2010-2011 Meeting Minutes

September 2010

Meeting Date: 

September 15, 2010

 

ACA Monthly Meeting

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

8:15-10:00am

SSB Glenn Maloney Room

 

8:15          Breakfast & Social Time

                 Sponsored by Sanger Learning & Career Center- Thank You!

 

8:30          Welcome from ACA President Andi Poag

 

Andi opened the meeting with a welcome back for the 2010-2011 year and asked everyone to take a few minutes to get to know someone new.

Andi regained our attention and shared some remarks about her goals for the upcoming academic year, as the ACA President. She explained ACA’s participation in University committees has grown from 3 committees during the 2009-2010 year to the 7 committees we currently have representation on. She explained the Executive Committee members have each been tasked with serving on one of these committees as an ACA representative. Andi explained the goal of last year’s Executive Committee was to gain representation on these committees and it was achieved. This year, she strives for ACA to not only be represented on these committees, but “be a voice that’s heard”. Andi shared that she met with the  Provost Council twice during the summer. Andi would also like to use the ACA website more and help it evolve into a useful tool for members to utilize and connect with one another. She is considering creating a password protected area/page for members to access only. Andi concluded her remarks with the introduction of the 2010-2011 Executive Committee Members:

President-Elect: Theresa Thomas

Vice President/Co-Chairs: Courtney Lockhart & Megan Rovang

Treasurer: Sarah Kitten

Secretary: Andrea Chytil

Co-Historians: Lovelys Powell & Yesenia Sanchez

Co-Public Relations Coordinators: Brad Popiolek & Alexia Apollo

 

Alexia  Apollo:  Announced Sarah Kitten was unable to attend the meeting and she is collecting membership forms and dues on Sarah’s behalf.

 

Lovelys Powell:  Explained HEASPA (Higher Education Administration Student Professional Association) members asked to join ACA and the ACA Exec. Committee would like to foster this professional development opportunity for these students, but don’t want to outsize ourselves. Lovelys is working to create an official student membership option for  ACA membership to vote on.

 

Megan Rovang: Introduced Sanger Learning & Career Center staff members: Assistant Directors Ed Fernandez and Lynne Levinson.

 

Lynne announced that Eva Thompson will no longer be working at Sanger Learning & Career Center and is going to work at Austin Community College. Her last day is Sept. 16, 2010. Lynne explained Sanger is located in Jester. They are a newly formed staff comprised of the previous UT Learning Center and UT Career Exploration Center staffs. A new website was created this summer for the Sanger Learning & Career Center.

 

Ed explained their tutoring services:

  • 1 hour tutoring appointments
  • 1 on 1 individual tutoring for 101 courses in 18 different subject areas (Mostly freshman & sophomore level courses)
  • Every student eligible to receive 5 hours of free tutoring and some eligible for 10 hours depending upon the student’s  financial aid status
  • Cannot make same day appointments, must be 24 hours in advance
  • Group tutoring available for some courses
  • Drop-in Tutoring available for some courses (this is a big think tank, not a lot of individual attention) and the hours are posted on website
  • Small group tutoring (Contact Grace Pratt or Pam to coordinate)
  • Services for graduate students
  • Free Classes: Study Strategies, Motivation, Taking Notes, GRE Prep, Refresher and Review Classes, Third Exam Reviews, Final Exam Reviews

Ed encouraged everyone to visit the website to learn more about the various tutoring services.

 

Lynne showed a list of presentations available for staff to request, from the Sanger LCC website. Examples: Time Management, Study Smarter not Harder. Lynne explained that career advising is available for walk-ins and by appointment. Walk-in career advising is intended to answer quick questions. She emphasized that the Learning Specialists are specialists. If a student presents with math anxiety, this student will be scheduled an appointment with a math anxiety specialist. Another resource in their office is a library with books, handouts, and American Studies information. They also have a database of faculty and staff available as a career resource for students to talk with. This can help students understand the various paths people take throughout their careers.

 

Lynne explained there is 1 portal for both the career and learning resources and services. She explained that students seeking assistance for career or learning need to go to the main office, located on the first floor of Jester across from the coffee shop. They may be directed to the 3rd floor for tutoring appointments, but all check-in and reception for Sanger LCC services is done in the main office. Sanger LCC only assists current students and is no longer assisting alumni. Career assessments available for a reduced cost or free (depends on the assessment): Myers-Briggs, Discover and Berkman. However, Berkman is suspended until another staff member can help administer this. They also have Wayfinder on their site. Lynn and Ed distributed a student information form for everyone to see. This is what students complete when they check-in.

 

9:15am- Megan Rovang introduced Dr. John Dollard, Vice Provost, Office of Information Management & Analysis

 

Dr. Dollard explained the Summer Enhancement program was introduced to help encourage colleges to offer summer courses. Colleges received money for offering a specific number of courses. During summer 2010, 14 eligible colleges participated and over one million dollars was distributed. However, it was not distributed uniformly. 12 colleges received these funds and the 2 most successful were Communication and Natural Sciences. Dr. Dollard says they want to offer this program during summer 2011, but the benchmarks are not yet set. He would like to create a list of best practices to distribute to all colleges. He says Academic Advisors are the key to success for this program because they communicate course offerings to the students. Dr. Dollard solicited feedback on the summer 2010 program and student’s reaction to it.

 

Comments voiced:

  • Students liked having access to upper-division courses they usually don’t have access to
  • Communication: courses offered online were appreciated
  • Liberal Arts: lack of enthusiasm by faculty to teach in the summer was evident
  • Business: Classes like KIN were attractive to business students but business students are primarily gone for the summer, participating in internships and we begin advising for the summer/fall semesters before the program was announced, so it was too late to advertise to the students
  • Nursing:  advising happens in late September so the earlier the list of summer courses will be offered, the better in order to begin advertising to students
  • Dean’s Scholars students definitely took advantage of the summer honors chemistry courses
  • Ana Dison asked if Dr. Dollard has consulted Senate of College Councils & Student Government about this. Dr. Dollard answered that he did in 2009.
  • Issue of cost for summer courses is the main barrier for many students and keeps them from taking classes at UT Austin

 

Best Practices Suggestions shared:

  • Offer courses that are usually difficult for students to register for during the fall and spring semesters.
  • Offer accelerated or honors programs during the summer
  • Offer courses at student friendly times
  • Offer more courses during the first 6 weeks of summer

 

9:30am                  ACA Committee Showcase Spectacular! The Chair of each ACA committee explained the general work load of the committee. Committees without Chairs were announced and members interested in chairing were encouraged to contact Andi Poag.

 

Advising Expo

Resources for Ongoing Advising Development (R.O.A.D.)

FUNdraising

Holiday Party

Mentor Program

Professional Development Day

Nominations

 

2010 Advising Expo Chairs are Jeffrey Marsh and Kelly Strait. Jeffrey announced that Expo will be on September 29, 2010 from 10am-2pm. More information will be sent to the ACA listserv requesting participation in the event. Members were encouraged to email Jeffrey or Kelly if they care to participate on the committee. Jeffrey asked for members to email him in order to sign-up to staff a table and also have any other advising activities or info sessions included in the advertising for the event. They need 4 volunteers on the day of the event to assist with the hospitality.

