Advising Coordinating Committee


Thursday, April 3, 2003

10:30 a.m.-Merrill Library 204

MINUTES

Attending: John Mortensen (conducting), Lisa Allen, Kathy Bayn, Heidi Beck, Karen Bindrup, Geraldine Child, Marie Dinger, Ronnie Green, Fawn Groves, Tressa Haderlie, Ruth Harrison, Harold Heap, Jill Hoffman, Janalee Johnson, Peter Kolesar, Marilyn B. Kruse, Rachel Lewis, Jill Long, Christine Lord, Jana Kay Lunstad, Susie Maughan, Cindy Moulton, Sheri Noble, Paula Olsen (for DD Leonard/Terry Robinson), Dan Petersen, Darcie Petersen, Karen Ranson, Mary Lou Reynolds, Marianne Rich, Sylvia Robinson, Tami Spackman, Susie Stones, Rudy Tarpley, and Maureen Wagner.

Extension Sites Participating: Brigham City, Ephraim, Orem, Salt Lake City, Roosevelt, Moab

1. Early Registration for Outstanding Incoming Students - John Mortensen

The Provost’s office has asked that a survey be sent out to all new students who have an admissions index of 121 or higher. The students will be asked to fill out the survey and return it to the university by April 25th. This is a pilot program, at the request of Noel-Levitz, to register these students in classes prior to coming to SOAR. It is intended that this process will be put in place for every student in 2004. At the third week of fall semester, we will look at the students’ schedules to see if the students actually took the classes they were assigned or if they rearranged their schedules.

2. Exceptions for Two USU Breadth Courses Policy - John Mortensen

The following exception was officially approved by the General Education Subcommittee and the Educational Policies Committee.

Students who transfer to USU with credit in five breadth areas will only be required to take one USU breadth course. Students who transfer to USU with credit in all six breadth areas will not be required to take a USU breadth course.

3. Articulation of Associate Degrees - John Mortensen

Five universities have been added to the list of course-by-course articulated institutions. Now the top 17 institutions with students that transfer to USU are online on the course-by-course transfer guide.

Articulation of associate degrees has recently gone through a review a few new institutions were approved. All newly approved associate degree articulations are effective until the end of spring 2006.

There will be two exceptions to accepting an associate’s degree as covering all general education. The first, BYU Idaho, offers an AS or an AA degree. The AS degree fits fine with our education requirement, but the AA degree is lacking one science class. If the student does not fulfill the requirement before coming to USU, then the student will be required to complete the requirement at USU, to ensure that both a life science and physical science course is taken. The other exception is BYU Hawaii, which offers two tracks for students.. The Math Track is okay for students who transfer to USU, but the Language Track does not require the students to satisfy the Quantitative Literacy requirement. Students with this deficiency will also be required to take a QL class at USU.

There are a few institutions that had Associate degrees accepted for complete general education fulfillment. After reviewing the requirements, these schools had to be removed from the list. However, they are printed in the catalog and will remain valid until a new catalog is printed in 2004.

Any institution accepted by the General Education Committee between now and 2006 will remain valid until spring 2006, at which time all associate degrees will be reevaluated.

4. Articulation Responsibilities - John Mortensen

There has been increasing questions as to who does what with respect to articulation. Here is a summary.

Course-by-course articulation with 17 institutions ATS
USU articulation website and state articulation agreements ATS
Articulation of standardized tests (AP, CLEP, etc.) ATS
Articulation of associate degrees ATS
Articulation of University Studies requirements ATS
On Course (Degree Audit) Registrar’s Office
Entering articulation information in SIS Plus Registrar’s Office
Evaluate all transfer transcripts Registrar’s Office
Course articulation outside of 17 institutions Registrar’s Office
Articulation and acceptance of international coursework Registrar’s Office

5. State of Utah Revised Credit by Examination Policy - John Mortensen

Previously, no institutions in the state of Utah would accept CLEP credit as satisfying the Quantitative Literacy requirement. Beginning summer 2003, QL credit will be given for a score of 50 or higher on the CLEP Calculus and CLEP College Algebra exams. However, these tests do not equate to specific courses at USU. The tests will only satisfy the QL requirement for University Studies. Major requirements may dictate that students take additional courses.

6. AP, CLEP, and Residency - John Mortensen

AP and CLEP test credit cannot count towards the credits needed to gain residency in the state of Utah. Only USU based tests (credits earned and paid for through USU), such as language tests, can count toward residency.

7. NACADA/KSU Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising - John Mortensen

The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), in conjunction with Kansas State University, is now offering a 14 credit online program (5 classes) for individuals who are interested in earning a graduate certificate in academic advising. More information will be available in the future at www.nacada.ksu.edu.

8. CIL Screen - John Mortensen

This is a reminder that a CIL screen is available in SIS Plus. It indicates whether or not a student has completed the CIL exams and also indicates exceptions, such as students who came to USU with an associate degree, or students who will graduate under the old quarter general education requirements.

9. Refund Policy - John Mortensen

The Registrar’s Office requests that a copy of the refund policy be given to students who may have questions as to how much they can get back. The Registrar’s Office does not want any false hope given to students who might be dropping a class. If a student drops during the 70% refund timeframe, they cannot petition to receive 100%.

