January 16, 2014 - UAAC Meeting Notes - University of Utah - University Academic Advising Committee

UAAC MEETING NOTES

January 16, 2014

Present: Rachana Patel (Admissions); Nevon Bruschke (Art and Art History); Erik Weierholt, Colby Vranes, Al Reiser (Athletics); Jess Taverna, Anna Adams, Bobbi Davis (Business); Tracey Farnsworth (Chemical Engineering); Janet Goff, Merilee Anderson, Candace Krukiel, Glenna Tibbetts (Continuing Education); Jill Wilson (Economics); Arlene Arenaz (Electrical and Computer Engineering); Elizabeth Archuleta (Ethnic Studies); Wendy KcKenney, Rachel Bonnett (Exercise and Sport Science); Jenny Stout (Family and Consumer Studies); Amy Capps, Shawn Hancock (Financial Aid and Scholarships); Liz Leckie (Fine Arts); Shari Lindsey (Health); Jennifer Ziarko, Alexia Butler, Kayce Coker (Honors); Taunya Dressler (Humanities); Alison Vásquez (International Studies); Lisa Hutton (Languages and Literature / Religious Studies); Bonnie Ogden, Mark Mun (Mechanical Engineering); Kellie Hubbard (Middle East Studies); Mary Ann Dresher (Music); Trisha Jensen (Orientation and Leadership); Betsy Cook (Parks, Recreation, and Tourism); Lynn Higgs (Physics and Astronomy); Dallin Cowles, Michael Santarosa, Emily Johnson (Registrar’s Office); Christine Contestable, Bryce Williams, Stephanie Santarosa, Jen Molloy (Student Success and Empowerment Initiative); Noemy Medina (Student Equity and Diversity); Maria Baldwin (Student Support Services); Kristen Lindsay, Rebecca Owen (Teacher Education); Faye Barron (Theatre); Lyndi Duff (Undergraduate Studies); Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski, David Eisen, Martina Stewart, Steve Hadley, Shelley Nicholson, Sarah Rollo, Julia Popp, Terese Pratt, Tammy Mabey, Richelle Warr (Academic Advising Center); Lena May-Fraser, Kira Jones, Rachel Osterman (Academic Advising Center / Fine Arts), Angie Gardiner (Academic Advising Center / Mathematics); Lisa Shaw (Writing Program). Total: 64

Admissions –Rachana Patel

Yesterday was the first notification deadline for Fall 2014 freshmen; over 6,600 have been admitted.
Reminder: deferments are granted only for specified reasons (e.g., religious, humanitarian, medical), not for residency or educational reasons. The fee is nonrefundable.

Registrar’s Office – Dallin Cowles, Michael Santarosa, and Emily Johnson

As of this morning, total enrollment for Spring 2014 is 30,559 (down 2% from last year).
Important dates and deadlines:
January 21 – last day to add, elect CR/NC or audit (semester-length and first-half classes); tuition payment due
- Catalog years are accurate for all majors on the “Majors List” report.
- In response to advisor feedback, the message students receive on CIS that prompts them to apply for graduation has been changed:
- From: “URGENT! Our records show it is time for you to start planning your graduation.” This message occurred at 75 credits.
- To: “IMPORTANT! Make sure you have a plan to complete all graduation requirements by your final semester and that you apply to graduate before the appropriate due date.” This message will occur at 90 credits.
  - Electronic Graduation Applications are now back on the “in progress” list.
  - The “Petition for Consideration of Exception to Policy” form has been updated and is available on the Registrar’s Office website. Older forms will be accepted but newer forms are preferred. Changes include indicating if the student is on a J1 or F1 visa to assist with processing petitions for international students. Also, the response time has been updated from four weeks to two weeks.
  - Registrar’s Office was able to clear graduates in just under eleven days. However, because so many grades were missing and converted to EUs (over 2000), more than 50 students were negatively impacted by their graduation being denied. Reminders and support for faculty getting grades in on time are extremely appreciated. (Liz Leckie noted that some instructors who teach only occasionally, e.g., adjunct, may not remember the procedure as well as other instructors, and/or some instructors may neglect to save and post their inputted grades. Dallin Cowles responded that an e-mail is sent to instructors, but that the process could be re-examined, or perhaps a training can be scheduled. Emily Johnson noted that the Registrar’s Office does in fact telephone departments that have large courses that haven’t yet been graded.)
  - The graduation clearance report will be moved over to Spring Semester in the next day or two.

Financial Aid – Amy Capps

Counselors are still seeing walk-in students through January 21 (the tuition deadline); there is usually a 10- to 15-minute wait.
Some Perkins funding remains; students can consult the Financial Aid office to see if they are eligible.
The current office (Financial Aid and Scholarships) will be splitting into two offices (one Financial Aid, one Scholarships); Shawn Hancock, from the new Scholarships Office, was introduced.
Scholarships is busy right now (the first round of admission notifications has gone out); offers will be sent out toward the end of next week.
For Honors at Entrance Scholarships, the intention is to reach more students than last year (it has changed from a full scholarship to $5,000). The second round of merit offers will go out in the middle of March.

Curriculum Administration – Lyndi Duff

A view of the new catalog format was presented (organization, search capabilities, specifics of content for programs, etc.). It was noted that all program pages will have links to learning outcomes and a sample Program of Study. The intent is to publish on March 1 (for students, and publicly).

