East Tennessee State University Profile
I.1
History
. . .
Situated
in Northeast Tennessee, East Tennessee State University is a
state-supported, coeducational institution and one of the principal
campuses governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Its main campus is located in Johnson City with a center in Elizabethton
and sites in Kingsport, Bristol and Greeneville. Chartered in 1909 as East
Tennessee State Normal School, the institution experienced several name changes
before achieving university status in 1963.
East Tennessee State Normal School, which opened in 1911, became East
Tennessee State Teachers College in 1925; five years later, the name was changed
to State Teachers College, Johnson City. Beginning in 1943, the institution was known as East
Tennessee State College for 20 years. Today,
ETSU is a multifaceted university offering two-year, four-year and graduate
programs of study through nine colleges and schools:
College of Applied Science and Technology; College of Arts and Sciences;
College of Business; College of Education; James H. Quillen College of Medicine;
College of Nursing; College of Public and Allied Health; School of Continuing
Studies; and School of Graduate Studies.
The
James H. Quillen College of Medicine, one of three state-supported medical
colleges in Tennessee, offers a program leading to the M.D. degree as well as
accredited residency programs in family practice, internal medicine, internal
medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry
and surgery. Accelerated
residency programs in family practice and internal medicine are also offered.
Created by the Tennessee legislature in 1974, the College of Medicine enrolled
its first class of 24 students in 1978, awarded the first M.D. degrees four
years later and as of June 2001 will have awarded 1,042 M.D. degrees.
In 1988, this college combined with the colleges of Nursing and Public
and Allied Health to form a Division of Health Sciences.
Student
Population . . .
The
student population totals 11,311, including undergraduate, graduate, medical
students and medical residents. While
the majority of students are from Tennessee and the surrounding southeastern
region, 42 states are represented along with 60 foreign countries.
Housing for 2,488 students is available in residence halls, apartments,
efficiency apartments and married student housing.
Academic
Overview. . .
Committed
to the needs of all its students -- from those who have emerging potential for
university-level coursework to the gifted -- ETSU provides all citizens in the
region opportunities to continue lifelong learning. The university offers more than 100 degree programs organized
within the areas of arts and sciences, business, education, health sciences and
services and technology. All
programs and degrees are offered during the regular day schedule and extensive
evening programs are also provided. Some
5,000 -- 10,000 persons are served annually through continuing education and
extended service programs.
The
university seeks to serve as a center for intellectual and cultural growth as it
nurtures an educational environment that respects individuality and stimulates
creativity. To earn a bachelor's
degree, a student must complete a minimum of 128 semester hours of credit,
consisting of coursework from the major field of study, the minor field of study
(if required) and the general education core requirements.
The university's General Education Program includes two parts.
Part I is a Core Curriculum of 41 -- 44 semester credit hours that
address specific academic "Proficiencies" and "Areas of
Familiarity." Part II is
specific Requirements Reinforcing Academic Proficiency and requires students to
complete during college a minimum number of courses that reinforce academic
proficiency by providing intensive experiences in writing, communicating orally
and using information technology. Advanced standing credit is accepted and
recorded as "passed hours" of credit toward graduation through the
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and Advanced Placement (APP) Program of
the College Board, the Proficiency Examination Program (PEP) in nursing, the
International Baccalaureate (IB) Program and DANTES Subject Standardized Tests.
A
career counseling service and an advisement center provide professional guidance
for students who have not reached a decision concerning a college major.
Remedial and developmental courses are offered for students who lack a
sufficient level of proficiency, as determined from ACT or SAT scores and/or an
evaluation assessment examination.
An
Army ROTC program, available through the Department of Military Science,
provides scholarship opportunities and offers advanced courses that may result
in a commission.
Athletics
. . .
Intercollegiate
and intramural sports programs are available.
The university is a member of the NCAA Division 1 in all sports except
football, which is Division 1-AA. Sports
for men are baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and
track. Sports for women are
basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and volleyball.
Memorial Center, one of the most functional athletics and convocation
centers in the nation, is also home for ETSU's football, basketball, tennis and
track teams.
