Advising Coordinating Committee


Minutes – November 13, 2003

Attending: John Mortensen (conducting), Lisa Allen, Kathy Bayn, Heidi Beck, Peggy Buttars, Geri Child, Amanda Cram, Krystin Deschamps, Margaret Garr, Terri Gass, Fawn Groves, Susan Haddock, Tressa Haderlie, Stephanie Hamblin, Ruth Harrison, Joslyn Heiniger, Jill Hoffmann, Janalee Johnson, Melanie Jones, Peter Kolesar, Marilyn Kruse, Vince Lafferty, Mary Leavitt, Rachel Lewis, Christine Lord, Jana Kay Lunstad, Jan Lyons, Susie Maughan, Erin McDonough, Cindy Moulton, Betty Murri, Cathy Myers-Roche, Sheri Noble, Wade Oliver, Susan Parkinson, Tom Peterson, Jan Pichette, Karen Ranson, Mary Lou Reynolds, Marianne Rich, Sylvia Robinson, Terry Robinson, Isobel Roskelley, Lynne Slade, Tami Spackman, Rudy Tarpley, Maureen Wagner, Dennis Welker, and possible others (the roll did not make it all the way around)

Excused: LaWrell Cook, Ron Godfrey, Josh Hunter, Bruce Miller, Darcie Peterson, Carol Sainsbury

Extension Sites Participating: Blanding, Brigham City, Ephraim, Salt Lake, Tooele

INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

1. GPA Standards by College (Handout) – John Mortensen

John asked advisors to review a handout that shows the minimum GPA requirement for graduation for all majors. Updates and corrections should be returned to John (UMC 0114) by Friday, November 21.

2. Update on Course Clusters for Fall 2004 – John Mortensen

Approximately 200 course clusters will be offered to incoming students next fall. John is fine tuning the clusters and will have a draft document available for review within the next few weeks.

3. NACADA Call for Proposals for Regional Conference – John Mortensen

If anyone is interested in presenting at the regional conference, the Call for Proposals is currently available at www.nacada.ksu.edu/Regional_Divisions/region10/confindex.htm. Proposals are due December 1. The regional conference will be March 3-5, 2004 in St. George, Utah.

4. Advising Workshop Series – John Mortensen

The next Advisor Workshop will be Thursday, November 20 at 11:00 a.m. in Merrill Library Room 204. The topic “Developmental Advising” will be presented by Wade Oliver and Lisa Hamblin. Everyone is invited to attend.

5. New Advisor Orientation – John Mortensen

A New Advisor Orientation will be offered on Monday, December 15 in TSC 336. This orientation is for all new advisors. An invitation is also extended to office secretaries and support staff who would like to attend. The majority of the orientation will consist of presentations from various campus offices about their services and how and when to refer students. The orientation will also go over some of the most important academic policies and procedures. A full agenda will be sent out in the near future.

6. Educational Policies Committee Business – John Mortensen

The Educational Policies Committee approved the elimination of exceptions to the General Education requirements. As a result, students who begin attending USU in the summer of 2004 may only use officially approved breadth courses to satisfy breadth requirements. Departments that relied on exceptions in the past will need to contact various departments and make strong recommendations to have some of the courses, that were former exceptions, officially approved as breadth courses. These approvals would need to go through the General Education Subcommittee by January and the Educational Policies Committee by February in order to be included in the 2004-2005 General Catalog.

7. General Education Subcommittee Business – Heidi Beck

The General Education Subcommittee has indicated that any substitutions will not be allowed for any University Studies courses. All courses that are used to satisfy requirements must be officially approved by the General Education Subcommittee. All transfer courses that satisfy University Studies requirements must have gone through the articulation process – that is, they must be approved by the department that teaches the curriculum and apply to all students. Individual substitutions for courses may only be done for major requirements.

8. Academic Standards Subcommittee Business – Heidi Beck

The Academic Standards Subcommittee has recommended a change in the way that transfer credit is entered on the USU transcript. The recommendation is that the Admissions Office not enter repeated transfer courses on the USU transcript. The intent is that only the most recent grade will appear with the transfer credit.

The subcommittee also approved the following Academic Dismissal Policy: Students who become subject to suspension for a third time will receive notice of academic dismissal from the University. Students who have been dismissed may apply for readmission to the University following a layout of five calendar years.

9. Lack of Registration Access (December 13-17) – Cindy Moulton

The registration functions of SIS Plus and the QUAD will not be available during the week of December 13-17. The fee payment deadline is December 9. Registration will be closed December 10. Registration will be available on a priority basis on December 11 & 12. Registration will not be available December 13-17. Open registration will continue on December 18.

10. Registering for more than 18 credits – Cindy Moulton

Prior to the fee payment deadline, student may not register for more than 18 credits without a dean’s signature.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

1. SIS Plus Access for Advisors – John Mortensen

Advisors were given a handout that shows recommended default access for peer advisors and professional advisors. The handout also indicates update access that may be granted to advisors on a permission-only basis. Requests for access need to have the signature of a dean or department head. Peer advisors must have their access approved each semester.

2. Graduation Deadlines – Heidi Beck

Heidi led a discussion and asked for input regarding the current graduation deadlines. Some indicated they would like an earlier deadline, while others indicated a preference of a later deadline. Another discussion surfaced about whether the deadlines were a University problem or a procedural problem within certain colleges. No decisions were made. Heidi has asked that any recommendations be e-mailed to her (heidi.beck@usu.edu).

3. SOAR Holds – John Mortensen

John will be meeting with the Admissions Office tomorrow to discuss SOAR holds and requested input from the committee. The committee made the following recommendations:

1) New Freshmen. SOAR holds for new freshmen will continue under the current procedure (see Advisor Handbook as a reference).

2) Transfer Students. Beginning Summer 2004, transfer students will not be required to participate in orientation, but will still be required to meet with an advisor. The committee recommends that the Admissions Office place a Hold 94 on transfer students. This hold will be removed by advisors. Students who choose to attend Transfer SOAR and meet with an advisor that day will have their holds removed by the SOAR Office. Transfer students who have already been admitted for Summer or Fall 2004 will have their Hold 91 changed to a Hold 94.

3) Extension Students. Students attending Evening School only or at an Extension site will not be required to participate in SOAR. However, when these students decide to come to the Logan campus, a Hold 94 will be placed on their record (similar to a transfer student) and they will be required to meet with an advisor.

4) International Students. International students have their orientation session on the Friday before classes begin. Therefore, they are unable to meet with an advisor. It is recommended that a hold be placed on their registration to force them to meet with an advisor prior to registering for their second semester of classes.

4. FERPA and Parents of Missionaries – John Mortensen

Many questions have recently surfaced regarding what information advisors can be provided to parents who are attempting to register for classes on behalf of a son or daughter who is currently serving a mission. How much can an advisor help if the parent does not have a written release of information from the student? We want to be helpful, but we also want to stay within the law. Because of the amount of time needed to allow sufficient coverage of this topic, the January 22, 2004 Advisor Workshop will focus on FERPA and legal issues.

CALENDAR

Thursday, November 20, 11:00 a.m., Advising Workshop Series (“Developmental Advising”)

Thursday, December 4, 11:00 a.m., Advising Coordinating Committee

Monday, December 15, 8:30 a.m., New Advisor Orientation, TSC 336


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