 

9:50AM  ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sarah Kitten, ACA Treasurer – Membership applications and dues (Alexia collecting today)

Brad Popiolek – ACA website, NACADA, Wayfinder

NACADA Blogspot: http://nacada2010.blogspot.com/

 

Fall Semester Highlights

Sept. 16                   Webinar (1-2:30pm, Room TBA)

Sept. 24                   UT/ACC Advisor Networking Forum

Sept. 27-Oct. 1        Advising Week

Sept. 29                   Advising Expo (10am-2pm, South Mall)

Oct. 3-6                    NACADA Annual Conference in Orlando

Oct. 13                     ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15 -10am, Room TBA)

Nov. 10                    ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10am, Room TBA)

Dec. 8                      ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10am, Room TBA)

 

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LOVELYS POWELL AND THERESA THOMAS AND ALL OTHER SEPTEMBER BABIES!
  • ROAD: Kristen Anton & Melva Harbin (Co-Chairs) announced the webinar on Sept. 16, 2010 in Glenn Maloney (1-2:30pm)
  • FUNdraising: Angie Martinez explained this committee raises funds for the student and professional scholarships that ACA awards each spring. They also coordinate events for ACA members and last year coordinated 2 potluck lunches and an Austin Bat Boat Tour. She announced that she is looking for a Co-Chair for this year. Please email her if you’re interested.
  • Mentor Program: Ana Dison (Chair) explained it runs Jan. through Dec. and if you want to be a part of it, email her. A new Chair will need to step-up in January 2011 in order for the committee to continue.
  • Professional Development Day: Stephanie Crouch explained that she has Co-Chaired this committee for the past 3 years and hopes to step down this year and is happy to speak with anyone who is interested about the position. ACA and APSA coordinate this annual development day and it will be in February 2011.
  • Brad Popiolek explained the ACA website is being changed to a content management format that is easier for everyone to update so it will be offline for awhile while it’s being transitioned. Brad is also updating the NACADA Blog and encouraged everyone to view it. Brad then logged into Wayfinder and demonstrated it. He explained only 1/3 of the majors are on the Wayfinder site, which is over 40. He asked for members to please send him degree information for the majors in their department so he can upload it and our students can access it.
  • Jay and Kristen are new advisors in CSA (Center for Strategic Advising)
  • UT/ACC Networking Forum is on Sept. 24th at the ACC Eastview Campus and Sue asked members to RSVP via the link she emailed out to the ACA listserv. If you plan to attend and/or staff a table, please let her know.
  • An advising community member passed away recently from Cancer. (*I believe the name shared was Laura Carlson; It was difficult to hear.*)
  • Cindy Zimmerman is a new advising in Nursing.
  • Patty Micks announced there are 2 new advisors in her office
  • The Study Abroad Office hired a new advisor

 

10am                  Meeting concluded

 

October 2010

 

Meeting Date: 

October 13, 2010

 

ACA Monthly Meeting

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

8:00-10:00am

ACES Auditorium (ACES 2.302)

 

8:00                  Breakfast: NACADA Share

                          Sponsored by Business Foundations Program- Thank You!

8:40                  Welcome

 

8:45                  Core petitions:  Jeanette Herman Assistant Dean of Academic Initiatives

 School of Undergraduate Studies

Dean Herman explained that petitions for core curriculum need to be sent to Erin Collins. If a student intends to use study abroad credit to satisfy core requirements, a core curriculum petition needs to be submitted to Erin Collins, prior to the student departing on study abroad experience. Dean Herman brought a handout with a list of all degrees requiring flags. An online petition form for flags should be on their website in November. She explained there is one difference between core petitions and flag petitions: transfer students can petition their home college and ask if the flag can be waived. *This is really a last resort and should only be considered an option for graduating seniors who are lacking a flag.

Question: Can a list be created that reflects core curriculum and flag curriculum?

Dean Herman’s Response:This is very challenging to create and maintain, but she will try.

Question: Will petitions approved become a standard for all?

Dean Herman’s Response:A list will be kept of approved petitions, but currently, there is no automatic mechanism to make this happen as a standardized process/approval.

Question: Can flags be noted in NRRECS? Currently we have to go to the course schedule to view the flags listed.

Dean Herman’s Response:  I will have to look into that.

Question: Can the course schedule search by flag?

Dean Herman’s Response: Yes and my contact information is on the handout, if you have any more questions.

8:55                  Center for Teaching & Learning updates:  Dawn Zimmaro, Director

*Formerly the Instructional Assessment and Evaluation of the Division for Instructional Innovation and Assessment Center (DIIA)

 

Dawn explained there have been some staffing changes:

Dawn discussed their efforts to be more proactive and schedule meetings with colleges and/or advisors to discuss tests and programs. She explained there is a new button/option available when students claim test credit. They can choose to claim score/placement for the course or actual credit that is added to their UT academic record. For example: A student doesn’t need the actual credit, just score/placement credit to meet another course’s pre-requisites.

  • Students can claim the score/placement, then later the credit
  • Students cannot claim credit, then score/placement later

Question:Does the student have to pay twice?

Dawn’s Response:  Yes. It’s a processing fee.

Question:When a student claims score/placement, is it added to their UT academic record any faster?

Dawn’s Response:No, the scores and credit are uploaded once a week.

Question:How is the claimed score/placement reflected in the Registrar’s pre-requisite checking system?

Dawn’s Response:A “P” appears on the student’s record & toolkit reflecting that the pre-requisite is met.

Dawn explained some credit can be claimed as a score/placement and then also for credit for a different course requirement.

9:00                  Business Foundations Program: Regina Hughes

Regina Hughes introduced Dr. JJ Riekenberg who is a faculty member in the Management Department and working to administer the BFP. Regina explained that 25% of Dr. Riekenberg’s time is dedicated to BFP advising. She is available from (4-5pm) Mon-Friday for walk-in advising. Peer Advisors in the McCombs School Undergraduate Program Office, CBA 2.400, are also trained to answer BFP questions. Regina encouraged every advisor to pick up a puzzle plaque located on the tables in the ACES area as decoration. They are to recognize all of the advisors on campus assisting students as they navigate through the BFP courses. Everyone is a piece of the puzzle that comes together when a student achieves their goals of working through the BFP curriculum. Regina also awarded Lovelys an award (large puzzle piece plaque) to recognize all of his assistance with the program and his NACADA advising award.

Regina passed out a handout with all MIS and statistics equivalents that will satisfy the BFP pre-requisites, thus far. This is new and is also posted to the BFP website. Email TexasBFP@mccombs.utexas.edu if there are any changes. Typically, if a course is equivalent to MIS 302, it will satisfy the BFP MIS requirement. Regina brought copies of a packet and also posted it to the BFP website. Applications for the summer program are also available on the BFP website. If you or your office needs personal training on BFP, Regina can meet with you! Contact her to schedule a meeting.

Regina was excited to share that 4000 students take BFP courses per year. On the downside, each class is large. There is only 1 class taught, per discipline.

BREAKING NEWS: Regina said that summer 2011 upper-division business courses are open to all majors, but students must meet the pre-requisites. Example: MKT 372 has MKT 337 listed as a pre-requisite. The BFP MKT 320F will satisfy the MKT 372 pre-requisite. By the end of October, a list of summer business courses will be available. Some courses will not have pre-requisites (i.e.- Risk Management or Real Estate).

Question:Will any of these count as a substitute for BFP certificate requirements?

Regina’s Response:No, since you need BFP pre-requisites anyway. Marketing entrepreneurship is a possible substitute.

Question: Will summer business courses being open to all majors continue?

Regina’s Response: Yes, planned this way for now.

Regina asked for all summer 2011 course suggestions to be sent to her by this Friday: regina.hughes@mccombs.utexas.edu

Suggestion: Offer an entrepreneurship course on campus, not through UT Extension, for students to be able to meet residency rules during the summer.

Regina also explained that program certificates are being listed on transcripts once students graduate. Also, any one economics (macro, micro, or the new blended eco course) will satisfy the BFP economics requirement. The Global Track does require a language. Regina explained that the study abroad requirement for the Global Track can be satisfied by any Maymester or study abroad experience that requires a passport to participate in. BFP in general, is useful to students interested in learning more about business.

Regina discussed the Haliburton BFP Summer Institute. She shared during it’s third year (summer 2010), 64 students completed the program. The blend of the students in the classroom is so wonderful! The students create a business plan and present it at the beginning and end of the summer program. They are wonderful! LEB 320F is no longer required for BFP curriculum. The summer curriculum is too heavy to include it, but the course is still available. The price of the summer program went up only because it includes books. The books are offered at a slightly lower price because they are bought in a large quantity through the program.

Regina is happy to send her powerpoint presentation to everyone to use on their own to market the program. They are currently accepting applications for summer 2011. There are 15, so far. The application is up, but not on the web, so students must print it out and complete it, then submit or fax it into Regina. There is no summer 2011 program application deadline! She accepts applications until the program is full. Regina explained that tuition reduction is available and to qualify, students must have the application in by a specific date and deposit in by March 1, 2011.

Question: What grades do students need to earn in order to receive credit for the program?