Calendar
. . .
East
Tennessee State University operates on a semester calendar consisting of a fall
semester in which classes begin in late August and semester examinations are
completed prior to the Christmas holidays; a spring semester in which classes
begin in early January and semester examinations are completed during the first
week of May; pre-summer, a three-week intensive study term beginning in mid-May;
and two five-week summer sessions, one beginning in early June and the other
beginning in mid-July.
The
Faculty . . .
Including
the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, the university has 661 full-time
faculty members. The
percentage of faculty members holding terminal degrees is approximately 75%.
The average class size is 21, which allows the faculty to give students
individual instruction and attention and to share interests and expertise.
Entering students are required to meet with faculty advisers prior to
registration for classes. Advisement
is conducted primarily through a one-on-one interview.
Support
Facilities . . .
ETSU provides a wide range of computer, network,
telecommunications and software resources in support of instruction, research,
administration and public service.
Microsoft Windows based servers that support the main
ETSU campus, Bristol, Kingsport and Greeneville Centers support ETSU students.
Individual accounts for E-mail and Internet use are generated for all
enrolled students, guaranteeing every student has the access they need to
compete in an increasingly technology-oriented collegiate and research
environment. Students have available to them over 200 state of the art Microsoft
Windows NT based workstations in 6 labs that have a common user environment.
The administrative systems utilize a cluster of DEC
Alpha computers under the VMS operating system. Several Windows NT 4.0 servers supplement this system.
Registration for classes is now predominately done online through the
ETSU GoldLink Online system. Linked
with this system is a Payment Gateway NT server, which enables students to pay
tuition and fees online using a credit card.
The campus has benefited from an infusion of
technology facilities and services from the technology access fee paid by each
student. Recent improvements
include the replacement of computers in student labs on a three-year cycle,
upgrading the campus network and construction of multimedia classrooms.
The main PC lab is located in the D.P. Culp Center
with additional labs in Sam Wilson 124 and 129, Gilbreath 105, Rogers Stout, as
well as the Bristol, Kingsport and Greeneville Centers.
The Culp Center computer lab is a dedicated open lab, but the others may
be scheduled for classes. In addition, there are more than 20 additional
departmental labs spread throughout the campus that support both the standard
Microsoft software packages and discipline-specific software packages.
These departmental labs support both the PC and Macintosh platforms.
At the heart of the campus network is a high-speed
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) based backbone that can accommodate voice,
video and data transmission. The
ETSU campus is extensively networked with over 9000 network connections.
All classrooms and offices are connected through this backbone to each
other and the world through the Internet via the Tennessee Board of Regents
network TECNET. Students residing
on campus are connected to the Internet via Mountainet, a dedicated high-speed
campus residence hall ISP.
Six multimedia classrooms and six multimedia lecture
halls serve the students by providing high-tech but easy-to-use instructional
technologies so faculty can help the students better visualize the materials
being taught. Computers, cameras, a
SmartBoard and a projector augment the normal audio-visual equipment in an
integrated system. In addition, the multimedia classrooms also have power and
network connections for each student. The
number of multimedia classrooms is expected to triple in the next two years.
Students are provided access to NetG, an on-line web
based training system that permits students to train for a number of Information
Technology subjects, including Cisco, Microsoft, Netscape, and Oracle products.
Antivirus software is provided to all students on a site license.
In summary, great strides have been made on the campus
to provide students with the most up to date technologies in order to help them
master the information age tools and prepare them to compete in the modern
workforce.
The
Sherrod Library contains the major learning resources that support the
university's programs of teaching and research. With a seating capacity for 1,800 readers, the library
contains over half a million volumes, over one million microforms, 3,500
periodical subscriptions and more than 350,000 federal and state documents and
maps. The Media Center contains the
university's collection of audio-visual resources; in-house listening and
viewing facilities are provided.
