Alverno College Mission
Alverno College is a Catholic institution of higher education sponsored by the School Sisters of Saint Francis and dedicated to the undergraduate education of women. The student, learning as well as personal and professional development, is the central focus of everyone associated with Alverno. The college extends its mission of service and strengthens its ties to the community by offering graduate and adult programs to all qualified individuals.
Overview of the MMT Program
Mission
The mission of the Alverno College Music Therapy Graduate Program is to broaden and deepen music therapy practice, respecting the unique needs of the student and supporting the expansion of knowledge and skills.
Vision
Based on a rich tradition in the undergraduate program of student-centered academics and clinical experiences, students in the Alverno College Music Therapy Graduate Program will achieve academic goals while attaining personal and professional growth with global influence through innovative education.
Philosophy
The focus of the Music Therapy Graduate Program is to support the professional music therapist in development of a highly individualized learning plan to meet their career goals and inspire an introspective view of their role within the field of music therapy and consider avenues to lead with expanded skills.
We create guided experiences, which specifically center on each student relating advanced competencies to personal and professional goals. We seek to provide students with opportunities to broaden and deepen evidence-informed practice, ethical decision making, and leadership, and to advance clinical skills to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. Regardless of theoretical orientation or style of clinical practice, Alverno’s abilities-based graduate music therapy education extends these principles to support expansion of knowledge and advancement of practice and the profession.
A basic Alverno principle is that education goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows. Therefore, music therapy faculty members are committed to a process of outcome-oriented performance including public criteria, feedback, and self-assessment, which over time leads to professional mastery. Because self-awareness of one’s learning style and needs is a necessary characteristic of a competent professional, music therapy faculty focus significantly on the process of self-assessment. Students gain an appreciation of their evolving professional selves by reflecting on learning experiences, beliefs, feelings, and society’s expectations of music therapy.
Overview of the MMT Curriculum
The Master of Music Therapy (MMT) program, available to Board Certified Music Therapists, carries on Alverno College’s tradition in the professional liberal arts, with particular focus on integrative, experiential, and reflective approaches to learning. The MMT curriculum supports students’ development of advanced knowledge and advanced competence in the abilities that frame the undergraduate curriculum at Alverno College. Four graduate abilities have been identified and assessments are woven throughout the curriculum: Conceptualization, Contextualization, Investigation, and Integration. Practicum experiences and didactic courses are designed to support the learner in applying selected abilities with individuals, families, and groups across the developmental lifespan and in diverse health care settings.
The MMT at Alverno College is accredited by the National Association of School of Music (NASM) and approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). All students are professional music therapists with the MT-BC credential from the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) or its equivalency. With these requirements in mind, a number of documents have served to underpin the curriculum and structure its content and learning experiences:
In addition, the following documents espouse standards, competencies, and criteria that specifically serve to ground the MMT curriculum:
OUTCOMES OF THE MMT DEGREE PROGRAM
In addition to assessing course outcomes through the advanced competencies, four graduate outcomes serve
to assess overall growth and development. All courses will integrate professional developments and self-awareness to professional practice. The interrelationship between theoretical understanding, clinical musicianship, and research will provide an interactive platform connecting development of the program outcomes. The four outcomes are addressed throughout the program and formally assessed with the culminating project. They are defined as follows:
practice. Skills students will demonstrate include the synthesis of current and emerging theories of
clinical practice, principles, and foundations. Students also will be able to articulate and apply a personal philosophy of music therapy.
Students will evaluate and apply emerging music therapy and related research to enhance
therapeutic outcomes with the ability to implement research methods within their practice.
Additional detail about these outcomes may be found here.
Graduate students must take 3 semester credits to be eligible for financial aid. Taking 6-9 credits is considered full time in the graduate college.
The MMT curriculum integrates advanced study in clinical theory and application of music therapy, research and teaching, and professional practices including business development. The curriculum provides the opportunity for in-depth study of music therapy practice, advancing musicianship, the nature of professional and clinical contact in social and cultural contexts, and the processes for inquiry. Participants in the program draw upon a range of theoretical frameworks to examine their professional practice and further develop skills in reflection and self- assessment.
