Category: Post

Click below to read this week’s edition of the The 2300, your weekly e-news source from the Office of Student and Academic Affairs.

Higher Education scholar Dr. Richard Light says, “Good advising might be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience.” This August, as Mason students were preparing to return to campus, the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) leadership team and advising staff were sharpening their skills at the CEHD Academic Advising Summit.

Conceived and organized by the Office of Student and Academic Affairs (SAA), with the support and encouragement of Dean Mark Ginsberg, the summit was not intended to train advisors. After all, Dean Ginsberg pointed out in his welcoming remarks, a quick look around revealed “that there are generations of academic advisors in the room, some who have been advising for about 30 years and others who have been advising for about 30 days.” Rather, the purpose of the half-day summit was to explore ways to enhance the existing advising model in the College; review key CEHD and University policies, procedures, and academic actions; discuss strategies for responding to student issues; and create an open space to examine the advising needs of the College. The purpose of the summit was realized through five sessions.

Session One focused on reacquainting the more than 50 participants with the CEHD Centrally Coordinated, Decentrally Delivered (C²D²) academic advising model, a term borrowed from The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Under this model, advising and student services are coordinated centrally though SAA but delivered decentrally through the academic programs and divisions. Dr. Ivory Berry, Director of Student Success, led participants in performing a SWOT Analysis of the C²D² advising model to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It was determined, collectively, that the opportunities are great but that the advising community must be proactive in minimizing the threats by enhancing communication between and across academic programs, schools and divisions, and SAA. 

In Session Two things got competitive as the group broke into smaller teams and competed in a trivia quiz testing what they knew, or thought they knew, about key academic policies and procedures. Given the constantly evolving nature of academic policy at the University as it strives to best meet student needs, it is not surprising that even the most seasoned advisors learned at least one new thing during the game. 

Associate Dean Ellen Rodgers moderated a panel of CEHD Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s (B/AM) program experts in the third session exploring the intricacies of advising students interested or enrolled in a B/AM program. Panelists guided participants through the B/AM undergraduate to graduate transition process, discussed strategies for collaborating with advisors from programs outside CEHD, and explored how B/AM students are living in both the undergraduate and graduate Mason policy worlds and the limitations of each. The session closed with a robust conversation about the opportunities and challenges of the B/AM program in its current existence and the need for reform. 

SAA Advising and Retention Coordinator, Sara Montiel, joined Associate Dean Rodgers in leading the next session, centered on minimizing the “Mason Shuffle”. The Mason Shuffle is the term used on campus to characterize the frustration students may feel when trying to navigate university policies and resources only to find they have the wrong form or are in the wrong office and need to continue looking for answers elsewhere. A series of case studies were presented to participants. In teams, participants discussed and debated how they would respond to various student concerns and incidents and make use of the appropriate College and University resources. Montiel reminded the advisors that they can be a bulwark against the shuffle by staying current on essential campus resources and keeping their advisees well-informed.

The final session of the summit, led by Dean Ginsberg, took place over lunch and provided an open forum for discussion and feedback about advising needs and resources in the College, and more specifically, in the various academic programs and divisions. 

The SAA staff received high marks for the overall summit experience including, but not limited to, the coordination, hospitality, methods for delivering content, and the look and feel of communications and print materials. 

SAA staff are currently exploring ways to transform the sessions held during the summit into a series of modules appropriate for new professional and faculty advisors as well as those who are interested in a refresher course.

CEHD Welcome2Mason Block Party is scheduled for Thursday, September 7 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm outside of Thompson Hall and the Finley Parking Lot. The Block Party is an opportunity for students to celebrate the start of the semester and mix and mingle with their peers, faculty, and staff, and representatives from various CEHD student organizations. There will be music, games, prizes, and ice cream! See you there!

We hope you’ll start getting that heathy balance in your life now so you can continue it when you return to campus.

A funny thing happened at yesterday’s CEHD Orientation. The Student and Academic Affairs staff plays a little icebreaker game with our students called “Where the Wind Blows” where they get up and swap chairs if they have done the activity mentioned by the person standing in the center of the circle. The wind blew for students who played high school sports, who love pizza, and who watch Game of Thrones.  Then the leader suggested that “The wind blows for anyone who’s had a vacation this summer.”

 No one moved.

Originally, we’d been planning to share some tips on getting organized for fall semester, but that game made us think. We thought we were the only ones without our toes in the sand. Are our students not soaking up the sun and recharging their batteries before they dive into the fall semester, too?  Don’t they know that one of the keys to student success is maintaining a balance between hard work and relaxation? 

