Council of Academic Advisors Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:30 AM, Board Room Present: I.
Bryan Barker (UAASC), Laurie Black (Registrar’s Office), Donna Bradford (COEHS), Jane Coplan (UAASC), Sue Dagit (Registrar’s Office), Jeanne Gage (COEHS), Jennifer Grimm (Communications), Anna James (CBT), Ehren Kuzekov (Study Abroad), Lisa Melz‐Jennings (Athletics), Caryn Morgan (CAS), Julie O’Brien (UAASC), Chris Ramsey (CBT),Colin Rogness (BA/BGS), Jennifer Sandrik‐Rubio (Physical Sciences), Renee Simpson (UAASC), Larry Tingley (Admissions), Vicki Walters (Biology), Michelle Yager (UAASC) Approval of October 3, 2012, minutes was tabled until the next meeting. II. FYE Update – Jane Coplan & Caryn Morgan A U100 “Request for Inclusion in Gen Ed” was distributed. This proposal will be presented to CGE this afternoon. Attached to the form was the justification of the class (that it will contribute to student’s wellbeing) and what will be included. On Page 6 is the latest draft of the syllabus for U100, which is still a working document (but it is at the point where it will be presented to CGE, CAGAS, CCPI, and then eventually to Faculty Senate within the next couple of weeks). Some parts of it will probably need to be refined. Page 10 lists topics that are likely to be covered, with the idea of helping all our first‐year students transition into the college culture. The intent is to have 19‐20 sections with 20‐22 students in each section. It is not known who will teach the U100 classes. It is thought that faculty, staff, GAs, and advisors will be teaching these 1‐credit hour classes. In addition to U100, there will be an FYE Gen Ed course required for graduation. Students will register for these 2 classes in their first semester, and assuming they successfully complete them, they will not have to have another FYE class the following semester. There will be some co‐curricular activities associated with U100. There will also be peer mentors. Dr. Nancy Parsons is trying to make teaching U100 as flexible as possible, which can either be outside normal duties and paid extra or incorporated into work schedules and reported as PAA points, with teaching and course preparation counted as work time. PAA points can’t be awarded if you are paid through a separate contract, but can be awarded through student evaluations. Individuals teaching this class will apply and be trained on the common syllabus which must be followed so that each student will have a common experience. There will be a book used in U100. Students can take 2 kinesiology courses and the U100 course to satisfy the human wellbeing requirement. U100 courses customized for student athletes will not be offered since the committee doesn’t want to offer classes to specific populations. They want all classes heterogeneously grouped. TAs can teach this class. Advisors may want to attend an informational FYE session offered by CITR . If interested, sign up through CITR. There has been no discussion about whether to offer U100 as a summer course. There are no plans for an honors section. The class will be graded, A‐F with plus and minus included. There will be a few spring FYE sessions offered for eligible transfer students and freshmen spring matrics. III SOAR Town Hall Meeting Michelle met with Ron after the town hall, and what he gathered from the meeting was that advisors are most concerned about the number of Saturdays that are currently on the tentative SOAR schedule. Ron will start attending the New Student Committee Task Force meetings. Compromises are going to have to be made on both sides … we can’t move forward without them. A SOAR Program Planning Ad‐Hoc Committee is being formed that will work outside the New Student Committee on proposals for SOAR programming. Presently on the committee are Caryn Morgan (rep from CAS and placement), Ember Keithley (rep from COBT and vice‐chair of COAA), Jennifer Grimm (rep from COFAC but has been a director of Student Orientation at a different college). No one from COEHS has been appointed yet, but Michelle plans on calling Missy today to see who that person could be (Update: Donna Bradford will be the COEHS rep). This committee will probably have to meet at least twice a month to get things in place. Someone from the Registrar’s Office, the Library, and Tech Services may need to be added to the committee. It was hoped that major changes could be held off until the 2014 SOAR to give the committee time to study it and design something we feel is going to work best for students, families and the university. UAASC GAs are doing a peer institute review where they are contacting different colleges and universities to see how registration and orientation is conducted on their campuses. COEHS has a staff/brainstorming meeting today to discuss suggestions to bring to the next meeting. Jennifer Grimm has contacted other institutions for benchmarking information. Her findings thus far indicate that we are the only institution who is publicizing 5 Saturdays, although some have not yet published their dates. Jennifer will send benchmarks to Michelle. Three of the benchmarked universities have a 1‐day registration programs with faculty involvement. Those universities have a fall orientation component where students come 2‐3 days early to campus. A historical review of WIU’s registration/orientation was discussed. It was noted the 1‐day registration with a fall orientation was discontinued to accommodate the Rams football team’s schedule. It was felt the 1 day registration was highly successful as it got students registered in a timely