The 32-credit hour curriculum offers the flexibility for both full- and part-time study. Courses are offered on a planned rotational basis and must be completed within 7 years. Generally, up to 6 graduate credits are transferrable from another institution at the discretion of the Program Director.
CULMINATING PROJECT
MMT 712 is the Culminating Project and MMT 695 is the Project Development course where much of the work is completed for the project. The culminating project is designed an integrated applied experience for students, and serves as one of the final requirement for graduation in the Masters of Music Therapy Program. The goal of the project is for students to demonstrate knowledge and proficiency in a specific area of interest. Students will integrate knowledge and skills acquired through their academic course-work and apply these principles and ideas to a particular problem or situation similar to that found in a professional work setting or through writing a professional research or opinion paper suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Project-based ideas that can be recorded and documented may also be considered.
The capstone project is the culmination of all other activities and will be completed over the final two semesters of coursework. The project must represent high standards of scholarly inquiry, technical mastery, and literary skill, and should be consistent with the student’s professional interests. The capstone project is completed under the guidance of the Graduate Music Therapy Program Director.
In addition to the Capstone, candidates for graduation must also take MMT 614 External Assessment. In this course the Program Director and another Alverno faculty of the student’s choosing submit three questions for a timed, topical essay. Students will receive the topic two weeks in advance of their exam date and the actual prompt only when the exam begins. A third adjudicator, an expert in the content area of the student’s project, is also chosen by the student. The panel of the three faculty and experts serve as a panel for a formal oral defense of the project.
Once successful with the panel defense and the essays, the graduate may upload their work to the Alverno Digital Commons Database for all to access.
REQUIRED CORE COURSES – 16 CREDITS
MMT 600: Orientation to MMT Online (0 credits)
Prereq: Admission to the MMT Program
Orientation to MMT Online provides students with technical information about accessing electronic resources used in the program.
MMT 610: Advanced Music Therapy Theory I (3 credits)
Advanced Music Therapy Theory I will deepen existing foundational knowledge of music therapy by integrating current and emerging models of treatment and theoretical orientation. A variety of online modules will combine recorded lecture and supportive classroom tools to enhance synthesis of practices and approaches.
MMT 612: Music Therapy Research and Evaluation (3 credits)
Music Therapy Research and Evaluation Methods will integrate music therapy theory and current evidence-based literature to help inform clinical work. The student will learn and apply various research organizing methods including reviewing information, conducting research, analyzing data and disseminating results to a larger audience.
MMT 614: Music and Neuroscience (3 credits)
Music and Neuroscience will provide expanded opportunities to learn about music and its convergence with neuroscience and cognition. Students will understand and apply knowledge of current and emerging models of music neuroscience and cognition, identify implications for practice, and develop confidence in explaining these concepts to a variety of stakeholders.
MMT 616: Topics in Diversity (2 credits)
Topics in Diversity will explore a variety of cultural attitudes within diverse groups toward healthcare and therapy, development of identity, and roles and meanings of music and the integration of cultural diversity knowledge in one’s own practice.
MMT 632: Advanced Clinical Practice in Music Therapy (2 credits)
Students in Advanced Clinical Practice in Music Therapy will conduct a deeper examination of their current approaches of the treatment process by relating current music therapy theories, standardized and non-standardized measures, and clinical phenomena in a broad context.
MMT 712: MMT Culminating Project (1 credit)
Prereq: successful completion of all other required courses and the comprehensive examination. Concurrent enrollment in another required course is at the discretion of the academic advisor.
The student in MMT Culminating Project will submit a portfolio of work done throughout the curriculum and will successfully defend their project. Final projects are designed in the Research and Evaluation course and may have been developed during an independent study. This course is designed to complete the curriculum sequence so students not expecting to complete the project in the current term should first enroll in MMT 695 Music Therapy Independent Study.
