Ballotti Learning Center

The Ballotti Learning Center, located on the 2nd floor of the Donahue Building, offers academic assistance in a variety of subject areas to those who are in need of support services. The services provided at the Center include tutorials, study groups, and mentor programs for AHANA (African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American) students.

Learning Disability Services

Students with documented learning disabilities (students must first submit disabilities documentation to the Dean of Students Office in order to receive disabilities services) who need assistance in understanding their learning disability diagnosis and developing compensatory strategies should contact the Ballotti Learning Center Learning Disabilities Specialist. The Learning Specialist will meet with a student and provide a learning style assessment of how the student may fit into the University. A discussion of psycho-educational documentation from a neuropsychologist or other qualified professional will be reviewed by the student, and any questions that arise are discussed for clarity of purpose. A student can also be matched with a tutor for academic tutorials, study skill strategies, and time management coaching. Whenever necessary, referrals are made to additional support services on and/or off campus. For specific accommodations, students are referred to the Dean of Students Office.

Below is a list of the various services that may be provided by the Learning Specialist:

The Learning Specialist is available to meet with students on a regular basis to review adjustment and progress. Students are encouraged to make at least one appointment each semester to reassess their needs. Questions related to learning disabilities should be directed to the Learning Specialist at the Ballotti Learning Center by calling 617-573-8235. Consultations are available by appointment.

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Second Language Services:

English as a Second Language (ESL) Program: English Language for Internationals Program (ELI): Language Related Services and Tutoring:

The Second Language Services (SLS) Office is located on the 1st Floor of 20 Ashburton Place. It is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday during the academic year, and from Monday– Thursday during the summer. Tutoring is provided to all second language undergraduate and graduate students free of charge. Students who have been admitted to the ESL or ELI programs should stop by or make an appointment with Linda Foley- Vinay, SLS Director, or Lisa Renery, ESL Coordinator, at 617-573-8677. Second language students with disabilities should identify themselves to Linda Foley-Vinay at the beginning of a semester and will be referred to the Dean of Students Office for accommodations.

Math/CS Support Center

The Math/CS Support Center, operated by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, offers a variety of services to the University. The Center offers tutoring to math students through its Math Help program, help for computer science students in its Programming Help program, and special sessions for those students who need review before starting Math 104, Math 106, or Math 121 through Mathshop. These services are offered during day and evening hours in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. The Center administers and grades a Math Placement Exam used to assess the preparedness of new students to successfully complete math courses of various levels.

Complete schedules are published at the start of each semester and are available from the MSC and on the Web at http://www.cs.suffolk.edu/ The main office for the center is located in Fenton 636. Please call (617) 973-5336 for more information.

Students who need special considerations from the MSC should fill out a release form with the Assistant Dean of Students.

Writing Center

Located in the Fenton Building, room 203, the Writing Center offers tutorials in writing, reading, research and literary analysis. Tutorials are scheduled Monday through Friday, 9-5. Since the Writing Center does NOT offer drop-in tutoring, students need FIRST to register in person during our open registration hours posted each semester at the center. Registration takes approximately twenty minutes and tutoring usually begins in a few days. The service is free of charge.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

There are six TDD machines available in various locations around the University:

The TDD in the Dean of Students Office may be used during regular office hours by students with hearing impairments for local calls, as well as for making arrangements related to a student’s disability.

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Assistive Technology

Assistive technology equipment is located in the Ballotti Learning Center on the 2nd Floor of the Donahue Building and can be accessed by contacting the Learning Disability Specialist at 617-573-8235. The Center is equipped with the following assistive technology:

Kurzweil 3000 is a Microsoft®’s Windows®-based software program that offers a comprehensive set of tools for Language Learning, Study Skills, and Test Taking in one software package. It is highly flexible and customizable to accommodate diverse learning abilities and requirements from low visual impairments to severe learning disabilities to foreign language learning. All features of Kurzweil 3000 are designed to extend the essential learning process by reinforcing mastery of the subject matter and allowing users to work as efficiently and independently as possible.

Inspiration 7 Inspiration®’s integrated diagramming and outlining views work together to help students with brainstorming, writing, organizing, and comprehending concepts and information. Inspiration software can be used across the curriculum to analyze complex topics, brainstorm and explore ideas, improve writing proficiency, and develop planning skills.

Zoomtext 8.1 Magnifier/ScreenReader is a magnification and screen reading program designed for people with a visual impairment. ZoomText 8.1 echoes typing, reads information pointed to by the mouse, and speaks program events as they occur. Flexible verbosity settings give you complete control over the amount of information spoken by ZoomText. The new AppReader reads documents, web pages and email from within the parent application. ZoomText’s specialized application support for Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Acrobat and Java allows you to read documents and web pages with 100% accuracy.

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JAWS 4.0 for Windows works with your PC to provide access to today’s software applications and the Internet. With its internal software speech synthesizer and the computer’s sound card, information from the screen is read aloud, providing technology to access a wide variety of information, education, and job-related applications. JAWS also outputs to refreshable Braille displays, providing Braille support of any screen reader. A training tutorial is also included.

Dragon Naturally Speaking works entirely by voice or combining voice with a keyboard and a mouse. Users can dictate any text or numbers into their favorite application and can immediately see what they say right in the application. Functionality includes moving around documents, formatting paragraphs, activating pull-down menus and dialog boxes, and even commanding the mouse by voice. Users see what they say right on the screen to initiate commands. Dragon Naturally Speaking features 120,000 words and names in its dictionary and 60,000 active words. Interested students who are not familiar with the system may need to spend 3-4 hours with a tutor to learn the system.


Victor Reader is an intuitive “digital talking book playback” software package that is good for classroom, lab or home use. The environment includes a dropdown menu and split screen view with simple layout and hot-key commands for navigation and control.

Fonix iSpeak is a powerful and flexible personal reader with functionality that allows the user to modify the program to perform a number of unique tasks designed for individual use.

CoWriter is an intelligent word prediction program that predicts vocabulary based on letter-by-letter typing. It works with any word processor to reduce the keystrokes needed to complete an intended word. It will guess the intended word even when misspelled.

Quictionary II Reading Pen is a portable reading tool that allows you to scan a word and hear the pronunciation as well as hear its definition read aloud. The built-in display panel shows the word and definition instantly.

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AlphaSmart (Pro/3000/Neo) is a laptop battery-operated word processor that lets users take notes, then be able to transfer the text to a computer. It can be connected to an outlet using an optional AC adapter.

Students are encouraged to use the following Internet sites for more information on disability topics:

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