Whether you are a student, faculty, or staff, facing a new semester and all that it holds can be a little daunting. As the saying goes, “when life is uncertain, eat dessert first!” The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) took that maxim to heart and kicked off the fall 2017 semester with ice cream sundaes as part of its CEHD Block Party on August 31. 

The CEHD Block Party was an official Welcome Week event coordinated by the Office of Student and Academic Affairs and generously supported by Welcome2Mason.  Tables were set outside in the shade near Thompson Hall and included a sundae bar with all the toppings dished out by Associate Dean Ellen Rodgers and her staff, an information table for students with general advising questions or seeking information about CEHD Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s programs, a social media follower raffle station loaded with prizes, and a selfie station.  The CEHD ENGAGE Ambassadors helped ensure everything ran smoothly and everyone had fun.

The sunny afternoon brought out a great mix of new and returning students and offered them a chance to meet with peers, faculty, and staff in a relaxed setting. Friendly competitions took place over games of Corn Hole and Can Jam where Mason LIFE students schooled all the competition.  Professors and students invented new ways to fit more friends into a selfie. Everyone did their part to eat ice cream faster than it could melt.  The communal spirit at the heart of CEHD was evident everywhere as everyone took a deep breath, remembered to laugh, and started looking forward to the semester ahead.

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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.

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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!

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The Jerome Buddie Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, Virginia is seeking several individuals or students who would be interested and a good fit for a seasonal, part-time position as a Recreation Leader/Naturalist.  Hired candidates will be responsible for delivering nature-based programming to children in their afterschool program.  The program has a very manageable adult to child ratio. 

This is a great opportunity for a local student who has their own transportation. The position closes on 8/16/2017 and pays $16.20 per hour.   

 Apply HERE.

The Jerome Buddie Ford Nature Center is not affiliated with George Mason University.  The College of Student and Academic Affairs periodically shares such opportunities as a service to our students.

 

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The College of Education and Human Development is pleased to announce that we have several scholarships in varying amounts to award for fall 2017!  Visit CEHD Scholarships for more information, including criteria and how to apply.

The deadline to be considered for fall 2017 scholarships is Monday, August 21.  No late applications will be accepted.  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Student and Academic Affairs at 703-993-2080.

The available scholarships honor the memories and devotion to education of the following:

Annette Gorn, MEd ’87, and member of the George Mason University academic advising staff.

Catherine “Cathy” Belter, education activist, Fairfax County School Board member, and education writer and presenter.

Dr. Marjory F. Brown-Azarowicz, professor emerita in the School of Education.

Dr. Sakineh “Simin” Redjali and Dr. Said Khadiri, pioneers in the field of education in Iran, and early childhood education advocates.

Wen Pei Wu, father, education advocate, and life-long learner.

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