MMT 714: MMT External Assessment (0 credit)
Coreq: MMT 712 MMT Culminating Project
In the MMT External Assessment students will be evaluated through personally crafted essays related to course content throughout the curriculum and an oral presentation and defense of the culminating project. In addition to the program director, students will choose two external assessors. One must be an adjunct who taught at least one course the student has taken and the other can be a related professional from within the Alverno or greater music therapy community with expertise in an area of focus related to the assessment. Successful completion of this course is the final requirement for degree completion. Course fee applies.
MMT 730: Advanced Music Therapy Practicum (2 credits)
The student in Advanced Music Therapy Practicum will refine clinical skills by providing music therapy to identified client(s), analyze interactions and responses in the clinical setting, and integrate advanced skills of music therapy. The music therapist will be expected to utilize varied repertoire reflective of a variety of musical skills and cultural diversity as appropriate while applying advanced music therapy theory.
ELECTIVES - 16 CREDITS REQUIRED
Music Therapy Electives (6-16 credits required)
MMT 630: Music Therapy and Human Dynamics (3 credits)
Music Therapy and Human Dynamics will promote evaluation and analysis of a variety of verbal and nonverbal interpersonal skills. Students will recognize human dynamics in various stages of the music therapy process and develop strategies to respond clinically.
MMT 640: Clinical Songwriting (2 credits)
Clinical Songwriting will provide opportunities to extend current knowledge of songwriting techniques in a clinical context. The course will allow for development of original, impromptu, and reproduced music for client experiences.
MMT 642: Vocal Health (2 credits)
The student in Vocal Health will recognize current issues affecting vocal health while deepening awareness of personal vocal use and employ strategies for self-care within clinical practice.
MMT 644: Applied Lessons (1 credit)
This Applied Lessons course consists of 50-minute weekly private lessons on a single instrument of choice. Lessons will be held online and video file-sharing will also be necessary. Students will integrate their skills and flexibility on the chosen instrument through regular practice, research, and reflection, as well as performance to create dynamic musical expression in client-focused, evidence-informed care while enhancing and maintaining their personal and instrumental health and well-being. May be repeated once for additional credit. Course fee applies.
MMT 650: Advanced Clinical Improvisation (2 credits)
Advanced Clinical Improvisation offers the student an opportunity to extend their knowledge of creative styles of music therapy and music making. Students will learn to apply a variety of improvisational styles and the role improvisation can play in dynamic relationships.
MMT 660: Advocacy in Music Therapy (2 credits)
Advocacy in Music Therapy will provide student opportunities to explore and increase understanding of a variety of leadership models to foster and develop an effective style resonant with the learner. The student will evaluate and analyze legislative policy affecting music therapy practice related to their professional practice. Additionally, the student will serve as educator to the public combining both experience and expertise increasing positive public perception of music therapy.
MMT 662: Leadership in Music Therapy (2 credits)
Leadership in Music Therapy will explore of a variety of leadership styles in diverse contextual settings and relationships. Students will develop methods of evaluation to discern and refine a leadership style uniquely applied to their own clinical practice.
MMT 664: Music Therapy Supervision and Pedagogy (2 credits)
Music Therapy Supervision and Pedagogy will be divided into two modules: supervision and pedagogy. The supervision module will provide opportunities for the student to explore their experience with peer-, employee-, student-, and intern- based supervision and deepen their relationship with supervision through reflective and interactive process. The pedagogy module will identify and analyze best practices and emerging needs of music therapy undergraduate education.
MMT 668: Music Therapy Business: Development and Best Practices (2 credits)
Music Therapy Business Development and Best Practices will provide students the opportunity to deepen their understanding and application of regulations, reimbursement structures, service delivery, and administrative practice for use within music therapy practice.
MMT 670: Current Topics in Music Therapy (1-3 credits)
This course will be based on a specific topic, but is expected to offer some introductory advanced training, such as Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music Level I. The course will include a blend of experiences including journaling, experiential and didactic learning to increase understanding of advanced process in the specialized content area. Examples of recent topics have included NMT training, trauma-informed care, end of life practices and MATADOC training.
MMT 695: Music Therapy Independent Study (1 credit)
The student will complete a project which is self-directed in nature based on a range of advanced competencies identified in the course outcomes section. The projects may include an identification of gaps in literature related to a preferred population, application of research findings with analysis, or analysis of and dissemination of research to a larger audience. The project will be designed to deepen the student’s relationship research and integration into their practice.
