GUIDELINES FOR
LEDERMAN
AND
COMMUNITY
SCHOLARS
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Lederman and Community Scholars Program. As Director of
these programs I created this brief document to provide an overview of college
life at North Central. Lots more information is available at
http://northcentralcollege.edu/admission.
I will be happy to answer any questions you have as well. Give me a call at
(630) 637-5234 or email me at rjwilders@noctrl.edu. Of course, for the official
word on College policy, you should refer to the College Catalog.
REGISTERING FOR CLASSES
As your Academic Advisor, I will work with you to choose courses which are appropriate for you to take. You can use MERLIN (our computer interface program) - see Technology at NCC for information about how to access MERLIN)
to search for classes. Once you have registered, consult MERLIN about a week
before classes begin to find the class location.
You may enroll in any course(s) for which you are qualified. Many of our courses have prerequisites which must be completed first. In some cases, you may
have completed those prerequisites while in high school. In particular, Advanced Placement courses are often equivalent to entry level courses at North
Central. For a detailed listing of AP courses http://noctrl.edu/registrar.
I am happy to process registrations for you but after our initial meeting you can
use MERLIN (the College computer interface) to add and drop courses by yourself, See Technology at NCC for information about how to access MERLIN.
Registration for a given calendar year (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) is opened
during Spring term of the prior year. Students are assigned a registration date
based on the number of credits they have earned. If you are enrolled for any
courses during Spring Term you will receive an email (on your campus email
account - see Technology at NCC) informing you of your first day to register.
Because classes sometimes fill up it is to your advantage to register as soon as
possible for the entire next year. I strongly recommend you set up an appointment with me well prior to your registration date to plan your schedule for the
next year.
As a Lederman or Community Scholar you will be enrolled in standard North
Central College courses. These courses will be part of your permanent undergraduate transcript. You will need to provide any colleges which you intend to
attend with a copy of your North Central College transcript. This means you
should be sure to drop any course(s) you do not intend to complete prior
to the posted deadlines. If you drop a course within the first 8 calendar days
of a term there will be no notation on your record and you will receive a 100%
refund on your tuition. After the 8th calendar day of a term there will be a notation (WD) on your transcript indicating that you have enrolled and then withdrew
from that course. For the specific dates for a given term consult
http://northcentralcollege.edu/registrar.
STUDENT ID CARD
To use the library or attend certain campus events you will need a student
photo ID card. You can put money on your ID card at the business office on
the third floor of Old Main and use it as a credit card to make purchases in
the Cage, The Boiler House Café, or Kaufman Dining Hall. No tax is
charged when you purchase food using your ID card. In some cases your
ID serves as a key card to allow access to restricted areas on campus.
These include some labs as well as rooms with specialized technology
which is only available to students in specific courses or majors. Your instructor will provide all the information you need.
CLASS BASICS
About a week before your class starts, MERLIN will display the building and
room your course will meet in. MERLIN will (most of the time) provide the
text(s) you will need for your course(s). Click on the course title to access
this information. The North Central College Bookstore is located at 100
East Jefferson St. You can call them at 630-637-5635.
You will be treated just like any other college students. The safest way to
address college faculty is as Professor LastName (I would be Professor Wilders). Each instructor has their own policies regarding attendance, deadlines and the like. Make sure you are clear on the course rules—if you have
questions, just ask! You should arrive at class on time and with all assigned
work completed. Some, but not all faculty have attendance/participation
grades. Make sure you understand the way you will be graded.
Final exams for North Central College courses typically last 2 hours and are
given during the 11th week of each term (on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday). Since the final exam will not always be given at the same time or day
of the week as your class meets you will need to make arrangements with
your high school to be on campus at the designated time.
Your instructor will provide information about her/his office hours. If you
have a question and can’t meet with your instructor during office hours you
can often set up an alternative time by chatting with the instructor just before or after class. You can also email to ask questions.
