Center for Student Success

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1 Vol. 2, No. 2 NEWSLETTER Fall 2017 Center for Student Success Departments Academic Career Literacy Advising - Starfish, DegreeWorks - Academic Recovery First-Year Seminar GPS Mentoring PAAC Tutoring Pre-Health Sciences TSI/Development Education AVID The Foster Care Alumni Panel take a group picture with Dr. Jaya Goswami, Ashley Ochoa, and Jennifer Alaniz Home to Future Javelinas Providing Support for the Foster Care Community Although over 80% of foster care students report wanting to go to college, only 2-9% who attend receive a bachelor s degree. Texas A&M University-Kingsville is promoting a unique recruitment program in the South Texas Region to help foster care students be college aware. Initiated in 2016, the program Fostering Towards Success outreaches to high school students who are currently in the foster care system. Foster Liaison and VP for Student Success, Dr. Jaya Goswami and her team of advisors, Ashley Ochoa and Jennifer Alaniz, coordinated the 2nd Annual Fostering Student Success Conference. This year, the program was featured in the Texas Higher Education Foster Care Liaisons Information & Reference Guide. Texas A&M Kingsville (TAMUK) Fostering Towards Success - a new program focused on empowering students and giving back to children and youth in foster care in the surrounding community. -Texas Higher Education 2017 A Strong System of Advisors and Lecturers In order to guide students and provide a successful First-Year Experience, the Center for Student seeks to enrich the knowledge and resources of its department members. During the month of October, staff members attended developmental meetings that introduced them to new resources, teaching/learning strategies, and much more. Academic Advisors held an Advisors Retreat, which will help them prepare for the upcoming weeks of student registration. UNIV instructors held their PLC Conference Meet to share ideas and discuss classroom expectations. The AVID department welcomed lecturers throughout campus to attend their Teacher Preparation Initiative workshops. The goal of all the October meetings is to create a well-rounded team focused on Student Success. Table of contents Fall Events Page. 2-5tttt Announcements Page 5tttt Faculty & Departments Page 7-8tttt Interview Page. 9tttt Statistics Page. 10tttt 1

2 F all Events Fostering Towards Success Conference Advisors Retreat AVID Seminar PLC Conference Meet School Supply Drive Update Fostering Towards Success Conference October 5th The Center for Student Success is proud to be the host of the 2nd Fostering Towards Success Conference at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The event invited current high school students in the foster care system to tour the university. The number of attendees doubled from that of last year, and received greater support from university departments and fostering communities. Dr. Steve Tallant, president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville, donated four 1,000 scholarships that were given to high school seniors. Attending foster care students were warmly greeted by Tymothy Belseth, a TAMUK alumni who is an advocate for foster care children, and the TAMUK foster care organization. Outreaching a total of 58 students, and featured in several media platforms, the conference was successful in promoting Kingsville as a foster-friendly community. Did You Know... that Texas A&M University-Kingsville is the model institution in the A&M system for Fostering Care programs? The day brought together a sense of unity and support from our presenters and echoed through our audience. I believe we sent a strong message that demonstrated what it means to be part of our Javelina family. Foster Care Alumni Panel Guests are greeted by Center for Student Success Staff 2 Ashley Ochoa and Jennifer Alaniz hand out scholarships Jennifer Alaniz Advisor for Academic Recovery and Co-Coordinator for Fostering Toward Success

3 Advisors Retreat October 6th The Center for Student Success is taking the initiative to strengthen its branch of advising through leadership, communication, and comprehension. Academic Advisors attended the first Advisors Retreat held under the guidance of Dr. Jaya Goswami. The retreat offered advisors hands-on learning activities, group collaborations, and presentations from TAMUK counseling and resources staff. Guest speakers included Dr. Steve F. Bain, Chair of Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling; Dr. Michelle Durán, Assistant Vice President for Teaching and Learning; and Ms. Barbara Collias, Coordinator for the Disability Resource Center. The presentations helped advisors explore and understand new advising strategies they can effectively utilize in their line of work. Did You Know... the average number of advisees to academic advisor is 250 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville? Academic Advising Team Jennifer Alaniz Academic Recovery Plan Carlos Alvarado Arts, Criminal Justice, Others Breanne Flores-Contreras Health & Kinesiology 61+ Sasha Diaz Alternative Pre-Engineering, Others Margeret M. Hennessey Mechanical, Others Araceli Garza Teacher & Bilingual Education Priscilla Guerra All Agriculture 61+, Others Alma Limas Psychology, Sociology Cynthia Longoria All Business Majors 61+ Javier Mendoza All Agriculture 0-60, Others Jose Mendoza All Business Majors 0-60 Ashley Ochoa Health & Kinesiology 0-60 Tony Ramirez Architectural, Civil, Electrical, Others Alfonso Ramos Pre-Health Sciences, Others Veronica Salas PSA and BAAS Sonya Vasquez Criminology Suzanne Villarreal CSDO, PSKW Carla Winterbottom Geology, Physics, Math Eric Winterbottom Pre-Medicine, Pre-Dental 3 Michelle Duran gives a presentation on DegreeWorks Advisors learn about new online resources The retreat was a success. The advisors really enjoyed the day of team building, communication, and unity amongst the advising team. They took some really good information from our presenters. We had presenters from disability services, from athletics, and Dr. Baine with counseling and guidance. They left refreshed and ready to tackle priority registration and the influx of advising appointments. Veronica Salas Director of Academic Advising