MMT 710: Advanced Music Therapy Theory II (2 credits)
Prereqs: MMT 610 Advanced Music Therapy Theory I and MMT632 Advanced Clinical Practice in Music Therapy
The student in Advanced Music Therapy Theory II will create a personal philosophy of music therapy relatable to their personal clinical practice through a process of synthesis of knowledge of current and emerging theories, deduction of theory, and foundational principles of music therapy practice.
Master in Community Psychology Electives* (0-12 credits allowed)
*Courses may not always be available in an online format; hybrid courses, every other week in person, are routinely offered.
MCP 611: Human Dev in Community Contexts (3 credits)
This is one of two foundational courses in the Master of Science in Community Psychology Program. In this class, students engage with a variety of theoretical perspectives that pertain to human development and learning. They will apply these perspectives to broadly themed issues of identity, adjustment and normal, as well as abnormal behavior. These applications will be made within an informed understanding of the impact of community contexts on both individual and group behavior. As students explore the processes of human development over the life span, they will consider the role of family, school, agency and government in the process of an individual's development.
MCP 627 Culturally Engaged Counseling (3 credits)
This course orients students to the major theoretical perspectives and concepts of multicultural and cross-cultural counseling.
MCP 630 Child & Adolescent Counseling (3 credits)
This course gives students the option of a variety of electives. Because of the range of topics in community psychology, it is advisable to select a specific topic on a semester-by-semester basis. Examples of topics courses include child and adolescent issues and advanced trauma counseling.
MCP 640 Trauma Counseling (3 credits)
This course provides an overview of the issues and impacts of interpersonal trauma, primarily domestic and sexual violence. Trauma victims are conceptualized within a variety of contexts, including family, culture, community, and society. Course content includes the following topics: exploration of trauma and its impacts; tactics of offenders and differential impact on victims; trauma during childhood and adulthood; traumatic meaning making within the context of culture/identity; trauma in the context of poverty and oppression. Students gain a broad knowledge of issues and impacts related to interpersonal trauma and develop skills in presentation, consultation, case conceptualization, and scholarly research.
MCP 671 Substance Abuse Counseling (3 credits)
In this course students will review a variety of approaches to addressing the treatment of a range of addiction disorders. Students will review some of the physiological mechanisms of addiction as well as identify a wide variety of addictive substances including alcohol, methamphetamines, barbiturates, pain killers and others. In this class students will familiarize themselves with various models for explaining addiction including, but not limited to the Stages of Change Model. They will practice treatment methods and will observe clients in treatment related settings.
MMT STUDENT ADVISING
A primary goal of advising at Alverno College is to assist the student to become a self-directed learner in professional studies. Faculty advisors provide students with academic information, assist with planning a program of study, and act as a counselor or referral agent for other concerns. It is important for MMT students to initiate and maintain ongoing contact with their faculty advisor throughout the program. The Graduate Program Director will serve as advisor to all MMT students. Faculty in the MMT program also will serve as a resource to students.
Students may contact graduate faculty via the phone or e-mail. In addition, the Director of Graduate Music Therapy and MMT course faculty have weekly office hours posted near their offices and on course websites. You may make an appointment for a zoom call if the office hours do not work or there is a more urgent matter to discuss.
Course Participation
Alverno faculty believe that knowledge is co-constructed; therefore, regular course attendance and active engagement with the course materials, online discussions, and practice are required of all MMT students and essential for successful progression in the program. Successful progression in the program is dependent, in part, on the student’s consistent demonstration of highly effective communication, social interaction, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
The MMT curriculum has both online and hybrid courses. Both types require class participation. In online courses, students are expected to log into Alverno College online learning systems multiple times during the week, as directed, to fully engage in MMT courses and with peers. Students have the freedom to do assigned coursework on their own schedule but must ensure that all scheduled due dates are met. For hybrid courses, the online component is similar, but there will be additional scheduled synchronous times for group discussion and practice.
