Council of Academic Advisors
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
10:30 AM, Union Board Room
Present: Althea Alton (LAS), Jane Coplan (UAASC), Sue Dagit (Registrar’s Office), Stacy
Dorsett (COEHS), Jennifer Grimm (Communications), Molly Homer (Honor’s College), Ember
Keithley (CBT), Candace McLaughlin (UAASC), Lisa Melz-Jennings (Athletics), Caryn Morgan
(CAS), Kelly Morris (UAASC), Julie O’Brien (UAASC), Shannon Reed (LAS), Jennifer
Sandrik-Rubio (Physical Sciences), Theo Schultz (Pre-Nursing), Patrick Stout (Broadcasting),
Michelle Terry (CBT Rep), Jennifer Tibbitts (BA/GBS), Dana Vizdal (Study Abroad/CBT
Advising – Administrative Intern), Tammy Wilson (COEHS)
Guests: Mike Romano and Vicki Walters (Zoology 200 discussion)
Candace sent an e-mail to advisors who had students in Zool 200 and the reasons why students
were in the class. There were a wide range of reasons, from students thinking the class sounded
more interesting than biology to students who were going to declare into medical sciences.
In order to clarify the situation, Dr. Romano gave some background information on the course.
Biology majors used to take Biology 101-102 and the more general biology courses for non
majors were Biol 150-151, which made it appear that majors were taking courses that were lower
than the non-major offerings. When the curriculum revision was made, the department jumped
both major courses to the 200-level to let students know it was a more rigorous course.
Since this problem has occurred in the past, the course description in the undergraduate
catalogue was changed to say that the course was recommended for science majors and minors
and that the course emphasized science principles. This was intended as a red flag that this
course was more intensive than Biology 101-102.
Additional changes need to be made to make sure students understand the background required
to be successful in the course. Russ Morgan suggested that a pre-req of Biology 100 or biology
in high school be added to the catalogue description. Exact wording will take a little time to
figure out. It is appropriate for students who think they may go into med sci to take the course
and maybe after taking it they will decide they do or don’t want to go in that area. Ag majors
who are taking the course for their minor requirement and others also belong in there. If a student
registers for the course thinking they need a lab science, ask the student if they had advanced
biology in high school and how well they did in it. That may give enough feedback to let
advisors know that the student shouldn’t take Zool 200, at least for the time being until the prereq is inserted.
Instead of asking if a student took biology in high school, a more appropriate question might be to ask them if they took a biology class their senior year or were in an AP class. With Zool 200, students need to have chemistry and math classes as well, so students would have had to have math and chemistry in high school, in addition to biology. Chemistry is a big component in Zool 200 since the biology component is biochemistry. Students become lost when the biology segment is finished and the chemistry and math components come in. Those students who are in disciplines where they will see that kind of math and chem should be taking that class, obviously, but students coming in from a program with little or no math/chemistry background will find the course challenging. Summer registration is hectic and on many days there are big groups where occasionally a student could register for that course after receiving the suggested courses for freshman listing when trying to narrow down choices. It was discussed if Zoology 200 should possibly be taken off that list as a choice or some qualifier added to catch the student’s attention. Candace and Dr. Romano will discuss this. The course description should be rewritten in the gen end handbook. Students tend to read that rather than the catalogue and perhaps seeing that the class will involve chemistry and math might be a deterrent. Students who have not done well in chemistry and math should not take this course. There is a difference between “recommended for science majors” and “not‐recommended for non‐science majors.” For students not interested in medical sciences, biology 100 and 101 will be the classes to recommend. Ask students about their math level. Math 100 would be a good pre‐ or co‐req, with “pre‐req” preferred for Zoology 200. Instructors have been offering help, but there are many students who miss class and don’t comprehend the penalties associated with that. Transfer students are coming in expecting the same things to be done here as was done at their community college and because of that seem to be having a more difficult transitional time than in the past. There is no way for Biology majors to graduate in 4 years without taking Zoology 200 their freshmen year. It is recommended that most students take two 200‐level courses their first year so University Advising (UA) students who are interested in Biology need to declare as soon as possible. Most syllabi are on the biology website. There have been manyy changes in personnel in the biology department, so a lot of things that previously got done quickly have been completed later than in the past. Biology 100 or 101 will still benefit students, as well as other sciences. Once a new catalogue and Gen Ed Handbook description have been created, they will be sent to Candy to forward to advisers for review. Attendance is critical because missing biology in some classes lowers the overall score by 1 letter grade and students don’t seem to understand that. The Retention Committee is reconvening and this discussion will be shared. I.
