All students are encouraged to utilize the many campus services and facilities available, including the computer center, athletic facilities, library, and many others. Access to these facilities often requires a valid OneCard, which can be obtained at the OneCard office in the Anthony Student Service Center.
The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, located in Hammond Hall, is a comprehensive information center with a knowledgeable staff of professional librarians and library assistants dedicated to the intellectual development of students, faculty, staff, and public patrons. The library is the intellectual commons of Fitchburg State University – the place where the Fitchburg State community learns and works together in physical and virtual spaces. A wide variety of services and easily-accessible physical and electronic collections promote the interaction between the Fitchburg State community and the resources available to them.
Library Services Hours
Regular academic hours are as follows:
- Monday–Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–11:30 p.m.
- Friday, 7:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
- Saturdays, noon–5 p.m.
- Sundays, 1 p.m.–11:30 p.m.
Semester hours, holiday hours, exam hours, winter session hours, and summer hours are posted on the library Web site.
Services
Access to the library’s services and resources are available from any computer on and off-campus via the library Web site, as follows:
• Access to over 600,000 ebooks and print books
• Easy access to more than 100,000 full text online periodical titles
• Free access to more than 170 electronic online databases representing all disciplines
• Ability to watch over 25,000 streaming films
• Interlibrary loans for students and faculty
• Free borrowing privileges with the other Massachusetts public higher education libraries and the academic libraries of Worcester County
• The Library Instruction Program provides information literacy instruction for students. Faculty can schedule library instruction sessions, online course guides and/or an embedded librarian for their courses.
• The Research Desk is staffed by professional librarians who provide reference and research assistance, including consultations, at the desk and remotely via live chat, phone: (978) 665-3223, online meetings, and email: reference@fitchburgstate.edu.
• The Archives and Special Collections Department houses the university’s records, a number of manuscript collections, such as those of Robert Cormier and Robert Salvatore, and special collections such as faculty publications and local history materials with a continually growing digital archives.
Hammond Hall
Hammond Hall serves as a gathering place for both commuter and resident students. The center’s facilities include:
• Academic Advising
• Campus Center Art Gallery
• Campus Information Center
• Career Services
• Counseling Services
• University Bookstore
• North Street Bistro
• Disability Services
• Expanding Horizons
• Game Room
• Leadership Commons
• Meeting and Function Rooms
• Office of Student Development and Campus Center
• Offices of the Student Government Association; the Falcon Bazaar; and other student organization offices
• The Falcon Hub
Center for Italian Culture
The Center for Italian Culture (CIC) was established in 1999 through an initial grant from Mrs. Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio, Class of 1938. The CIC promotes the understanding and appreciation of Italian language and culture. It also sponsors cultural and special events and offers scholarship support for students at the University throughout the year. The CIC is located in the Amelia V. Galluci-Cirio Library.
Center for Professional Studies
The Center for Professional Studies (CPS) has offered professional development to working professionals for over a decade, collaborating with school districts, businesses and other professional groups on continuing educational needs. Fitchburg State University believes that excellence in education practice must be supported beyond the conferring of degrees or professional licensure. As such, the CPS is a key element of the university’s total strategy, providing educational opportunities to working professionals during the critical years of induction into their profession and throughout their career.
To help address this goal, the CPS offers an extensive array of high-quality professional development opportunities for educators, business people, healthcare and other working professionals. The activities of the center include graduate courses, workshops and conferences, as well as collaboration with agencies and work force groups to provide consulting and to develop custom programs as needed. The Center is located at 150B Main Street in Fitchburg providing convenient access to the community.
Center for Teaching and Learning
The Center for Teaching and Learning is dedicated to enhancing the teaching and learning environment at Fitchburg State University through interdisciplinary collaboration. CTL staff offer a wide variety of faculty professional development opportunities to full-time, tenure-track and adjunct faculty and librarians, including faculty talks on the scholarship of teaching and learning, instructional technology workshops, artists’ presentations, and book signings. On the third Tuesday of each month during the all-campus block of 3:30 - 4:45 p.m., the CTL plans, coordinates and publicizes campus-wide teaching and learning professional development programming. The center is located on the second floor of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, room 212. Center staff are available at ext. 3832 and via e-mail at ctl@fitchburgstate.edu. The center also maintains a Web site.
Technology Department
The Technology Department is responsible for managing and maintaining all University computers, equipment and associated software, the campus network, residence hall cable television systems, and telecommunications systems.