The
university's Center for Appalachian Studies and Services, an accomplished Center
of Excellence in Tennessee, is a hub of scholarly, educational, community
service and artistic activities addressing the needs and interests of the
Appalachian region. The center has
three divisions: the Regional Resources Institute, the Reece Museum, one of only
twelve accredited museums in Tennessee, which houses several permanent
collections and presents a varied schedule of exhibits, and the Archives of
Appalachia, which contains the most significant collection of materials about
the Appalachian region in the country. The
Center publishes Now & Then, the Appalachian magazine;sponsors the
Bluegrass and Country Music Program and the Appalachian-Scottish and Irish
Studies program;and hosts the Governor's School for Tennessee Heritage each
summer. The Center is also
responsible for the region’s only comprehensive reference work, the Encyclopedia
of Appalachia.
The
D.M. Brown Hall science building and the Quillen College of Medicine provide
extensive research laboratory and training facilities.
Among other facilities of interest are Slocumb Galleries, which enables
students and others to view works of past and contemporary artists, while
allowing art students to display their own works; the Hutcheson Hall
Planetarium, which annually attracts hundreds of visitors to campus; the
Gilbreath Hall Theater, a restored early‑century theater; and an outdoor
Amphitheater, originally constructed by the WPA and restored to its original
beauty.
The
D.P. Culp University Center is one of the most modern student centers in the
nation. The specific purpose of the
center is to serve the students as an integral part of their educational and
recreational life. The Culp Center
provides a wide variety of services, entertainment and social and recreational
activities for the campus community. In
addition to recreational facilities, the Culp Center houses five separate food
service areas, bookstore, post office, a theater/auditorium, computer lab,
ballroom, meeting rooms and conference facilities. The Culp Center is open from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday –
Saturday and 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., Sunday.
Over
175 clubs and organizations are available on campus, including chapters of
national fraternities and sororities. Special
interest groups and support services include the Black Affairs Association,
Student Government Association, International Students Organization, Medical
Student Government Association,
Center
for Adult Programs and Services, Counseling Center, Health Services, Veterans
Services, Placement Services, Special Services, and various religious
organizations.
Beyond
the Campus Setting . . .
ETSU
is a member of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a
consortium of five universities that operates a 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak
National Observatory in Arizona. Astronomers at the five participating
universities have retrofitted the 1950s vintage telescope with robotic controls
that allow them to use it from their local campuses, providing an unprecedented
means for state-of-the-art research and instruction. Other members of the consortium include the Florida Institute
of Technology, the University of Georgia, Valdosta State University and Florida
International University.
ETSU's
Office of International Programs encourages students to study abroad, especially
at our exchange universities. ETSU
has exchange programs with the University of Rostock, University of Bremen, and
the University of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany; Anhui University, Shanghai
Technical College of Metallurgy, University of Petroleum, and North China
University of Technology in China; Bolivar State University in Ecuador; the
University of Newcastle in Australia; Semmeilweis University in Hungary;
Fareastern National Medical University in Russia; University Trollhattan-Uddevalla
in Sweden; University of Huddersfield in England; and the Scottish Studies
program at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The
office promotes matriculation of international students at ETSU and the
internationalization of the curriculum. It
pursues international contacts and provides speakers and events for the
university community. An annual
International Day brings area secondary school pupils to the ETSU campus to
stimulate thinking about various cultures and also to consider the option of
studying here. The Office of
International Programs also promotes domestic exchange via the NSE (National
Student Exchange) program to over 170 U.S. colleges and universities.
The
office administers a faculty travel fund in support of research and teaching
abroad especially, but not exclusively, at our exchange universities.
The
Director of the Office of International Programs is the official ETSU Fulbright
representative and the National Security Education Program representative.
The National Security Education Program provides resources for
scholarships, fellowships, and grants to encourage undergraduate and graduate
students to add an international dimension to their studies by studying
geographic areas, languages, and fields of study that are considered critical in
the maintenance of U.S. national security.
In addition, the Office of International Programs houses a library of
current material relating to opportunities for both faculty and students to
teach, study and do research abroad.