If you need to miss a class because of a required high school event, you will
need to make arrangements with your instructor in advance of the day(s)
you will miss class. You will be responsible for completing all assigned
work. Please note that instructors have different policies with regard to
missed classes. In the event of illness or emergency, notify your instructor
by email as soon as possible.
COSTS
The tuition for Lederman and Community Scholars are currently $175 per credit
hour course (a credit hour is equivalent to a semester hour). For a standard 3
credit hour course the tuition would be $525 which is less than one-third of our
standard tuition. This substantial scholarship is due in part to a gift by Wayne
Cowlishaw in honor of his late wife Mary Lou Cowlishaw. Mr. Cowlishaw’s generosity established the Mary Lou Cowlishaw Scholarship which is awarded to
Lederman and Community Scholars upon admission. You are eligible for this
rate providing you remain in good academic standing at your high school and at
North Central College. Provided you have completed courses with North Central prior to your high school graduation this rate applies for courses taken the
summer after your high school graduation.
BOOKS
You are responsible for obtaining any textbooks or other materials required by
the professor. You can often find out what is required by clicking on the course
title in MERLIN and then clicking on textbook. The college bookstore is located
at 100 E. Jefferson Street. The phone number is 630-637-5635.
PARKING
Street parking is usually available within 3 blocks of campus. There is a 4 hour
limit on street parking. You will be a commuter student and can thus purchase
a commuter parking permit.
Commuter Student Parking Permits
You are a commuter student and can purchase a commuter student parking permit which allows you to park in a lot designated for commuter students from
7am—10pm during the academic year. You may purchase a commuter student
parking permit in the Campus Safety office located at 322 East Van Buren
Street. The fee is currently $100 for fall term, $75 for winter term and $50 for
spring term. Check https://cardinalnet.noctrl.edu/student-life/permit-costs for the
latest information.
Display of Parking Permits
All vehicles parked on campus must display a valid permit issued by Campus
Safety.
GRADES AND BILLING
North Central College is a green campus. As a result, we no longer mail grades
or bills. You can access your grades (after the term is over) and pay bills via
MERLIN (see Technology at NCC). Because of federal privacy laws you are the
only person authorized to use your MERLIN account. If you and your parents
agree, you can allow them access as well. For any billing/refund questions
please call the Business Office at (630) 637-5682. You can request a transcript
of your work by contacting the Registrar (in person) whose office is on the third
floor of Old Main. You will need to request that the Registrar send a copy of
your final North Central transcript to any colleges to which you apply.
TRANSFERRING COURSES
While we would be glad to have you choose North Central as your undergraduate
college we realize that many of you will choose to attend other institutions. As a
general rule your North Central courses should transfer to most other colleges.
However, it is the prerogative of each institution to determine its own transfer policy. In some cases (as with Advanced Placement credits) the grades earned at
North Central will not be counted toward your grade point average at your undergraduate college. I would strongly recommend that you contact all of the colleges
you are interested in attending to determine their policy with regard to work completed at North Central. Note that regardless of their transfer policy virtually every
college requires that you report all previous college work and submit transcripts for
that work.
If you intend to earn substantial credits at North Central you will want to choose
those courses with your intended college major in mind. In particular, you should
begin courses in your major to avoid logistical issues later on. However, you
should be aware that some colleges won’t accept entry level courses in a major in
transfer—you should check with the admissions staff at the colleges you are considering.
ENGLISH COMPOSITION
North Central officer two English composition courses: ENG 115 and ENG 125.
ENG 125 is the honors version and is recommended for Lederman Scholars. To
enroll in this course you need a score of 28 on the English portion of the ACT test
or a score of 520 on the English portion of the SAT. If you have not yet taken this
test, I will submit your Lederman Essay to the English Faculty to see if you qualify
for ENG 125. You need to let me know if you intend to take English so we can
make sure that you take the correct course.
