Services

Do you know what a counselor does in your university?

A professional counselor works with the process of providing professional help. This process happens by means of a professional and direct relationship with students. Its purpose is to foster students’ development and integral wellbeing. By being a student at PUPR, you could benefit from these services at any moment during the time you are studying with us. We invite you to think of us as a tool available to help you achieve your goals. Our counselors also offer you security and confidence. They are regulated by the Health Practitioners Examining Board of Puerto Rico, which requires professionals to have a license to provide services. This guarantees that they are led by the profession’s code of ethics and a strict confidentiality when providing services.

• Academic Planning
• Counseling for the adjustment to university life
• Development of skills for decision-making
• Occupational Counseling
• Academic Counseling
• Personal Counseling
• Identification of barriers or limitations for professional development
• Strategies for managing time and stress
• Study habits
• Interpersonal relationships
• Effective management of personal situations (family, romantic, emotional, among others)
• Referrals to other agencies for specialized services
• Workshops, lectures and educational events to promote quality of life

People with Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodation

The purpose of this service is to provide equal opportunities to people with physical, mental, neuropsychological, sensory and emotional disabilities that may limit their daily activities in an academic environment. It is our responsibility to process and carry out the necessary adjustments so that disabled students can successfully request our service.

• We offer coordination services for reasonable accommodation whenever a student requests it.
• Train faculty and personnel about the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other topics related to people with disabilities.
• Provide academic, personal and occupational counseling.
• Coordinate student services with the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration.

What is Reasonable Accommodation?

• It is the adjustments or modification to the academic environment to equalize people with disabilities to the rest of the group, so they may carry out the tasks required by their studies.
• It is any type of adjustment necessary to guarantee a disabled person equal rights and privileges as those of someone without disability.
• These adjustments allow the person to comply with the requirements from their courses in spite of their limitations.
• This service should be requested by students with disabilities. They must follow the established institutional procedure to be able to coordinate reasonable accommodation.

To request and receive reasonable accommodation in our institution:

• Students who wish to receive reasonable accommodation in our institution must complete an application and submit it to the counselor assigned to people with disabilities.
• With this application, students must submit recent medical evidence from their specialist stating their diagnosis and the kind of reasonable accommodation recommended for their condition. If a student is a participant in the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, no medical evidence is necessary, but they must submit a recent certification indicating an active status with this administration, the diagnosis for which they are eligible, and the kind of reasonable accommodation recommended by the specialist for their condition. These documents must be submitted to the counselor assigned to people with disabilities, located on the first floor of the main building (M- 109).
• Once the documents have been submitted, the student should sign an authorization for the counselor to open a confidential record. The counselor will open this record with the student’s medical and personal information. The counselor will coordinate the reasonable accommodations requested by the student and justified by their specialist. This record will be confidential and will be used with the express purpose of coordinating reasonable accommodation services.
• At the beginning of each quarter, the student is responsible for requesting reasonable accommodation so the counselor may coordinate these services (such as tutoring, interpreters, note-takers, among others).
• When students request reasonable accommodation, they will receive a letter addressed to their professors to notify them of the measures of reasonable accommodation they should adopt in class according to the student’s condition. The letter will be confidential, and the student’s condition will not be disclosed. It will only explain the reasonable accommodations the professor should make. Students should submit this letter to their professors. Each professor should sign the acknowledgement of receipt to confirm receipt of the letter. Students should then submit the acknowledgement of receipt to their counselor. This document will be kept in the student’s record. Any concerns or questions about reasonable accommodations should be discussed with the counselor.

For more information, you may contact Sandra Lugo (Institutional Counselor PUPR) at 787-622-8000, ext. 337, or email slugo@pupr.edu, or you may visit her office, located on the first floor of the main building (M), Office M-102 (Financial Assistance hallway).

Wellness & Prevention Program

The Wellness & Prevention Program of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico aims to provide an opportunity to develop positive attitudes towards life by discouraging the use or abuse of alcohol or controlled substances, as well as to work to prevent ETS, tobacco use, violence and suicide.

It offers information and countless alternatives to create awareness in the general academic community so they will learn to recognize their limits and establish control over them.

Polytechnic University is part of Consorcio de Recursos Universitarios Sembrando Alianza de Alerta a las Drogas, el Alcohol y la Violencia (CRUSADA). This consortium seeks to Foster university environments free of the use and abuse of alcohol, drugs and violence, and to promote positive and healthy lifestyles in academic community.