10. Pass/Fail within a Major - John Mortensen

John was curious as to how many departments will allow students to use “P” grades for classes within their majors. With a few exceptions, most departments do not allow “P” grades for major coursework unless the courses were taken prior to a student officially declaring his or her major.

11. College FOCUS Groups during Connections Week - John Mortensen

Advisors may be asked to attend the college FOCUS groups held during the week of Connections. This would be a great way for students to meet their advisors. The FOCUS groups will be under the direction of the newly elected college senators and are scheduled for Wednesday, August 20 from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m. Locations will be determined at a later date.

12. Latest on Advising Career Ladders - John Mortensen

The Personnel Services Office put together a committee to make a proposal regarding advising career ladders. Here is the current version.

Advisor I Associate degree or completion of 60 university/college credits
Advisor II Associate degree with 2 yrs. Experience or Bachelors degree
Advisor III Bachelors with 4 yrs. experience or Masters with 2 yrs. experience
Advisor IV Bachelors with 7 yrs. experience or Masters with 5 yrs. experience
Advisor V Masters with 10 yrs. experience

If you have any comments or concerns please let John know and he will take that input to Personnel Services. The USU ladder is very lenient in comparison to other institutions. More and more institutions are requiring a master’s degree for entry-level advising positions.

13. Utah College of Applied Technology - Rachel Lewis

All of the Applied Technology schools in Utah have now been combined to create the Utah College of Applied Technology or UCAT. This institution is only regionally accredited and will begin issuing Associate of Applied Science degrees. Utah State does not accept these classes at face value. These classes can be evaluated course by course to see if we will accept the credit. USU does teach some classes at the Bridgerland Applied Technology Center (BATC). When students register for one of these classes, they must specify whether they want to take the class for USU credit or BATC credit. A student cannot get credit for both and the price differs depending on which one they choose.

14. Leave of Absence Procedures - Rachel Lewis

Rachel has been working with Melissa Kincart, retention specialist, to decide what would be the best procedure for the Leave of Absence Policy. A Leave of Absence is intended for students who are leaving at the end of a semester. They must also have a specified time that they are planning on returning to the university. Military students who are called to duty are the only people for which a Leave of Absence form should be filled out if they are leaving in the middle of the semester. If students have financial aid or are on a scholarship, they must also go to the Financial Aid office. International students should also contact the International Student Office.

15. Annual Articulation Meeting - Rachel Lewis

The Annual Articulation Meeting will be Thursday, April 10th at 3:00 p.m. in Old Main 343.

16. Graduation (Moving Students to the Next Term) - Heidi Beck

Students who do not graduate as indicated on their graduation papers are required to start the entire graduation application all over again. Heidi asked if it would be okay to automatically extend the graduation date to the next term, without requiring students to pay additional fees and complete additional paperwork. The general feeling was that it would be okay.

17. Enforcement of Repeat Policy - Heidi Beck

Heidi indicated that it is nearly impossible to electronically enforce the current repeat policy. Doing so would slow down SIS Plus if it had to check every class for which a student tried to register. She asked for input from the advisors, with alternatives being to eliminate the policy (since it isn’t enforced) or to keep the policy, realizing that it will not be universally enforced. After further discussion, the following will be proposed by Heidi at the next Academic Standards Subcommittee as a modification to the current policy:

The number of times a student can take the same class is limited to a total of three times (once, plus two repeats). Students are responsible for monitoring their own registration. Those who do register for a class more than three times will be notified during the first week of the semester. If they have not dropped themselves out of the course by the drop deadline (20% of term), they will be dropped by the university and will be subject to all the ramifications of the drop (e.g. financial aid issues).

The total number of repeats allowed is limited to ten. Students who exceed this limit will have an academic hold placed on their registration. Beyond ten repeats, the student's academic dean must approve additional registration.

18. Other

Just a reminder that major requirement sheets for 2003-2004 need to be turned in soon!

REMAINING 2002-2003 CALENDAR

Friday, April 18 Transfer Bash
Thursday, May 8 Advising Coordinating Committee
Thursday, May 22 USU Advising Conference
SOAR (for students entering Fall 2003) –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

2003-2004 CALENDAR

New Advisor Orientation Sessions (All Day Sessions)
Monday, August 11, 2003
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
May 2004

USU Advising Conference (All Day Session)
Tuesday, August 12, 2003

College FOCUS Groups for University Connections Course
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m.

Advising Coordinating Committee Meetings
All meetings are on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. in Merrill Library Room 204
September 18, 2003
October 16, 2003
November 13, 2003
December 4, 2003
January 15, 2004
February 12, 2004
March 11, 2004
April 8, 2004
May 6, 2004

USU Advising Workshop Series
All workshops are on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. in Merrill Library Room 204
September 25, 2003
October 23, 2003
November 20, 2003
January 22, 2004
February 19, 2004
March 25, 2004

Other Professional Development Opportunities
October 2-5, 2003 NACADA National Conference (Dallas, Texas)
March 3-5, 2004 NACADA Region 10 Conference (St. George, Utah)

SOAR Midyear Dates-All advising sessions begin at 1:00 p.m.

Dates to be determined

Advising Administrators’ Committee Meetings
All meetings are on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. (location to be announced later)
This meeting is only for invited college advising representatives
September 11, 2003
October 9, 2003
November 6, 2003
January 29, 2004
February 26, 2004
April 1, 2004


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