Academic Advising Network, February 14, 2012

Agenda items to include:

Online appointments pilot with Appointments Plus begins March 1
January 27 Kickoff handouts available
Adaptive Advising Tool
Template for Planner in UMdegree

Spring 2012 Academic Advising KickOff January 27

Our KickOff for the new semester was fun, information filled, and delicious.  Handouts available in the AAN fold on umdrive at

http://umdrive.memphis.edu/kthurmnd/aan

Welcome from Mrs. Tracy Robinson

Welcome from Mrs. Tracy Robinson
Originally uploaded by Karen T2008

Tracy and I are working on a course for academic advising in eCourseware. This course would be used by students who are studying at a distance. The content of the course is the same as the content you teach to each of your students. How would you advise if your student would NEVER come to the office? What considerations do you need to make so that the advising relationship is rich and meaningful to that student whom you will never have in your very comfortable chair?

June 2010 AAN Recap

Our meeting Tuesday was all about the notes...General Advising Comments in space mountain (aka SPA comment) or SPACMNT.  Instructions have been emailed, but just in case you missed it, here they are. This new feature allows relevant advising comments to be shared among advisors.  Please make sure that your comments are relevant, factual, and concise.  We will be developing a protocol for these comments over the next few months.  Discuss your ideas for this protocol with your PACAA representative.  You can also contribute here.

Meeting June 8

Academic Advising Network will meet on Tuesday, June 8 at 10:30 AM in Clement 219.

Dear ALEKS: Your questions about ALEKS and the answers

Dear ALEKS:
I have a student that I am advising who is having trouble with registering for MATH 1710. He took MATH 1420 in the spring 2010 and made a “B” in the course. However the system is not allowing him to register for MATH 1710 for the fall semester. Please advise.

Dear Advisor:
Hi! The problem for your student is that he had an 18 MATH ACT which required him to take DSPM0800. This requirement can be satisfied by passing the MATH1420 combo (which can be taken with a DSPM3 since the Intermediate Algebra DSPM0850 is not required for them to enter MATH1420). However, that does not automatically move them to DSPM4 status since they have not taken the required intermediate algebra background.

The way the system is set he needs to take the ALEKS placement and score an MPL of 40 or higher in order to override the requirement for DSPM0850 and go into regular MATH1710 or he needs to take a Combo MATH1710 rather than the regular MATH1710. The DSPM3 will let him take the MATH1710-combo without an MPL qualifying score this Fall (but we will be removing that for Spring and an MPL will be required).

His problem is that he is trying to register for a regular MATH1710 while he still needs Intermediate Algebra.

ALEKS...should they retest?

ALEKS math assessment has been introduced to help students succeed in math at The University of Memphis. The assessment will provide students with an initial "placement" based on what they know or remember about the math they have taken thus far in their academic career. What is new and exciting about ALEKS is the possibility that students can refresh their skills in order to be fully prepared to take the college level course that they need to move forward toward degree completion.

ALEKS provides a learning module customized for the student by the use of artificial intelligence. The learning module or tutorial bases content on what the student knows and builds on that knowledge. Inside the learning module, students will have various opportunities to assess their progress toward a goal, including chances to retest.

Yes, retest. But the retest is a part of a solid pedagogical scheme that helps the student build toward retaining additional mathematical concepts. The benefits of the learning module outweigh the simple benefit of a retest in isolation. At this time there is not an option for retesting outside the learning module.