Help Desk
The IT Help Desk is available to all faculty, staff and students for any technology related issues. The Help Desk is located in Conlon Hall, Room 236. You may also contact the Help Desk by calling (978) 665-4500, (866) 830-0518 or you can submit a ticket online by logging onto helpdesk.fitchburgstate.edu with your Falcon Key. Check out our walk-in hours at fitchburgstate.edu/technology/help.
Email
Students at the university are provided a Fitchburg State University email account. This account serves as your official email account and should be used when conducting business with the University.
Students are provided a student.fitchburgstate.edu account hosted by Google. Login information is emailed to students’ personal email accounts from the Admissions Office. Students who do not know their account information or need assistance accessing it can stop by the IT Help Desk in Conlon Hall, Room 236, call (978) 665-4500 or (866) 830-0518.
Network/Wireless Access
There are two Wi-Fi networks on campus called FSUwifi and IOT. All students, staff, and faculty should connect their on-campus devices to these networks.
Please connect mobile phones, computers, and tablets to FSUwifi. All other devices should be registered and connected to the IOT network. The ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) network is dedicated to devices such as smart speakers, Apple TV’s, Fire Sticks, smart assistants like Amazon Echos, gaming consoles, smart TVs, etc.
In order to keep your computer safe and secure, we recommend you run an updated antivirus and install operating system patches and security updates when available.
For detailed instructions, please visit fitchburgstate.edu/wireless
OneCard
The OneCard is the official identification card of Fitchburg State University and issued to every student and employee. You will find that the OneCard is an essential key to campus
life. Apart from being your official form of identification, it can be used for many other university services. Here are some examples:
• Chartwells dining meal plans
• Library check out of books/equipment
• Recreation Center access/equipment rental
• Computer lab printing
• Student discounts
• Building and room access in the residence halls
• Door access to certain secure labs/rooms
• Retail purchases on and off campus
• Admittance to sponsored university events
• MART bus pass
The OneCard also allows you to avoid carrying loose change on campus. Once you have added money onto your OneCard account, it can be used to pay for any of the following:
• Vending machines
• Campus laundry
• Photocopying
• Postage
• Chartwells Dining
• Campus bookstore
• Health Services
• Weston Box Office
• Campus Center
• Residential Housing Services
For more information about the Fitchburg State University OneCard visit the Web site at fitchburgstate.edu/onecard.
Computer Facilities
Computer Labs
The hours and locations of open computer labs are listed on the Technology website and are updated each semester. These hours are subject to minor changes due to course additions/deletions and because of individual workshops, training and special classes. For questions regarding hardware/software support in the open labs contact the Information Technology Help Desk at ext. 4500.
Hammond Instructional Lab
Hours for the Hammond Instructional Lab can vary depending on holidays/vacations. The 35 seat lab functions as an instructional space for library information literacy sessions. During certain periods it doubles as a quiet study and computing space. Please check at the circulation desk for availability. Closing time is one half hour before the library closes.
Library Open Use Computers
The first floor of the library houses 65 open computers and three public printers for patron use.
McKay C-163/C-165 Lab
McKay C-163 features nine iMac and two Windows computers. McKay C-165 features 20 Windows computers. An instructor’s podium is equipped with a computer, a video projector and a sound system. The two computer classrooms are alternately scheduled to ensure the availability for classroom teaching and individual use.
The Adaptive Computer Lab
The Adaptive Computer Lab is available to provide students with alternate access to technology. The lab is located in the Disability Services Office, Suite 303 in the Hammond Campus Center and has a variety of technology resources that are available for student use. Some examples of software, equipment and services available through the lab include:
Software and equipment
• Text to speech software (screen readers)
• Screen magnification software
• CCTV (for magnification of text)
• Organizational software
• Voice recognition software
• Alternate input devices
• Adapted keyboards
• Ergonomic workstations
Services
• Conversion of print materials (for example, text to Braille, electronic text, large print)
• Faculty support with creating accessible curricula (lecture, media and online materials)
• Faculty and staff development workshops on adaptive technologies and universal design
• Faculty and staff development workshops on ergonomics and healthy computing
For specific information about lab resources and hours, or to arrange training, please contact Disability Services at (978) 665-4020 or disabilityservices@fitchburgstate.edu.
