind of engaged learning, Franklin College curates a holistic collection of workshops that span three core areas:  Professional development: Workshop topics include setting goals based on your strengths, standing out to employers and managing your social media brand.  Wellness: Workshop topics include living with stress, getting quality sleep and expressing gratitude.  Inclusivity: Workshop topics include gracefully discussing politics and religion, listening actively and leading wholeheartedly.

Launch Team

Get ready to meet your personal panel of success advisers. Your Launch Team is a hand-selected group of four people dedicated to helping you succeed at Franklin College. You’ll meet with your Launch Team often to review your personal and academic goals as they create a network of support for you and guide you through the launch of your adult life. Your Launch Team includes:  Your Academic Adviser is a faculty member who is here to challenge and inspire you as you define your academic goals, develop a four-year plan to achieve them and adjust that plan to match your goals and vision for the future.  Your First-Year Seminar Instructor already shares a passion with you; he or she has crafted a course around a topic that you get to select based on your own interests. On top of that, this person will get to know you deeply –both personally and academically – as you attend First-Year Seminar three times per week during fall semester.  Your Launch Mentor will – as a fellow student who’s been there – help you successfully transition to college. This person is here to answer tactical questions about homework, classes and college life, but will also spark deeper conversations about your life goals and passions and how you can manifest them on campus and in the community.  Your New Student Advocate facilitates the Launch Lab and will get to know other facets of you as you explore your strengths, passions and holistic wellbeing in a weekly lab that empowers your personal growth.

HamiltonONE

HamiltonONE is the college’s student success hub. Think of it as your one-stop shop for all things related to your success at Franklin College. Located on the first floor of B.F. Hamilton Library, HamiltonONE is home to the supportive people you need to thrive at college, academic resources and a great place to hang out.

Visit HamiltonONE to meet with the associate dean of academic success, director of first-year engagement, and the information literacy librarian. You can access the college’s vast collection of student resources or simply swing by to study and hang out with your friends. Helpful resources located in HamiltonONE include:  Center for Student Success: The official ‘Launch Headquarters’ and the team committed to seeing you personally, academically and socially thrive at Franklin College  FC Cares: A cross-functional team of staff who work to help students who are struggling with anything that might be a barrier to success at college. This group creates individual action plans to help you thrive.  Launch Mentor office hours: Need some advice or just a friendly face? Launch Mentors hold walk-in office hours 35 hours a week.  The Write Place: A collective of your peers who can help you with any stage of the writing process, including structuring your thoughts, editing your final text and citing your sources  Math Study Center: A community of tutors and professors who can collaborate with you as you prepare for math tests, work through homework assignments and face mathematical challenges  Supplemental instructors: Course-specific peer tutors who excelled in the classes you’re taking and can guide you through homework assignments, test prep and effective study habits as you adjust to your college course load

 Research: Schedule a research conversation to ensure that you’ve consulted the best sources and know how to cite them. The research librarian is her to work with you throughout college  Library resources: Course reserves? Interlibrary loan? Get them all at the Front Desk. Library staff are here to support you as you access research databases, leverage B.F. Hamilton Library’s vast collection of scholarly texts, and develop information and digital fluency

Center for Diversity and Inclusion

Committed to maintaining a diverse community in an atmosphere of mutual respect, Franklin College provides an opportunity for students to live and study among other races, cultures, sexual orientations, religions, gender identities, economic backgrounds and so forth. To be successful in a diverse environment, students can expect support from several administrative and academic departments, including the Center for Diversity & Inclusion where the vision is to be a catalyst dedicated to engaging all cultural communities at FC around the value of diversity. We aim to create an inclusive educational environment where understanding, dialogue, and the free exchange of ideas are celebrated. These efforts will contribute to the development of critically conscious global citizens at FC and beyond. The mission of the Center is to support students, faculty/staff and the community be promoting the value of diversity, broadening multicultural awareness, advancing cultural competence and encouraging cross-cultural collaborative relationships through education and advocacy. The Center for Diversity and Inclusion offers a wide variety of programs and services for the Franklin College campus including the B.O.S.S. (Building Opportunity through Support and Structure) Mentoring Program, Diversity Advocates, Brother to Brother, Sister to Sister, Diversity Workshops/Trainings, Resource Library, Diversity Programming Support/Consultation, Academic Assistance, Mentoring & Support, Safe Zone Training, Diversity Workshops, Multicultural Organization and Advisor Support and oversees the Multicultural Lounge and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion.

