Student Information
Computer Requirements
Students spend a considerable amount of time utilizing resources online and must own a personal laptop computer with broadband (high speed) internet to succeed in the chosen area of study. Daily computer access is expected of all students. (All SON programs require a personal laptop for on-campus testing, exams, and classroom activities.)
Technical Skills
Students are expected to possess basic skills in both the use of a computer and to function independently in the use of Microsoft Office. To do a self-assessment of your skill level go to “Is Online Learning for You?” at http://nursing.ttuhsc.edu/skills/. If a student cannot function independently, the applicable Associate Dean/Department Chair reserves the right to place the student on an academic leave of absence until the student can demonstrate competence to learn, draft, and submit work independently. See https://www.ttuhsc.edu/nursing/help/system-requirements.aspx for specific minimum computer system requirements.
NOTE:
- The Traditional BSN Undergraduate Program requires students to own a laptop and a mobile device (iOS or Android). Students are required to bring their laptop to participate in classroom learning activities and testing. A mobile device capable of using specific nursing apps is required.
- The Accelerated BSN Program requires students to own a computer (preferably a laptop) and a mobile device (iOS or Android). A compatible mobile device capable of using specific nursing apps is required. Students are also required to have a webcam and microphone.
- The RN to BSN Program requires students to have a laptop and webcam capabilities for making videos of presentations, clinical activities, and for online proctoring of exams and quizzes.
- The Master's, Post-Graduate, and Doctoral Programs require students to bring a laptop to participate in classroom learning activities.
Tablet devices can be used to access some course content but will not substitute the need for a computer. Go to https://www.ttuhsc.edu/nursing/help/system-requirements.aspx for specific minimum computer system requirements.
Counseling Services
As in all professional health fields, if stress is not dealt with effectively, it can interfere with optimal academic performance. For a student experiencing excessive stress, the SON highly recommends self-referral for counseling. The following are the counseling options available for all School of Nursing students.
Program of Assistance for Students (PAS) is a professional, confidential, no cost counseling service for students and family members living in their households. Five sessions (per household) per academic year are available from licensed counselors who can provide assistance for a variety of problems related to daily living, including: family and relationship problems, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, anxiety, excessive stress, and other problems. No information is released to anyone in the SON and use of the program does not become part of a student’s record. For additional information visit https://www.ttuhsc.edu/centers-institutes/counseling/pas.aspx.
- Telehealth counseling is available through The Counseling Center at TTUHSC. To be eligible for televisits, you must be an active TTUHSC student located in Texas.
To schedule telehealth counseling call 806-743-1327 or 1-800-327-0328.
- All students have access
to TAO Connect (Therapy Assistance Online).
https://www.ttuhsc.edu/centers-institutes/counseling/tao.aspx
- A 24-hour crisis/help line is available to all students and members of their household through the Program of Assistance for Students at 1-800-327-0328.
Professional Societies
- Iota Mu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Nursing Honor Society
Membership is by invitation and is based on outstanding scholarly activities. - Phi Kappa Phi
Membership is by invitation to top performing juniors, seniors, and graduate students. - Golden Key
Membership is by invitation to the top 15% of juniors, seniors, and graduate students. - Student Government Association (SGA)
The Student Government Association is recognized as the governing student body at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center with representatives from the School of Health Professions, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing and School of Pharmacy. SGA Representatives assist in the promotion of student affairs and activities affecting all students throughout TTUHSC and encourage communication between the schools. Representatives are elected from the undergraduate and graduate programs. For more information regarding the Student Government Association, visit the Student Government Association’s Webpage at http://student.ttuhsc.edu/sga/. - Texas Nursing Students’ Association
The Texas Nursing Students’ Association grants membership to any student in an Associate Degree, Diploma, Baccalaureate, generic Masters, generic Doctoral program preparing students for RN licensure, as well as RNs in a BSN completion program. This award winning group is highly active at school, state, and national levels. For more information, please visit http://www.tnsa.org/. - SALUTE: Veterans National Honor Society
SALUTE is the first national honor society established for student veterans and military in 2-year and 4-year institutions of higher education. One unique element of our honor society includes the 4 tier system which is designed to encourage student veterans to strive to improve their GPAs and advance to higher tier levels in the honor society during their academic careers.
