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September 18, 2014 - UAAC Meeting Notes

UAAC MEETING NOTES

September 18, 2014

Present:  Brad Merrill, Rachana Patel, Amanda Tuckett, Teri Clawson (Admissions); Joy Velarde (Anthropology); Nevon Bruschke (Art and Art History); Valerie Fredrickson (ASUU); Lauren Storer, Colby Vranes, Mary Chris Finnigan  (Athletics); Dave Gard (Biology); Anna Johnson, Jess Taverna, Jason Barkemeyer, Tracie Noyes, Rachel Osterman, Amanda Miller (Business); Kathy Leslie (Career Services); Tracey Farnsworth (Chemical Engineering); Rick Ernst (Chemistry); Vicki Jackson (Computing); Janet Goff, Merilee Anderson, Candace Krukiel (Continuing Education); Jill Wilson (Economics); Elizabeth Archuleta (Ethnic Studies); Wendy McKenney, Sara Bachynski (Exercise and Sport Science); Amy Capps (Financial Aid); Liz Leckie (Fine Arts); Shari Lindsey (Health); Erica Rojas, Aaron Reynolds, Michelle Taliaferro (Honors); Taunya Dressler (Humanities); Lisa Hutton (Languages and Literature); Leslie Giles-Smith (Learning Enhancement Program); Mark Mun (Mechanical Engineering); Mary Ann Dresher (Music); Kelly Brown (Occupational Therapy); Garrett Kachellek (Orientation and Leadership Development); Betsy Cook (Parks, Recreation and Tourism); Lynn Higgs (Physics and Astronomy); Ana Nelson (Political Science); Emily Johnson, Carol Uresti, Zach Klc (Registrar’s Office); Bobby Davis (Social and Behavioral Science); Anthony Shirley, Noemy Medina (Student Equity and Diversity); Bryce Williams, Jen Molloy (Student Success and Empowerment Initiative); Sara Hatch (Teacher Education); Liz Taylor, Lyndi Duff (Undergraduate Studies); Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski, David Eisen, Kelsey Nicholson, John Nilsson, Shelley Nicholson, Martina Stewart, Richelle Warr, Terese Pratt, Latu Kinikini, Leslie Park, Steve Hadley, Sean Crouch, Julia Popp (Academic Advising Center); Kira Jones (Academic Advising Center / Fine Arts); Angie Gardiner (Academic Advising Center / Mathematics), Tamara Young (Academic Advising Center / Physics), Lisa Shaw (Writing and Rhetoric).    Total:  69

Presentation

Representatives of the Entrepreneur Club presented information about financial opportunities for students.  Advisors should feel free to refer students to Dustin Carlson (dustindavidcarlson@gmail.com).  Advisors can also join a listserv sponsored by the Club.

Admissions – Brad Merrill and Rachana Patel

  • The Getting Ready guides have been mailed out to college contacts.  Those with questions should contact Amanda Tuckett at atuckett@sa.utah.edu.
  • The work on updating of the website continues.
  • Registration holds relating to missing transcripts and courses are anticipated to go “live” around October 30.

Registrar’s Office – Emily Johnson, Carol Uresti, Zach Klc

  • The next campuswide advisor inservice (October 9) will cover topics including DARS changes and updates, and advising athletes. The graduation application deadline (for Spring 2015) is November 1.
  • Carol Uresti will retire from the University as of September 30; Cynthia Ruiz took over as supervisor of the graduation area, as of September 1.
  • Total enrollment (at census) stands at 31,776 (down 2% from last year)
  • The Spring 2015 class schedule, as well as registration dates, will become available as of September 29.

Financial Aid – Amy Capps

  • This year has seen a relatively low yield rate on awards being accepted, which means that funds are still available at this time (e.g., Perkins, grants).
  • The automatic course drop is scheduled for tomorrow night; if students have accepted financial aid awards, their classes will be protected.

Scholarships – no report

Curriculum Administration – Lyndi Duff

  • It appears that few have been making use of the unified calendar; based on feedback and the relative difficulty of supporting it, it will probably be discontinued.
  • The deadline for adding new Spring 2015 courses (curriculum) has now passed, and Lyndi is working on adding them.  In October, catalogue editors will receive information about when they can begin making changes.

DARS/GPS – Richelle Warr

  • The DARS/GPS team has just finished making the edits from last year’s curriculum cycle; the related work for GPS should be finished soon.
  • Shelley Nicholson has moved to a new position within Academic Advising Center; her replacement, Tammy Nguyen, begins tomorrow.  Richelle will be on leave for most of Spring Semester.

Advisor Education and Development – Steve Hadley

  • The next PeopleSoft training will take place on September 23; be sure to RSVP if interested.
  • As announced earlier, the next campuswide advisor inservice is happening on October 9. 
  • Steve’s role within Academic Advising Center is changing; he will be focusing on advising assessment as well as teaching the UC(-prefix) courses.  Leslie Park will be assuming responsibility for the advisor education and development area.