manner and was not a financial burden to families. Also, the fall orientation delivered important university policies and procedures at a time when students are most prepared to hear/use that information. It was suggested that WIU study the possibility of returning to this format. Advisors noted that there is a difference in the type of students from the first program to the last program. As the summer progressed, the no‐show rate increased as well as the rate for students attending without parents. SUGGESTIONS According to information Michelle received at NACADA, a growing national trend is to conduct online placement exams and registration outside of orientation. Mary Mount University (Arlington, VA) presented this type of program to the conference attendees. The schedule used by Mary Mount had their placement exam (math, English, and reading) module going live on May 1st. Once completed, the first hold would be removed. The second hold remains in effect until the student has had a telephone/e‐mail/SKYPE/face‐to‐face pre‐registration appointment with their advisor. This format allows a new freshman to receive individual assistance for their first time registering for college courses. The student can register online once both holds are removed. Open registration begins on June 1st and goes through the summer. Three orientation events are held in July and one in August. The August orientation is held right before the start of classes to catch those students who could not come in July. Students can only gain access to their placement exams once they have registered for orientation. If they do not show up or complete orientation, they are dropped from their courses and would have to re‐register. That was the “hook” to come to orientation since they are already connected to their advisor. Advisors would have walk‐in appointments during orientation to “tweak” schedules, especially for students wanting to change their major. The most pressing obstacle for using a program such as Mary Mount’s is the amount of time it will take to conduct individual pre‐registration appointments. It’s an interesting idea that may be considered by the Ad Hoc SOAR Program Planning Committee. Representatives in Student Life are concerned about having students register on day one. They see registration as the “hook” to keep students and families at orientation. It was discussed that Rocky After Dark is highly regarded by the 2012 student evaluations and could possibly be this year’s hook. A suggestion was made that Michelle should join a listserve through NACADA and/or NODA that explores best practices with summer registration and orientation. Retention rate data needs to be reviewed. Since it is hard to create schedules for students who register late during a July SOAR event due to closed sections/courses, it would be nice if we opened popular sections gradually so that every section fills at the same level, like FYE and the math department. It was questioned why changes have to made for 2013….why not wait until 2014 to implement a major SOAR overhaul. Greater competition for enrollment was thought to be the impetus; however, benchmarking against our peers, we had the lesser enrollment drop. It was felt that SOAR needs to stay the same for 2013 while we develop a more detailed student/family evaluation to be given this summer. It was suggested to survey the current freshmen population for their input about SOAR. There was some concern that our students have forgotten what was going on in their lives during the summer. It’s better to survey the students immediately at the end of SOAR as it will give us better input. Even though students have signed up for a registration date both here and at another university, they aren’t necessarily tied to either one. Along with that, are we the student’s first choice … if not, are we going to lose them to another school … what are we doing as an institution to make this a 1st choice for our students because as their 1st choice opens up students will leave here to go there. SDO sends reminder e‐mails and other information to students who have registered for SOAR dates. Admissions Counselors in a student’s geographical area can be contacted (via email) for information on why students did not show for SOAR, but the usual answer is that “something came up” or “I forgot”. It was mentioned at the Town Hall meeting that WIU is down 7% in enrollment. Many other state colleges/universities are down even more. It appears our admission counselors did a good job in recruiting students. Several advisors questioned what the correlation is between the summer SOAR program and a decrease in enrollment? Is the administration looking at why students are not coming to WIU? What data are they using to tie this back to SOAR? There was concern that we may be making sweeping changes without knowing if these changes are even related to enrollment trends. It seems doubtful that a student would choose a higher education institution based on the type of summer orientation/registration program offered. We don’t have a mission statement, goals or benchmarks for SOAR so how do we evaluate if it’s successful? Without goals or benchmarks, how do we know if the changes we’re making are working? Some equated SOAR to the FYE Program. The FYE committee took a year to evaluate the program, they set goals and benchmarks and they compare it to peer institutions’ programs. Using that data, they revamped the program with plans to implement the changes in Fall 2013. Many advisors questioned why we are not following the same process for the SOAR