Advising Coordinating Committee


Thursday, March 6, 2003

10:30 a.m. B Merrill Library 204

MINUTES

Attending: John Mortensen (conducting), Lisa Allen, Aaron Andersen, Kathy Bayn, Karen Bindrup, Peggy Buttars, Geraldine Child, Krystin Deschamps, Marie Dinger, Brian Evans, Ron Godfrey, Ronnie Green, Fawn Groves, Stephanie Hamblin, Ruth Harrison, Harry Heap, Joslyn Heiniger, Julie Jex, Marilyn Kruse, Jill Long, Mary Leavitt, Rachel Lewis, Christine Lord, Jana Kay Lunstad, Susie Maughan, Cathy Myers-Roche, Sheri Noble, Wade Oliver, Deborah Reece, Mary Lou Reynolds, Marianne Rich, Sylvia Robinson, Isobel Roskelley, Tami Spackman, Suzie Stones, Maureen Wagner, and Lynette Weston

Extension Sites Participating: Several

1. Interdisciplinary Studies Major and Advising Students Out of a Major B Mary Leavitt

The Interdisciplinary Studies major was initially introduced to help students who could not meet the requirements of a specific major. This, however, is not the case anymore. Interdisciplinary Studies is a major setup for students who have unique ideas for a major that is not already offered at the university. The student must have at least 15 credits from two areas of study that, when combined, will create a marketable major. Some examples of acceptable combinations are Health and Wellness, combining HEP with Nutrition classes. Another option is Criminal Justice, in which many courses are combined to fully prepare the student.

This major does not exist to assist students who have a lot of random credits and just want to graduate. Students must have 45 credits before they can declare this major to make sure they have tried many areas and are sure they want to pursue this new field of study. A student should also be referred to the Career Exploration Resource Center (CERC) to assist the student in finding exactly what they want to do. If possible, refer students to Interdisciplinary Studies before their senior year. Mary asks each student a series of questions before she will begin to aid the student in writing a proposal for the Provost=s office. The student must make a clear proposal for why they want to create this unique major for the Provost=s acceptance.

Interdisciplinary Studies has about 100 students in the major and it is working out quite well. If you have any questions please contact Mary Leavitt 797-3883.


2. Intrusive Advising B Harry Heap

The Secondary Education department has exhausted all of their resources trying to persuade students to attend information sessions. These sessions are intended to prepare Secondary Education students for the standards they must meet in order to continue in the program. Since most Secondary Education students do not even take education classes until their junior or senior year, they are not prepared for what will be expected of them. Harry Heap has tried everything to get the word out to students and now he is taking the word to each individual student through intrusive advising. When advisors first meet with a student planning to go into Secondary Education, please call Harry and he will come to you. He will make sure that he meets with the student from the very first so that any questions can be answered. Students have been very impressed by this gesture and have often remarked on how they can=t believe that two advisors would be willing to assist them. If you have any students looking at Secondary Education, please call Harry Heap at 797-2222 and he will be happy to meet with you and the student.

3. SOAR (Summer) and Transfer Bash B Aaron Andersen

Summer SOAR is traditionally the smallest session of the year. It will still follow the same schedule with students meeting with their advisors at 1:00 p.m. About a week before the students come, we will let the advisors know what to expect. The Summer SOAR will be Tuesday, March 25.

A Transfer Bash, sponsored by Recruitment/Enrollment Services, will be held on Friday, April 18, 2003. Students will also be meeting with advisors at 1:00 p.m. If you have any questions about either of the two dates, or you just want to wish him Happy Birthday on March 31st, you can call Aaron Andersen at 797-1125.

4. Dealing with Changes in Procedures B John Mortensen

At the last ACC meeting, some presenters left feeling unaccepted by the group. We need to remember to debate the issues and not the individuals. ACC meeting is an important place to be able to bring new policies and ideas to the table. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind and be diplomatic when stating an opinion.

5. Future Advisor Development Opportunities B John Mortensen

New Advisor Orientation B one-on-one, semester workshop, WebCT

John would like to hold New Advisor Orientation at least once a semester to make sure that each new advisor knows which office they can contact for answers. He will continue to give a brief overview of some of the key University policies and procedures and also invite representatives from other offices to give an overview of the services they provide.

USU Advising Conference B May 22-23

Since the National NACADA Conference was held in Salt Lake City this year, the state will not be having a conference. John would like to take the opportunity to have a USU Advising Conference on the dates that would have been set aside for the state conference. On the 22nd of May, we will have workshops geared towards USU topics. On May 23rd, John would like to invite some colleagues from other universities in the state to share what they have learned. There will be more information provided as we get closer to these dates.

Regularly Scheduled Workshops

In addition to the Advising Coordinating Committee, John would like to incorporate some workshops into the schedule. The workshops would be held on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. which seems to be the most convenient time for most advisors.

Advising Coordinating Committee

ACC meetings will continue as usual and will be the forum in which new policies and procedures are introduced.

Advising Administrators= Committee

With all of the budget cuts and possible changes in the near future, John would like to hold a meeting once a month for the college advisor representatives. This will be a way in which issues can be discussed and information can be sent out to all advisors. These meetings will also be held on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. on weeks in which there is not a workshop or an ACC meeting. A tentative schedule of next year=s event will be made and distributed to everyone. For questions or comments contact John at 7-9303.

Note: John is still in the process of finalizing meeting times for next year. In order to accommodate another class next year, the room we are currently using (Merrill Library 204) will not be available on Thursdays until 11:00 a.m. Therefore, the Advising Coordinating Committee and the Advising Workshops will be on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. for the 2003-2004 academic year. A time and location for the Advising Administrators= Committee is yet to be determined.

6. Handling Deficiencies in Math and English B John Mortensen

A new system will soon be put in place to help identify students who have deficiencies in Math and English. Colleges will receive a report that lists all newly admitted students, along with a notation to indicate which students have a deficiency. Advisors can go to the 148 screen to see what the deficiency is. In the near future, the SOAR office may automatically place these students in the respective remedial courses when they come to SOAR.

7. Other

Krystin Deschamps in the Registrar=s Office is now evaluating all transcripts for transfer students. As transfer students are admitted, Krystin will review the transcripts for all students who transfer from institutions for which USU does not have course-by-course articulation agreements. In cases where she does not get a response back from a department, Krystin has been given the authority to decide if a class will go toward a general education credit. If you have any questions for Krystin, please call 7-0977.

CALENDAR

Tuesday, March 25 SOAR (for students entering Summer 2003)

Thursday, April 3 Advising Coordinating Committee Meeting

Friday, April 18 Transfer Bash

Thursday, May 8 Advising Coordinating Committee Meeting

SOAR (for students entering Fall 2003) B All advising sessions begin at 1:00 p.m.

Monday, June 9 Transfer Students

Tue-Fri, June 10-13 Outdoor (advising on June 12)

Thu-Fri, June 12-13 Two-day (advising on June 12)

Monday, June 16 One-Day

Tuesday, June 17 One-Day

Thursday, June 19 One-Day

Friday, June 20 One-Day

Monday, June 23 One-Day

Wednesday, June 25 One-Day

Thursday, June 26 One-Day


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