Department Overview

From the moment students step onto our campus, our mission is to provide comprehensive
resources, programs and personal advising that prepare current and former students to be career
ready in their respective discipline. This includes helping them identify and achieve present and
future career goals and facilitating successful placement into their position of choice. To this end,
the Career Readiness Center will facilitate these activities through the following tenets:

• Implement visionary means to facilitate student, alumni and employer success
• Be a premier resource for career agility
• Serve all colleges equally and collaboratively to contribute to One University
• Deliver extraordinary services that engage and educate students through one-on-one or group meetings offered in person and virtually
• Promote community interconnectivity and outreach

Signature Programs and Services

Resume/CV Building
Provide advising, along with a host of resources, for building out robust and market-current application documents. This includes online learning modules and templates through Big Interview as well as AI-generated Resume Worded.

Personal Statement/Cover Letter Writing
Provide advising for writing personal statements as they pertain to graduate school and residency applications, as well as cover letters as they apply to the general job search.

General Campus Workshops and Series
The CRC team provides co-curricular, as well as classroom, speakers and special events that include staff and external experts. These can be over any career readiness topic from a general or discipline-specific context. The CRC hosts two major event series annually, celebrating National Career Development Month each November and Career Readiness Month in April.

Interviewing and Etiquette Skills (including Big Interview)
Provide advising for interviewing skills, including those for job searches and graduate/ professional school admissions. The CRC hosts three versions of Big Interview, including Big Interview Medical and Big Interview Alumni, for self-paced video interview practice and the administration of classroom assignments. Etiquette skills training includes workshops and other activities, such as the Etiquette Dinner and benefits and salary negotiations.

Job Fairs/Employer Networking Events
The Career Readiness Center annually hosts and co-hosts several job fair and employer networking events. Collaboration with JCPenney Suit Up allows students to purchase professional attire at a discounted rate.

Job Boards (HSC Connect/Handshake)
The Career Readiness Center uses Handshake, the primary campus online job board, selectively filtered for HSC academic programs and disciplines through HSC Connect, which also serves as the premier HSC networking and event clearinghouse.

On-campus Student Employment
The Career Readiness Center serves primarily as “match-maker” in terms of facilitating the posting of student positions and connecting students with on-campus opportunities. CRC occasionally hosts in-person campus job fairs and virtual recruiting events with HSC hiring departments.

Individual/Group Career Exploration/Assessment
The CRC provides individual career assessment instruments that measure interest, work style, values and aptitude. These usually are applied when a student or alumnus is seeking an unexpected career change.

Career Readiness Microcredentials
For HSC’s five identified career readiness skills (communication, interprofessional teamwork, leadership, problem solving and resiliency), the CRC administers the content design and delivery of these microcredentials for qualifying students in each academic program under the auspices of the HSC Microcredential Committee. This includes an external Career Readiness Microcredential available for learners not enrolled as HSC students.

Collaborative Initiatives

Activities with Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations
This partnership facilitates community-building and networking opportunities between HSC alumni from the various colleges with current students.

Tailored Curriculum Integration
The Career Placement Survey was developed by a coalition of all academic colleges, along with other key stakeholders, including Alumni Relations, University Assessment & Accreditation and the Registrar’s Office. Graduates are asked to share their postgraduate plans about employment or enrollment in a degree program to continue their education.

Coaching for Students
CRC collaborates with various HSC and Student Affairs departments to provide voluntary coaching for students. Coaches are trained to address topics ranging from communication skills to career development, professionalism and wellness.

Department Overview

The mission of the Office of Care and Civility is to empower HSC students for behavioral and
personal development through outreach and compassionate support. OCC’s core services
include the Care Team, student conduct, Be|Well, and well-being programming.

Signature Programs and Services

Care Team
The Care Team creates solutions for healthier communities by assisting in promoting the health,
safety and well-being of the HSC community. The Care Team is designed to support students
experiencing personal, emotional and/or medical stressors by connecting them with resources and
serving as an on-campus source of support. The Care Team often collaborates with on-campus and
off-campus partners in order to connect students to supportive resources.

Student Conduct
HSC has adopted policies to govern student behavior that are educational in nature and designed
to help students understand expectations and accept responsibility for their actions. The Office of
Care and Civility strives to uphold the high academic, professional and community standards of
HSC while supporting our students to develop their ethical decision-making skills.

Well-Being Programming
The Office of Care and Civility hosts well-being events and programs with varied focuses, including
mental health, sexual misconduct prevention, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and recovery, and
suicide prevention. These events happen both on a scheduled basis and as requested by members
of the HSC community.

