Council of Academic Advisors
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
8:30 AM, Union Board Room
Present: Julie Brines (UAASC), Jane Coplan (UAASC), Sue Dagit (Registrar’s Office), Jeanne Gage (COEHS), Jennifer Grimm (Communications), Molly Homer (Honor’s College), Kim McDaniel (Study Abroad), Lisa Melz‐Jennings (Athletics), Caleb Maddox (UAASC), Caryn Morgan (CAS), Charles Noble (Military Science), Andi Potter (CBR). Estelle Plewa (UAASC), Chris Ramsey (CBT), Colin Rogness (BA/BGS), Jennifer Sandrik‐Rubio (Physical Sciences), Theo Schultz (Pre‐
Nursing), Michelle Terry (CBT), Larry Tingley (Admissions), Phoebe Wilson (COEHS), Michelle Yager (UAASC) Guests: Jeff Eck (AIMS), Stacie Hunt (AIMS) I.
Journalism’s move to COFAC Journalism will be officially moving to Broadcasting this fall, with the following changes in advising:  all new incoming students (freshmen at SOAR and transfer students at NSR) will be advised by Mike Murray.  all current majors and minors will be advised by Ellen until August and then they will be transitioned to Mike. Please continue sending all majors and minors to Ellen until August.  OAS Journalism students will be advised by Tim. As far as degree requirements, Donna will reprogram the new major to coincide with COFAC’s
gen ed requirement of 43 hours. Current students who want to change their major to Journalism should contact Ellen, since all students currently enrolled at WIU will be advised by her. If you have students considering a Journalism major, even if not declared, make sure they are working with the COFAC gen ed requirements. Journalism major requirements, other than gen ed, are staying the same. The only thing that is going to change is Gen Ed, which isn’t catalog driven. II.
Guests: Larry Tingley, Stacie Hunt, and Jeff Eck – SOAR Landing Page A PowerPoint presentation was presented. The official title is STARS Landing page, which all freshmen will see as their first STARS page from acceptance through 10th day; after that it will be accessible for viewing, but in some areas, changes can’t be made. The Landing page will not be the first page on STARS after 10th Day. The goal was to create a central location within STARS as a starting point to let students know what needs to completed before coming to Western. This page is available for both freshmen and transfer students. There are many links to different areas both on‐campus and off‐campus. There is a status bar on the left‐hand side where students can see what they have left to complete. AIMS has also created a corresponding WIUP page (FNXT) which shows the status of items but does not have links. If you don’t have access to this screen, contact Larry with your name and ID number. The screen to change majors is very basic. Students simply select a major; however, some majors are blocked, such as nursing since it has a required GPA. Based on the campus (either WIU or Quad Cities), students are locked from changing majors one week prior to SOAR. Students who want to change campus locations must contact Admissions. If the page is not working for students, contact Larry directly. For questions about Financial Aid, contact Jessica Flogaites. For questions about housing, refer to Housing. Anything else, refer to Larry. This works on mobile phones, both platforms. The major screen matches the WIU application form. There are no “pre” designations listed, but once the student chooses a major that has a “pre” designation, it actually shows as a “pre” major. Larry is not sure if the math placement sheet will be on the Landing Page. If students check the box “I intend to come to Western”, it is just an indicator, not a confirmation. Since the screen went active in September for freshmen and 2 weeks ago for transfer students, 1,096 students have accessed the screen. Students still receive written information, including a letter and a welcome packet, which includes details about how to access the STARS Landing Page, a log‐in code, and a temporary ID card. Advisors are listed within the STARS drop‐down menu. The Participation Agreement is still online and only available to OAS students. A question was asked there could be information included where students could access the differences between Engineering Technology, Engineering, and Pre‐Engineering; additionally, if Engineering was chosen as a major, that a pop‐up could clarify that the final 2 years need to be completed at the Quad Cities campus. Alex is the default advisor for engineering, and advisors have to be manually changed for the Quad Cities campus. Larry will send a sample freshmen and transfer student letter to Michelle to forward electronically to advisors. He will also provide packets at a later date. III. Military Science’s 104‐R Form A PowerPoint demonstration showed the new version of the Academic Planning Worksheet with changes generated from higher headquarters about how it is to be filled out. Proper planning ensures cadets remain competitive for desirable branches of the military and for preferred civilian career field. Students need to be signed up for a Military Science Department course during each semester they are contracted with ROTC until commission. The course sequence can be modified based on student needs (as many as 10 semesters or as few as 4) When students commit to the program and indicate they want to continue in military service, they will need to fill out the Academic Planning Worksheet in their sophomore or junior years. Students prepare the Academic Planning Worksheet themselves and meet with their advisors to review it for accuracy. The worksheet can be based on a student’s degree plan, but it has to be specified on this form. Headquarters wants to have that information locked in as soon as possible to ensure that students don’t take extra semesters by not knowing that they needed to take specific classes. The worksheet can range between 4‐10 semesters (4 for the basic classes, with 1 ROTC class per semester). The form can be adjusted per individual needs. Students taking MS 311 and 312 in the Quad Cities are handled the same as LEJA students. MS 412 can be taken as a correspondence course with students coming to Macomb for training, meeting with department chairs and advisors, and professional development. This is flexible based on student needs. MS 311 and MS 312 need to be taken in sequence. Students receive a monthly stipend as soon as a contact is signed and the Academic Planning Worksheet is completed. ROTC will not cover extra semesters when caused by the student’s failure to properly plan. There are multiple layers of review before the form is sent to headquarters. Students can’t contract with ROTC as undeclared; UA students need to declare a