Council of Academic Advisors
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
8:30 AM, Multicultural Center
Present: Bryan Barker (UAASC), LaTessa Black (UAASC), Andy Borst (Admissions), Jan Clough (Art), Jane Coplan (UAASC), Monica Eskridge (COEHS), Heather Fletcher (UAASC), Jennifer Grimm (Communications), Molly Homer (Honor’s College), Kim McDaniel (Study Abroad), Lisa Melz‐
Jennings (Athletics), Caryn Morgan (CAS), Julie O’Brien (UAASC), Jinny Page (BA/BGS), Andi Potter (CBT), Chris Ramsey (CBT), Jennifer Sandrik‐Rubio (Physical Sciences), Renee Simpson (UAASC), Vicki Walters (Biology), Tammy Wilson (COEHS) Guests: Renee Sprock, Career Development Center Sara Lytle, Freshman Focus Group Findings Renee Sprock gave an update on events at the Career Development Center Tuesday, February 4 ‐ Career Fair They are at maximum capacity with employers signed up to attend. She asked advisors to encourage students to attend. Workshops for this semester Renee passed around a poster listing workshops. Again, she asked advisors to encourage students to attend. They are helping international students get internships and are looking for ways to get students connected with internship opportunities. Please share any internship information or ideas with The Career Development Center Please note that their name has changed. Sara Lytle spoke about the first‐year student focus group survey this fall and the resulting responses. She also offered a ‘thank you’ to advisors … there is a 7% increase in student retention from fall to spring and she appreciates all the help from advisors in reaching that percentage. It is hoped that number continues to increase. She showed a PowerPoint presentation, listing Admissions qualitative research focus group questions and themes. A copy is attached to these minutes Admissions partnered with CPS and Housing to encourage students to come to the floor meetings and share their thoughts There were 29 focus groups with 476 freshmen in those focus groups. Cost was mentioned in every focus group; students are paying attention to costs when they make decisions about where they will attend FYE did a focus group with peer mentors, faculty, and students It was suggested that that students who have gone through FYE should be asked to come back and share their positive FYE experiences and the benefits of having taken a FYE class. I.
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External Review Schedule COAA was invited to attend the Monday, February 24th session at 10:30‐noon in the Multicultural Center’s board room. Each area/college was assigned a specific time slot for their area. Julie sent an e‐mail to Michelle, asking about a time for BGS since they are an academic area. A time also needs to be set for Honors, Athletics, Study Abroad. Proposed revision to grade replacement A proposal is being sent to CAGAS to remove the 20‐hour limit on grade replacement. A proposal sent to CAGAS earlier was tabled for more information; a revised proposal was then denied. Faculty Senate asked that a report of the decision be submitted to them, and after reviewing the material they voted to return the proposal to CAGAS for reconsideration and justification of their final decision. The proposal is to completely remove the 20‐hour limit on grade replacement so that WIU can be in line with their peer institutions in the state that do not have limits on it. CAGAS initially denied the request because they felt it benefitted those students who had the resources/finances to re‐take classes. This would then give these students an advantage over students who couldn’t afford to re‐take classes. In regard to financial aid, a 120‐hour degree program must be completed within 180 attempted ours (including withdrawals, incompletes, failures, etc.) in order for the student to remain eligible for Financial Aid For the sciences, 20 hours is not enough. Except in extreme circumstances, athletics will not pay for retakes Motion by Chris Ramsey, seconded by Vicki Walters, to support the elimination of the 20‐hour limit. Motion passed. III. Instructor Notification for Athletes Athletics provides students with a letter listing when they are going to miss classes, which they take to their advisor and instructors in advance. A copy of the letter is attached to these minutes. Head coaches have to submit travel schedules to Matt Tanney the semester before they travel. He then takes it to the Council of Intercollegiate Athletics, who has to approve all schedules. The guidelines are that student can’t miss more than 5 Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes or 4 Tuesday/Thursday classes per semester (post‐semester competition excluded from this). If travel schedules are over the 5/4 rule, they have to come back with a rationale about why they are over. Softball and volleyball conferences quickly use up allowed absences, which means they can’t play conference games, so they have to be creative in playing non‐conference games. This is very difficult; Western has the most restrictive policy in the league. Contact Lisa if you have a problem with the amount of days missed by a student. The policy works well, but please let Lisa know if any infractions occur. There are different letters for individual athletes because there are varying travel times for different sports Advisors would like a letter only if there is an issue. Claire Smalzer’s vacancy has been posted. They would like to have someone in place by April 1. Caryn Morgan will send the job posting to the ILACADA listserv. IV. Subcommittee Reports Professional Development A reminder was sent out yesterday about the “Suicide Prevention Program for Gatekeepers” to be held on February 5 in HH 1. Please RSVP for this. There will be a Brown Bag Luncheon on March 27. The committee is still working on plans for April and May Assessment Jennifer submitted a request to have the student survey sent out. It is hoped to have it out by mid‐February and to have it remain active through April, then the Committee will start looking at the advisor survey, to be sent out over the summer. It was asked that advisors ask students if they have taken the survey. There was a very bad return rate last year; it went to all undergraduate students via e‐mail. It was suggested that an URL be created as a student handout; Jennifer said a poster and/or handout will be sent to advisors. Campus Affairs: The professional clothing drive was Tuesday, 1/29. The committee collected and distributed over 400 items with over 75 students coming through. The media campaign for ‘make