DUAL CREDIT AND WEIGHTED GRADES
Most high schools in the area have a Dual Credit option. This means that you can
choose to have North Central coursework applied to your high school transcript.
In most cases North Central courses will not earn weighted grade credit. In addition, courses which earn dual credit may not transfer to other colleges. As a general rule I would recommend against posting North Central coursework to your
high school transcript.
GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES
Regardless of the college you choose to attend, you will need to complete a
required set of courses outside your major. These are usually called general
education requirements. The purpose of these requirements is to ensure that
every graduate has a broad understanding of the range of human knowledge.
These courses will help you to understand the world around you. While each
college sets its own requirements, you can use the North Central requirements
as a guide as you plan your courses as a Lederman or Community Scholar.
North Central College General Education Requirements
1. Communication:
a. Written Communication. Complete either ENG 115
and IDS 125
or ENG 125.
b. Oral Communication. Complete one of SPC 100.
2. Mathematics: Complete. 3 credit hours of work in approved
mathematics courses
3. Science: Complete two science courses of which one must
have a laboratory.
4. Humanities: Complete 9 credit hours of work in introductory
social science courses.
5. Social Science: Complete 9 credit hours of work in introductory social sciences courses.
6. Religion and Ethics: Complete a 3 credit hour course which
is approved for this requirement. This is usually one of your
Humanities courses.
*Notes:
A. You can determine if a particular course meets a general
education requirement by consulting the course catalog and
clicking on the course title in MERLIN.
B. A maximum of 6 credit hours in any one department may be
used for requirements 4 and 5.
If you are considering attending another college to complete your degree you
should consult with me as to the best choices for general education coursework.
OTHER QUESTIONS
Contact me by phone at 630-637-5234 or by email at rjwilders@noctrl.edu.
Welcome to North Central College!
Rich Wilders, Director of the Lederman and Community Scholars Programs
TECHNOLOGY AT NCC
The Network: You can access the NCC network from anywhere on campus.
There are computers available in Carnegie, The Boiler House Café and the Library. The network allows you access to the Microsoft Suite of products as well as
any specialized software you may need for a particular course. There are also
WIFI hotspots around campus. Check with ITS (630-637-5440) for information
about setting up your laptop for WIFI use.
1. Type in your username. Your username is your first initial, middle initial, full last name.
2. Type in your NCC password. Default password is NCCxxxxxxx
(xxxxxxx equals your 7-digit ID#).) NOTE: NCC in caps!
3. Click the “OK” button.
4. If this is your first time logging in you will be prompted to change your
password. If it is not the first time logging in, and you want to change
your password, press Ctrl+Alt+Del, and choose change your password.
5. You are now logged into the Network!
Email: Your NCC email account is the official means of communication for all College matters. You should check your NCC email on a regular basis.
1. Go to http://www.noctrl.edu/mail.
2. Click on “Login” button.
3. Type in your username (same as Network username) and NCC password. (Your password is ALWAYS the same as your Network password).
4. Click “Login.”
5. You are now logged into your NCC email account!
MERLIN: MERLIN is our technology interface and allows you access to registration, grades, campus offices, course schedules and course planning information.
1. Go to http://merlin.noctrl.edu.
2. Click on the “Log In" Button in the upper right corner.
3. Type in your username (same as Network username) and NCC
password. (Your password is ALWAYS the same as your Network
password)
4. Click “Submit.”
5. Next, click on “Webadvisor for students.”
6. You are now logged into Merlin!
Blackboard: Blackboard is our course management system. Not all instructors choose to use Blackboard, so you should check with your instructor(s) to
see if and how it is used.
1. Go to http://blackboard.noctrl.edu.
2. Click on “Login” button.
3. Type in your username (same as Network username) and your
password. Your default password is NCCxxxxxxx (xxxxxxx equals
your 7-digit ID#). Your blackboard password is the same as the
Network/Email/Merlin password.
4. Click “Login.”
5. You are now logged into Blackboard!