The staff of the Boston University libraries provides extensive service to the entire University community. The libraries contain a collection of 5.7 million volumes in paper and microform, thousands of current subscriptions, and hundreds of bibliographic, numeric, and full-text databases.

There are several specialized libraries with professional staff at the University: the School of Law, the Medical Center, the Frederick S. Pardee Management Library, the School of Theology, Educational Resources, Communication, Science/Engineering, and Stone Science Library.

Students at Boston University have access to a wide variety of computing resources for communication, coursework, instruction, and research. The Office of Information Technology provides general-access facilities for the entire University community, including public computing clusters equipped with workstations, terminals, and laser printers; a shared-access UNIX cluster, called ACS; the Boston University Campus Network, a high-speed network which interconnects computing resources and links them to the Internet; a student Web server; personal computing laboratories in many residences; training facilities and help desks; the Personal Computing Support Center; University Computers, a computer store which sells and services computer hardware and offers a variety of computer software; and a sophisticated scientific computing and visualization laboratory in support of research and education in computational science and engineering, scientific visualization, computer graphics, and other disciplines which have high-performance computing requirements. In addition, OIT's Office of Telecommunications operates a 20,000-line telecommunications system, providing local, long distance, and voice messaging services to students, faculty, and staff.

The Office of Information Technology manages the Boston University Campus Network, which employs the latest technology to route communications among computing systems throughout campus. Thousands of ports in residence rooms, libraries, offices, and other locations around campus support communications rates up to 100 million bits per second. More than a thousand dial-in modems provide students and faculty with remote access to the Campus Network at speeds comparable to those offered by commercial Internet Service Providers. The Campus Network provides direct connections to the Internet, providing students and faculty with electronic access to people and facilities throughout the world.

Boston University is a member of the Internet2 project and a founding member of the Northern Crossroads (NoX)--national and regional organizations engaged in the development of next-generation applications to meet emerging requirements for technology in research and education. The NoX operates a high-performance communications exchange through which the University is connected to the Internet2 network, providing us with very high-speed access to hundreds of institutions connected to advanced networks worldwide.

Information Technology's Consulting Services department provides consulting support in all areas of computing. Consulting Services maintains a help desk at the public cluster located in the basement of 111 Cummington Street. Information Technology staff present a comprehensive series of free training sessions each semester. Topics range from general "getting started" sessions for the computing novice to in-depth sessions on specific application software packages.

Two of Information Technology's departments, the Personal Computing Support Center (PCSC) and University Computers, provide a variety of services for students who own personal computers. The PCSC, dedicated to helping students use their Windows-based and Macintosh computers effectively, provides consulting, hands-on training for many popular applications, technical support, file recovery, text and graphics scanning, and file translation. Reference and software evaluation libraries are also maintained by the PCSC.

University Computers sells computer hardware and software products, supplies, and accessories. University Computers' factory-authorized service department offers repair and upgrade services. University Computers carries equipment from most major hardware vendors and offers hundreds of software programs, most priced to reflect deep educational discounts.

Massachusetts law requires students at institutions of higher education in the state to have adequate health insurance. Those persons affected by this law include full-time students, or part-time students who participate in at least 75 percent of the full-time curriculum. The student health insurance plan offered through the University is a qualifying insurance program. Students who do not accept the school health insurance must certify in writing before each academic year that they are participating in a comparable health insurance program.

In order to be officially registered, all full-time undergraduate and graduate students must submit to Student Health Services a Medical History and Physical Examination form and an immunization form that have been filled out and signed by a physician. Massachusetts law also requires all part-time health science students and students attending an institution of higher education in Massachusetts while on a student or other visa, including a student attending or visiting classes or programs as part of a formal academic visitation or exchange program, to show proof of immunization. The immunization form must include the day, month, and year of the following required immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, measles (two shots), mumps, and rubella. This form is sent to each student who has been accepted for admission and may also be obtained at Student Health Services.

Boston University Rehabilitation Services provides services in audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and vocational rehabilitation for clients from the Boston University community and the Greater Boston area. The clinic also offers comprehensive cardiovascular fitness testing through its Fitness Evaluation Center. The staff is made up of certified clinicians licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The clinic is located at 635 Commonwealth Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215; 617/353-8383. The Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy Center is located at 930 Commonwealth Avenue.

Massachusetts law provides, in general, that no alcoholic beverages can be sold, delivered, or given in any way to a person under 21 years of age. State law neither permits nor condones the possession, use, transfer, distribution, dealing, or sale of illegal drugs and narcotics. The University supports these laws without exception.