Computer Science Department
The Computer Science Department has additional equipment dedicated for use in that discipline, including:
• Electronic hardware and prototyping equipment to support both analog and digital laboratories
• Small microprocessor systems that allow students to work on design experiments that would be impossible or, at least impractical, on larger computer systems
• Computer networks and labs including Macintosh workstations and Intel PCs with Windows
This provides students with state-of-the-art systems and design equipment currently being used in industry. These computer laboratories also provide the students with access to the Internet as well as a Web server for developing their
own Web pages.
McKay Arts Academy / Teacher Education Center
The McKay Complex serves as the Teacher Education Center at Fitchburg State University as well as a K-4 public elementary school for the city of Fitchburg and a 5-8 middle school arts academy pilot school known as the McKay Arts Academy. This dual mission adds a uniqueness to the teaching and learning atmosphere at McKay. This collaboration with higher education is a partnership that brings professionals together in our school setting to share:
• responsibility for the preparation of new teachers
• the professional development of experienced classroom teachers
• the professional development of university faculty serving as teacher educators
• the support of research directed at improvement of practice
• enhanced student learning for our elementary students
Humanities Department
The Humanities department has a range of facilities to support the diverse needs of our individual courses. There are classrooms specifically mediated for music courses, as well as a music technology lab with synthesizers and music scoring software. We have classrooms with Steinway grand pianos, a Model B Steinway concert piano in Kent Recital Hall, and a Model L Steinway concert piano in Weston Auditorium. We have a number of state-of-the-art Wenger practice rooms with Boston upright pianos and Yamaha keyboards. There are newly constructed art studios for sculpture, drawing, design, ceramics, water and oil-based painting. Our facilities compare favorably with many of those offered elsewhere in the state.
On-Campus Housing
A variety of resident housing options are available for students who choose to live on campus. The seven campus residence halls provide housing for more than 1,550 students. All residence halls are centrally located to classrooms,
offices, the library, computer laboratories, auditoriums, and the Hammond Campus Center. Situated adjacent to the residence halls is Holmes Dining Commons, where various meal plans are offered to residence hall students. For specific
information on resident housing, please refer to the Housing and Residential Services section of the catalog.
Recreation/Athletic Facilities
Fitchburg State University has a wide range of indoor and outdoor athletic and recreational facilities.
Recreation Center: The recreation facility includes the following amenities:
• A 1,000 seat NCAA basketball/volleyball arena
• Three teaching stations/intramural courts
• Suspended jogging track
• A dance/aerobics studio
• Fitness Center (circuit weight machines, free weight machines, and cardiovascular machines)
• Two racquetball/handball courts
• Classrooms
• Exercise Science Laboratory
• Sports Medicine Center
• Teaching stations
• Locker rooms, laundry, and storage areas
• Athletic Department offices
• Recreation Services offices
Athletic Complex: Located on Pearl Hill Road, the athletic complex is easily assessed by a walking path from the Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University parking lot on John Fitch Highway. The facility includes Robert Elliot Field, a state-of-the-art synthetic turf field which serves as the practice and competition site for field hockey, football, women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer. The field is surrounded by an 8-lane chem-turf track. Additional facilities in the complex include locker rooms, an athletic training facility, a natural grass practice field and the Michael Riccards baseball field.
George Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University: The ice hockey team practices and competes at the Civic Center on John Fitch Highway.
Carmelita Landry Arena: Adjacent to the George Wallace Civic Center, the Landry Arena houses the strength and conditioning facility for student athletes and an indoor athletic practice facility.
McKay Complex: Some intramural events are held in the gymnasium at the McKay Complex. The Intercollegiate Athletics Department schedules the use of all campus athletic facilities.
Natural Areas Around Campus
Fitchburg State is adjacent to abundant natural areas for teaching and recreation. Within walking distance, the University owns several conservation areas with forests and streams, and we have access to a small pond. The Nadine Martel Nature Preserve is adjacent to the McKay Campus School on Rindge Road. The parcel was given to the university in 1999 by Nadine Cookman Martel of Fitchburg for use as an environmental laboratory. We also own a much larger forest north of the athletic fields with a walking trail, and a 121 acre reserve in Lancaster, MA. With a short drive from campus students can access Mount Watatic, Mount Monadnock and Wachusett Mountain. The latter is a vibrant downhill ski area, and a cross-country ski center is available just a few miles north in New Ipswich, NH. Finally, canoeing and kayaking are popular in the local Nashua River, Squannacook River and our many local lakes.
Animals on Campus
Due to health and safety considerations, no animals are allowed on campus or in campus buildings at any time. The only exceptions are service animals and laboratory animals.
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