AAN March 2013

Highlights from the agenda -

ALEKS PPL
The new ALEKS PPL will unveil soon.  Today we got an email from the ALEKS corporation with our advisor logins. Student information is soon to come...Simple message until then - students who need to take the ALEKS or do learning modules should wait and use the new tool.  The old test will no longer be used.

UMdegree updates
The 2013 catalog changes have been incorporated into UMdegree. Please review and let Karen Thurmond or Glenn Munson know if additional work is needed.  Templates are being constructed for use in the planner tab.  These will be applied as new freshmen come to campus this summer, and can be applied manually by student or advisor.

Graduation Cohorts
Students who started at The University of Memphis as first time freshmen in the Fall 2007 are reaching a milestone - 6 years of studying.  In order to increase our graduation rates we are concentrating on those reaching the milestone. As we work with students, let's be aware of the how long they have been in school, and encourage them to graduate for all the right reasons. This cohort's graduation rate will be 5 percentage points higher than expected. This is due in no small part to the efforts of academic advisors. Keep up the good work.

C-SEA
Campus Survey of the Effectiveness of Academic Advising will be administered to undergraduate students through April 29. Encourage your students to participate in the survey. The previous administration (Spring 2010) will be used as a benchmark for this survey which looks closely at student responsibility in academic advising.

Does Everybody Know?
There will soon be a new FEE PAYMENT DEADLINE (as of Summer 2013). Encourage your students to make arrangements for payment of tuition and fees prior to the beginning of classes, and classes not paid for by the day before classes begins (usually a Friday) will be cancelled. More about this at our April AAN meeting.

The CD from the Intrusive Advising webinar has arrived and is available for check out at the reception desk in Center for Academic Transition or by calling 2783 between 8-12 noon. Ask for Jennifer.

ALEKS PPL

Academic Advisors Wear Blue on Friday!

The new ALEKS was unveiled  at meetings on Friday, February 15. Information about the meaning of the scores, and new access to the actual testing environment will make the new tool even more effective for use with our students.The ALEKS website is being updated to include new information

Personalize your communications with advisees

Rika Hudson in the Department of Communication menitoned that she uses "mail merge" to make her communications appear personal. Rika shared these step by step instructions.

"Here are my  directions on how to do a mail merge. Let me know if something is not clear. Sorry it’s so long.

To do a mail merge you need two things, an Excel spreadsheet and Microsoft Word

Get the Excel Spreadsheet from Banner ePrint

·         Go in to you MyMemphis Portal

·         Go to Banner ePrint – if advisors don’t have this, they may want to request it from the Registrar office

·         Click Banner Student Repository

·         Click Major Report – Excel

o   This list will give you all the majors for the entire campus

o   Locate then highlight the portion that you need

o   Copy and paste the portion that you need to a new Excel document

o   Make sure you get the column headings. You will need them later.

·         Save this document to your computer

This report has all the names, emails, concentrations,  majors and emails

Open Microsoft Word

·         On the Toolbar go to  Mailings

·         On the Mailings Toolbar, go to Start Mail Merge

·         Click that arrow

·         Select Email Message

The button next to it is Select Recipients

·         Click that Arrow

·         Select Use Exsiting List

·         Bring up your Excel document

Now type your message. If there is something specific to each individual student like their name, click Insert Merge Field. This will give you a drop down of all the Excel column headings. You can put in those fields as you see fit.

When you are down with your message, click Finish and Merge. You will then be asked to type a subject. Once you hit send, an personal email will go to all your advisees.

For more information about mail merges, go to the Help menu and type in Mail Merges. It will have many more helpful hints."

Academic Advising Network, January 25, 2013 "The KickOff"

After some delay precipitated by a case of the "crud," here is the recap of the Academic Advising KickOff 2013! I continue to add details to our agenda as time permits...keep checking back.

Agenda
Welcome and Introductions


Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act
   Steve McKellips

High School Deficiencies
   Our commitment to the foreign language deficiency for students who did not have the oppportunity to take a language in high school is still in tact.

101 Hours of Academic Advising

Interdisciplinary Programs
   Joy Clay, Robert Marczynski

BA/BS Degree Requirement changes
   Will Thompson

Courses to Consider Report

DOES EVERYBODY KNOW???
   Lots of updates on those things that we think everyone knows, but maybe not...

Prize drawing
   Stephanie Johnson was the excited winner of a $25 gift card for Lenny's. Pretty sweet, huh?

Eight Emerging Careers for 2013

By Larry Buhl, Monster Contributing Write (obtained by way of Monster.COM) 

Each year, the Occupational Information Network, or O*Net,  an occupational information source developed for the US Department of Labor, recognizes “bright-outlook occupations.” Even though they may have been around for a while, several of these occupations are considered “emerging” because they now have a critical mass of workers and a clearer career road map, according to career expert Laurence Shatkin, co-author of The College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs.

Based on the July 2012 O*Net update, here are eight emerging careers with bright outlooks in terms of immediate demand and pay. Even better, they’re all in high-growth industries.

Precision Agriculture Technician

Using GPS and GIS technology, these agricultural specialists help farmers determine how much water or pesticide to use or which crops are appropriate for the soil in various locations. The projected job growth for 2010-2020 is between 10 percent and 19 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The median annual salary is about $43,000. Similar job titles are crop specialist, nutrient management specialist, precision agronomist and precision farming coordinator.

Find precision agriculture jobs.

Mechatronics Engineer

Using a variety of engineering disciplines, mechatronics engineers design systems to automate industrial tasks. Most jobs can be found in manufacturing and government. Pay is excellent -- the median annual mechatronics engineer salary in 2011 was $90,580.