Regina’s Response:  Students must earn 2.0 overall for all courses to earn the certificate.

Question: Can you explain the curriculum of MIS? The equivalents vary so much.

Regina’s Response:Any class that teaches information sharing with society. It doesn’t need to be as specific as MIS 301 that McCombs students are required to take.

Question: What are the pre-requisites for FIN 320F?

Regina’s Response:Accounting, Statistics and Economics.

Regina asked “What can BFP do for your students?” She explained that they only certify 1000 students a year.

Comment from membership: You’re not failing at advertising the program and the BFP faculty are not teaching poorly, instead, many students just don’t end up finishing the final course and thus don’t complete the certificate.

Question: Any evidence of what BFP can give someone?

Regina’s Response:I only have anecdotal information. I can also post statistics of how many students received the certificate in each major.

Question: Will McCombs be listed on the student’s transcript?

Regina’s Response:No.

Regina left bags with BFP brochures to take as members leave the meeting.

9:35                  Recommendations to Educational Policy Committee: Andi Poag

Andi discussed ACA’s recommendation to the Educational Policy Committee regarding the Report of the Second Task Force on Enrollment Strategy. She explained that ACA supported these initiatives, listed in their report:

  • #7: Increase summer enrollment
  • #14: Limit degree holders to two semesters
  • #28: Require students to declare a major by 60 hours
  • #29: Allow students to change their major once, prior to completing 90 hours
  • #32: Limit the number of times a student can apply for internal transfer to restricted programs in the same college.
  • #33: Develop a policy regulating repeat registration in the same course

Andi will forward the report to the membership.

Question: Who is on the education policy committee?

Andi’s Response: Deans from many colleges and Lovelys is our ACA representative.

9:40                 Registration Discussion and updates from Cindy Wilson regarding Signature Courses, Liz Hastings for Spanish & Portuguese Department, and Susan Brown from Math Department

Megan Rovang thanked everyone for the thoughtful discussion had during the morning registration reflection time. The handouts from each table that wrote comments will be compiled into a single document and shared with the membership during a future meeting.

Cindy Wilson explained that spring 2011 registration in UGS courses should be much easier than summer 2010, but only 53 courses are being offered. This is a total of 3000 seats. There will be more UGS courses taught during summer 2011. Some seats may be saved for Liberal Arts summer school students. During registration, a lot of seats will be opened up, unlike summer 2010 registration. There will be only a handful of seats held. Returning students with more than 2 semesters of in-residence coursework must call the UGS Signature Course Office, during their registration access period, to register for a course: 512.471.4421. Please direct them to register for UGS 303 courses.

Question: How are students blocked from registering if they have completed more than 2 semesters in-residence?

Cindy’s Response: The restriction is in the registration system.

Comment from membership: Students think they cannot register for a course, if they are blocked, and do not register for it. They may also not come in for advising to find out how to register for it. So, it seems you are putting up barriers for them.

Cindy’s Response: It’s a “Chicken & Egg” scenario. We are just trying to encourage students to take the course early.

Question:Can you change the restriction to a warning and encourage students to call your office?

Cindy’s Response:Maybe, it will be considered.

Question: Summer UGS courses are only offered during summer II. Is there any way to change this?

Cindy’s Response: We will look into it. I will talk to Dean Woodruff.

Elizabeth Hastings distributed Spanish language sequencing handouts and explained it. She announced that all Spanish language lower division language courses will be offered during both summer 2011 terms. Spanish 611D will be offered in the spring 2011 semester for the first time! Liz also distributed study abroad brochures and explained that SPN 611D credit can be earned while studying abroad.

Susan Brown made a big THANK YOU to everyone for ALEKS help! She also explained students that want to take M 303D, M 305G, M 408K, M 408N, M 408C, must have the appropriate ALEKS score. The test is $10. Susan also discussed the Elementary Statistical Methods course M 316. Students must have the appropriate ALEKS score in order to meet the pre-requisite. She said this is not in the catalog, yet, but for statistics only, M 305G credit is sufficient in order to take statistics. Susan also explained the Math Department will offer these courses and allow all students to register: M 305G, M 302, M 362K, M 341.

9:50                  Other Announcements

Lovelys Powell announced the FUNdraising Committee is now delivering goody bags in return for all scholarship donations. The goody bags will be delivered in November. The committee is also accepting candy donations if you care to contribute any. You may drop them off at Lovelys’s office: CBA 2.400.

Brad Popiolek announced the UGS office is moving into their new office space in FAC over the next couple weeks and will begin seeing students again after spring registration.

*Several people very quickly announced new staff members; however, I was not able to catch their names as there was a lot of commotion since many members were leaving the auditorium. I apologize!

Andi Poag announced that she may plan a brown bag for a download/sharing about member’s NACADA experiences as well as another brown bag for the shooting that occurred on September 28th on campus. She will announce this via the ACA listserv.

 

November 2010

Meeting Date: 

November 10, 2010

 

8:15          Breakfast (Sponsored by ACA)

 

8:30          Registration Reflection

Small group discussion over breakfast in O’s foyer

Reflection Questions discussed:

  • Overall, how was this semester’s registration cycle?
  • What were some of the concerns and challenges? Were any of these new for this registration period?
  • How did you handle specific challenges? What solutions were you able to provide to your students in regards to these challenges?
  • Please share some ideas for addressing these concerns and challenges in the future. These ideas may be provided to relevant departments/offices for feedback.
  • What was positive about this registration period, as experienced by you and/or your students?
  • Within your groups, share a challenging situation you faced. Get feedback from others on how you handled it and how you may improve for next time.

 

9:00        Christa Lopez, Coordinator of Student Emergency Services

Christa shared that she and LaToya Hill staff the Student Emergency Services Office. She encouraged us to invite her to any office or staff meeting to educate more UT staff and students about their services. They offer support to students in crisis (mental, health, trauma, etc.)

Christa encouraged us to call for any concern (small or large). Professors are welcome to call as well. Sometimes students fly under the radar, but at least try to offer support by making a phone call to Christa or LaToya (or call BCAL: 512.232.5050). Christa asked ACA members  in attendance to share reasons why they have called BCAL in the past.

Christa shared that Student Emergency Services are not covered under the same state confidentiality laws as CMHC. Christa also shared that CMHC & UHS charge students $5 per visit. Christa said Student Emergency Services does not provide individual counseling, but instead facilitates an intervention. Christa shared examples of a friend, advisor, and professor who called BCAL out of concern for the well-being of a student.

Christa also explained they are capable of acting on a missing student notification. She will call the police and ask them to visit the student’s home residence. She will also call the student and inform them of her actions. She explained this will usually evoke a response from the student. Christa said UHS, CMHC, and Emergency Services all coordinate their efforts.

Christa discussed their list of counselors, in Austin, that will meet with students on a sliding fee scale. She is able to email this list to any ACA member, upon request. To request this list, email:  christa.sandelier@austin.utexas.edu

Christa explained the CMHC houses a Mind & Body Lab that offers free use of massage chairs to all students. There is also an anxiety research lab students are able to take part in. Abby Black explained this is housed in the Psychology Department and students can email her to participate: black@psy.utexas.edu

Christa encouraged us to take care of ourselves. It is common for caregivers, like ourselves, to get compassion fatigue. As UT employees, we can utilize the EAP counseling and therapy resources. Most of all, Christa asked us to call for help whenever necessary: Emergency Services, Christa Lopez, BCAL, CMHC, or UTPD.

There were 64 calls in September, which was three times the usual amount. September is also the month in which the campus shooter crisis transpired. Christa explained that a student must share their crisis with someone able to assist or who is able to contact a party capable of assisting, in order to receive any assistance in an emergency situation. If you feel an emergency is severe/sincere, walk the student over and speak to a counselor, Christa, or anyone in Emergency Services.

Unfortunately, with budget constraints, there is no way to hire more Emergency Services staff. LaToya and Christa are looking for grad students interested in helping them. Emergency Services may end up partnering with colleges that the majority of students came from. Ideally, they would like to hire a third staff member.

