ALICE COWAN



Hello! I am happy you are visiting my web page!  Hopefully, you will find some helpful information on this page, but be sure and contact me if you have any specific questions that you might need answered!

EDUCATION:  B.S. in Elementary Ed/Special Education                                                                         
                         M.S. in Educational Psychology/Guidance
                        Additional certification in: Educational Administration and Prevocational Coordinator
I received all of my degrees from Eastern Illinois University, but I  have attended and/or done course work at UIUC, NIU, and ISU.

PERSONAL: Married with three grown children, two grandsons.  I like to watch College Basketball (especially Indiana), BEARS and COLTS football (is that a conflict of interest?), read, cook, and walk.

                      TOP FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE!  
   
1.  Upon enrollment, students mcust sign an "Application to Pariticipate" form, assuring he/she has not been convicted of a felony.
2.  Because of differences in curriculum, it is important for students to know what area he/she intends to pursue in the criminal justice area: law enforcement, parole officer, corrections.
3.  If you are hoping to become a State Trooper, you should know that currently you will need to either:
a.  complete a Bachelors degree (4 year) or
b.  complete an Associates degree and have three years experience with the same police force.
c.  FBI dreams?  You will need at least a Bachelors degree. Sociology, Psychology, or Political Science are good majors!
4.  DACC has successful 2+2 programs established with the following universities: Eastern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Indiana State University.
5. DACC has transfer programs established with Illinois State Univeristy and Southern Illinois University.
 
  • What do we mean by a credit hour?  A credit hour is the time you will spend in class per week. On the average, a class will meet three credit hous/ week. If you carry a fifteen credit hour load, you will be in the classroom fifteen hours/week.
  • How many hours do you need to take to be considered a full time student?  12 hours is considered full time, but most programs have course loads of 15-17 hours per semester.
  • When should I apply for financial aid?  If you are applying online for financial aid and you want it to pay for your classes, you should apply no later than 3-4 weeks before the semester in which you want to attend. If you are using the paper form, it could take up to 8 weeks to get everything ready to go. The earlier the better!
  • What if I don't know what I want to major in for college?  The best advice I can give you is to make arrangements to meet with Diana Wyatt in our Career Center to do some prelimary career interest, skills inventories to help you decide. It is best if you can do this before meeting with your counselor, bring us the results, and we can suggest some majors to consider.
  • If I want to be a lawyer, what do I choose for a major?  It really depends on the type of law you think you want to practice or speicalize in once you have completed your master's program.  Psychology, Philosophy, Business, Communications, and Political Science are all good majors for completing your bachelor's degree.
  • How long will it take me to complete a major in art?  It really depends on each school and the type of art you are hoping to pursue.  On average, I would say it will take you five years (including DACC time) to complete most degrees in art.
     MY TOP FIVE PERSONAL TIPS FOR SUCCESS!
1. GO TO CLASS, GO TO CLASS, GO TO CLASS!
2.  STUDY ON CAMPUS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!
3.  ASK QUESTIONS WHEN YOU ARE UNSURE!
4.  GET TO KNOW YOUR INSTRUCTORS!
5.  SCHEDULE TO YOUR LIFESTYLE SO YOU CAN BE RESPONSIBLE AND SUCCESSFUL!
  DACC has initiated the two year process for converting to an updated computer system/software that will provide students and employees more opportunities and capabilities   Both Jeff Primmer and I are involved with implementation teams for setup and training, which involves several hours in meetings, data collection, decision-making, etc.  We may not always be able to follow our individual schedules. In addition, it is important for you to know that our office may not always have a walk-in counselor/advisor available. We ask that you phone ahead if you are planning on doing a "walk-in"  before traveling to campus. Thank you for your patience during this time. I believe we are all going to be much happier with the new system!!
"WE ARE ALL BORN WITH UNENDING POTENTIAL
AND MOST BLOCKS TO ACHIEVMENT
 ARE LARGELY SELF-IMPOSED."
UNKOWN

DON'T MAKE EXCUSES....MAKE IT HAPPEN!
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND IN YOUR OWN UNENDING POTENTIAL!