College of Education
& Human Development
Department of Teaching, Learning, and
Culture
Freshman Meeting
Fall 2013
TLAC Advisors
Justin Smith
Asst. Director of Advising
jdesmith@tamu.edu
Amanda Mather
amather@tamu.edu
Bonnie Bustos-Rios
bbustosrios@tamu.edu
Charles Otto
c-otto@tamu.edu
Front Desk: 979-845-5312
Making Appointments
All TLAC students are required to meet
with an advisor EVERY semester.
Advising Office: Heaton Hall
Suite 115
Office Hours: Monday-Friday
(8:00 am - 5:00 pm)
Walk-ins: Fridays
(8:30am-4:30pm)
Phone: (979) 845-5312
Website: https://sundial.tamu.edu/tlac
Advising Office Communications
• Your TAMU email account is the official communication
method of the University and the TLAC Advising Office.
• Newsletters, course announcements, and important info
are sent to you from the Advising Office- you are
responsible for reading them!
DO NOT have your TAMU email forwarded to Yahoo,
Gmail, Hotmail, etc- often the messages don’t get to you
and you miss important info!
TLAC Website & MyCEHD
http://tlac.tamu.edu
mycehd.tamu.edu
Teacher Certification Options
Early Childhood
– Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 6
– With ESL Supplemental
Middle Grades (Grades 4-8)
– Language Arts/Social Studies
– With ESL Supplemental
– Math/Science- HIGH NEEDS AREA!
Student Responsibilities
• Achieve and maintain a minimum 2.75 GPR.
Freshmen- you have until the end of Spring
2014 to achieve this GPR.
• If you don’t meet this requirement, you WILL be
dismissed and asked to change your major.
• No Ds or Fs are allowed on our degree plans.
• So the goal is:
2.75
(or better- AIM HIGH!)
Student Responsibilities
• Attend mandatory advising session once per
semester.
• Schedule & register for the proper courses each
semester. (This may mean taking a class @ TAMU
that you’d planned to take elsewhere.)
• Progress thru your degree plan in a timely manner.
(Again, this may mean taking classes @ TAMU
instead of a CC.)
Student Resources
Byrne Student Success Center
Shailen Singh ‘01- Director- and your new best friend!
Located in Heaton Hall, next to the TLAC Advising Office.
979-862-8489
shailensingh@tamu.edu
Also: Academic Success Center, Multicultural Services, Student
Learning Center…
Advising Session
• What will we discuss in the mandatory
advising session?
– Plan the next three semesters
– Questions and/or concerns about classes and
grades
– Catalog requirements
– Registration procedures
– Community college equivalent courses
Q-Drops
Q-Drops
Can be used to quit a class in
progress
May be used anytime before the 60th
class day (Nov. 15)
Only have 4 for all your time at TAMUmust be used carefully!
Recommendation: Do your best in the class.
Talk to your instructor if you are struggling, but
stick it out. If you are not passing at the Q-drop
deadline, we can assist you in dropping the
class.
Teacher Education
(Or “Upper Level”)
• To be admitted into Teacher Education, you
must meet the following requirements:
At least 45 hours of course work on degree
plan
Completion of ENGL104, and TEFB 273 or
INST 310
Completion of Math 141/166 and Math 142/131
Completion of 8 hours of science courses
2.75 overall GPR
*When you successfully complete all requirements,
you will be admitted to “upper level” by an
advisor.
Junior & Senior Methods
• Junior Methods
– 2nd semester Junior year
– 1 full day per week in field placement
– 2 courses, 6 cr. Hours, TEFB 471 & EDCI 454
• Senior Methods
– Taken semester prior to Student Teaching
– Two full days per week in field placement
– Block of courses, 12 hours
– All coursework must be completed by this point
Student Teaching
• Last semester before graduation from TAMU
• Student teaching office will place you, may be local or
distant
• 12 weeks of student teaching, including 4 weeks of full
responsibility
• No other coursework allowed this semester
• Great field experience!
Other Information
• You must complete the online questionnaire before
your mandatory advising meeting- bring it with you to
have your hold lifted.
• The questionnaire is available on the MyCEHD website.
Look for it on the TLAC Advising page, next to the
date/time for this meeting.
• We will begin seeing freshmen on Oct. 21.
Any Questions?
• Remember, we are here for you!
Please feel free to call or email us with
any questions you have, and we will
answer them!
• Don’t be afraid to ask, we promise we
have probably heard it before!
• Thanks and Gig ‘Em!