 

 

9:45am  Update on One-Time Drop Exeption (Andi Poag)

  • Andi explained there is no one-time drop exception and it is officially on the books, in the catalog, this way. However, some colleges continued to allow/process a one-time drop, after the university deadline. Currently, Student Deans Committee members are split on supporting or opposing the one-time exception:  50% support and 50% oppose. Andi encouraged ACA members to speak to their Deans about this policy.

 

9:50        Call for Nominations for NACADA Awards (Wendy Boggs)

  • Wendy encouraged people to submit NACADA award nominations to her by November 24, 2010.

9:55        Announcements

  • Lovelys Powell announced the FUNdraising Committee is collecting fundraising donations now! You may donate money or candy to him at CBA 2.400.

 

10:00     Meeting Adjourned

 

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

November 24                  Deadline to submit nominations for NACADA Awards

December 8                  ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10am)

DATE TBA                   ACA Holiday Party

January 12                  ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10am)

 

 

January 2011

Meeting Date: 

January 12, 2011

8:15        Breakfast (Sponsored by College of Communication – Thank you!)

8:30        Welcome

8:35        Darrell Rocha, Assistant Dean for College of Communication

8:45        Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate School Internship program – Aida Gonzalez

The IE program connects undergraduate students interested in learning more about graduate school, to a graduate student mentor.  Undergraduates will work in a contemplated discipline (major), learning important connections between academic fields and their personal and career aspirations. With the insight of the graduate student mentor, undergraduates will learn detail about what’s required to research and apply to graduate school and also what the work load is, once admitted to a graduate program.

Aida works  with Dr. Cherwitz, IE Director, to get all IE participants registered for the appropriate course to earn credit for their experience. She distributed a handout that highlights the purpose and mission of the program. Aida also discussed eligibility to participate and this information is detailed on the program website:  https://webspace.utexas.edu/cherwitz/www/ie/index.html

Aida said there is a lot of thought and consideration that goes into organizing efforts to pair students with mentors, but once that’s complete, the actual registration takes only a day or two.

An ACA member asked if there is any research to reflect what number of undergraduate IE participants end up attending graduate school and Aida was not aware of this number. Aida encouraged people to contact Dr. Cherwitz to discuss this information.

8:55        Semester in LA Program/Communication Study Abroad – Elizabeth Maclean

Elizabeth explained there are thousands of UT alumni in the LA area and these people form a great network for students who participate in the UT in LA program.  There are information sessions coming up and the online application for fall 2011, spring 2012 and summer 2012 will be available throughout February 2011. Elizabeth explained RTF 305 does not have to be complete by the application deadline, but must be complete by the time students go to LA.

Housing is provided for the students and is located very close to the class location.

Elizabeth also discussed College of Communication summer study abroad programs available to all UT students (undergraduate and graduate). These programs are taught by UT faculty and in English. Information on these programs can be found here: http://communication.utexas.edu/students/international/courses-taught-abroad-college-communication-faculty

Elizabeth discussed a little detail about the 9 week summer 2011 program to SPICE, Germany. The application deadline for this program is February 15, 2011. She also discussed the 3 week summer program to Salzburg, Austria. This course requires 3 weeks of online coursework beforehand and 3 weeks of class in Salzburg. The application deadline for this program is March 1, 2011. And, graduate credit for this program is available for graduate students who participate.

9:10        Leadership & Ethics Institute-Kayla Ford and Janelle Todd

Kayla and Janelle announced they have relocated to the new SAC building. Kayla explained their staff consists of several graduate students and 12 undergraduate mentors who create and facilitate many of the actual LEI events. LEI offers opportunities to individuals and student organizations to gain leadership and ethics training. Participants can attend one, several, or all of the LEI programs. There are certificates students and organizations can earn by attending a specific number of events. The events will be held in the Gregory Gym games room from 5:30-6:45pm. The spring 2011 schedule will be posted soon, but you can reference the fall 2010 schedule to see what kinds of events were hosted. Pamphlets were distributed with information about these programs and more can be found at their website: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sald/leadership.php

Janelle spoke about the LEAP 8 week program for first year students. Participants are coupled with upper classmen mentors. Applications to participate in the spring 2011 LEAP program are due January 21, 2011. There is a graduation ceremony at the end of the program. She also announced there is a leadership conference they are hosting on February 12, 2011. Registration for this opens on January 19, 2011. This conference will be during the week long SAC grand opening festivities.

Kayla explained the leadership courses LEI offers do have writing flags and the curriculum is based on a social change model. These courses are available to first year freshman and transfer students. Advertising for LEI programs, classes and events is done through their website, during freshman orientation at the family BBQ at the alumni center and through word of mouth from previous participants.

LEI can also come to student organization meetings and conduct a leadership training seminar. Request forms for this can be found on their website. Requests must be submitted 3 weeks prior to requested date.

LEI is also coordinating their annual Swing Award competition and program. This is an annual awards program for student organizations. They apply for consideration for one of the many categories. Every category winner wins $300.00 and the overall best student org wins $1000.00. To qualify and win, organizations must be registered with SALD and free from any judicial charges.

Kayla and Janell facilitated a leadership activity with the membership. The lesson learned from the activity was people who contribute to your life or make a difference in the lives of others are far more memorable and impactful than famous people.

9:40        Update on new degree audit system – Sarah Kitten and Courtney Lockhart

Sarah and Courtney explained they are on university committees to update the current degree audit system, NRDEGR. It is moving off of mainframe completely. Sarah serves on the Joint Applications Development (JAD) Operations group that discusses the actual programming. Courtney serves on the JAD Policy committee that discusses the rules behind the system (i.e.-various ways to certify an athlete, etc.). There should be a test version available this summer 2011. The final product will have many enhancements intended to make it more user friendly. For example: allow for real-time processing, students can input electronic request and get it immediately, and colleges will be able to move their rules around the core curriculum rules.

9:45        ACA Budget information

Sarah explained there are no problems with the ACA budget right now but a survey from the Executive Committee will go out this afternoon to solicit members’ opinions on how the ACA budget should be used. Because of the various budget cuts, it is increasingly difficult to get any colleges to sponsor food for the meetings. Exec wants to know if members want to continue spending our money on food and drink for meetings and scholarships or save for an endowment that would fund the scholarships.

9:50        PDD Registration information and other announcements

  • Jennifer McHam made an announcement that all PDD proposals are due this Friday, January 14, 2011. She encouraged members to submit proposals. Currently, only 1 proposal is from an ACA member and all others are from APSA members. If you aren’t able to complete the proposal submission form, you can email Jennifer and let her know you would like to present: mcham@austin.utexas.edu
  • Brad quickly demonstrated the new ACA website and it’s various features. Presentations and handouts can be posted to it. Check it out: http://www.utexas.edu/staff/aca/

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

February 9          ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15 – 10:00 am, SAC 2.302)

February 17        Professional Development Day

March 9              ACA Monthly Meeting (TBA)

April 6                 ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15 – 10:00 am, SSB, Glenn Maloney Room)

May 11                ACA Monthly Meeting (TBA)

 

 

February 2011

Meeting Date: 

February 9, 2011

9:00        The SERU Survey: 2010 Results and the 2011 Launch

                Dr. Gale Stuart, Director of Assessment for Student Affairs

                Lauren Ratliff, Research Associate, Office of the President

Gale explained a little history of the inception of the SERU survey. She described it as the ultimate student survey. It was developed in 2000-2001 at Univ. of California Berkeley to obtain feedback from students on large research campuses. The NESSI survey doesn’t quite capture the information the SERU does. The SERU is focused on undergraduate student’s experiences and is designed as a census, unlike the NESSI that surveys a sample group.

In 2005 other universities began using the SERU and in 2010 UT Austin participated in a pilot. UT Austin signed a 3 year contract with UC Berkeley to administer the survey for 3 years. The 2009-2010 academic year was the pilot year. The current 2010-2011 academic year is the current/second year and 2011-2012 will be the third academic year. The UT Austin 2010 launch was during April, after spring break and before finals. There was a much lower response rate than expected and Gale explained they have decided that undergraduates are too consumed with exams, registration and summer plan preparation during April, to complete the SERU. Only 21% of undergraduates participated and 15% persisted through the entire survey. The UT Austin SERU website is: www.utexas.edu/SERU

Lauren explained the randomness of the survey question modules and that every student does not receive the same survey questions to answer. Students access the survey with their UTEID. It went live on Feb. 1st and students who do not complete the survey will continue to get a weekly email notice/request to complete the survey.