Transfer Mailing Update – McLaughlin (see attached revisions) Copies of the revised transfer mailings were sent via e‐mail Many suggestions were given, not all incorporated on the sheets yet. Candy will take this over to Patti so we can be sure the appropriate documents are being sent to new transfers. She will try to get this sent around with corrections, including Michelle’s corrections. II. November 30th Program, Semi‐Final Agenda – McLaughlin (see attached) Forty‐five students have registered for the program, 25 freshman and 20 transfers (more freshmen than in the past). As of right now, LEJA has largest group with 10. Candy will let everyone know closer to the date what rooms they will be using. Testing will be in Morgan 216. Caryn will check with Boris to make sure Compass works on all the computers prior to registration. III. Standing Committee Reports Assessment Committee: Julie O’Brien The committee has been going over results from the two surveys from last year and will go over the results of the previous advisor survey and will report on what they saw as areas needing professional development. Comments from students looked good and the majority of them were positive. They will determine as a committee what they are trying to ascertain from the results. Campus Affairs (Theo); The committee is looking at what knowledge base to use to disseminate information to the campus and advisors. They are also attempting to develop a listserv. They are creating a Zimbra calendar with important dates and events for all advisors, not just specific areas. This will be shared with every advisor on campus. Different areas can input important dates into the calendar about things pertinent to most majors. Once ready, the calendar will be sent to advisors, asking them to accept it. A trial run will be initiated first to see if it is useful and user‐
friendly before offering it to everyone. Awards and Recognitions Committee: Lisa Melz‐Jennings The committee met for the first time and basically did some brainstorming. Items discussed were the Lincoln Laureate and the possibility of having a member of this standing committee serve on this committee, establishing an advisor of the year and an advisor of the month, and how nominations could be submitted. It is hoped that the advisor of the month award will begin in the spring. It was suggested that a free parking space be given to the winners. IV. CAGAS There is a list of CAGAS reps on the website. Julie has a list and will bring it to the next meeting. There was no meeting last week since there weren’t any appeals. The committee is doing regular types of appeals and meetings have been short. The committee will meet tomorrow. V. News from the registrar’s office. •
Incomplete grades are due in the Registrar’s office on Friday, 10/21. Conversions from “I” to “F” will take place sometime after that deadline •
Transfer student transcripts showing Associate’s Degree conferred must be received by the Registrar’s Office by Tuesday, 11/1 •
FLGI – Before sending something or contacting Donna regarding whether or not a new student has met the FLGI requirement with high school foreign language, please check the DAED screen. If Donna has had reason to check a high school transcript, she will write a comment indicating whether the FLGI requirement has or has not been met •
Friday, 10/21 – Deadline for graduation applications to be in the Registrar’s Office in order for the student’s name to appear in the Commencement program •
Download will be run Tuesday, 10/25, to determine invitations to the Honors Convocation •
Can advisors have access to change majors for advisees? No, because there are other implications including but not limited to length of program, financial aid, etc. that may need to be updated along with the major change. Change of Major forms were discussed. The Registrar’s Office needs an original student signature so that at some point the student can’t say he/she didn’t want to change the major and there is no paper trail to document the change. Once the form is received by the Registrar’s Office, the change is done quickly. The old advisor’s signature is not as important as the new advisor’s signature, since the new advisor has to approve before a student can declare that major. There may be a problem sending Change of Major forms to the Quad Cities area. Candy will check on this. Simplifying the form was discussed. Some preliminary suggestions were: Change “Primary Major” to “Major Advisor” and inserting a box indicating that the Major Advisor has been notified. Think about the form and come back to the next meeting with ideas, then it will be determined if a formal recommendation to change the form is needed. When e‐mailing an advisor that a student has changed majors, it was suggested that the following be indicated in the subject line of the e‐mail: Change of Major and Student’s Name To update student lists and catch students who have changed majors, do a new download each week. It may be a good idea to send student folders to the new advisor after students declare. This year, 65% of the faculty sent in their early warning grades. Last year there were fewer Fs and more D+, and C+; this year it appears there are more Fs. Many faculty gave students an “I” representing an insufficient grade where an NA might have been more appropriate. It was felt that faculty may not understand the concept of “I” and “NA”. An appropriate use of “I” would be for classes that don’t meet the same way as other classes and where there is insufficient data to determine a grade at that point; N/A means no grade was submitted. Everyone is encouraged to submit grades. In some cases there are legitimate reasons why there is no way to determine a grade. Please send Candy names of instructors you notice who submitted only “I’s” and she will contact the professor to see what meaning is attached to the “I” and to encourage the teachers to submit letter grades so advisers and students have a better understanding of where they stand at this point in the semester. VI. College News – skipped this one – will cover next time VII. Miscellaneous FYE Books FYE book are still available in the Center. Candy will check with the Parent Assistance Center to see if they need any books, and advisors will need some for students coming in November U‐Select Training, Please give Candy copies of any handouts distributed at the workshop that could be sent around to those not able to attend. Patty Mason and some other advisors have the handouts. There is good information contained in the brochure, even for those who already know how to use it. During the workshop, there was time to discuss discrepancies and how to make it more user‐friendly. If you want to have a similar workshop again in the spring, it might be done as a seminar sponsored by the professional development standing committee. Since the registrar’s office called and asked if we wanted some old catalogues, Debbie will check with them about picking up catalogues there or delivering them to other offices. If you still want some and have not sent a note to Candy, please let her know. A Courier article yesterday gave an incorrect number of students in OAS. The article stated 970 and the correct number is 632 (482 new and 148 carry overs). Candy is contacting the editor to make corrections. The meeting adjourned at 12:00. Respectfully submitted Debbie Carithers