Effective Writing, Speaking and Social Interaction
MMT students are expected to consistently demonstrate writing, speaking, and social interaction skills that are contextually appropriate and commensurate with graduate level education. APA format is the expected writing style for all written work in music therapy courses. The most current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) serves as a reference text for this style and may be purchased as other textbooks.
Self-Monitoring
MMT students have primary responsibility for knowing and completing all requirements of the degree program. Therefore, it is important for students to continually self- monitor their progression through the MMT program. There is a checklist in this manual and your unofficial transcript and course history are available as a cross-reference in IOL.
This section of the handbook outlines specific policies that govern student progression in the MMT program and may differ from the general college policies. Failure to comply with any Alverno College or MMT program policy or procedure may result in the student’s placement on academic probation or dismissal from the program.
A student who wishes to request that a policy be waived must submit a written petition that includes rationale for the request to the Director of Graduate Music Therapy for departmental or Graduate Council consideration.
TIMELY PARTICIPATION IN COURSES AND PRACTICA
Upon enrolling in a course, the MMT student is accountable for all the requirements of that course. With courses presented online, consistent and timely review of material and submission of work is essential to students’ achievement of course outcomes and is an expectation of all courses. Specific attendance in the traditional sense is not a factor and you may visit the course website as frequently or infrequently as necessary to complete the work as scheduled. Be aware that Applied Lessons and some of the summer courses may be listed as hybrid or carry a synchronous requirement for participation. All other fall and spring courses are asynchronous only. Any added synchronous components would be optional and could carry an alternate expectation.
Unless there is an emergency situation, students are responsible to communicate directly with the course faculty about any anticipated delay in posting the assigned work.
Faculty have the responsibility to review and determine a student’s progress based on course outcomes and inform the student if additional requirements must be met as the result of incomplete or unsatisfactory work.
ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT
(In part, adapted from Building a Community of Learners: A Community Guide and Student Handbook)
Alverno College MMT students are exposed to a variety of learning styles. In some courses, faculty require students to complete assignments and/or assessments in collaborative small group work sessions; in others, students are required to complete assignments and/or assessments independently. Each approach offers unique opportunities for student learning, and both can be stimulating and rewarding. All students are expected to assume personal responsibility for the completion and submission of coursework in accordance with faculty instruction and sound academic principles. This means that as a matter of personal and professional integrity, the student stands behind coursework completed as a contributing member of a team when collaborative work is required; likewise, the student stands behind coursework completed as the individual who thought it through and carried it out when independent work is required.
It is expected that MMT students consistently demonstrate personal and professional integrity in all academic endeavors and related music therapy clinical practice including, but not limited to, honest completion of course assignments, performance assessments, and required forms as well as honest accounting of clinical experiences and time spent in performance of requirements.
In contrast, academic misconduct is rooted in fraudulence. Some examples of academic misconduct include cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, fabrication, and falsification. Professional misconduct in terms of demeanor is additionally evaluated in relation to the AMTA Code of Ethics linked earlier in this handbook. In all its forms, the academic misconduct of a student constitutes a serious breach in personal and professional integrity, thereby justifying dismissal from the MMT program.
Any student engaged in academic misconduct of any type
is in jeopardy of dismissal from the MMT program.
Cheating
Cheating is dishonest and deceitful behavior. Examples of cheating include: taking credit for all or part of an assignment that was completed by someone else; copying the answers of another person in the completion of a quiz, assignment, or learning assessment; accessing or using unauthorized resources or concealed information in the completion of a quiz, assignment, or learning assessment; and submitting the same assignment (e.g., a written paper) in more than one course without obtaining explicit prior permission to do so from all course faculty involved.
Plagiarism
It is expected that the student consistently attribute knowledge to its primary source in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the most current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA 7). Plagiarism is the use of intellectual material without acknowledging its source. Whether deliberate or not, direct word-for-word transcription or mosaic (substituting synonyms for another author’s words while maintaining the same general sentence structure and meaning), plagiarism constitutes academic misconduct. Self-plagiarism (submitting previously completed coursework [all or part] as new scholarship in a subsequent course) also constitutes academic misconduct. All forms of plagiarism enacted by the student warrant dismissal from the MMT program.
