Academic Advising Council

Attendees: Nick Fleury, Mary Chuinard, Lauren Corwin, Amy Davila-Klautzsch, Rick DeBellis, Jason Dorsette, Erin Heim, Brett Jeter, Nicole Kent, Kerry Kincanon, Rebekah Lancelin, Carol Leder, Jeff Malone, Rebecca Mathern, Leslee Mayers, Dianna McGinnis, Urmila Mali, Jesse Nelson, Kate Peterson, Timothy Reidy, Karla Rockhold, Fabiola Sandoval-Morado, Tristen Shay, Marilyn Stewart, Kyle Whitehouse

Approval of Minutes

Action: Motion to approve Minutes from October 11, 2017 received unanimous approval.

First-Year Advising Sub-Committee – Jeff Malone

• The First-Year Advising (FYA) Syllabus, designed to help OSU first-year students understand key learning experiences, resources, and obligations that the advising community wants students to encounter, complete and consider their first year, has been overseen by a sub-committee for two years now. Andrea Nelson, from the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, has chaired the group, and recently asked Jeff Malone to find a new chair. Jeff’s office is in the process of hiring a First-Year Coordinator (anticipated start date March 1, 2018). This new hire will be the point person for first-year advising initiatives. Jeff asked AAC to consider the need to appoint a new chair to the committee or incorporate the duties of committee chair in the position of the new hire.
  • Kerry Kincanon said those advisors on the committee were appointed due to their position description containing FYA initiatives for their prospective colleges. 
  • Nick discussed that the new FYA Coordinator will be charged with updating the FYA Syllabus and assessing the FYA survey from Fall 2014, 2015, and 2016.
  • Mary Chuinard asked if there were any action items for the group or if the new coordinator would determine if the sub-committee was necessary
  • Marilyn Stewart, a member of the sub-committee, said that it was a useful group that explored FYA issues on a deeper level. Urmila Mali concurred that feedback provided by the sub-committee was incorporated in the FYA syllabus updates.
  • Kerry Kincanon, Jeff Malone and Nick Fleury added that the unique structure of OSU’s mandatory FYA each term gives advisors important perspectives that should be shared with the new FYA Coordinator, and perhaps the committee (designees from each college) will serve an advisory role to offer suggestions for best practices and assessment needs. They conferred that we should wait until the person begins so that he/she has agency in the decisions and that the sub-committee may take on a less formal role.
  • Nicole Kent asked if we should make a formal motion to discharge the sub-committee, and Nick Fleury asked that it be tabled until after March.

New Student Programs & Family Outreach (NSPFO) Updates – Leslee Mayers

• Leslee announced that, beginning Fall 2018, NSPFO will assuming full leadership/coordination of international orientation, and that there will be an advisor-specific informational session about international orientation on Monday, January 22, from 10:00-11:00 AM in The Valley Library Willamette Rooms (3622). Advisors who work with international students are highly encouraged to attend. This session will be jointly presented by Natalie Rooney (Orientation Coordinator, New Student Programs & Family Outreach), Emiko Christopherson (International Student Advisor, Office of International Services) and Shain Panzeri (Director, International Admissions and Academic Support).
  • Topics covered in this session will include:
    • International admissions, including: admissions process, transcript articulation, communication timeline;
    • International orientation, including: how lists of students are generated/why there may be discrepancies, schedule of September international orientation, what communication students receive about orientation, online orientation completion and advising/registration process, updating college-specific online orientation information; and
    • International Progression largest in summer months and an orientation hasn’t been done before.
• NSPFO will begin coordinating the family weekends in Fall 2018 since they will no longer be organized by OSU Program Council within Student Leadership & Involvement.
• Additional NSPFO Dates:
  • Welcome Week – Fall 2018 September 16-23
  • University Day – 2018 September 11
  • OSU 150 – October 27, 2018
  • OSU Land Grant Festival – October 16, 2018
• Offsite START data will identify those who will be participating in January

Role of Council of Head Advisors (CHA) and Academic Advising Council (AAC) – Nick Fleury