Lauren explained where to find the SERU survey results on the website. They can be sorted by college and sorted further by specific majors. Lauren discussed some basic findings listed on the survey site and on the handout she distributed. She explained there is a college competition, amongst UT Austin colleges, to be the college that submits the most surveys. The Student Senate, Student Government, and college councils are working to advertise the survey to students. They have been tabling on the West Mall and yesterday distributed 2000 t-shirts in front of Gregory Gym. Each business day, survey completion results are updated on the SERU website.

Gale asked the ACA membership to help communicate the SERU information to students and encourage them to complete the survey. There are some incentives that students who complete the survey will be eligible to win (Some prizes: IPad and tickets to UT sporting events). Gale encouraged us to contact her if we have any ideas or suggestions on how to best encourage and incentivize students to complete the survey. She said they don’t have a budget to purchase prizes and incentivize, so their creativity is limited in that regard.

Gale also explained there are some open ended questions on the SERU survey and students have been writing in responses. One particular question asks, “Who has been the most influential person on this campus?”  Advisors have been named in some responses from students, thus far, and these answers have been forwarded to Vice Provost Gretchen Ridder. If colleges want to view specific write-in survey responses, they can contact Gale to retrieve this data.

9:30        2011 New Student Orientation: Cristi Biggs, Assistant Dean of Students

Cristi distributed 3 handouts: Summer 2011 Orientation Dates, Transfer Orientation Schedule, and Freshman Orientation Schedule. The orientation website opened on Feb. 1 and, to date, over 900 freshman and 1 transfer student have registered for a session. She announced the biggest change from last summer’s orientation is the shorter, 2.5 day Freshman Orientation and longer, 2 day Transfer Orientation. The previous Day 1 and Day 2 sessions of the freshman orientation schedule have basically been combined into 1 day. The college meetings will be held on Day 1 and students will be told they must participate in a college meeting in order to register.

The freshman orientation sessions will run from Monday – Wednesday, except on July 6 – 8 (Wednesday – Friday). Cristi emphasized the importance of advising the last session of transfer students to register for at least 1 course since their 2nd  and final day of orientation is July 15. This is also the last day of the registration access period during the summer and fee bills will be mailed at midnight.

Other points made:

  • Confirmation on ALEKS test offering during summer orientation will be conveyed to Cristi in the next 60 days.
  • The pre-advising center will open at 8am.
  • Day 3 registration will be open to all students from 11- 12:30pm.
  • Cristi noted a suggestion from the membership to move the college transfer information sessions to day 3 from 9-10am instead of the current 10-11am that is scheduled.
  • Orientation staff encourages students to register in the computer lab around orientation staff and advisors, however, they are well aware that many students use their own laptops or do not go to the computer lab to register. Students can register from any internet source they prefer. NSS is trying to secure space for laptop users.
  • Cristi is working to catalog events going on across campus during the first few months of the school year in order to create a reference tool for everyone to utilize. Please inform her of what events you and/or your college host.

Cristi closed with a big thank you to all of us that assist students while they adjust to The University. She feels we make a vital contribution to the lives of the students we assist. Cristi also welcomes our input.

9:45        Update on One-Time Exception Policy: Andi Poag, ACA President

Andi explained the Ed Policy committee had proposed the new policy for the one-time exception and it was revised then sent back to the Student Deans committee. Their revisions will be made then sent back to the Ed Policy committee. Once this happens, the policy should be approved.  The one-time exception policy being considered would allow first and second year students to drop (or withdraw) any course at any point throughout the semester, no matter their grade in the course. Third year students would be allowed to drop a course at any time in the semester, only if they are earning a “D” or “F” in the course. This one time drop will not be counted towards a student’s 6 drop limit. Andi believes this will be updated in the General Information Catalog.

9:50        Announcements

  • Andi explained the academic calendar will be changing to reflect the alignment of the Q-Drop/Withdraw/Graduation Application deadline with the financial aid deadline. The In Absentia graduation application deadline may be moving to a later date in the semester. *More information on these topics to come.
  • Andi also shared the committees she’s on have been discussing the variance amongst colleges with their Q-drop processing. She says the resolution has been for all colleges to allow the student 5 business days to submit their Q-drop paperwork and if initiated on the deadline day, they have until 5pm on the 5th business day following that deadline day to submit their documents.
  • Patty Micks introduced a new staff member in the BDP office: Erin Thomas
  • Rose Sklar introduced a new staff member in the Registrar’s office: Gina Bomgardner
  • Jennifer McHam reminded everyone to register for Professional Development Day ASAP! The schedule for the conference will be sent via email on Monday, Feb. 14th.

10:00     Meeting Adjourned

Presentations and handouts posted to the ACA Slideshare account: http://www.slideshare.net/UTAustinACA

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

February 17        Professional Development Day

March 9               ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10:00am, Room TBA)

April 6                  ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15 – 10:00am, SSB, Glenn Maloney Room)

May 11                 ACA Monthly Meeting (TBA)

 

 

March 2011

Meeting Date: 

March 9, 2011

8:30          Welcome             

8:35          Early Academic Warning System

Center for Teaching and Learning: Sejal Shah, Mario Guerra, Karron Lewis

LAITS Advisors Toolkit: Tim Fackler

Mario and Sejal explained the early academic warning system is a new initiative to inform students of their academic status and connect them to available resources to discuss it: Academic Advisor and Professor. The system will notify students via an email and colored indicator on Blackboard. When they log into Blackboard, they will see their academic status in their courses illustrated through one of these colors: red, yellow, green. Red  reflects a problem or failing status, yellow a concern, and green satisfactory/no concern. This system is in phase 1 and will launch this summer. In the future they may add more risk criteria.

Faculty who choose to use this system will be able to log into Blackboard, filter students by color and send communications to students and/or their advisors.  Students will all see this academic warning system color coating when they log into Blackboard. Sejal and Mario explained they don’t have a comprehensive list of student/advisor assignments and would like one in order to program this into the system.  ACA members explained some colleges have assigned advisors listed in Advisor’s Toolkit, but this is not very accurate.

Some feedback given to Mario and Sejal from ACA membership:

  • They should meet with department faculty advisors and academic advisors to explain and discuss
  • Suggestion to have color coating appear in advisor’s toolkit
  • Suggestion to incorporate absence/failing notification into this system
    • Mario and Sejal explained that a future goal is to incorporate the absence/failing notifications into this system.

Mario and Sejal welcome any and all feedback regarding this system as they are soliciting it from faculty also. They want to make this sytem as useful and practical as possible for all individuals using it. Feedback is welcome now or at any point in the future, just emailMariog@austin.utexas.edu and/or sejal@austin.utexas.edu

 

9:00        Student Financial Services

Joe Wilcox, Financial Aid Officer and Scholarship Coordinator

Joe explained some of the major changes to student financial aid funding, as a result of state and University budget status. He began with some updates:

  • Beginning with summer 2012, the FAFSA priority deadline is March 15th. OSFS decided on this date with consideration for the feedback of ACA members.
  • FAFSA completion  Workshops for students (staff welcome to attend to learn): March 7, 24th, and 31st
  • New federal regulations on satisfactory academic progress to take effect in fall 2011
    • OSFS and ACA will need to work together to implement these

He shared some charts and graphs through a powerpoint that illustrated the federal and state financial aid that is already lost and aid that is at risk, depending upon what the legislature decides. Joe explained that it seems students currently in school will not be as affected by the legislature’s decisions. Incoming freshman will be impacted the most. For continuing students, Joe explained the University Budget Council did approve 12 million. Information from powerpoint:

  • 5% aid from funds for all students and 5% for freshman is already lost
  • 31% (101 million) of financial aid for all students is at risk of being cut
  • 66% (35 million) of financial aid for freshman is at risk of being cut
  • March 18th is the earliest date for decisions regarding federal Pell Grants for summer 2011
  • March 17th will begin financial aid offers for fall 2011 and spring 2012 (No state aid included in these offers)
  • Continuing aid for summer 2011 will be awarded in April (these funds come from 2010-2011 budget)
  • Continuing aid for fall 2011/spring 2012 will be delayed until there is more certainty on state aid and designated tuition set-aside
    • Tuition set-aside may not be decided until late spring/early summer, depending upon state legislature. Latest possible date is July 1st, if special session occurs.