4 AVID Seminar October 9th Attendants of the first AVID October Workshop were introduced to new methods of collaboration. The session was encouraged attendants to engage in group and hands-on activities. Attendees were grouped together to define collaboration, which many agreed was a team effort to achieve a goal. The presentation then moved on to a carousel activity, in which members traveled to different stations around a room and answered questions. The activities reflected AVID strategies that can be applied into a learning environment to produce High-Impact results. Did You Know... AVID utilizes High-Impact Strategies? High-Impact Strategies are student led and incorporate everything the WICOR model stands for. AVID WICOR MODEL The WICOR model is a system of teaching/learning Atendees participate in a Carousel Learning Strategy that focuses on areas of: Self-Evaluation Discussion Writing: improve learning and communication skills Inquiry: asking critical questions Collaboration: promote student groups and teamwork Organization: planning and prioritizing strategies Reading: expand student reading skills Collaboration is when people work together for a greater purpose. This can be transcended to all degrees and disciplines. Groups discuss the definition of collaboration 4 Stephanie Bain De Los Santos AVID Liasion & UNIV Lecturer

5 Student worker holds school supplies that was delivered to a local school district. School Supply Drive Update September 20th The Center for Student Success continues to gather supplies for the Hurricane relief that occurred early in the Fall semester. The supplies collected throughout September went to the students of two local school districts. Current students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville are expected to receive support from the university and from further donations. PLC Conference Meet October 6 UNIV instructors welcomed the idea of holding a Professional Learning Community Meeting early in October. The meeting allowed instructors to share teaching tools and strategies, discuss student expectations, and syllabus requirements for the First-Year Seminar. The meeting was arranged by Nicole Morris, the Coordinator and a Lecturer of the First- Year Seminar. The PLC meetings we hold throughout the semester offer our UNIV instructors an opportunity to share successful, effective teaching tools to better the classroom experience for our students. The most recent PLC meeting, held Oct. 6, allowed instructors to share ideas regarding diversity, fiscal literacy and career exploration. Upcoming Events 36th annual CASP Conference October 22 50th Annual CRLA Conference November 1 AVID Workshop: Metacognition in the Classroom November 6 Nicole Morris First-Year Seminar Coordinator & Lecturer 5

6 A nnouncements TSI Test Dates November 7 9:00 a.m. November 17 9:00 a.m. November 21 9:00 a.m. Student Class Registration For More Information, Contact Dr. Deanna Hamblin (361) Ekhardt Hall 130 Oct. 23 Priority Class Registration Nov. 8 UNIV Freshman Registration Make Advisor Appointments Using Starfish Tutor Appreciation Message The Center for Student Success would like to thank all PAAC tutors for the commitment they put into teaching and making a difference in the academic careers of the Javelina student community. Did You Know... there is a free writing support staff on campus? Create an account with the TAMUK Writing Center to set up a face-to-face or Online appointment. Scholarship Opportunity Harry S. Truman Scholarship (Deadline: February 6, 2018) Award: Up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school Access to leadership development, internships, and employment opportunities with the federal government Eligibility: All majors eligible Must demonstrate a commitment to a career in public service US citizen Junior For More Information, Contact Amanda Galvan (361) amanda.galvan@tamuk.edu Honors College 104D 6

7 S Department upport Team Coordinators Contact Information Interim Associate VP for Student Success Dr. Jaya Goswami (361) College Hall 234 AVID Liaison & UNIV Lecturer Stephanie Bain De Los Santos (361) Ekhardt Hall 121 First-Year Seminar Coordinator & Lecturer Nicole Morris (361) Ekhardt Hall 134 Pre-Health Sciences Coordinator J. Eric Winterbottom (361) College Hall 234 Academic Advising & Retention Veronica Salas (361) Jernigan Library 224 Administrative Associate V & Starfish Coordinator Cristina Briseño (361) maria.valenzuela2@tamuk.edu College Hall 234 Director of Mentoring & Tutoring Christina Rodriguez-Gonzalez (361) christina.rodriguez-gonzalez@tamuk.edu Jernigan Library 210 Academic Career Counselor Amanda Galvan (361) amanda.galvan@tamuk.edu Honors College 104D Advisor for the Academic Recovery Program Jennifer Alaniz (361) Jennifer.Alaniz@tamuk.edu Jernigan Library 222 TSI Administrator Dr. Deanna Hamblin (361) deanna.hamblin@tamuk.edu Ekhardt Hall 130 7