In addition, University policies restrict the quantity of alcoholic beverages that may be brought into residences and provide for sanctions against students who violate these policies. While students 21 years or older may bring limited quantities of alcoholic beverages into residences, the University strongly encourages students not to do so.

Dedicated to the values and memory of alumnus Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), the King Center addresses the personal, educational, and career development needs of students at Boston University. Dr. King understood that a complete life required personal development, which would lead to the outward concern for others, and for the aspirations of the spirit. The departments that comprise the King Center--the Counseling Center, the Office of Career Services, the Office of Disability Services, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs--all seek to foster that development through comprehensive professional services and programs for undergraduate and graduate students seeking counseling, educational, or career-related assistance. Initially created in 1968 to serve minority students, the King Center now brings Dr. King's lessons of diversity, tolerance, and respect for individual human worth to all students through its programs. Visit our offices at 19 Deerfield Street (in Kenmore Square) on the second and third floors; for telephone numbers and Web sites, see King Center departments listed below.

Disability Services, through its Learning Disability Support Services (LDSS), also provides services to students with documented learning disabilities. Students who desire enhanced support services may enroll in LDSS's Comprehensive Strategy Tutoring Program, offering weekly one-on-one tutoring with a learning specialist or LD strategy tutor. This comprehensive service carries an additional tuition charge. LDSS also offers an optional six-week Summer Transition Program for students who will be attending Boston University or other colleges and universities in the fall. All students will enroll in a 4-credit course and participate in daily learning strategies seminars and workshops. Enrollment is limited.

For more information, about the Office of Disability Services call us at 617/353-3658 (Voice or TTY), or stop by the office located at 19 Deerfield Street, Second Floor.

Through effective planning and coordination with graduate and undergraduate student organizations, Multicultural Affairs facilitates and encourages students' personal and educational development. This goal is accomplished through implementing academic, educational, cultural, and social programs. Among them is Common Ground, a component of Summer Orientation that introduces the issue of diversity awareness to incoming students and their parents. This program serves to empower its participants by moving through stages of recognition, tolerance, acceptance, internalization, and celebration of the unity and beauty of diversity. Celebrating Diversity is a Multicultural Orientation program designed to acquaint students and parents with Boston University, the city of Boston, and the richness of its diversity. This program includes panels and workshops that address student life issues along with a number of social activities to foster community spirit among incoming freshmen, transfer students, and family members. This program annually occurs during opening weekend. In Search for Common Ground is a lecture series that enhances the collective understanding of issues that are important and timely to further understanding of diversity and multiculturalism. Through the AHANA Empowerment Council, mentoring programs are available that enable participating students to meet with students, faculty, and staff who have ethnic or cultural backgrounds similar to their own. The office also sponsors an annual Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday observance and houses a collection of materials documenting the AHANA experience. Multicultural Affairs can be reached at 617/353-3791.

The dean and his staff work to establish goals and operational standards for these student-oriented departments. This office also provides the Lifebook, mentioned earlier. Individual students and parents are encouraged to contact the office for assistance or information on any aspect of student or University life. The office is located at 775 Commonwealth Avenue; 617/353-4126; Fax: 617/353-4225.

A major component of the URC is the Academic Success and Achievement Program (ASAP). ASAP offers tutoring in most undergraduate courses. In addition, ASAP offers a Resource Room that features materials on time management, speed reading, presentation and test-taking skills, and other academic success strategies.

Hours during the academic terms are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday; and 12 noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is located at 771 Commonwealth Avenue; 617/353-2169.

The bookstore also hosts a year-round Author Series, featuring an array of well-known authors. Call 617/267-8484 for a monthly schedule of author events or 617/236-7421 to be added to the mailing list.

Campus Convenience stores are full-service convenience stores carrying grocery items, insignia gifts, health and beauty aids, school supplies, newspapers, magazines, sundries, and much more.

Special orientation programs are conducted every September and January to assist new students in adjusting to the University, the city of Boston, and life in the United States. Other services include an International Hospitality Program, a Spouse Program, intercultural programs, and a World Fair each spring.

Twelve-week courses are offered in both September and January. During the summer four separate courses are available, each lasting 4, 6, 9, or 12 weeks. Classroom instruction consists of work in all skill areas of language learning, including speaking, listening, analytical reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. Video and multimedia computer laboratories are integrated into the curriculum of some of the programs. In most programs students also choose from a variety of elective skill courses, such as business, TOEFL preparation, research, writing, American culture, and others. In the most advanced English language section, students may receive permission to visit a regular University course while attending CELOP.