Services and Activities

• Awareness activities of the use and abuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco
• Workshop and talks on high risk and violent behavior, prevention of sexual abuse, doping in sports
• Health fair and wellness

Wellness and Health Education Peer Adviser 

Wellness and Health Education Peer Adviser is constituted by volunteering students and a counselor assigned to the development of this program. This group serves as a link between the student community and the Counseling Services. WHEPA is based on peer counseling, where a group of students works with their colleagues to carry out events for prevention and awareness.

Poli-Fiesta 

Poli-FIESTA is a program destined to raise awareness against drunk driving in our community, especially among college students. The Counseling and Guidance Office gained these program through a proposal with the Traffic Safety Commission of the Government of Puerto Rico during the 2017-2018 year. The acronym FIESTA means Facilitators and Educators of Traffic Safety and Alcohol. The main goal is for students to serve as facilitators, and through informative stands, talks and trainings raise awareness to prevent and reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities of drunk drivers between the ages of 16 to 24 years. Also, the educational activities include awareness campaigns, distribution of educational material, workshops and presentations about drunk driving, promotion of the message through social networks and studies on the behavior of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Psychological Services 

Psychological services are available to students of the Polytechnic University for academic, personal, family or couple situations, in order to contribute to the mental health necessary to complete their academic preparation successfully.

Some of the reasons why you can benefit from psychological services:                  

• If you have difficulty maintaining attention, focus and retaining information in a way that your academic performance is being affected.
• If you find that your motivation towards studies and / or towards the university career in which you are enrolled has decreased or you are not sure that you have chosen, the ideal career.
• If you have drastic mood changes that affect your academic performance.
• If you feel sadness, frustration and / or hopelessness that affects the way you see yourself and those around you.
• If you have experience a loss (family, friendship, partner, materials, etc.).
• If you have lived a traumatic experience (theft, rape, violence, etc.)
• If you have interpersonal problems (family, couple, friends, classmates) that you find difficult to solve.
• If you feel bad about yourself and have difficulty accepting yourself as you are·  If you feel you have no control with the use of controlled substances and / or alcohol.
• If you experience nervousness, anxiety, tension, confusion and / or insecurity·  If you have doubts about your sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender identity.

Cases that do not qualify to receive the service:

• Cases active in the Court or in which the expert service is planned.
• Cases in which it is planned to request Vocational Rehabilitation services (Certification of diagnosis and initial services). The follow-up service can be offered.
• Cases in which the student already has psychological treatment.
• Psychological or psychometric evaluations.

Schedule of services by appointment
787-622-8000 Ext. 465
ntirado@pupr.edu
serviciospsicologicos@pupr.edu

Academic Planning

This is the process where students, along with their counselor, select the courses they will take the next quarter and/or throughout their whole academic career until graduation. Academic planning helps students organize their academic development and helps them select courses during the enrollment period.

Facts for Faculty

Faculty and staff members are often the first to notice a student experiencing distress. To support our students in maintaining their mental health and maximizing their intellectual growth, it’s important to identify difficulties as early as possible. If you observe a student who is showing signs of difficulty, please realize Early Alerts.

What to look for

• Academic
  • Repeated absences
  • Missed assignments or exams
  • Written or artistic expression of unusual violence, morbidity, social isolation, despair or confusion; essays or papers that focus on suicide or death
• Behavioral and emotional
  • Direct statements indicating distress, family problems, or loss
  • Angry or hostile outbursts, yelling, or aggressive comments.
• Physical
  • Deterioration in physical appearance or personal hygiene
  • Noticeable cuts, bruises or burns
  • Disorganized speech, rapid or slurred speech, confusion

Responding to students in distress

When you have identified a student in distress, you have the option of choosing to:

• Speak directly to the student
• Refer the student using Finish Line
• Visit Counseling Office

Change of Concentration

Process to change concentration

• You must fill the Department Change Form (this document is available at the Center for Integrated Services).
• The document must be submitted to the director of the department you wish to join and the director if the department you wish to leave.
• Once both directors have signed the document, the student must proceed to pay the fee for change of concentration at the Center for Integrated Services. The change will be processed there.
• The director must notify the student and the Registrar’s Office by writing about the situation on the new curriculum (current at the moment of the change).
• Students with conditional admission may not change concentration until they become regular students at the institution.
• High school students with a GPA lower than 2.50 and those with a conditional transfer from another university will be admitted either at the Business Administration Program or the Architecture program, and they will be able to request a change in concentration if they fulfill the following criteria:
  • Have taken no fewer than 24 credits in the program of admission.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or higher.
  • Have approved 75% of attempted courses.

PoliOrienta Bulletin

Directory

Directory for Office of Guidance and Counseling

Bank of Resources

Office Hours

Monday to Thursday: 8:00 am – 7:00 pm

Friday: 8:00am – 3:00pm

Saturday: 8:00am – 12:00pm

Sunday: Closed