your advising appointments early’ will start soon. Awards and Recognition The committee will meet next week. There will be three more monthly awards this semester. The committee will look at national awards to see if anyone on campus is eligible for those. V. CAGAS They will talk about the revised proposal to remove the 20‐hour limit on grade replacement. The committee will look at the Honors College and the number of AP credits students can bring to Western. A limit on the number of AP hours that students can bring in is hindering them and the university. Since there is a limit on AP credit but no limit on dual‐enrollment credit, it seems to be punishing those students bringing in AP credit. This policy affects students and our reputation with other potential students. Advisors felt it would be good to know the decision before SOAR so that students won’t be misadvised. Advisors were urged to talk to their CAGAS reps to tell them how you feel about this. There is a listing of CAGAS reps online. There has been an increase in the number of plagiarism and cheating issues ‐ some are warranted and some not, but it is an increasing trend. VI. Registrar’s Office No report. VII. Area News Honors College Like last year, Centennial Honors students will have early registration, with a reception on April 27. Molly gets a list of Centennial Honors students. She then sends the list to advisors, who contact students and advise them over the phone. Molly prints out schedules and gives it to the students at SOAR. All these students participate in SOAR. If classes aren’t finalized or the CAGAS decision about the 20‐rule hasn't been determined, students can be informed at SOAR. Advisors would like the list a month to 6 weeks ahead of time. Last year, the list contained only those students who had accepted the scholarship. This year Molly will send a list of all students offered the scholarship, not just the ones who have accepted. There is no cut‐off date for students accepting the scholarship. Molly can give an indicator of which students have signed up for housing, SOAR date, etc., which is a good indicator or their interest. There is no need to follow‐up with a student who hasn’t indicated any interest in coming to Western other than filling out the application. The student registration process will start around April 21st and then advisors will have a week to register them. Advisors can talk to students ahead of time but not register them (Sarah Lawson needs to switch students to Advisor Registration and then switch back after the 27th). AP scores will probably not be available since they don’t usually come out until July. These and other issues can be fixed at SOAR. Last year, English placements were loaded by UAASC; for math placement, contact Boris. This will be discussed again closer to the time. CBT Andrea had her baby, Ledger Michael, who weighted 8 lbs 8 oz. Baby and mother are both doing well and are home. Sue Danner has started working three days a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during Andrea’s absence. Sarah Lawson was thanked for helping with student schedules on 1/28. Because the university closed for weather on Monday, the 10th day of the semester, Sarah helped students and advisors complete special permission registration on Tuesday instead. Study Abroad There won’t be a Study Abroad Fair this semester; instead, reps from different companies will come to campus at different times. There was a rep on campus yesterday and it went well. Please encourage students to come to those open meetings. Reps will have a table in the Union in addition to their sessions. If this is successful, it will probably replace the Fair. Admissions Western is in very good shape for spring. This semester only 300 students did not return to campus (in a large part due to freshman retention rate). In Macomb, there was a 9% retention rate increase from fall to spring – about 7% for fall‐fall retention. The importance of fall‐spring retention is that if a student leaves after one semester, they are less likely to pay their bill. OAS students have the same academic profile as last year. WIU is in very good shape for Fall 2014. Students with an 18‐23 ACT are up, the Western Commitment scholarship is down. Admissions is concerned about OAS numbers; the OAS class for fall 2014 is expected to be 220. On‐site visits at high schools that have sent OAS students in the past and opening up registration to students who have shown an interest is being planned. The SOAR dates are the same as originally distributed. There are ten programs with one in reserve; it will be a very good sign if the program in reserve needs to be opened. SOAR programs will start at 6 PM on Day 1, with an emphasis on student interaction (advising doesn’t have a role in this). Students will stay overnight. Day 2 will be registration (placement in the morning, the rest TBD). There will be more time this year for advisors to talk to students. On Day 2, students will have lunch on campus in a residence hall, attend the student services fair, and pick up their IDs and projected bill. Fall move‐in will be a day earlier; what happened in the past on Saturday will shift to Friday with this plan, allowing for some additional orientation events to take place on Saturday. It isn’t known what academic areas are planning. COFAC If a student has a communication minor, they can take advantage of Study Abroad opportunities by studying in the spring in Florida at Disney or Spain. It can count as a minor elective course. Please encourage students to look into this and, if interested, encourage them to talk to Jennifer Grimm. CAS Biology minors will have a chance to take a 4‐week class at the Kibbe Station, M‐Th, 8‐4. Students can stay at the site. Look at the website that shows dates, times, and classes. COBT There will be an Open House on March 28 for students, community college advisors, and high school advisors. Anyone interested in the engineering/technology area is invited to attend. The School of Agriculture lost a student this week, please keep Ember Keithley in your thoughts. UAASC There will be a day‐long self‐assessment meeting Wednesday, 1/29. The committee will be going over the final draft of the report. Veterans' Resource Center Western has been selected as a site to host a regional state veterans employment networking conference. The program will take place in the University Union in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 4. More details to be announced soon. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Carithers