major. An electronic template for each major is being created that can be filled out by students and taken to advisors for review. Updates need to have advisor signature. IV. Major/Minor Elimination Discussion A discussion about major/minor eliminations will be held on Thursday, March 19th, from 8:00‐10:00 AM in HH 1. Michelle will be making a handout so send any information to be presented to her. V. SOAR Update Placement Update Numbers tested with be drastically reduced The number of students recommended for COMPASS testing this summer will be drastically reduced. Testing will be in ST 331. Math determination and who will be recommended for PIP will be made on Day 1. The number of students in PIP will be increased this year. Boris and Iraj are working on PIP criteria and how information will be given to students. Students have to successfully complete the tutorial to be able to take the COMPASS placement test during fall move‐in weekend. Michelle believes transfer students will be able to test at NSR programs and that the NSR format will continue as in the past. Math placement information will be given to students at check‐in. There will be a blue placement form given to students and an orange form in folders for advisors A “P” sticker on orange folders indicates that a placement form was not returned. Stickers will be removed on Day 1 after Boris makes a math placement determination. Folders that still have a “P” indicate they have not turned in a math placement form. OAS students and parents will leave major meetings first. There will 2 O‐Team leaders in each major meeting. OAS will have their parent/student meeting in the Ballroom (OAS will come in one door and LEJA will leave by another door) Students and parents with a Lunch A or Lunch B need information on the outside of the orange folders, so in major meetings have students and parents take a picture of the schedule; for those who don’t have a phone, hard copies should be provided. It is advisors responsibility to provide hard copies. Students should not be allowed to take their orange files with them to lunch; these to be collected and kept by advisors. O‐Team members assigned to the colleges will also eat with them in the cafeteria. After the academic check‐in in the Grand Ballroom, students will be given their orange files and dismissed by college and colored dot. Students will be escorted by O‐Team members assigned to colleges. At the end of the major meetings, an O‐Team member will take OAS students to the Grand Ballroom and the rest will be escorted where needed. VI. Standing Committee Reports for the Annual Report Michelle needs committee accomplishments from each group by Monday, March 16, for inclusion in the annual Report presented on March 18th. The Awards and Recognition Committee has submitted their report. VII. Standing Committee Reports Professional Development and Networking No Report Campus Affairs and Public Relations The committee continues to work on the book scholarships; everyone should be getting an e‐mail announcement in the next few days. Ellen is working with those who ordered T‐shirts. There will be a supper at Bay‐Hen on March 31 at 5:00. A lemonade give‐away is being planned for April. Assessment Julie will have an update at the next meeting Awards and Recognition The February AOM has been selected but not yet announced. The request for March nominations just went out. Procedures for the Advisor of the Year have been updated and submitted to Michelle and the Provost. Consideration will only be given to those who have been awarded AOM. Technology Advisors should be receiving an e‐mail from Tim Johnson about ranking in order of importance future tasks for the committee. The committee is working with Angela Lynn on getting advisor screens for listing options of why students are not returning to WIU. On the mainframe, the F1 button will allow advisors to choose menu options; the web version will be a pull‐down menu. Y or N will still be used for removing holds and will remain as a separate field. This only has to go through the Registrar’s Office, not IT Governance. VIII. CAGAS Report CAGAS is still having meetings and hearing appeals. IX. News from the Registrar’s Office  Monday, March 16 – Grading screen closes at 4:30 p.m. o In the evening/overnight Early Warning email notifications will be sent to students and reports will be sent to advisors.  Friday, March 20 ‐ Deadline to file a graduation application in order to have name in the Commencement program  Monday, March 23 – University Bookstore begins selling caps and gowns 
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Friday, March 27 – “Incomplete” grades due in the Registrar’s Office If grades are not received,
the “I” will convert in the next week.
Wednesday, April 1 - Advance Registration for Summer and Fall 2015 begins.
Sunday, April 5 (Sunday at midnight) – This is the deadline for a student to drop a class or
withdraw completely from the University.
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Wednesday, April 15 (1 – 5 p.m.) – Grad Prep Day at the Quad Cities Campus Thursday, April 16 (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – Grad Prep Day at the Macomb University Union Concourse. 
Monday, April 20 – Open Registration begins for Summer and Fall 2015.
At its meeting on Tuesday, March 10, Faculty Senate approved the transferability of Global Issues courses. This is now awaiting the Provost’s signature. Exact details of the implementation (i.e., with regard to the possibility of it being retroactive) are yet to be announced/determined. The Foreign Language Department is still working the foreign language portion of the FLGI; they are still waiting on responses from departments and then will move forward after that X. College/Area News Jean Bird’s farewell party will be today, with Friday being her last day on campus. The department is hoping a replacement will be announced by the end of the week, to be in place by the end of April. Any student who has Jean Bird listed as an advisor will now temporary show Becky Smith’s name instead. There will be a WIU Supply Chain Management Fair on April 7 from 4:30‐7:30 in ST 501. This will be a ‘meet the major’ type of event targeted for students who want to learn more about SCM. Students interested in attending should RSVP because of the dinner provided. Announcements can be sent out on the advising listserve by anyone who is a member. Announcements sent by those who are not members go to Caryn Morgan for approval. The listserve address is under WIU‐Advising‐l@wiu.edu. Note, it’s a lower case ‘L’ after the second dash…not the number one. XI. New Business None There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Carithers