Be|Well
The Office of Care and Civility manages the Be|Well program for the HSC Community. Be|Well is
HSC’s Quality Enhancement Plan and is focused on integrating well-being, emotional intelligence
and resilience into curricular and co-curricular experiences to address nationwide burnout among
professionals working in health care and health-related fields.

Mindful Corner
The Mindful Corner is a physical space, located in the Founders Activity Center, for students to
find serenity on campus. The mindful corner integrates concepts of sensory rooms to enhance
students’ efficacy in reaching their own relaxation and well-being needs.

Collaborative Initiatives

Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) Support
Care Team holds time for students navigating the SOAP process to be actively ready to meet
to address personal needs as they navigate their matching journey.

International Student Support
Student conduct staff members partner with the International Services Office during
International Student Orientation to educate incoming international students specifically on
matters of academic dishonesty at HSC.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program
OCC staff leads collaborations related to drug and alcohol abuse prevention, including
reviewing relevant practices and initiating preventative programming to address substance use
and abuse for the HSC community.

Title IX
OCC provides co-leadership over the Title IX Programming Team, integrating efforts of campus
stakeholders related to the prevention of sexual misconduct at HSC.

Student Internships
OCC hosts interns from the College of Public Health and has been designated a “Preferred
Public Health Practice Site” by the College of Public Health.

Department Overview

The Office of Disability Access is responsible for assisting students with disabilities by
providing academic accommodations that will ensure equal access to their curriculum.

Signature Programs and Services

Disability Accommodations
The Office of Disability Access ensures that students with disabilities receive the necessary
accommodations for equal access to education. Our dedicated team works collaboratively with
students, faculty and staff, offering customized support and regular training sessions. This ensures
a welcoming and supportive educational environment for all members of our community.

Testing Center
ODA schedules and proctors exams for students and provides testing accommodations.
Staff members also proctor make-up exams for students with and without approved
disability accommodations.

Approximately 7% of the student population receives disability accommodations.

Collaborative Initiative

In partnership with the student organization DREAM (Disability Rights, Education, Activism and Mentoring), the Office of Disability Access organized a panel discussion aimed at educating future medical providers about cerebral palsy. Impressively, 94% of attendees reported learning at least one new strategy to improve interactions with future patients affected by cerebral palsy.

Department Overview

The Center for Student Life builds community and develops experiences that encourage and
support student success. The office provides a range of resources and services that support
student development, while also coordinating institutional events, planning new student
orientation, developing leadership programs, overseeing student governments and organizations
and collaborating with campus partners.

Signature Programs and Services

Commencement
HSC Commencement — the culmination of a graduate’s hard work, energy and effort at HSC — is held each spring semester and is intended to publicly and formally recognize students who will complete all graduation requirements by the end of the spring semester and those who completed their requirements during the previous fall or summer semesters. The Center for Student Life
provides each graduate with an outstanding experience to recognize and celebrate their degree with the pomp and circumstance they have earned.

White Coat
The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage for HSC students that encourages a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy. Students are cloaked with their first white coat, symbolizing the mantle of their chosen profession. The event emphasizes the importance of the foundational mission of the institution: education, research, patient care and service. The white coat is a symbolic, nonverbal communication used to express and reaffirm a fundamental belief in a system that society observes. It is a cloak of compassion.

New Student Orientation
The purpose of New Student Orientation, for both online and in-person programs, is to welcome incoming students and help them adjust to student life at HSC. Orientation is a mandatory event for all incoming students where they learn about academic and community expectations, campus culture, services and available resources. The Center for Student Life provides an experience for incoming students to build community, engage with HSC resources and create lasting friendships.

Registered Student Organizations
All students are encouraged to enrich the HSC community and their own personal development by getting involved on campus. Involvement in a Registered Student Organization consists of student government associations, student classes and student organizations. RSOs represent a variety of interests within the health professions community.

Registered Student Organization Training
Leaders of registered student organizations must complete annual registration training in the fall and refresher training in the spring. Training topics cover fiscal responsibility, event planning, risk management and compliance training.

Student Activities Board
The Student Activities Board is the pulse of student life at HSC and is dedicated to enhancing the student experience through campuswide events planned and implemented by current HSC students. Committed to fostering a sense of community, the SAB organizes activities ranging from social and cultural to intellectual programming. SAB enhances the co-curricular experience at HSC by being a catalyst for connection and growth.

Collaborative Initiatives

Welcome Week
The CSL team collaborates with all Student Affairs departments to host Welcome Week activities, an exciting period at the beginning of each academic year designed to integrate new students into campus life and foster a sense of community and belonging. By leveraging resources, the CSL and DSA set the stage for a fun and engaging welcome to the HSC campus community.