Misrepresentation, Fabrication, and Falsification
Claiming ideas/work that is essentially someone else's constitutes misrepresentation. Failure to identify oneself honestly in any personal or professional situation also constitutes misrepresentation. Representing fabricated or altered information as legitimate constitutes falsification. Like cheating and plagiarism, misrepresentation, fabrication, and falsification are legitimate bases for dismissal from the MMT program. Some examples of academic misconduct by misrepresentation, fabrication, and falsification include:
Program response to Academic Misconduct
In all cases where academic misconduct is reported or suspected, an immediate investigation is initiated by the course faculty. Any, and all findings of academic misconduct by the student are reported to the Graduate Music Therapy Program Director for departmental review.
Upon receiving a report of student academic misconduct, the Graduate Music Therapy Program Director conducts a review process, investigating the student’s behavior(s) and relative situation, with intent to render recommendations concerning disciplinary action to the Music Department Chair and Graduate Council. Recommendations may include that the student:
The Alverno College Graduate Council’s Status Review Subcommittee will review the Department’s recommendations and make a final determination. Decisions of the Council are final though students always have the right to an appeal. See the Graduate Student Handbook for additional policies and procedures related to all graduate students.
Current federal legislation (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA], Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in higher education programs. Academically qualified students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated in instruction. In order to maintain consistency in efforts to provide support for students with disabilities, M. L. Cogar, Student Accessibility Coordinator, has been designated as the College contact to work with students to obtain documentation and identify reasonable and appropriate accommodations. If a student has previously made contact with Instructional Services and is eligible for accommodations, an accommodation request memo from Student Accessibility is provided. If a student makes a request for disability-related alterations in the classroom, but does not share this memo, the student is directed to Ms. Cogar.
Alverno College makes every effort to provide accessible facilities and programs for individuals with disabilities. For accommodations/services please:
Students in the MMT program who choose to drop or withdraw from a course are responsible to “officially drop” through the Registrar's Office. It is the student’s duty to also inform the instructor of their intent to drop the course. All expenses incurred in association with fulfillment of this policy are the responsibility of the student.
SUCCESSFUL, INCOMPLETE, AND UNSUCCESSFUL PROGRESSION
Successful student progression in the MMT program is based on students’ achievement of course outcomes as outlined in each course syllabus and requires a pattern of effective demonstration of abilities in practice, criterion-referenced projects and key assessments of performance, objective assessments, and successful completion of the MMT culminating project and comprehensive examination. If there is an identified pattern of difficulty in meeting these requirements, strategies to strengthen necessary abilities may be required before the student is allowed to progress in the program. These strategies are documented in an individualized Learning Contract. The student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements of the Learning Contract.
The MMT student is expected to complete assigned coursework within the constraints of course calendars. An incomplete (I) progress code is assigned at students’ request and the discretion of faculty when, due to extraordinary circumstances, a student is prevented from completing all required coursework on time. A student anticipating the need for an “I,” is responsible for initiating the conversation with faculty. Typically, an “I” is assigned when only a minimal amount of work remains to be completed.
In the case of an “I,” the course faculty stipulates the due date for completion of all remaining coursework. An “I” in a prerequisite course must be satisfactorily removed and reported to the Registrar’s Office before the student can begin the subsequent course(s). An “I” in a non-prerequisite course usually must be satisfactorily removed and reported to the Registrar’s Office by the initial census of the semester immediately following that wherein the “I” was assigned. If all coursework is not completed by the stipulated date, and if no other arrangements have been made with the faculty, the “I” is removed from the student’s academic record, an Unsatisfactory (U) progress code is awarded, and the student is required to repeat the course.
A student with a course progress code of “U” is reviewed by the Graduate music therapy faculty and the Alverno College Status of Students Committee and placed on Probation with Warning. A Learning Contract is often subsequently developed. The student must fulfill all requirements of the contract to successfully complete the course on the second attempt and progress the program. A student who is unsuccessful in the same course twice or has unsuccessful outcomes in any two MMT courses is recommended for dismissal from the program.