Resources and General Information
Activities, Athletics, Entertainment, and
Recreation
As a member of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association and the Big 12 Conference, Texas
Tech provides intercollegiate programs for men
and women. As part of the Texas Tech University
(TTU) System, TTUHSC students participate in
football, volleyball, basketball, baseball/softball,
soccer, track and field, golf and tennis with other
members of the conference.
The Lubbock campus of Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center includes the F. Marie Hall
Synergistic Center providing students easy access
to recreational and entertainment facilities. The
TTUHSC Lubbock campus is located in close
proximity to the TTU campus. The Robert H.
Ewalt Student Recreational Center and Student
Union Building, located on the TTU’s Lubbock
campus are two of the most popular buildings on
campus for out-of-class student activities.
For information about student organizations,
fraternities, or sororities you may contact the
TTUHSC Student Affairs office at (806) 743-
2300 or online at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/student-affairs/organizations/default.aspx.
For information about the TTU recreational
center contact the TTU Department of
Recreational Sports online at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/recsports/.
Awards
The School of Nursing participates in and offers
awards including:
- Excellence In Nursing – Undergraduate and
Graduate students are eligible
- SON Dean’s Leadership Award
Employment
The decision to work while enrolled as a student
in the School of Nursing rests with the individual
student; the school assumes no responsibility
for student employment. Students should check
with their enrolled program to determine if
employment is discouraged. A student employed
in a healthcare agency has the responsibility,
personally and professionally, to accept and
engage in only activities falling within the position
description for which the student is qualified
and do not conflict with legal and accreditation
expectations.
Housing
Although students of the School of Nursing
have access to TTU on-campus housing, it is not
mandatory. For more information on housing,
contact the TTU Student Housing Office at (806)
742-2661 or visit http://www.depts.ttu.edu/housing/.
Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) Core Curriculum
All TTUHSC students, regardless of school
affiliation, are required to complete the IPE core
curriculum prior to graduation. The IPE core
curriculum is composed of two components
including successful completion of a non-credit
online course (>70% accuracy on the knowledge post-test) and successful participation in at least
one registered IPE learning activity. Failure to
complete the IPE core curriculum will result in
delayed graduation. Students should consult their
academic/program advisor and/or school catalog
for additional information.
Simulation
The TTUHSC simulation centers located at the various
campuses provide unique learning environments.
These realistic environments support experiential
learning activities promoting the development
and maintenance of intra-professional and
interprofessional competencies. Faculty and
students from the School of Nursing, School of
Medicine, School of Health Professions, School
of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Biomedical
Sciences, and Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health are engaged in simulation-based
activities supported by these centers.
Student Service on Advisory Councils and Councils/Forums for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
For purposes of promoting the TTUHSC School of Nursing, advisory bodies exist to maintain open communication between students and administration/faculty/staff:
- Undergraduate Department Advisory Council (UDAC)
- Non-Traditional Electronic Advisory Forums
- Graduate Department Student Advisory Council (GDAC)
- Post-Master's DNP Student Advisory Council
- BSN to DNP Student Advisory Council.
Students also have opportunities to serve as Student Representatives on School of Nursing Councils. Through service on the Student Advisory Councils and the School of Nursing Councils, student representatives provide feedback to the faculty and administration on ways to improve the educational experience while enrolled in the School of Nursing. Student representatives may volunteer or are selected by the appropriate Associate Dean/Department Chair to serve on the Student Advisory Councils and School of Nursing Councils. Students are expected to represent fellow students by bringing forth issues of importance to be addressed. Associate Deans/Department Chairs reserve the right to invite faculty or staff as appropriate to address student concerns.
TTUHSC Libraries of the Health Sciences
The TTUHSC Libraries of the Health Sciences provide facilities and learning/information resources with physical sites in Lubbock, Amarillo, and Odessa. The TTUHSC Library system collections presently contains roughly 27,000 bound volumes and over 107,854 electronic books. The number of bound volumes will continually decrease however, as the Library makes room for more student study space. The system has 178 print journal subscriptions and approximately 43,929 electronic journals available at all TTUHSC sites. The libraries feature quiet and group study carrels and rooms, wi-fi display in most group study rooms, printers (paper), anatomy models, 3D printers, poster printers on all 3 campuses, virtual reality equipment (Lubbock), computer labs, scanners, interlibrary loan, and reference/research/scoping review services. All libraries have wireless Internet access. PaperCut (paper-based) accounts are automatically created with an initial free $100.00 balance to all TTUHSC students. The online Ask A Librarian service (http://ttuhsc.libanswers.com/ask) allows students to email, text, or chat with a reference librarian for article and searching assistance. Step-by-step online guides to library services and resources are available at http://ttuhsc.libguides.com/new.