DARS/GPS – Richelle Warr and Shelley Nicholson

Reminder: the deadline for Fall 2014 changes (to programs, etc.) is coming up – they need to be turned into the Curriculum Office by January 27. Richelle and Shelley will be very busy during late January and February, with entry of these changes.
The next DARS purge will take place on January 31.
Honors degree programs for all majors are being added. Those who currently have access to make exceptions for the major, will have access to these programs as well. Some security issues are still being worked out as far as ability to make changes to the Honors College requirements portion, but not the departmental requirements portion (and vice-versa).

Advisor Education and Development – Steve Hadley

The first campuswide advisor inservice is scheduled for February 6, at 9:00am in the Sill Center large conference room. The Bias Incident Response team will be the presenters (focusing on response to, and prevention of, bias in the University community and creating a safe environment for everyone at the University). The usual date for these monthly inservices will be the second Thursday of each month (although it may vary occasionally).
An Advising Basics training has been added for February 11; the next PeopleSoft training will take place on February 25. An e-mail message will soon be sent out with a link to sign up for either or both. (There will also be an Advising Basics on March 18, and a PeopleSoft training on April 8.)
The UAAC campuswide advising conference will be on March 5.
Julia Popp (introduced) is a new academic advisor in Academic Advising Center, and will now be the Major Exploration Program assistant as well.
The Utah Advising Association (formerly Utah Advising and Orientation Association) annual conference is slated for May 29 and 30, in Ogden. An e-mail was sent out today regarding the deadline for proposal submissions.

Orientation – Trisha Jensen

One of the fall transfer orientation programs was moved, so as not to conflict with the UAA conference; the new date is May 28.
A new group of orientation leaders began their training last week.
Reminder: three student leader positions are open (two Swoop Camp captains and one peer mentor).

Transfer Student Issues – Terese Pratt

The Transfer Program began Spring visits to Salt Lake Community College this week; the U of U table has been very busy. Thanks to those University advisors who are joining Terese and Vickie; for those who can’t, remember that department and/or major-oriented material can be sent to them for display (it should be targeted specifically to the transfer population). The dates of visits are on the Transfer Program website (http://advising.utah.edu/transfer/visits.php).

Committee and Task Force Reports

Mandatory Advising Program – Martina Stewart

Undeclared students with 60 or more credit hours (and two or more prior terms of enrollment) will be selected on February 4.
Second-year students were selected in November; a reminder was sent yesterday to those who hadn’t yet met with advisor (holds will become effective on March 3).
New first-year students who began in Spring 2014 (200-300) will be sent an e-mail message on March 5, reminding them to meet with an advisor by April 15 in order to receive early registration for Fall 2014.

Advisor Awards – Angie Gardiner

There will again be two UAAC advisor awards given (one for a newer advisor, and one for an advisor with three or more years’ experience); a selection committee is being formed. Nominations are due by March 7; the awards will be presented at the advisor social in May. Last year’s winners are also going to be nominated for appropriate NACADA awards.
Steve Hadley noted that there will also be an award given by the Utah Advising Association.

Marketing and PR for Advising – Taunya Dressler

Last month, the Committee met with the University Marketing and Communications, and also talked about perceptions of advising; it’s hoped to soon kick off what will become a strategic plan.

The Advisor Position – Jessica Taverna

The Committee has been looking at how best to make a case for revamping the advisor position on campus, from a human resources perspective; and how to create a career ladder. The group is also looking at research that (for example) shows a correlation between advising and retention; and has also gathered some data about what is the composition of advising on campus right now (Some preliminary findings: 75% have less than five years’ experience; about a quarter have master’s degrees.)

Continuing and New Business

Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski thanked Athletics for the January 2 game tickets. Thanks as well to everyone here whose donations helped to make up a large quantity of food for the recent food drive.

English Language Institute: Glenna Tibbetts presented (and distributed) information about the Institute’s Short-term Academic English Programs, for both undergraduate and graduate students as well as professionals. Their website is http://continue.utah.edu/eli/.

Plan to Finish Campaign: Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski noted that currently, a key theme across the campus is the importance of planning; the “15 to Finish” campaign was rolled out this past fall. Based partly on some concerns expressed by advisors (relating to the students they are working with), it’s been decided that on this campus the theme will be “Plan to Finish”; with the underlying objectives being that students will be very purposeful in planning their degree and when it will be completed, but also having some concrete ideas of where they can go from there. Three video programs around this theme are currently in development, focusing on the importance of planning; formulating an action plan for seeking out advisors and advocates; the financial benefits of planning; and an examination of characteristics of University students with different types of schedules, who are moving forward and progressing toward their degrees.

Declare Your Major Campaign: Sarah Rollo reported on Academic Advising Center’s Declare Your Major campaign (an educational campaign for students that is coordinated with the Mandatory Advising Program undeclared student registration holds). A “Reasons to Declare Your Major” flyer was distributed. It was also noted that in 2013 there were some 300,000 unique hits to the major exploration website (http://advising.utah.edu/majors/). The website includes a calendar of events that may interest exploring students; any college- or department-related events (open to these students) can be listed by sending them to uexplore@utah.edu.

Other: Sharon Aiken-Wisniewski reminded about the Cranium Café demonstration on January 21 (see second page of today’s agenda). The U of U Community Engagement Day (and Project Youth Day) is April 10. The Committee (which includes Sharon and Gina Shipley) is currently looking for activities that various campus units could undertake (one idea might be for UAAC to do a service activity as a group).

THE Next UAAC meeting IS SCHEDULED FOR

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2:00PM, IN ALFRED EMERY BUILDING, ROOM 320