It’s easy for students to let summer slip by as they work to pay for the next term, pursue internships, take summer courses, and care for family. Before you know it, August is here, classes and activities start, and by mid-term students feel burnt out.  Maybe the best way for you to “get organized for the fall semester” as July winds down is to just hit the pause button. 

Yes, we know that time and finances don’t always allow us a trip to Europe or a week at the beach, but there are lots of ways to recharge your batteries.  Carve out a few hours to relax with friends.  Spend some time in nature.  Give yourself an hour or two each day to read a book – not a textbook – just for enjoyment.  Take a mental health day.  We hope you’ll start getting that heathy balance in your life now so you can continue it when you return to campus, using resources like Mason’s Well-Being University Initiative.  Taking the time to unwind and breathe might be the best preparation of all for the academic year ahead.

Amid a swirl of machine-made fog, colored lights, and emotional student voice-overs, the curtains rose to commence the School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism (SRHT) 2017 Degree Celebration. The celebration was held Friday, May 19 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, VA. Such a planned dramatic entrance would seem only right for students studying Tourism and Events Management or athletic trainers and managers used to the theatrical entrance of today’s collegiate and professional athletes at sporting events. However, the students themselves were the stars making the grand entrance on this degree celebration morning, clad in their deep green Mason regalia.

The graduates were warmly welcomed to the stage by Dr. Mark Ginsberg, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) serving as master of ceremonies, and SRHT faculty.  While emphasizing that the ceremony was a celebration for and about the graduates, Dean Ginsberg did take a moment to honor retiring Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Peter Barcher, before introducing the speakers.

Graduate Justin Merrigan was chosen to address the Class of 2017, an honor he had kept secret as a graduation day surprise for his mother. Justin spoke with humor and candor as he shared his struggles to overcome skepticism, failure, and self-doubt, and to learn to “embrace vulnerability” on the path to his Master of Science in Exercise, Fitness, and Health Promotion.  He encouraged his fellow graduates to take risks as he had when choosing to submit his research for academic publication and later in applying to PhD programs.  “Leave the ego at the door, accept criticism, and strive to be better,” he told them.  His advice rings true:  This fall Justin will join the CEHD School of Education to pursue his PhD.

Dr. Britt Davis, the CEHD 2017 Distinguished Alumnus, delivered the Degree Celebration Address.  Dr. Davis, who currently serves as the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Special Advisor to the President of Campbell University, started his speech by comically zipping through 11 excellent commencement address themes he might have chosen before settling to his theme that no graduate earns a Mason degree alone.  He expressed that family, friends, and faculty are the keys to success, sharing examples from his own years as a Mason undergraduate.  Dr. Davis led the graduates and their loved ones through a group exercise wherein they repeated after him as they shared their thanks, pride, love, and support for one another.  By the time he had finished, the auditorium was awash with both laughter and tears in equal measure.  He finished by reminding graduates to carry their Mason heritage with pride and to always give back to Mason.

The speeches over and the students anxiously waiting for the highlight of the day, Dean Ginsberg set the stage for the presentation of degrees to the graduates.  Each SRHT Academic Program Coordinator stepped to the podium in turn, describing their program of study and then calling the names of their graduates with evident pride.  When all the names had been read, Dean Ginsberg announced the names of the 13 students chosen as Program Award Winners and then led the audience in applauding all of Mason’s newest alumni.    He concluded the ceremony by telling the graduates that the day marked an inflection point in their lives, not an end, but a beginning.  Presenting each graduate with a Mason luggage tag, he urged them to “take Mason with you” on the journey ahead.  Faculty and Graduates then processed out of the auditorium to the beat of Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”.  For Mason’s 2017 SRHT Graduates, degrees in hand and bright futures ahead, the celebration had only just begun.

The School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism 2017 Program Award Winners:

Bryndan Wise Lindsey

Outstanding Student in Exercise Fitness and Health Promotion

Amanda D. Garrett

Emily A. Cookson

Outstanding Students in Sport and Recreation Studies

Lauren E. Field

Janet J. Lozar Commemorative Award for the Outstanding Student in Athletic Training

Forrest N. Stieg

Outstanding Student in Kinesiology

Nicholas Schwarz

Outstanding Student in Health and Physical Education

Raina Sage Aide, Parks and Outdoor Recreation

Jeremy D. Steinel, Therapeutic Recreation

Thomas L. Goodale Award for the Outstanding Students in Recreation Management

Danielle Elise Bush

Matthew Brian Quinn

Charley Casserly Outstanding Students in Sport Management

Samantha Sutton

Outstanding Student in Tourism and Events Management

Abigail R. Solis

College of Education and Human Development Excellence in Writing Award

Keriana Grace Sachtleben

John R. Linn Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Athlete