The TTUHSC Libraries provide on and off-campus electronic access to more than 1,295 databases. The databases related to the School of Nursing include, but are not limited to: UpToDate, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL Complete with FullText, Nursing Reference Center Plus, Primal Pictures, Access Medicine, SportDiscus, EXAM MASTER online (NCLEXRN), Scopus, Cochrane Databases, ClinicalKey, as well as general and academic TexShare databases. Bibliographic tools such as RefWorks and Endnote, full-text electronic journals, and a full array of electronic books are also accessible through the Libraries’ homepage: http://www.ttuhsc.edu/libraries/.
- Preston Smith Library of the Health Sciences in Lubbock features 23 group study rooms, 1 tranquility room, and 18 computers and fourteen 3D printers in the Methodology Lab. An additional 7 public computers are located on the second along with seating for 102 individuals.
- Harrington Library of the Health Sciences in Amarillo has 10 public use computers, seating for 95 individuals, 4 individual study rooms and one conference room.
- Library of the Health Sciences in Odessa, has seating for 105 individuals, 3 study rooms and 1 computer classroom with 18 desktop stations and 1 laptop station. There are two 3D printers also available.
Textbooks
Courses use information from various mediums,
including textbooks. Students may have to
purchase or rent specific textbooks. Each
semester, the required and optional texts are listed
for each course on the following website http://nursing.ttuhsc.edu/textbooks/.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. SEXUAL HARASSMENT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
The School of Nursing considers sexual harassment in all forms to be a serious offense subject to a range of actions up to and including suspension or dismissal. Sexual harassment is a violation of TTUHSC OP 51.02 and OP 51.03. Refer to the TTUHSC Student Handbook and the Title IX website located at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/title-ix/default.aspx. Sexual harassment education is required for all students and is completed at the time of orientation. Contact the appropriate departmental office for further educational information and opportunities.
Student Health Information and Resources
Health Services
Medical services for TTUHSC students are available at the Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Lubbock, and Permian Basin, campuses. Refer to the TTUHSC Student Handbook online at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/student-affairs/handbook.aspx or the TTUHSC Student Affairs website at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/student-affairs/health.aspx.
Health Insurance
Students are required by TTUHSC to pay a Medical Service Fee each semester. With this fee, access to healthcare is available at no charge for minimal or limited minor problems. Access to healthcare is through a TTUHSC clinic or a regional contracted provider (when available) for distance students. This fee is only waived for distance students.
TTUHSC and the School of Nursing strongly recommend each student maintain health insurance to cover major medical, emergency care, specialty care, and pharmacy services. Students should note many of the facilities where students receive clinical training require each student to be covered by health insurance. Hospital or clinic personnel may ask for proof of coverage at any time. Students may be denied access to clinical experience, at the discretion of the facility, if not covered by health insurance.
Students may contact the TTUHSC Office of Student Life at (806)743-2302 for more information on insurance resources or visit https://www.ttuhsc.edu/student-life/health-insurance.aspx.
TTUHSC Student Affairs
TTUHSC Office of Student Affairs is an institutional centralized information office providing an array of student support services. It is made up of seven key areas that support students inside and outside of the classroom. These areas include International Student Services, Registrar, Student Disability Services, Student Financial Aid, Student Life, Veterans Resource Center, and Writing Center. TTUHSC Office of Student Affairs collaborates with the school’s student affairs offices to offer assistance to aid in the success of TTUHSC students. For more information, visit their website at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/student-affairs/default.aspx.
Graduation
Students planning to graduate MUST complete a Graduation Application found here. Students should create a “Diploma” address in WebRaider to ensure the diploma will be mailed to the proper address. The TTUHSC Student Affairs office uses the diploma address to mail the diploma only if the diploma is not picked up at commencement.
Students must be enrolled at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and registered in the School of Nursing for a minimum of one (1) credit hour in the term of graduation.
Veterans and Military Advising
All military affiliated students and their families
in need of services are required to self-identify,
particularly if using VA or Hazlewood benefits.
Contact the TTUHSC Veterans Resource Center at vrc@ttuhsc.edu or (806) 743-7549, or visit the TTUHSC Veterans Resource Center
website for information, instructions and forms at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/veterans-resource-center/default.aspx.