As
well as the academic and technical dimensions of its activity, the Office of
International Programs provides the support facilities for ensuring that
students both here and abroad succeed culturally, socially and emotionally.
ETSU's international students and scholars represent more than fifty countries
from which our community benefits. The
office is open to all people wishing to develop the international aspect of
their experience at ETSU.
The
university's cooperative education program gives students in most major fields
of study an opportunity to alternate work periods and classes on a semester-in/semester-out
system. Through cooperative
education, in addition to gaining valuable work experience and employment
connections, students may help to finance educational costs and earn college
credit.
The
university has cross-enrollment agreements, available to full-time ETSU
students, with nearby Milligan College and Emmanuel School of Religion.
ETSU is affiliated with the Penland School of Crafts, located in Penland,
N.C., and provides credit for coursework completed there.
The university is also a participant in the Southern Regional Education
Board's Academic Common Market.
Requirements
for Admission . . .
Students
seeking admission as first‑time freshmen must present a minimum composite
ACT score of 19 or a comparable SAT combined score or must earn a minimum high
school GPA of 2.3 (on a 4.0 scale). Tennesseans
who graduate from public high schools must successfully complete the Tennessee
Competency Test. Assessment
evaluation examinations to determine levels of proficiency are required for
entering freshmen who present ACT composite, English, or math scores lower than
19. Freshman applicants must meet
specific high school course requirements, including 4 units of English, 1 unit
of visual and/or performing arts, 2 units of algebra I and II, 1 unit of
geometry, 2 units of natural/physical sciences, 1 unit of social studies, 1 unit
of U.S. history, and 2 units of a single foreign language. Transfer applicants
must offer satisfactory academic records from degree granting institutions.
Transfer admission requirements are consistent with the university's retention
standards.
Financial
Aid Information . . .
Nearly
seventy percent of the university's students receive federal, state and private
sources of financial aid. Four
general types of assistance are available: scholarships, grants, student
employment and loan programs. Students
are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
electronically at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
or use the paper application available at high school guidance offices, college
financial aid offices or by calling 1-800-4FED-AID (433-3243).
Additional information is available at the university's financial aid
website, http://www.etsu.edu/finaid/financial.htm.
The FAFSA must be completed each year, as soon as possible after January
1. The university's Office of
Financial Aid can be contacted directly at 423-439-4300; 800-704-ETSU (3878); or
via e-mail at finaid@etsu.edu .
About
the Johnson City Area . . .
Johnson
City, Kingsport and Bristol are part of the Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia
Metropolitan Statistical Area -- the nation's 84th largest MSA with a population
exceeding 462,300. Tri-Cities MSA
consists of Carter, Hawkins, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties, and
Scott and Washington counties in Virginia.
Additional counties in ETSU’s service area include Greene, Johnson,
Hamblen, Hancock, Cocke, Sevier and Jefferson.
Johnson City, a progressive city with a population of over 57,000, is
located close to the state lines of Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, North
Carolina and South Carolina. Recreational opportunities abound, including
boating, skiing (snow and water), white water rafting, fishing, jogging,
climbing and hiking. Interstate highways 181 and 81 provide access to the area by
automobile. The Tri-Cities Regional
Airport provides access by commercial airlines.
The
University Complex . . .
ETSU's
main campus in Johnson City consists of 366 acres and 63 academic and
administrative buildings including a new $28 million Sherrod Library and the new
$259,000 Harry D. Powell Astronomy Observatory. Currently under construction is
a new multi-million dollar Center for Physical Activities which is being
provided by student funding. Adjacent
to the campus is the 247-acre Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the 75-acre
Johnson City Medical Center and Woodridge Hospital, consisting of five acres. On
the VA grounds, ETSU conducts its medical programs using the facilities
available in six buildings, including the hospital complex. The university's
Palma L. Robinson Clinical Education Center is located on a seven-acre plot of
land on nearby State of Franklin Road. This
$6 million, 67,755 square-foot ambulatory care facility, completed in the spring
of 1992, houses some 72 examination and 21 special diagnostic rooms as the
center provides outpatient services in surgery, obstetrics and gynecology,
opthalmology, internal medicine, psychiatry and pediatrics.