Joe explained that student loans will not change in structure. The only change will be in loan interest rates since those are set by the state legislature.

 

9:20        Academic Service Learning

Emily Van Duyn, Senate of College Councils

Emily serves on the Academic Enrichment Committee and explained the purpose of this committee is to increase awareness of academic service learning amongst all members of campus. Academic  Service-Learning courses offer an interdisciplinary way to bridge classwork with community experience. Emily explained an example is a rhetoric course on grant writing that connects students to community businesses or non-profits where the students will write a grant on behalf of the business/non-profit. This is not an internship or a volunteer experience. List of available courses currently offered at schools across campus is located here.

 

9:40        ACA Scholarship Announcement

Wendy Boggs, Chair for Awards and Recognitions Committee

Wendy announced that ACA will be awarding 4 scholarships this spring:

  • 2 Student Scholarships for $250 each
  • 2 Staff Scholarships for $250 each
  • Scholarship applications are located on our website.
  • Scholarship applications are due April 1stby 5pm.

9:45        Update from Andi Poag, ACA President

Andi explained the One-Time Drop policy proposal is waiting to go to the Education Policy Committee. There was a change proposed to have this drop count towards a student’s 6-drop limit. The committee plans to have the policy in place for the fall semester. The committee has not met this spring, so she believe the next meeting will take place soon.

9:50       Annoucements

  • Andi recognized and congratulated the Vick Advising Award winners!
  • Patty Micks has a new position in the FIG office and her previous position is now open.
  • Theresa Thomas is collecting registration information from everyone, please email her if you have any updates regarding your departments registration procedures or course offerings: thomas@austin.utexas.edu
  • ROAD Committee will be sending a survey to ACA membership in the next week
  • ACA Officer Elections will be in May so begin thinking of members you would like to nominate or if you personally have any interest in running for office. Officer position definitionsare located on our website.
  • March Madness Potluck will be Friday, March 11 @ noon
  • ACA spring scholarship fundraiser has begun. You may donate $1 to ACA and as a thank you, the FUNdraising committee will send a note and candy bag to a colleague on campus. Contact Lovelys Powellor Angie Martinez for questions or to submit donations. *Candy donations welcome!
  • School of Nursing will open 3 courses to all students over the summer

10:00     Meeting Adjourned

Presentations and handouts posted to the ACA website: http://www.utexas.edu/staff/aca/

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

March 11             March Madness Potluck Lunch (12 noon, CBA 3.304)

April 1                  Deadline to submit ACA Scholarship Application

April 6                  ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15 – 10:00am, SSB Glenn Maloney Room)

May 10                ACA Monthly Meeting (1-3:00 pm, WEL 3.502) ***UPDATED***

 

 

April 2011

Meeting Date: 

April 6, 2011

8:15     Breakfast & Social Time  (Sponsored by Undergraduate Studies – Thank you!)

8:30     Welcome

8:35     Dr. Gretchen Ritter, Vice Provost

Dr. Ritter shared that feedback from student surveys state an academic advisor helped them determine their major or feel comfortable, which in turn encouraged their decision to stay at UT Austin to complete their academic goals. Dr. Ritter continued and answered questions from the membership that Andi Poag gave her in advance:

  1. This year, ACA has been represented on several committees on campus (Provost’s Council, Student Deans, Revision of Student Records, Committee for Academic Support Programs, Educational Policy Committee, etc.) how do you feel our prospective has contributed to the conversations and planning taking place in these committees?
  • Ritter feels ACA’s participation in these committees helps a lot. She feels advisors identify bottlenecks and issues students face that administrators may not know.
  1. As the climate of The University’s budget remains unstable, what are the priorities of the Provost’s Office? Are there specific certainties about positions or academic initiatives that will remain financially supported, no matter what budget is decided upon at the end of this legislative session?
  • Ritter explained the Provost’s priorities remain on The University’s core efforts: Education and Research, no matter what the legislature decides. She explained that budgets are planned with various scenarios: flat budget (no further cuts) or 10% cut, etc. She also shared that efforts are being made to use technology for appropriate tasks whenever possible in order to free up staff talents for more impactful work. Examples of processes technology could complete are scheduling and forms commonly processed by staff. Having these processes automated allows advisors to focus on developmental interactions with students.
  • Ritter is leading an effort to incorporate educational technology to help students succeed and not allow bigger class sizes.
  • New Initiatives that are in the works (iTunes U, Early Warning System, Degree Progress System, etc).  A group presented last meeting about the Early Warning System.  Dr. Ritter is very excited about the Early Warning System and views it as a supplement to BlackBoard. She believes it will prompt communication between the professor/instructor and student earlier in the semester than what may be happening now.  Dr. Ritter believes more online tools could allow students to take care of academic issues when they think of them, not just during our business hours. She is interested in making complicated degree plans simpler to navigate and understand through the use of degree planning tools.
  1. Change in number of advising positions on this campus?
  • There is no discussion of a change in the number of advisors on campus.
  1. Change in the role of the academic advisors on this campus (perhaps due to the potential consolidation of positions due to budget shortage)?
  • Ritter explained that she is aware of the large caseloads that advisors have and would like to ease the work that advisors complete, outside of their advising appointments so that they may devote time and energy as possible to meeting with students. She believes advisors’ developmental interactions with students can contribute to their enjoyment of their educational experience which can lead to higher graduation rates.
  1. Change in the staff education benefit (she emailed me and said this wasn’t something she had any information about)?
  • Ritter suggested we inquire about this to UT HR.

 

  1. Recent Achievements around campus:
  • OTE (waiting approval of EDC):  Dr. Ritter explained that lawyers determined the colleges were out of line with the catalog. She had discussions with the colleges about their philosophy and standards on this. Currently Ed Policy committee needs to meet in order to advance this policy.
  • Increased consistency across colleges on campus:  Dr. Ritter would like policies that allow for colleges to make individual decisions. She also explained increased consistency from the Registrar’s Office would be ideal.

Questions from membership:

  1. Any plans for early retirement incentives for staff? Dr. Ritter is not aware of any and suggested inquiring about this to UT HR.
  2. Any thoughts or plans for University-wide advising training and advisor reward programs? Dr. Ritter discussed pro’s and con’s to University-wide training and reward programs. She realizes inconsistency with hiring across campus creates staff poaching/stealing amongst colleges.  She is involved in an initiative to connect academic support programs around campus. She feels support programs attached to academic units are most successful.
  • David Spight explained a survey was created last year to obtain feedback from students in each college to understand what academic advising resources they need. It was put on hold for other surveys (SERU) and will be sent sometime this year.
  • Liz Hastings shared that ACA ROAD committee is a grassroots training effort and asked if UT would consider creating this for everyone?
  • David Spight explained that UGS has an advisor resource room available to all academic advisors on campus to utilize. UGS has also invited advisors from smaller schools to participate in their new hire advisor training they have facilitated.
  • ACA member stated it would be helpful if advisors were allowed to attend meetings and trainings that provide professional development opportunities.
  • Ritter asked for a group of ACA members to give her a better idea of what advisors are involved in.