•  Faculty Senate President Bob Mason asked Nick to review the roles of CHA and AAC to determine the advantages of having both committees over concern that membership in both groups may be taxing to some. Nick proceeded to solicit input from AAC members present.
  • Brett Jeter discussed how AAC is responsible for pushing issues forward, while CHA is a working group that doesn’t adhere to the Faculty Senate guidelines/rules. AAC is the body where ideas go to reach consensus. CHA developed from a group who attended a NACADA conference and saw the need for head advisors from each college to meet to determine needed initiatives.
  • Kerry Kincanon addressed the intersections between CHA and AAC, but AAC is the body that brings initiatives to a vote. CHA does a lot of triage and brainstorming work.
  • Nicole Kent spoke to the broad nature of AAC while CHA meetings often discuss topics that are not pertinent to the AAC membership. Nicole addressed respecting everyone’s time in relation to attending multiple meetings, but CHA is a very important group. AAC and CHA meetings should always be on the monthly calendar, but can be canceled at the chair’s discretion when there is nothing to vote on or push forward. She believes that most members feel comfortable with the time currently allotted for meetings, and CHA can’t be dissolved since it is not a Faculty Senate committee.
  • Rebecca Mathern said that she seeks advice from CHA regarding options to consider, and relies on AAC to share information and gain feedback. Both groups are helpful for different purposes. 
  • Leslee Mayers gathers information from AAC meetings that impact her NSPFO programming.    

Academic Advising Policy – Nick Fleury and Jesse Nelson

• Discussion regarding the need for work group sessions to update policies/guidelines and framework for FYA.
• Brett Jeter addressed the need to update the Academic Advising at Oregon State University vision, mission, and values statement to be more reflective of new advising models across the university. The statements have not been updated since 2005.
  • Kerry Kincanon and Nick Fleury suggested that the updates would be a good project for CHA and a working session could be held.

Follow-up on Financial Care Team Work – Kate Peterson, Jesse Nelson

• Handout of Financial Care Team website information was distributed:
• Discussion regarding confusion and misperception that that Care Team had funds to administer. Kate Peterson and Jesse Nelson explained that the team was there to provide a coordinated response to issues when students’ access to funding was only one part of the issues being experienced. The website provides a referral form that needs to be completed by faculty and staff.
  • Jeff Malone expressed the need for the website to directly state that the team doesn’t distribute funds, and it was also suggested that the website inform those making a referral that there will be no follow-up by the care team. Only students can initiate confirmation of the Financial Care Team’s efforts. 
  • The Financial Care Team is hoping to get a donor who will support emergency scholarships.
  • Mary Chuinard said that some referred students were sent to Financial Aid by the care team, and that was an unexpected response to the students’ needs.
  • Rebecca Mathern asked if only currently enrolled/active students could be assisted by the care team. Kate said that any student can be referred, and she preferred that students were referred freely. 
  • Kyle Whitehouse confirmed that Ecampus students can be referred to the care team.
  • Brett Jeter questioned the need for the care team to know about scholarships in colleges that may benefit students needing assistance from the care team. He was informed that this information would be beneficial since funds are limited and knowledge about other funding sources is necessary.
• Jesse Nelson mentioned the need for more leads on funding sources and that the website will need to provide a better understanding for expectations of the team and case scenarios of situations where the team could be of assistance. Kate Peterson doesn’t want the expectations or scenarios to seem limiting for students, but wants clearer guidelines for referrals.

Other Business

• Since Karla Rockhold will no longer be the Head Advisor for the College of Education, Nick Fleury called for nominations for a new Chair-Elect (Secretary) for AAC. Tristen Shay was nominated and accepted the nomination. The vote will take place at the January 11, 2018 AAC meeting.

Announcements

• The College of Pharmacy will be expanding its Early Admission Program (EAP) to include students who are second and third year standing with a 3.3 GPA in a science major. Potential EAP participants can be from community colleges and other universities. The application process will be online through the College of Pharmacy next year.
• Brett Jeter announced that the College of Engineering has three positions available, and one is specifically geared toward FYA.
• Erin Heim announced that the College of Public Health and Human Sciences is seeking a new Associate Head Advisor.
• Tristen Shay reported that Dr. John Edwards will now be the Associate Dean of Student Services, Success & Retention in the College of Liberal Arts.
• Rebecca Mathern had several announcements:
  • David Farrington from Umpqua Community College will serve as the new Degree Clearance Manager.
  • There are three finalists for the Associate Registrar position, and an offer should be extended by next week.
  • Amanda Champagne left over the summer and her Data Analyst II position will be posted soon.
  • Operations Manager, Shannon Harwood, will be leaving for the College of Forestry on December 29.
  • 2,800 Fall term grades have still not been submitted. The Registrar’s Office gave associate deans a list of instructors who did not submit grades by the deadline.

Minutes taken by Karla Rockhold, College of Education Head Academic Advisor and Academic Advising Council Chair-Elect