We are now in the third week of the fall 2017 semester, and if things weren’t already getting “real” for you before, they definitely should be now! Catch this. By now you should be settled with your fall class schedule. Know when the classes are held. Know where they are located. Know which (unassigned) seats are “yours”. Know what times the classes start. Know the instructors’ names. Have reviewed the syllabi. And have connected with at least two classmates in each class who are going to hold you down all semester. But, based on the high volume of inquiries, late schedule adjustments, requests for late registration fee waivers, and “I didn’t know I was still registered for that class” and “nobody told me…” statements we’ve received in the CEHD Office of Student and Academic Affairs over the past few days, perhaps some of you are not quite settled just yet. And as Issa Rae from the HBO series Insecure would say, “We Got Y’all!” 

We understand navigating a large campus system (read: maze) like Mason can be difficult, especially for our first-time freshmen, new graduate students, and transfer students. If you haven’t noticed, we do things a bit differently (sometimes difficult) around these parts. Therefore, we find it necessary to peep you to game. Here are three things that you may or may not have known about being a student at Mason: 1) Although the last day to add a fall 2017 class was September 5, you can technically still request permission from an instructor to be added to their class or arrange an independent study. But, here’s the catch. The instructor does not have to let you in (like, it is the third week of the semester, right?!), and if they do, you will be assessed a late fee and be required to pre-pay for the class before it can be officially added to your class schedule by the Registrar’s office. 2) Your classes will not be automatically or administratively dropped by your Dean, instructor, advisor, or auntie, just because you haven’t paid your semester bill. If you have no intentions on being a student this semester, but previously registered for fall classes, you must go into Patriot Web and drop your classes before the final drop date with tuition penalty (September 19). Otherwise, your student account will become delinquent, and a hold will be placed on your account to prevent future registrations or make any schedule modifications until you give us our money. We want our coins! 3) Check your email daily. And, I’m not necessarily referring to your [email protected] or [email protected] accounts. I’m specifically referring to your masonlive.gmu.edu email account, the official communication mechanism for Mason students, faculty, and staff. Notices from financial aid, student accounts, instructors, and other university personnel and offices are sent to your Mason live account. Go check it out! You never know; you may already have some mail in your inbox waiting for a timely response. Okay, I lied. I actually have a fourth piece of advice that you need dropped in your spirit right now. 4) There’s a saying that goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” And, that may be true, but around here, just know that even what you don’t know, you are still responsible for knowing it! Being a student at Mason comes with great expectations and responsibilities. The University catalog is your friend (although it’s not very student friend-ly!). But, just remember, “We Got Y’all!” We’ll help you unpack the catalog and understand how things work around here. As my late grandmother would say, “closed mouths don’t get fed.” I told y’all, “We Got Y’all!”

Okay, That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon with some more advice to help in your transition to and/or through Mason.

 

 

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.

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.

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!