 

9:10     Undergraduate Studies Updates

  • David Spight, Center for Strategic Advising, shared that 700 UGS students have declared majors and been admitted to them! Only 12 of those students have changed their major since.
  • JP Regalado, Longhorn Scholars, shared that 1st and 2nd year students who meet program requirements get priority registration. 30 first year students are not eligible for priority registration because they have not followed program requirements. JP can send a list of LHS students to each college if requested. Students can come in after the 18th if our advising calendars are booked and they are not able to meet with us before the 18th. Since January, all LHS students were told to get academic advising with their college advisor prior to registration beginning.
  • Patty Micks, Signature Courses, introduced the FIG office staff members and explained there are 100’s of signature courses being offered this summer for students to register for. She brought a handout with signature course FAQ’s and advised us to instruct students to call the Signature Course office and not UGS in order to request assistance registering for the course. Patty is aware the phone lines are often times busy, during registration, but encouraged students to continue calling during or after their first registration access period. Patty explained they are in the process of adding more phone lines to this office in order to improve the response to the calls. She will update us about FIG registration details at the May ACA meeting. Patty encouraged any advisor in immediate need of assistance with signature courses to call her directly.
  • Jen Morgan, Core Petitions, followed up after David Spight began discussing core petitions.  Jen arrived to finish the update. Students can pick up core petitions and turn them in to the UGS advising office in FAC. A syllabus must be attached to each petition submitted and there is no guarantee a petition will be approved, even if another student has previously had a similar petition approved. It is ideal to attach a syllabus for the semester in which the student was enrolled in the course. If the student has completed at least 60 hours counting toward the degree prior to leaving and their catalog has expired, they may be eligible to request a waiver of their required UGS course.
    • Please do NOT change any core rules in the IDA program. Request assistance with core rule adjustments from Jenn Morgan.
    • GOV 3US still counts towards the core. Out of state students may need GOV 105.The signature course will not be waived for students who change schools and thus change catalogs and need a signature course. These students made a conscious decision to change schools.
  • Jeanette Herman, Flags Update, explained that she is working with all colleges and schools to determine what flags are required. Many schools are increasing their flag requirements. Soon, she will send an invitation to ACA members requesting the participation of advisors in focus groups. Focus groups are being formed to learn more about advisors’ needs regarding the flags.
    • A question from the membership was about the difference between a writing flag and writing component. Jeanette explained catalogs dictate what students need (i.e.- writing flag or writing component). The writing flags have a standard across all colleges, unlike the page number requirement writing components have.
    • A question from the membership asked if there are syllabus auditing practices for the writing flags. Jeanette explained there are auditing practices. Writing flag syllabi are being checked against the syllabi that were submitted and approved.
    • A question from the membership asked if UT Extension courses have flags? Jeanette explained she is working on this now. Currently there no extension courses with flags, however, eventually there probably will be some offered.
    • Jeanette announced that Research Week is starting! Check the online calendar for details.

9:40     Registration Announcements

  • Question from the membership inquired about what university-wide committees ACA is currently involved in. Dr. Ritter made mention of ACA’s representation on these committees and the member is unaware of what the committees are and curious what is happening in the committee meetings.  Andi Poag listed the 7 committees ACA officers participate in, representing ACA, and report information back to the ACA membership when there is information to be shared. Andi will send a summary out to update members on all committee progress.  Andrea Chytil stated all committee updates are shared at the end of the meeting, during announcements. Andrea explained that as the minute-taker for the meetings, she can recall updates Andi has given regularly.
  • Theresa Thomas- Summer Courses Initiative:  Theresa has been compiling a list of special circumstances for summer initiatives. She has information from specific service departments, as well. She will send this out after the meeting to the ACA listserv and welcomes updates.
  • Regina Hughes- Business Foundations Program: Regina explained the BFP summer courses are perfectly sequenced so that all BFP courses can be completed during summer I and summer II. Regina explained there is an incorrect pre-requisite listed for the FIN 320F course. It states ACC 310F and ACC 311 and 312 are required. This is incorrect! It should read: ACC 310F or ACC 311 and ACC 312.  Regina apologized for this misprint and explained waivers are being input to assist the students with registration. ECO and STA courses can be completed after the student takes the BFP courses. These courses need to be complete before the student receives their BFP certificate.  Regina also thanked the ACA membership for their assistance in discussing the BFP Halliburton program with students. The enrollment for summer 2011 is 98! This is the highest enrollment, yet.
  • Lois Kim- UT Extension:  Lois explained that UT Extension offices moved to I-35 & Dean Keeton in the development building. The testing center will move there soon. The course system preview has been updated to allow students to view the preview mode sooner and help their planning. Any questions regarding approved testing center locations should be directed to UT Extension.  Lois announced that RHE 317 will no longer be offered.

Other Announcements

  • Registrar: Announcement regarding the 505 forms: they will be online in September 2011.
  • Andrea Chytil announced that 2011-2012 ACA Officer Electionswill take place after the May ACA meeting and officer nominations are now being accepted!If you are interested in applying for an officer position or want to nominate someone, email Andrea Chytil and submit your nomination. Nominations will be accepted up until the conclusion of the candidate speeches at the May 10th ACA meeting.

10:00     Meeting Adjourned

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

May 10     **ACA Monthly Meeting (1:00-3:00** WEL 3.502) Please note afternoon time!!!

June 16     ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10:00, Room TBA)

 

 

May 2011

Meeting Date: 

May 10, 2011

1:00 pm       Amy’s Ice Cream & Social Time  (Sponsored by New Student Services – Thank you!)

1:25            Welcome

1:30            NACADA Awards Announcement, Recognition of ACA Scholarship Recipients, and ACA Awards Announcement

                   Wendy Boggs, Chair for Awards and Recognitions Committee

Wendy announced each of the UT 2011 NACADA Award recipients who will be recognized at the annual conference in Denver, CO in October 2011.

She then announced the 2011 ACA Staff and Student Development Scholarship recipients. Each recipient was awarded a $250 scholarship to be applied toward academic and professional development.

Wendy announced the ACA Advising Award nominations will be accepted once she sends an email soliciting them. She intends to send it by May 13th and nominations will be accepted through May 27th. The nominations are very simple and the awards are meant to celebrate our campus advising leaders. She encouraged everyone to nominate a colleague! You may contact Wendy Boggs if you have questions.

1:45        2011 New Student Orientation (Including Overview from College Contacts)

   Cristi Biggs, Assistant Dean of Students for New Student Services

Cristi introduced her staff and colleagues present: Kyle Clark and Esmer Bedia. She explained the biggest change this summer is that freshman orientation moved from 4 days to 3 days and transfer orientation moved from 1 day to 2 days. Handouts with the detailed schedule for both orientation programs were available at the meeting and will also be available from the ACA website.

Cristi explained the orientation schedules changed due to student feedback over the years. Time is definitely maximized. Each day is full from 8am to 5pm. Day 2 is the pre-advising and academic advising day for freshman. The SMURF lab in FAC is being renovated this summer. Other potential computer labs on campus are being located. There is potential for the student computer lab in the CBA to be used as the main registration computer lab for Day 3 registration. This information will be communicated to colleges when the decision is finalized and a computer lab is secured.

Esmer Bedia reviewed the Family Orientation At-A-Glance. Details are listed on the freshman orientation timeline handout. Esmer explained the transfer orientation has been extended overnight and includes the freshman orientation programming “gems”. Transfer students will register on Day 2. The students may attend as many Day 2 events as they would like to, even if they do not sleep on campus overnight in the transfer orientation housing.

Students and staff can view orientation details at www.utorientation.com. The NSS orientation staff is officially relocating from SSB 4th floor to SSB 3rd floor, and will move into Jester for the summer . The best way to contact them is to call the fishbowl/Jester East main desk: 512-471-1652.

Fall programming will include Fall Orientation for all freshman and transfer students who were unable to attend any other new student orientation throughout the summer. Cristi is also working to create a reference for all first week of classes events hosted around campus, in all colleges. This week will be called WOW: Week of Welcome, Aug. 19- Sept. 2. Hopefully by centralizing all of the college and campus wide events, more awareness will exist and result in greater student participation.

Dalia Rehal will offer the TSI test (IB THEA) at 3 different times, during each week of new student orientation.

ALEKS Information: there will be no ALEKS sessions and students are on their own to register for the test. They may take it anytime it’s offered. A description of the ALEKS test is listed in the Orientation Guide and a session on Teaching & Learning is offered on Day 2. Placement exams will be discussed in this session.