8 C ircle of Care Academic Advising Student Support Degree and Semester Planning Student Tracking Developmental Education TSI Integrated Reading & Writing Math Pre-Health Assist Pre-Medical, Pre-Dental and Pre-Pharmacy Students Pre-Health Organizations Medical School Applications First-Year Seminar First-Year Student Transition Promote Active Campus Participation Introduce Campus Resources Service Learning GPS Mentoring Student Mentoring Weekly Guidance Academic and Career PAAC Tutoring Individual and Group Tutoring Academic Assistance Supplemental Instruction Academic Recovery Academic Mentoring Promote College Success Skills Offer Academic Guidance Starfish AVID Online Support Scheduling Online Communication Early Alerts AVID Student Success Strategies Teacher Professional Development Academic Career Literacy National Scholarships Career and Major Exploration Personal Statements 8

9 I nterview Q&A Carla M. Winterbottom Meet our new Academic Advisor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The Center for Student Success is proud to introduce Carla, who brings new insight into our advising team. Her passion for helping others and her dedication to student success makes her the perfect member for Academic Advising. Can you explain a little about your background? I grew up here in the area, I went to school in Orange Grove. Graduated from there in 2007 and I went to Texas State University in San Marcos in the fall of I graduated in December Not an easy undergrad career, but it s what shaped me and made me who I am today and I wouldn t change any of the experiences for the world. What is your current role at Texas A&M University-Kingsville? Academic Advisor 1. Currently, I have been assigned to advice students who are majoring in math, physics, and geology. I am not that familiar with those areas, but I love learning new things and taking on new challenges. To help students succeed and achieve academic and life goals. We re not counselors, but we are here to listen and guide as best we can and be a resource to other resources to help students succeed. Why did you decide to become an advisor? My undergrad was a roller coaster ride. There s a lot of things that go into going to college, and it s not easy. It s not supposed to be easy. I really enjoy the challenges and how I have my advisors help me overcome things, and help me realize that it s not an intelligence issue, it never is. You ve just got to find that niche, that drive. I want to be able to be here and help students learn their niche. Find what interests them. What s their passion, their goals? Just see the smile on their face, when their faces light up and they realize they re about to accomplish their dreams. What is the favorite part of your job? Since I ve just started, I haven t been able to find a favorite, but my last semester in college for undergrad, I did an internship, which was with academic advising at Texas State. My favorite part was being there to just to have a lending ear to a student. Even if they don t have concerns about grades or anything, there s something else that maybe coming up. We are a resources to other resources, so being there to help guide, and encourage, and help them [students] succeed. Are there any challenges to being and advisor? It s not that advisors don t have time for their students, but maybe wanting to be able to give more time or information, but unable at the time. I think that s a big one just because advisors do meet with many students. At Texas State, you aren t normally with your advisor unless you are on probation or you just want to check in on your degree plan. And here [TAMUK] you do have to meet with every single one [student], so I feel that creates a heavy workload on some advisors, but it s a good challenge. It really makes you do better with your time management and prioritize. Not saying that one student is more important than the other, but you do want to give all your attention as much as possible to these students, and I think that could be a challenge. Just the amount that you have to see and how much attention you want to give, but other things might get in the way. You don t want to spread yourself to where you can t be there for them like you need to be. Why is student advising important? We [students] have that mentality that I can take on the world, I know it all, I can do this, I don t need your help, but you do. You need the help, you need the guidance especially if you re a first-generation college student, and you re having to navigate this all on your own, which you typically don t. There are people there going hey, here s some resource, but you need that guidance. You need to make sure you re on track because there may be classes or courses that you want to take or that you are interested in, but they aren t going to count. You don t know it all, you may think you do, but it is good to have the guidance and the encouragement from the advisor. Just to have that check in, that reassurance of yes, you re doing it right. We may not know everything, but we ll help you know everything that we do. 9

10 S tatistics Student Networking Staff UNIV Lecturers 7 First-Year Javelinas don t have to look far when searching for the right people to guide them in their college journey. The Center for Student Success provides a network of staff members who will gladly help students in their academics and professional fields. Students build networks with trained, qualified professionals and experienced student-workers. S.I. Leaders 4 FALL 2017 Guidance Professionals & Staff 22 GPS Mentors 19 PAAC Tutors 18 Advisors Student Retention at TAMUK % % % 10