New Student Orientation
The CSL plays a pivotal role in collaborating with Student Affairs teams, campus partners and all the academic programs to host New Student Orientation, ensuring a seamless and enriching transition for incoming students. The collaboration allows for the orientation programming to reflect the HSC values and commitment to student development. Together, we create a welcoming and supportive environment for students to feel empowered to thrive academically, socially and personally from their very first moments on campus.

Department Overview

Testing and Evaluation Services supports student and curricular assessment needs using innovative
tools that effectively measure student knowledge and give students a voice to enhance the quality
of their education.

Signature Programs and Services

Manage Student Assessments
TES collaborates with academic programs to design assessment delivery methods that best support the needs of students, courses and curriculum. This includes using innovative tools and assessment methodology to support the latest analytical approaches. The TES team manages the entire assessment delivery process to allow faculty members to focus on higher-level responsibilities. The team creates high-stakes assessments, communicates details to students, and provides exam-related technical support in a comfortable and secure testing environment. The team also scores the assessments, provides statistical summary reports, and works with faculty to conduct rescores. In addition, TES creates specialized student performance reports that correlate faculty teaching and student success while guiding students’ studies and their preparation for future learning.

Administer External (non-HSC) Assessments
TES collaborates with HSC academic programs and their respective national licensing boards to administer an assortment of external exams to support student licensing exam preparations and various curriculum assessments, including end-of-rotation clinical assessments. Team members provide assessment feedback to academic programs and students, and conduct data analyses to correlate results and predict future performance.

Manage Course/Faculty Evaluations
The team collaborates with each academic program to design effective course and faculty evaluations and delivers the evaluations to all students at the end of each course. Evaluation results are reported to faculty and key stakeholders for continuous improvement to the student learning experience.

Manage Secure Item Banks
TES manages assessment item banks for academic programs, including creating and/or importing exam items and reviewing items for consistent wording, format and punctuation, based on each academic program’s guidelines. The team updates items as needed based on a program’s specifications and manages historical performance statistics for all items in the bank.

Collaborative Initiatives

VoiceOver for Mac in Examplify
In partnership with the Office of Disability Access, the TES team successfully implemented a textto- speech feature in Examplify, enabling specific exam content to be audibly read to students during high-stakes exams. The team also provided training on how to use this feature efficiently and created a resource with detailed instructions, tips and shortcuts for optimal use during exams.

Department Overview

The Student Assistance Resource Center is focused on developing partnerships, resources and programs to support students’ basic needs. SARC provides services and programs to support the development of each student holistically: mind, body and spirit.

Signature Programs and Services

Care Team
Serves as a collaborative interdisciplinary team to provide early intervention, identification and response in a nonclinical case management capacity.

Fitness Center
Designed to meet the fitness needs of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.

Food Pantry
Assists HSC students impacted by food insecurity, addresses student hunger and fosters student success.

Student Emergency Fund
Provides emergency financial assistance to enrolled students experiencing a temporary emergency need because of unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances.

Clothes Closet
Provides professional attire for students in need of professional wear.

Pathways Program
Focuses on developmental opportunities for students that will provide autonomy in developing meaning and learning.

Wellness Coaching
Partners with students seeking self-directed and lasting changes aligned with their values, which promotes health and wellness to enhance well-being.

Student Assistance Program
Free and confidential 24/7 counseling services to provide better mental health and well-being experiences for students.

Collaboratives Initiatives

Student Emergency Fund
SARC manages the Student Emergency Fund in partnership with the Financial Aid Office and Student Finance. This partnership is essential in ensuring that money is distributed in a timely manner in accordance with financial regulations, while also providing an avenue to ensure that students’ basic needs are met.

Food Pantry Thanksgiving Event
SARC hosts a food pantry Thanksgiving event, which includes a food pantry drive and turkey donation in collaboration with Student Affairs and the HSC community, to provide Thanksgiving meals for students in need during the holiday.

Be|Well Week
Be|Well Week is a campus and communitywide effort established through the QEP designed to improve students’ overall well-being. SARC partners with Be|Well to provide activities and programming focused on physical activity and food insecurity.

Department Overview

The International Services Office provides immigration advising services to students, scholars and employment-based visa holders with navigating complex immigration regulations. ISO also organizes and collaborates on community building efforts.

Signature Programs and Services

International Student Orientation
ISO provides orientation for all international students, scholars and employees as a way to make the transition to life in the United States as smooth as possible.

Employee Assistance for International Students and HSC Employees
Team members assist faculty mentors and administrative personnel on visa sponsorship for foreign nationals. The office also facilitates the permanent residency sponsorship process by liaising with contracted outside legal counsel, sponsoring departments and HSC employee beneficiaries.

