CALS Advising and Teaching Workshop Academic/Financial Aid Reminders Wednesday August 26 , 2015

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CALS Advising and Teaching Workshop
Wednesday August 26th, 2015
Academic/Financial Aid Reminders
1. Curriculum Requirements
a. Rose will add the student’s catalogue year to their Senior Record Check
b. English 001 or HCOL 085 will only meet the English requirement for CALS.
i. It is suggested that students take ENGL 001/HCOL 085 in their first year
ii. If, for some reason, they are unable to take it in their first year, ENGL 050 will
fulfill the University and CALS requirement
2. New Sustainability Requirement
a. Beginning with the entering first-year class in Fall 2015, all undergraduates must meet a
General Education requirement in Sustainability.
b. This requirement also applies to transfer students who are matriculating in Fall 2015
c. For a list of approved courses:
http://catalogue.uvm.edu/undergraduate/courses/sustainabilitycourses/
3. Diversity Courses
a. New CDAE course approved for D1 will begin Spring 2016
b. For a list of approved diversity courses please see:
http://catalogue.uvm.edu/undergraduate/courses/diversitycourses/
4. The webpage dedicated to CALS Forms, Procedures and Policies:
a. http://www.uvm.edu/cals
b. Click on “Faculty and Staff”
c. Click on “College Forms, Procedures and Policies”
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5. Students are now required to have a 2.33 minimum GPA instead of a 2.0 for financial aid. For
questions, contact Student Financial Services at 656-5700.
a. Be aware that a withdrawal can affect Financial Aid depending on day/date of the
withdrawal. Have students check with Financial Aid or Rose Laba.
b. Appeal process for loss of scholarships
6. Course Evaluations and Advising Evaluations now available online
a. The course/instructor evaluation is no longer a paper process. It is online and can be
accessed via smartphones and computers. This will opened for all course use three
weeks before the end of classes. It will remain open through the last day of classes. Each
semester you will receive an e-mail from the dean’s office reminding you a week prior to
the survey going live. The survey is at www.uvm.edu/crs/courseevaluation
7. Foundation course for first-year students: CALS 001, CALS 002
a. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences takes pride in the academic and scholarly
support of students in its College. An example of that effort is our first year Foundation
courses taught by Public Communication professors with the support of upper class
peer teaching assistants.
b. A primary objective of these courses is to help students make a smooth transition from
high school to college and to successfully engage in a higher education community. In
addition, these two semester courses helps students build a strong foundation in public
speaking and information technology competencies that are a key to their success at
UVM and beyond.
Advising: How to be a successful advisor
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Post/list office hours or your availability for meeting.
Reply to advisee e-mails within 48 hours (recommended).
Document, document, and document what you have discussed with the students.
Show the student what a 4 year program would probably look like, keeping in mind internship
and study abroad plans.
Follow your natural instinct if you feel that the student has issues that need Dean’s Office
assistance (Rose).
Create a webpage for your advisees. (example: https://www.uvm.edu/~dneher/)
Have a plan for increasing students’ responsibilities in advising process.
Encourage students to use University resources and Career Services.
Supplemental study sessions. Have your students take advantage of them, especially with the
more demanding science courses.
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Advising Links
1. Electronic advising files—shared drive
2. Advising Handbook:
http://www.uvm.edu/cals/?Page=facultystaff/FormsResourcesPolicies.html&SM=facultystaff_su
bmenu.html
3. Student Portals in MyUVM:
https://www.uvm.edu/~rgweb/?Page=myuvm/student/student.html
4. CATS Reports (official transcript)—Curriculum Tracking System
a. “What if” option
b. Exception form
5. Senior Record Check—The CALS Dean’s Office is still requiring Senior Record Checks. The
departments will receive these.
6. Declaration of Major Form, Declaration of Minor within CALS Form:
http://www.uvm.edu/cals/?Page=facultystaff/FormsResourcesPolicies.html&SM=facultystaff_su
bmenu.html
a. Follow up with Rose—students need to be proactive
Teaching Recommendations
1. We highly recommend that if you teach a first year course, you have quizzes early in the first
four weeks to give students a benchmark with which to judge their progress. Studies show this
positively contributes to student success.
2. We highly recommend that all first year classes have an Academic Alert System to notify
students who are performing unsatisfactorily in class. Students should be encouraged to discuss
warnings with the professor of the class and with their advisor.
a. For all first year students – do advisors feel that we should put a hold on their account if
they have not met with their advisor at least once. This is so they cannot register for
classes.