College Contact Updates from the ACA Membership:

  • Ben Burnett is on the Council of Academic Support Programs and explained a reference sheet the council has created for advisors to use during orientation. This was projected on the screen and will be posted to the ACA website. Every academic support program is listed on the reference sheet with the admissions criteria and an individual to contact. Program specific orientation activities are also listed on the reference sheet. If you feel a student meets program criteria, you may contact the program contact person listed on the reference guide and inquire about admission for the student. *JAMP and UTURN are not included since JAMP admission is initiated after first year and UTURN is only for students on probation. Ben hopes you don’t ever contact him to admit a student to UTURN.
  • Sue spoke on behalf of Antoinette and shared that College of Educationwill participate in the first 4 freshman orientation sessions and first 2 transfer orientation sessions. *Non-Education majors can attend these orientation sessions. For the first time ever, Kinesiology will host internal transfer information sessions during the first 4 freshman orientation sessions. They will take place in BEL 1005.
  • The School of Engineering will offer an internal transfer information session on Day 3 at 9am.
  • Rebecca Trevino announced that non-nursingmajors cannot attend the nursing orientation sessions and nursing major family members are welcome to attend. An internal transfer information session will be held 2 days before classes begin for the fall semester.

2:25        Officer Candidate Speeches

               Andrea Chytil, ACA Secretary

Andrea thanked all ACA members for the efforts contributed to one another because they have impacted your fellow ACA colleague; 35 nominations were made for the 6 ACA Executive Committee positions! Of those 25 nominations, 7 were accepted. The only position that has more than one nominee is the Secretary position. An election will be conducted by an electronic ballot via Survey Station. The nominees present at the meeting gave brief speeches explaining why they are interested in the executive committee position for which they were nominated.  An ACA member made a motion to accept all unopposed nominees and it was seconded by another member.

President-Elect: Nathan Vickers
Vice President /Program Chair: Valeri Nichols-Keller
Treasurer: Jay Guevara
Public Relations Coordinator: Kristin Tommey
Co-Historians: Lovelys Powell & Yesenia Sanchez

Secretary Candidates:
Christine Anderson
Jennifer Jordan
Andrea sent an email to all ACA members (All members have paid their membership dues, yay!) with the secretary candidate speeches and a link to the online ballot via Survey Station. The ballot was open at least one week/7 days. All candidates:
2:50        Announcements

  • Andi Poag shared with everyone that the One-Time Exception policy passedduring the Faculty Council in their May 9 meeting. The policy will be in effect beginning this fall 2011.
  • Ritter would like to have a committee for campus wide academic advisor training. More information about participating on this committee will come soon.
  • Brad Popiolek is coordinating a social media workshop on May 23in cooperation with the Office of Public Affairs and would like to have individuals that update UT Austin social media websites attend, but welcomes all interested ACA members to RSVP to him and attend. He sent an email to all members explaining the purpose of the workshop and requests that every attendee be aware and/or acclimated to the various forms of social media that currently exists at UT Austin. Brad showed us a page on the ACA  website that has all UT Austin Social Media outlets listed: Brad also quickly showed us various social media online resources: professional development blogs, videos, and related articles. Brad hopes this workshop will help organize ACA’s social media efforts as well as discuss successes and struggles.
  • Julia Ferguson, UGS, made an announcement regarding the summer Reading Round-Up. The Reading Round-Up staff member explained what the program is and asked for us to help advertise the program to the students we meet with during summer orientation. Reading Round-Up organizes small book clubs that meet before classes begin to discuss a specific book assigned to their book group/club. 60 professors have signed up and will volunteer their time to facilitate these discussions. Reading Round-Up provides a way for students to connect to one another as well as a faculty member. There is a Facebook pagefor the program where students can interact and learn more. They participate by registering for a book group or professor group.
  • NACADA webinaris May 19th (1-2:30pm) in WEL 3.502. Handouts and powerpoint will be emailed out before the webinar.

3:00        Meeting Adjourned

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

May 19           NACADA Webinar (1:00-2:30, WEL 3.502)

June 16          ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15am-10am, Room TBA)

July                ACA Monthly Meeting (Date/Room TBA)

 

June 2011

Meeting Date: 

June 16, 2011

8:15   Breakfast & Social Time (Sponsored by Cockrell School of Engineering – Thank you!)

8:30   Welcome, from the Cockrell School of Engineering

8:35   Orientation Updates and Announcements

During future registration access periods, on Day 3 more signage and direction for students with their own laptops will be in place to direct students to the CBA 4th floor Reliant Reading Room.

8:45    Jamie Justus, Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC)

Jamie talked about each of the following topics and answered various questions from the membership throughout her presentation.

  1. Taking care of ourselves in stressful times
  • Self-Care handout was distributed
  • We need “fire & water” elements to exercise and explore our physical, mental, and emotional capabilities. Fire elements stir up our feelings and give us energy. Water elements calm us and create a cool, collected demeanor.
  1. Relaxation Exercise
  • After leading the membership through breathing exercises, Jamie explained the importance of finding physical support through joyful exercise. People find enjoyment in various activities: going to the gym, walking, dancing, etc.
  • Necessary for us to find mental support through someone or some place with social engagement, outside of our work. There is a lot expected of us and we must guard ourselves against self-inflicted mental mutilation.
  • Learn to develop a pattern of self-care. Our environment affects what self-care we are able to administer.
  1. Working with Challenging Students
  2. CMHC services for Students
  • $5 charge per appointment
  • 24-hour phone counseling available
  • Some couples counselors available
  • Mind/Body lab open 8am-4pm
  • Online screening for students on CMHC website
  • Stress Recess (yoga demonstration)
  • Therapy groups available to students once screened for appropriate fit. Groups are created during first couple weeks of class each semester. The only drop-in basis group is the international group and it is only available to international students.
  1. Challenging Student Exercise
  • Jamie read aloud various anonymous situations submitted in advance by the membership. She divided the room into 3 parts (Student, Staff, Resource) and the membership responded to the anonymous situations in the voice of the role assigned to the section they were sitting.
  1. Employee Assistance Program Services(EAP)
  • There are Free EAP counselors and workshops available throughout the year for staff.
  1. Wrap Up

Announcements

  • Brad Popiolek shared update on the social media workshop. He navigated the ACA website, showcasing and explaining the various social media resourcesavailable on the site.
  • Brad thanked everyone who has contributed information to the Wayfinder THANK YOU! Please contact Bradif the major you represent is not yet on Wayfinder or with any questions regarding Wayfinder content.

10:00     Meeting Adjourned

 

FUTURE DATES & EVENTS

  • July 20  ACA Monthly Meeting and End-of-Year Awards

 

 

July 2011

Meeting Date: 

July 20, 2011

 

8:15-8:40 AM:  Breakfast provided by Athletics (THANK YOU!)

8:40 – 8:50 AM:  Athletics’ Advisors  introduced themselves and each briefly mentioned their roles specifically within the department.

8:50 – 9:06 AM: Kat Richter-Hastings, Q-drops and Q&A

Kat discussed the Q-drop process from the Athletic department standpoint.  Pointed out that student-athletes:

  • must be enrolled in 12 hours to practice, so they should never be q-dropping below 12 hours (with a few exceptions: example – SSD); this includes scholarship and non-scholarship athletes; 9 hours + 3 hours of UT extension counts
  • will always be sent to their department academic advisor to q-drop.

Other questions from the audience:

  • Credit by exam (CBE)? – similar to student/advisor interaction – shouldn’t claim until they’ve spoken to department advisor and athletic advisor to discuss progress toward degree.
  • Changing majors? – student-athletes should not be changing majors with department advisors mid-semester; everything must be calculated carefully for eligibility purposes.
  • Will you make notes in toolkit?  No, but you can contact advisor if you have questions.

9:10-9:20 AM – Wendy Boggs, Awards Committee Chair, and Pam Dahl, presentation of ACA Awards

Wendy and the Awards Committee presented the following awards:

*Each recipient received a plaque, small gift, and a check for $?

Thank you to the members of the Awards Committee for their hard work in determining who would be this year’s recipients.

9:20 – 9:35 AM:  ACA Committee Chairs  recognized and thanked members of their committees and recapped significant accomplishments of committees (see handout on Slideshare)

9:35 – 9:40 AM: Andi Poag, ACA President, recap of year (see speech on Slideshare) and announced she would be leaving UT.

9:40 AM: Announcements

New members of ACA:

  • 2 new program coordinators in the Study Abroad Office
  • New advisor in BDP
  • New advisor in Nursing, replacing Cathy MacLaughlin(retiring)
  • Next meeting in September, date and location TBD

9:43 – meeting adjourned