Workshops and Presentations
The ISO staff hosts various presentations and workshops for students to learn about their employment benefits, find ways to help them transition to living in the U.S., and promote cultural awareness among international students, faculty and domestic students.

International Education Week
ISO organizes a series of events to celebrate International Education Week. The purpose of the week is to enhance cultural and international education awareness across HSC and recognize the value of the exchange of students and scholars across borders.

Collaborative Initiatives

Fort Worth Tour
ISO, in partnership with the College of Public Health and the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, invites students to discover Fort Worth through an exclusive tour that showcases the city’s historical landmarks, providing a rich, contextual introduction to their new home.

Academic Integrity Awareness
In collaboration with the Office of Care and Civility, the department enhanced International Student Orientation by discussing the repercussions of academic integrity violations. The ISO team also provided students with academic resources and strategies to encourage proactive, self-directed learning behaviors.

Department Overview

The Center for Academic Performance is committed to partnering with all HSC students to help them
meet their personal and academic goals by providing comprehensive academic support.

Signature Programs and Services

Academic Counseling
In collaboration with students, CAP’s learning specialists enhance academic performance through personalized consultations, strategic planning and targeted academic support workshops.

Tutoring Services
CAP provides a range of tutoring options to help students navigate and master the rigorous curriculum, including individual sessions, small and large group tutorials and drop-in assistance.

Writing Support
CAP offers students feedback on their writing, both online and in-person, focusing on structure, logic, organization, development, style and syntax to sharpen their writing skills.

Pre-Matriculation Workshops
CAP hosts low-cost summer workshops that refresh essential knowledge and introduce high-yield concepts crucial for academic success. These workshops also familiarize students with the curriculum’s teaching styles and facilitate connections with future classmates.

Collaborative Initiatives

College of Public Health Pre-matriculation Workshop
CAP collaborated with the College of Public Health for its first pre-matriculation workshop. The CAP team presented six sessions about giving professional presentations, how to read research, how to create a writing timeline, APA basics, how to avoid plagiarism and how to write an effective discussion board post.

Research Appreciation Day
CAP collaborated with the library to present “How to Write an Abstract for Research Appreciation Day.” This led to more students requesting to have their abstracts reviewed by the CAP writing coordinator.

Academic Success Strategies
CAP collaborated with TCOM’s clerkship director in the Department of Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine to present about time management, preparing for the end of rotation exams, and setting priorities, balance and boundaries.

Alumni Tutors
CAP collaborated with the Physician Assistant Studies program, College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health to connect and hire alumni to provide tutoring services for students.

Department Overview

Be|Well is the quality enhancement plan designed to improve the overall well-being of HSC students
as they navigate through their journey to becoming the health care providers and professionals of
the future.

Signature Programs and Services

HSC Well-Being Model
The HSC well-being model contains four domains: Knowing Yourself, Working with Others, Navigating Individual Needs and Community Belonging. Curated programming related to these domains allows students to explore their own values, purpose, emotional intelligence, global consciousness, social and networking skills, and physical, emotional and financial well-being. The model’s final domain explores students’ professional community and ways they can serve their community.

Emotional Intelligence Champions
EI Champions are designated faculty members from each HSC academic program who have been trained to administer and interpret the EQi 2.0 and oversee the administration and debriefing activities for students related to emotional intelligence.

Well-Being Champions
The Well-Being Champion program is a distinctive opportunity for faculty and staff to serve HSC and develop leadership skills associated with the Quality Enhancement Plan. Well-Being Champions frequently coordinate well-being-related activities into the curricular and cocurricular experience of their academic program.

Be|Well Week (One time each semester)
Be|Well Week is an initiative involving the campus and the community to promote student well-being. The event is customized each semester to cater to the specific needs of the students, and it offers them a chance to familiarize themselves with the various resources available on campus and in the community while exploring aspects of well-being.

Collaborative Initiatives

Resource Fair
A collaborative event hosted by the Be|Well team in partnership with various Student Affairs offices and organizations. The resource fair offers students a chance to connect with essential services, gather valuable information, and build networks and engage with services from academic support to health resources. This is an ideal setting for students to find tools and connections that will support their journey at HSC and beyond.

Build Your Routine with CAP
The Build Your Routine with CAP event, a collaborative effort with the Center for Academic Performance, offered students practical strategies to develop effective and personalized study routines. Participants gained valuable tools to enhance their academic productivity and resilience, fostering a foundation for success throughout their educational journey at HSC.

Mindful Zones
The Mindful Zones program leverages the expertise of campus partners to encourage students to engage in mindfulness practices at designated areas around campus like the Community Garden, The Mindful Corner, HSC dining areas and the IREB Medicinal Garden. Mindfulness practices can encourage calmness, provide the ability to cope and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.