Special Academic Facilities

Information Systems Center

The Information Systems Center offers to individual students access to computers, network, and software technology. Software included in the curriculum is available for use on center computers. The IS Center also is the home of the computer Helpdesk operation. The Helpdesk is available to assist students using networking services in residence halls and to provide assistance in basic computer use.

The IS Center, located in Buchanan Hall, is open seven days a week. Please contact the Center for current hours of operation.

E-Mail and Internet Access

A section of the IS Center is devoted to providing students with access to electronic mail (e-mail) and the Internet. E-mail accounts are available, without additional charge, to all students enrolled in the College. E-mail accounts may be accessed, with proper software, from on or off campus. Internet access is available to students for use as a resource in researching study topics.

Computer Classrooms

The IS Center maintains two classrooms for instructional use. Classes using computing resources, such as English, Computer Programming, and Accounting, are conducted in these facilities. Students are able to complete assignments outside of class using computer resources in the IS Walk-In Lab.

Walk-In Lab Use

The IS Center maintains two areas, equipped with computers and printers, for student use on a walk-in basis. In one area the software used in classroom instruction is available to students to use in completing homework. The other area is devoted to student E-mail use and Internet access.

IS Computer Lab Hours

Language Lab

The Columbia College Language Lab offers computerized instruction to aid students studying Spanish and English as a second or other language (ESOL). Software is available for the computers specially housed in the IS Center. These computers are in their own sound proof booths, as listening skills are an important focus of language acquisition. Both the Spanish program and the ESOL program accompany texts used at the College. This facility is open to students concurrent with walk-in lab availability.

Library

The staff of the J.W. and Lois Stafford Library assist students in locating materials for daily class assignments and individual research projects. The library has a collection of over 60,000 books; subscribes to over 500 periodicals and newspapers; and has a sizable collection of microfilm and audiovisual materials. Stafford Library provides copy machines and typewriters for student use.
Students have access to the libraries of the University of Missouri, Stephens College, William Woods University, Lincoln University and Westminster College. The Daniel Boone Regional Library, located a mile from Columbia College, is another locally available resource for students. Stafford Library also provides end-user access to the online catalog at the University of Missouri, and it offers interlibrary loan service to obtain materials not found in the Columbia area libraries. Access to COIN (Columbia Online Information Network) and the Internet is available to all library users.

To provide students with the newest and most useful research materials, Stafford Library is equipped with INFOTRAC on CD-ROM. This is an index to over 1500 journals in all subject areas. Business NewsBank, an index to articles on every facet of business throughout the United States, provides information from over 400 newspapers. First Search, an interactive on-line system which provides access to over 55 databases, is also available. EBSCOhost, an online periodical index, is accessed through the Internet. Stafford Library has a designated area for students to listen to records, cassette tapes, and compact disks.

The Curriculum Resource Center in Stafford Library houses a collection of textbooks, kits, and games; juvenile fiction and non-fiction; and monographs on lesson planning, curriculum development, and classroom management to support The Teacher Education program.