Find mechatronics engineer jobs.

Energy Broker

Energy brokers facilitate the sale of energy commodities between their clients and other companies. This job is different from an energy trader, who buys commodities on spec and hopes to sell them at a favorable price. Brokers are usually employed by financial services companies, banks and trading houses. The BLS expects job growth of up to 19 percent through 2020. The median energy broker salary in 2011 was $50,630. Another job title for energy broker is energies commodities broker.

Find energy industry jobs.

Logistics Analyst

A logistics analyst uses advanced RFID tagging technology to analyze product delivery or supply-chain processes. Based on their analysis, these experts may manage or recommend changes in route activity to maintain or improve efficiency. Similar job titles include global logistics analyst and supply-chain analyst. The BLS projects fast growth -- up to 28 percent -- through 2020. Median annual salary is just shy of $72,000.

Find logistics analyst jobs.

Biostatistician

Biostatisticians look for patterns of disease emergence and persistence. In addition, they are increasingly studying how various healthcare policies and procedures can be made more efficient and affordable. “The Affordable Care Act of 2010 should boost this career because it includes provisions to study the efficacy of various healthcare procedures,” Shatkin says. The BLS projects job growth between 10 percent and 19 percent from 2010 to 2020. The median biostatistician salary in 2011 was about $74,000.

Find biostatistician jobs.

Cytogenetic Technologist

These technologists look for indicators of genetic abnormalities in fetuses and are increasingly studying genetic signatures of various cancers and indicators of genetic diseases. The BLS projects job growth of 10 percent to 19 percent from 2010 to 2020. The median annual salary in 2011 was $57,000.

Find cytogenetic technologist jobs.

Ergonomist

Ergonomists create products and procedures designed to lessen physical strain and injury. “The field is strong due to the aging of the population, which creates demand for products and workplaces that are less physically demanding, and from businesses’ demand for greater efficiency that can be built into work procedures,” Shatkin tells Monster.com. The median annual ergonomist salary was just over $77,000 in 2011, according to the BLS. These specialists are also called human factors engineers.

Find ergonomist jobs.

Environmental Economist

These professionals help protect the environment by determining the economic impact of policy decisions relating to air, water, land and renewable-energy resources. More than 90 percent of these experts have either a master’s degree or doctorate. Salaries are high: The 2011 median environmental economist salary was $90,550. Jobs can be found in the government and professional, scientific and technical services sectors.

Find environmental economist jobs.

Academic Advising Spring KickOff 2013 - January 25, 2013

Agenda includes:
EVEA (don't know what that is? Attend the Academic Advising Spring KickOff 2013)
Courses to Consider data from our first semester - What does it mean, and what did we discover
High School Deficiences - everything you thought you knew about HS deficiencies, and some of what you are afraid to ask
Revisions in the BA and BS requirements
Guests from Interdisciplinary Studies
101 HOURS of Academic Advising

and the ever popular DOES EVERYBODY KNOW?

Join us on Friday, January 25 from 9AM-1PM in the UC Bluff Room.
Make your reservation now!

Academic Advising Network December 13, 2012

If you missed our meeting on Thursday, December 13, here are the highlights.
DebraAnn Brown presented an update on Financial Aid. The notes may be found at:

https://umdrive.memphis.edu/kthurmnd/AAN/

Lorie Hutson and Patsy Krech updated us on ALEKS, including an upcoming change in the name.  Make sure your students consult the website if they are having trouble accessing the initial assessment or the learning modules from their computer...there is a plug in needed.

http://www.memphis.edu/aleks/

The Tennessee Legislature has enacted a law that requires "state public institutions of higher education to verify that persons seeks a state public benefit are either a United States citizen or lawfully present in the US." Details are being hammered out by the office of admissions, and we will have a visitor at a future meeting to talk more about this.  The law is call Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act or EVEA.

...and now...for a second fabulous month...
DOES EVERYBODY KNOW???

Check out these tidbits in the collective wisdom of the Academic ADvising Network and Provost's Advisory Council on Academic Advising:

Helpdesk for RODP will be moving to Nashville (RODP Offices) and will probably be available 8am-5pm Central (M-F). This is a change as there have been Helpdesk services provided to UM students throught he UM Helpdesk.


If a student reports that no courses are showing up for them in Courses to Consider, please submit a Helpdesk on their behalf!


Patsy Krech reported that there are new BA/BS requirements…sessions for advisors in February 2013.


University College will no longer be offering Fire concentrations, American Studies, Correctional Administration, Commercial Aviation, Family Consumer Studies. Students currently coded to these concentrations will be given time to complete.

Some new tracks available within the Communication concentration (not major, concentration): social media, political rhetoric, organizational communication. These will appear as options in UMdegree if the student declares the concentration in Communication.


Jessica Kelso reported that a new Prehealth studies minor (interdisciplinary, 2013 catalog) will include PSYC 1030 or SOCI 1010, PHIL 3514, COMM 4XXX then three areas to complete. Look for this in the AS section of the catalog online after the beginning of the Spring 2013 semester.



Changes to the EXSS concentration in Health and Sport Science - no senior project instead EXSS 2004 as of 2013 catalog.


Programs to complete the UG/Masters in 5 years (not approved yet)

BA/MA ENGL, POLS, SOCI, ECON,

BS/MS COMP, BIOL, PHYS

HPRM may be BA or BBA (not approved yet) Currently students in catalogs prior to 2012 will complete the BBA, and students in 2012 will complete BA.