program. It was speculated that a compromise in the 2013 SOAR schedule will probably fall between 3 – 5 Saturday events. Students come to SOAR to register, have fun and want to leave feeling connected to their classmates and the campus. Students wanting more free time to meet classmates were a common theme in their evaluations. The Ad‐Hoc committee will look at all these issues when crafting the programming proposals. Michelle is not opposed to slowing down this process, making a few changes and taking time to study it before we make major program changes, but she does not know how much say she will have in the decision‐making process. The enrollment crisis may need immediate action without the luxury of research time. We may see the addition of more Saturday events but with little programming changes for the summer of 2013. Advisors are concerned that Student Life is driving these changes, just as they have in the past. They fear not having an equal voice. Michelle assured everyone that there is more representation from Academic Affairs sitting on the Committee on New Student Programs now. All advising supervisors have been invited to attend the meetings. This includes Chris Ramsey, Missy Phillips, Russ Morgan, Sharon Evans, Billy Clow, and Rick Hardy. Ron Williams and Angela Lynn plan to attend as well. Due to the Union renovation project starting this summer, the food court, Bistro and Market Street Café will be shut down with no food available. This will make it very difficult and time consuming for families to find lunch. For this reason the CNSP is considering ending the summer’s SOAR program at noon on day two. Programming will have to be reduced, but it’s hoped that advising time would not be cut. Even with the elimination of English placements, the 2nd day afternoon will be lost. It is not known where the Student Services Fair will be held. IV. Update Model Degree Plans This will be tabled until the next meeting V. Standing Committee Reports Professional Development and Networking The committee is looking at what workshops to offer. They are having a hard time finding a time in November when NACADA members can share information they brought back from the convention, but when a date is set it will be publicized Campus Affairs The committee met last week and will meet again next week. They are in the process of compiling a master list of what they should be doing so that next year when people sign up for committees they will have a timeline of events. They are also attempting to create a listserve or forum where advisors can send information to each other. Assessment The CAS standards were completed today. Julie will implement changes, bring to the Council for approval, and then send to the Provost. Results from student evaluations will be reviewed by the committee at their next meeting. Awards and Recognition The September ‘Advisor of the Month’, Michele Aurand, was surprised at her office by the committee and the nominating student. An informational flyer with website tear‐offs was distributed and will be posted around different areas on campus. This is also advertised through TeleStars and Campus Connection. VI. News from the Registrar’s Office 1. Friday, October 19 a. Incomplete grades are due in the Registrar’s Office. Conversions from “I” to “F” will take place sometime next week. b. Graduation Applications are due in the Registrar’s Office in order for a student’s name to appear in the Commencement program. 2. Tuesday, October 23 a. Download will be run to determine who will receive invitations to the Honors Convocation. 3. Thursday, November 1 a. Non‐confirmed associate’s degree assessment codes will change for students who transferred to WIU under the Transfer Cost Guarantee but never provided a final transcript showing the associate’s degree was earned prior to matriculation. 4. 2012FL Early Warning Grades a. This year extension students and online courses were included in the EWG population for the first time. b. EWG submission by course section: i. 2011FL – 65.3% of course sections reported EWGs ii. 2012FL – 68.5% of course sections reported EWGs c. Grade distribution: 2011FL 2012FL C‐ 13.4% 13.2% D+ 12.4% 12.3% D 18.8% 20.9% D‐ 9.1% 9.1% F 39.7% 41.6% I 6.6% 3.1% d. EWG Data – Return Rates: FYE Classes = 84.7% Online Classes (first semester these were included) = 67.3% 100/200 Level Classes = 74.9% All classes in which freshmen were enrolled = 74.4% VII. New Business -
Kathy Meyers(Veteran Affairs) Since Veterans Day is on Sunday, the University will have a tribute ceremony at the Sherman Hall flagpole on Friday, November 9th at 11:00 a.m. November 10 will be a day of celebration, with a 5K scholarship run in honor of Lt. Col. Robert Baldwin and Capt. Derek Dobogai, who were both killed in the war. Following the run, there will be a WIU Leatherneck Veterans Celebration where the Alumni House has invited more than 3,000 veterans to attend the game. All are urged to come and support the activities. Stickers were distributed for anyone who might want to use them on their student folders to indicate the student is a veteran. Kathy will send an e‐mail to identify veterans. Please provide Kathy with any corrections or updates that you might note. E‐mail her if you would like your list this week. Ehrin Kuzekov (Study Abroad) The deadlines for Cultural Anthropology, Agriculture, and Nursing study abroad faculty‐led programs are October 31st. The deadlines for New Zealand and the Galapagos Islands are November 1st. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:00 Noon. Respectfully submitted, Debbie Carithers