Faculty from all units of the Division of Health Sciences are involved in
teaching and training at the center, which also offers consultation rooms,
conference rooms and a large classroom. ETSU's
new $36 million basic sciences building is scheduled to be completed on the VA
grounds in January, 2001.
The
university operates sites in Kingsport, Bristol and Greeneville along with the
Nave Center in Elizabethton.
ETSU/UT
at Kingsport offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate courses each
semester, including courses leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees in
business. Courses are offered
during the days, evenings and on weekends.
Facilities on the 100-acre site include a full-service library; computer,
chemistry and biology labs; gymnasium; student center; mini-market bookstore;
and distance education classrooms. Student
services include academic advisement; financial aid and career counseling;
tutoring; COMPASS testing; and registration and fee payment.
Services are offered at convenient times for both traditional and
nontraditional students. ETSU/UT at
Kingsport shares its facility in partnerships with both the University of
Tennessee and Northeast State Technical Community College.
ETSU
at Bristol offers a wide range of both undergraduate and graduate courses with
flexible schedules including day, evening and weekend choices.
Located at 1227 Volunteer Parkway, Executive Park Plaza, Bristol, TN, the
facility includes a computer lab; fiber-optics televised classes, in addition to
live ones; a student lounge; library with electronic access; and a bookstore.
Student support services include admission; registration and fee payment
with assistance; academic advisement; career counseling; financial aid
information; and I.D. production. Students
can choose from several undergraduate and graduate degrees such as management,
education, RN to BSN Nursing and MBS. Basic general education core classes, plus upper level
classes in various additional majors are also available.
Working
cooperatively with Walters State Community College, ETSU offers junior, senior
and graduate level courses from selected academic disciplines to the residents
of the Greeneville area each semester. Both
day and evening courses are delivered through ETSU’s distance education
program and the traditional classroom setting.
A new state-of-the-art computer lab provides ETSU library and Internet
access to Greeneville students. Located
in the Greeneville-Greene County Center for Higher Education at 215 North
College Street, this site represents sharing of facilities between two Tennessee
Board of Regents institutions and enhanced access to opportunities for advanced
education and lifelong learning. ETSU
and Walters State have an articulation agreement that improves student transfer
between the community college and the university.
The
Marshall T. Nave Center in Elizabethton houses ETSU's programs in the health
related professions, including allied health, radiological technology, medical
laboratory technology, dental laboratory technology, cardiopulmonary science,
dental assisting and respiratory technician.
ETSU
benefits from strong affiliations with major hospitals in the region: Johnson
City Medical Center Hospital; Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Mountain Home;
Holston Valley Hospital and Medical Center at Kingsport; Bristol Regional
Medical Center, Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia; and Woodridge Hospital.
Alumni
. . .
More
than 61,900 people have graduated from ETSU since 1911.
Many recipients of undergraduate degrees return to pursue graduate
studies. Some 32,000 of ETSU's
alumni reside within a 100-mile radius of the university while over 31,000 live
in the State of Tennessee alone. The overall alumni gender breakout is 48% male, 52% female.
Cultural
Diversity . . .
The
guiding principle in all we do and say at East Tennessee State University must
be respect for the individual. Through
our teaching, research and public service, we must affirm the fundamental human
values of courage, honor, pride, compassion, tolerance and understanding.
These values transcend time and place.
They transcend technology. They
rise above educational trends. They
are the enduring principles that must be observed in order for the human race to
flourish.
ETSU
commits itself to creating and perpetuating an environment in which diversity of
people and thought is respected. We
embrace the belief that differences should be celebrated and we believe that
intolerance poses the single most dangerous threat to the continued existence of
the race.
Our
aspiration is to create a university that fully appreciates the culture and the
history of its surrounding region while it seeks to understand and accept the
practices, beliefs and customs of the greater global community.
It
is ETSU's role not only to teach and to train but to inspire those among us as
we build on our individual differences to achieve a common appreciation of our
humanity.