Orientation – Garrett Kachellek

  • Thanks to all those who helped with the new student welcome efforts, including Welcome Week.
  • Registration for Spring 2015 orientation will probably open in mid-October; watch for announcements.
  • Orientation dates for the next three years have been sent to college coordinators.
  • Mark Pontious will be leaving the University (for Miami University in Ohio); Trisha Jensen is also leaving for a position within Career Services.

Transfer Student Issues – Terese Pratt

  • It’s hoped that a large group of transfer students will be attending the MajorExpo on September 24; exhibitors are therefore encouraged to include any materials they may have that are targeted to this population.

Committee Reports

Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski called attention to the form that was included with today’s agenda:  two ongoing subcommittees, as well as two new ones, are in need of new members.  Those who would like to volunteer to serve are encouraged to complete and submit these forms as soon by September 24.

Mandatory Advising Program – Martina Stewart

  • The recent kickoff event was well attended; extra handouts from the afternoon session are available.
  • Advisors, please remember:  if you meet with a new freshman student before September 29, be sure to make a note of their name and uNID, and then mark the advisor meeting panel (to enable priority registration) on September 29.  Also, check for any admissions holds that the student may have (and bring to the student’s attention).  It’s not yet known when immunization holds will become active.

Advisor Awards – Angie Gardiner

  • The September 2 issue of FYI featured an item about the 2014 UAAC Outstanding Advisors.
  • Thanks for Martina for her leadership of the Committee; Bobbi Davis will be taking over for the coming year.

Marketing and PR for Advising – Taunya Dressler

  • The Committee is eagerly looking for new members to serve.  This year’s activities will include conducting a faculty focus group, and expanding efforts to target specific segments of the campus community.

The Advisor Position – Jess Taverna

  • This committee is also hoping to see new members.  As advising of students continues to be a important issue, colleges and departments are looking at strategies and techniques that make a difference.  It’s hoped that this committee can ultimately serve as a resource entity.

Continuing and New Business

MajorExpo / Major Exploration:  Sarah Rollo reported that many departments and programs have sent RSVP’s for the September 24 Expo.  This will be the tenth annual event, and will include some surprises. Exhibitors can begin setting up as early as 9:00am, and should be prepared to receive students by no later than 9:50.  This year, efforts are being made (and encouraged) to ramp up the Expo’s Twitter presence on campus; departments should feel free to use the images that were sent to them in the Twitter feed. There will also be special inserts in the Daily Utah Chronicle.

A special event for undecided / exploring students took place on September 2; students who attended had an opportunity to meet with their assigned advisor in Academic Advising Center.  It’s been noted that quite a number of (formerly Undecided) students have been declaring premajors. 

There will be four UExplore open houses this fall (similar to those held last year).  Each one will provide students with an opportunity to meet with advisors, faculty members, and students who are already declared in a major within the theme area of each event.

Honors College Mandatory Advising:  Erica Rojas reported that Honors students will have a special mandatory advising hold that will be placed (in addition to the Mandatory Advising Program hold), which will be released by an Honors advisor after meeting with the student.  It will be helpful for advisors to try to remember to check the service indicators in PeopleSoft and remind relevant students of this separate hold.

Wellness Center:  Kassy Keen presented information about the many services and resources offered by the Center for Student Wellness (http://wellness.utah.edu/).  Among others, this includes assistance with stress reduction; confidential victim advocacy; well coaching; STD/HIV testing; and flu shot clinics.  The Center is currently located in the Student Services Building, but anticipates moving into the new Student Life Center.

Advising Conference:  Leslie Park announced that she is seeking volunteers to assist with the 2015 campuswide UAAC advising conference that will occur in March.

Career Services Update:  Kathy Leslie distributed and reviewed information about a number of events and opportunities during Fall Semester.  Upcoming are two career fairs -- one for science and engineering, and the other for other areas (September 23 and 30 respectively), as well as the Graduate School Expo on September 26.  (Advisors are encouraged to let students know that many employers have a presence on campus currently.)  Also, a list of upcoming workshops can be found at www.careers.utah.edu.

There are three Career Pathways events scheduled for fall (engineering and technology; Parks, Recreation, and Tourism; and nonprofit and public service).  Colleges who are interested in having one of these events for their area should contact Kathy (Kleslie@sa.utah.edu). 

Career Services is looking for ways to increase partnerships with University colleges and programs.  There is also an effort underway to increase job placement awareness; as part of this, Career Services wants to hear about ways in which they might be able to work with advisors to help gather placement data.

The Utah Career Development Association will have a statewide conference on October 3 (www.utahcda.org). 

Learning Enhancement Program:  Leslie Giles-Smith distributed information about upcoming time management and test taking / test anxiety seminars for students, along with a Heritage Center drop-in tutoring schedule. 

October meeting:  the group voted to move the October UAAC meeting from the 16th to the 23rd.

 

THE Next UAAC meeting IS SCHEDULED FOR

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 2:00pm IN AEB, ROOM 320

Last Updated: 8/21/23