Parent/Guardian Notification Policy

Franklin College strives to create a partnership between parents/guardians, students, and the college to promote student success. As part of that partnership, Franklin College will notify the parents or guardians of dependent students* if the student is placed on academic probation or if the student’s education or on-campus housing is at risk for medical or disciplinary reasons. The college will also contact parents/guardians if a student is at risk of harm to self or others. *Dependent status is determined by the college’s financial aid office.

Religious Life Program

The Religious Life program welcomes all Franklin College students and strives to create a safe environment for students to put into practice the beliefs of their various religious and spiritual traditions. In addition to Christian worship services, students are invited to develop their spiritual lives through workshops, field trips, discussion groups, and programs designed to engage students of any religious background. Opportunities are also available for students who may be exploring their spiritual lives for the first time. The College Chaplain is also available to assist students in finding appropriate communities of worship in the local area. All Religious Life activities are optional, and students will not be asked to participate beyond their comfort level.

Rev. Hannah Adams Ingram serves as College Chaplain and is available to meet with members of the campus community to discuss spiritual life, religious questioning, vocational discernment, and more. Meetings can be scheduled by e-mail at HAdamsIngram@franklincollege.edu. The Religious Life offices and student lounge are housed on the second floor of the Chapel and are open daily for student use. There is also an interfaith prayer and meditation room available on the lower floor of the chapel. FC students, faculty, and staff may request to be added to the Religious Life mailing list in order to receive a weekly e-mail detailing Religious Life activities. They may also follow @FCChaplain on Twitter.

Residence Life

Franklin College firmly believes on-campus living offers unique opportunities for socialization and participation in community governance. Our inclusive environment and navigating the challenges of living are contributing factors in the overall education and personal development of students. Franklin College has four residence halls, three fraternity chapter houses, and three campus homes. All first-year students, sophomores, and juniors are required to live in one of these residences. Detailed residence life regulations are published in The Franklin College Student Handbook: A Guide to Student Life, located on the College’s website at https://franklincollege.edu/campusresources/student-handbook/.

Residence halls are staffed by live-in professionals and student paraprofessionals (Resident Assistants). All staff members are trained and supported by the staff of the division of student development to help students with their adjustment to campus. Fraternity houses are staffed by student paraprofessionals (House Directors) who are trained and supervised by the Director of Student Involvement and Greek Life.

Security

The Franklin College Office of Security is dedicated to providing a safe and secure working/living environment. The office is located on the ground floor of the Napolitan Student Center and an officer can be reached by calling (317) 738-8888 or 8888 from a campus phone.

The Office of Security consists of a director and six full-time officers. Additionally, the department employs students as security assistants. A full-time officer is on-duty 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In addition to the security officers, the Office of Security employs off-duty police officers on a part-time basis. These police officers supplement the security force during high activity periods or as needed for special events.

Security officers make regular patrols of all campus buildings and grounds. During these patrols, officers enforce college policy, patrol parking lots, enforce parking regulations, lock doors, and check windows. The officers respond to calls for assistance from the campus community, to include providing a dusk until dawn escort service.

Center for Student Involvement

MISSION STATEMENT: Guided by the spirit of the Franklin College mission and values, the Center for Student Involvement serves students through engagement opportunities. We are mentors, advisers and educators. Through attentiveness to student needs, we seek to create transformative experiences, a vibrant community and life-long memories.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

 Support students in pursuit of their passions  Preserve and celebrate Franklin College’s historic and new traditions  Empower students to be active participants in the co-curricular experience  Create accessible, diverse and inclusive opportunities and environments  Help develop life-long skills, such as critical thinking, social responsibility, the valuing of difference, problem solving, communication and leadership  Provide a fun, lively and community-driven atmosphere that enhances the Griz journey

VISION STATEMENT: The Center for Student Involvement will connect every student to Franklin College through purposeful engagement.