EXTENSION OF MMT PROGRAM COMPLETION
All coursework work must be successfully completed by the MMT student within 7 years of entry to the MMT program. If unable to complete the MMT culminating project and all coursework within the required timeframe, the student must submit a request for extension in a letter to the Director of Graduate Music Therapy and Alverno College Status of Students Committee including a plan and timeline for program completion. The faculty and committee will review the student’s request and communicate a decision.
GRADUATION
The student who has successfully completed all required MMT courses, including the culminating project, is eligible for graduation. Students should anticipate and plan for special expenses associated with graduation.
All members of the Alverno community are expected to communicate in positive ways to resolve issues and conflicts. Communication and constructive controversy promote increased learning in a collaborative culture, encouraging better problem solving, creativity and involvement, and influencing individuals to view problems and issues from different perspectives and rethink their response. Constructive controversy is most productive in an atmosphere where individuals:
All members of the Alverno academic community are expected to act in ways that contribute to a supportive academic environment. Students, faculty, and staff are expected to use skills in communication, social interaction, and problem solving in positive ways to resolve conflicts. The MMT student is accountable for academic progress using feedback and assessments of faculty and attempting to resolve conflicts with persons involved.
Alverno is in partnership with MBS Direct to order textbooks. The link for Alverno is: https://catalog.alverno.edu/college-information/services-resources/bookstore-a-store/. When books become live, students will be able to pull up their book list by clicking the link at the bottom of the student’s class schedule in Interactive Online (IOL).
Music is a wonderful gift that we are fortunate as humans to be able to share. Engaging with music does, however, come with potential for personal risk. Being aware of the risks can help us avoid vocal, auditory, and neuromuscular damage. The Alverno College Music Department has compiled some resources in an effort to keep students, faculty, and staff safe in their music classes and activities. For your convenience, the resources are available at the link below.
Be Ethical
It is expected that the MMT student accurately identifies self and affiliations; uses the Alverno College name only for official school business; and engages with Alverno College technologies for lawful purposes only. As a student in an AMTA approved program, you are also held to the Code of Ethics for that professional organization, whether or not you choose to pay membership.
Be Respectful: It is expected that the MMT student does not share confidential information; does not send offensive communications or materials; and does not send chain letters, spam, or unsolicited advertisements.
Be Secure:
It is expected that the MMT student does not share personal passwords; changes passwords when prompted; and if using a personal computer, the student ensures that it has anti-virus protection.
When Reporting:
It is expected that the MMT student will report concerns to the Program Director and Instructional Technology Services as indicated. Use the email reporting tools in Office email. For technical concerns or challenges, detail the issue in an email to helpdesk@alverno.edu.
Additional tech resources are available through student links on the Alverno website and Moodle. https://www.alverno.edu/Tech-Services
COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE
Disclosure Requirements related to Copyright Infringement as required by the Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA) (Public Law 110-315)
The act requires colleges to disclose on an annual basis to current and prospective students, policies and sanctions related to copyright infringement and illegal file sharing. The act and thus this document are not intended to address the practice of good writing, citing appropriately, use and integration of other works into one’s own, etc. in the various disciplines.
As a college student using Alverno College’s technology resources, you are required to comply with copyright laws. Illegal downloading of movies and music is just that: illegal, and traceable back to the user. It is also illegal to take texts, images, web-pages, and computer programs from the Internet or other sources without getting permission from the creator. College students have been successfully prosecuted for copyright violations.
However, much of the material in the Library and on the Internet can be used for educational purposes by following Fair Use Guidelines. You may use approximately 10% of a written text, of images out of a book, or information from a web-page for a course project. You can also play excerpts from movies and music. Of course, when you do use materials that you have not personally created, you must give full credit to the originator.
Additionally, there are resources available at Alverno College that have been paid for and are yours to use. These include library databases that offer free music streaming, web-pages that encourage student use (such as OWL at Purdue), ARTstor, which offers millions of images, and much more. Visit your Library and your Library Web-Page often for resources and updates.
For more information on copyright laws and fair use, refer to the library's copyright resources.