3. Final grade deadline
a. Final grades must be turned in within 72 hours after your final exam. If you don’t get
them submitted, it affects graduating seniors, studies committee results, class standing,
and university honors. This is a huge deal (this could result in a lawsuit), so please meet
the deadline!
4. Students who appear their grades—discussion
a. http://catalogue.uvm.edu/undergraduate
OR
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b. http://catalogue.uvm.edu/undergraduate/agricultureandlifesciences/#regulationstext
i. Click on: “College of Agriculture and Life Sciences”
ii. Click on: “Regulations”
iii. Scroll to: “Appeal”
5. Multiple Exams—final schedule
a. Professors need to make sure that there is adequate time between the last exam and
the final.
b. No exams should be given in the week before finals.
c. Professors cannot change time/ room location of final exam.
6. How incompletes are given—discussion
7. Let the students know how they are doing. If there is an issue with a particular student, have the
student speak with the instructor first, then their advisor and then last resort is the CALS Dean’s
office, where the student will speak with Rose. Unless it is an emergency, then they can go
directly to Josie.
8. Commencements: All faculty are strongly encouraged to attend
a. No December Commencement this year
i. December reception date TBA
b. May Commencement: Sunday May 21st, 2016
Success in the Classroom
1. Syllabus – contract for your course
a. Do not change it unless there are extenuating circumstances.
b. State your grading system (i.e.: what the grade is based on) very clearly.
c. Post it as part of the syllabus.
d. Encourage transparency in grading, e.g. rubrics.
e. Grade calculations must state if grading down and why.
f. Set clear goals.
g. State definite assignment due dates and consequences for not meeting the deadlines.
h. Classroom management policies
i. Students needing special accommodations, such as ACCESS students, must inform their
instructors the first week of classes.
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2. Addressing classroom disruptions
a. http://www.uvm.edu/cals/?Page=facultystaff/FormsResourcesPolicies.html&SM=facult
ystaff_submenu.html
b. Inform your expected behaviors for class on the syllabus, for example:
i. Ground rules for discussions
ii. Questions about exams
iii. How to communicate with you and/or your TAs
iv. Appropriate language, words, emails, classroom etiquette
c. Age of electronics—cell phones, computers, etc. in the classroom
i. Put UVM Police number (802-656-3473; 802-656-FIRE) in your cell phone
ii. Register with UVM Police for CAT alerts http://www.uvm.edu/police/
Opportunities for Student Success: Overview
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ACCESS: http://www.uvm.edu/access/
Writing Center: http://www.uvm.edu/wid/writingcenter/
Learning Co-op: http://www.uvm.edu/learnco/
Supplemental study sessions: http://www.uvm.edu/learnco/?Page=schedule/sischedule.html
Career Services: http://www.uvm.edu/~career/
Student Health Clinic: http://www.uvm.edu/~CHWB/health/
Wellness, health problems, and others: work with Rose Laba
Career and Experience Hub (Davis Center):
https://www.uvm.edu/~davis/?Page=re_thehub.php&SM=menu_errands.html
Opportunities for Faculty Success
1. Center for Teaching and Learning: http://ctl.uvm.edu/
a. The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) explores, promotes, and supports excellence
in teaching, with diverse technologies, at UVM.
b. Courses on topics such as Blackboard, iClicker, PowerPoints, Designing Accessible
Course Materials, Hybrid Courses, etc.
Upcoming Events 2015-2016
1. Alumni Reunion Weekend: Saturday October 3rd, 2015
a. 11am-1pm UVM Horse Barn Open House (Miller Farm, Spear St.)
b. 1-2pm Dedication Ceremony for New Dairy Barn & Milking Center Facilities (Miller Farm,
Spear St.)
2. Open Houses: Sunday October 11th, 2015 and Saturday November 7th, 2015
a. Students come to UVM to get a broad perspective on what UVM has to offer. CALS is
actively involved in the Open Houses and we need representation from each
department at the events.
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3. January Orientation: Date TBA
a. This event is for new first-year and transfer students coming to UVM who are starting in
the spring semester. Faculty may be asked to advise students at this event.
4. Admitted Student Visit Days: Dates TBA (February-April)
a. CALS is actively involved in the academic portion of the visit days and we need
representation from each department to be available to advise students.
5. Honors Day: Announcement
6. Commencement
a. December Reception: Date TBA (no December commencement)
b. May Commencement: Sunday May 21st, 2016
7. June Orientation, August Orientation: Dates TBA
a. We need faculty representations from departments to advise and help register first-year
and transfer students in these events.