Students enrolled at CELOP are considered regular, full-time Boston University students and, as such, enjoy the use of all University library and athletic facilities, as well as all medical and counseling services. Through a variety of school activities, projects, trips, clubs, and volunteer opportunities, participants are integrated into daily University life. During fall and spring semesters students may also participate in the Conversation Partners program, in which there is a language exchange between CELOP students and American university students who are studying a foreign language.

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) has been an integral part of the Boston University academic community since 1919 (with a brief hiatus from 1970 to 1980), when the Student's Army Training Corps was founded. Boston University is one of only 44 universities nationwide offering its students ROTC programs in all four services: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

The Division of Military Education is a program that provides college-trained officers for the Armed Forces. It is traditionally a four-year program of instruction culminating in a commission in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps. Today's ROTC programs train students through hands-on leadership training unlike any other college programs. These programs build strong bonds of team spirit and camaraderie while they boost the individual's self-confidence. ROTC training develops self-discipline, physical stamina, poise, and general management skills basic to success in any career.

The Boston University Division of Military Education is rich with tradition, strong with leadership, and built on high standards. Recognized for those highly sought after qualities, the Boston University Army ROTC program was awarded the General Douglas MacArthur Award in 1993 for most outstanding Army ROTC program in the nation at a large university. In 1994 the Boston University Air Force ROTC program was given the Northeast Region High Flight Award for exceptionally meritorious service. It is recognized as one of the top four Air Force ROTC programs in the nation.

Department of Aerospace Studies

The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Program (AFROTC) at Boston University offers students an opportunity to earn a commission in the U.S. Air Force while completing graduate or undergraduate degree requirements. The Aerospace Studies curriculum develops leadership skills while familiarizing the student with U.S. Air Force functions, organization, equipment, management, and its role in national defense. The student is commissioned upon successful completion of both the Aerospace Studies curriculum and the Boston University degree requirements. Students may enter the program as members of either a four-year or two-year program.

Participation in AFROTC during the first two years of the four-year program carries no commitment to serve in the U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Army ROTC offers a program designed to train future junior officers for leadership with instruction that complements a baccalaureate degree. The complete program consists of three parts: earning an academic degree in a recognized field; college courses of particular interest and value to military service; and military science courses. Coursework in disciplines such as natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities is consistent with the goals of an officer's military education.

The specific objectives of the U.S. Army ROTC curriculum include providing students with an understanding of the nature and operations of the U.S. Army, developing leadership and managerial potential, and developing students' abilities to think creatively and to speak and write effectively. Essential to an officer's education are the ability to evaluate situations before making decisions; the ability to understand people and how to lead; the fundamentals of self-discipline; the standards of performance and appearance, and the ability to recognize these standards in others; and, above all, a strong sense of personal integrity, honor, and responsibility.

While unified by the subject matter of leadership and management, the U.S. Army ROTC curriculum cuts across conventional boundaries, encouraging students to relate their learning from various disciplines and to apply it in reflective thinking, goal setting, and problem solving.

The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) programs, through instruction in various subjects in naval science and exposure to operating elements of the Navy and Marine Corps, provide young men and women with a number of paths leading to a commission as an officer in either of these services. Upon completion of both the Boston University degree requirements and the NROTC program requirements, newly commissioned officers will have the opportunity to serve aboard surface combatant ships, with the nuclear submarine force, as pilots or flight officers in naval aviation, or with the Marine Corps.

The University's commitments to research, education, and service in the field of aging are coordinated by the Boston University Gerontology Center. For those who wish to document an interest in gerontology, the center awards the Louis Lowy Certificate in Gerontological Studies to students in any Boston University degree program who have completed a specified number of approved courses (24 credits for bachelor's degree students, 16 credits for graduate degree candidates). For nondegree students and working professionals, a 20-credit Certificate of Recognition for the Study of Aging is available. The annual Summer Institute in Gerontology offers a variety of academic courses, continuing education workshops attended by faculty, staff, students, and community service providers as well as a Certificate of Continuing Education in Gerontology. The Gerontology Center Library, with over 3,000 books, journals, government publications, and bibliographies, is open to the public for research needs. Contact the Gerontology Center at 53 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215; 617/353-5045.