Welcome Week 2017 August 19 25
Required Workshops Math and Excel Refreshers Career Office Workshops Social and Networking Events International Student Orientation Case Study Schedule Notes All students are required to attend all day Saturday, 8/19 and Friday, 8/25. International students MUST attend the Monday morning ISSS Orientation. All students must attend one of the Professional Standards in Using and Citing Sources workshop options. Other workshops may be mandatory based on students previous academic and professional experience. Date Location Time Slot Event Saturday 8/19 Husted Café 9:00 AM Sign in/coffee HS 106A 9:30 AM Welcome from the Dean HS 106A 9:50 AM Staff Introductions and Reminders HS 106A 10:15 AM What to Expect During Welcome Week HS 106A 10:45 AM MPA Program Overview HS 106A 11:15 AM Professionalism HS 106A 12:00 PM Career Office Information Session HS Café, HS 004 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Lunch take network survey! HS 106A 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Math Diagnostic test HS 106A 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Introduction of Case Study Group Exercise Date Location Time Slot Event Sunday 8/20 Blackboard 12:00 PM Assignment due for those attending the Monday Session of Professional Writing HS 202, HS 204 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Case Study Office Hours HS Café 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Study Break with PASA! 1
Required Workshops Math and Excel Refreshers Career Office Workshops Social and Networking Events International Student Orientation Case Study Date Location Time Slot Event Monday 8/21 Husted Lobby 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM Tour of Downtown Campus (Option 1) HS 004 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Excel Basics (Option 1) ISSS Orientation HS 219 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Stress Management Workshop HS 219 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Professional Standards in Using and Citing Sources in Written Work (Option 1) - Bring a copy of the pre-reading and your assignment Milne 105 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Career Office Hours Internship Waivers Only Husted Lobby 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM Tour of Downtown Campus (Option 2) HS Café 5:00 PM - 6:00PM Dinner with second year students HS 106A 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Memo Writing/PowerPoint Workshop Date Location Time Slot Event 2 Tuesday 8/22 HS 204 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Math Refresher I (Option 1) HS 214 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM Resume Writing/Internship Basics (Option 1) - Bring Career Handbook and resume Blackboard 1:00 PM Case Study Blackboard conversation ends Milne 107, 108 1:00 PM 2:30 PM Student Services Office Hours HS 214 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Math Refresher II (Option 1) HS 202, HS 204 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Case Study Office Hours HS 204 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Math Refresher I (Option 2) HS 004 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EXCEL Basics (Option 2)
Date Location Time Slot Event Wednesday 8/23 Husted Café 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM MPA Alumni Networking Breakfast HS 106A 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM How to find an internship using Handshake and the NYS Internship Portal HS 204 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM Math Refresher III (Option 1) Blackboard 12:00 PM Assignment due for those attending the Thursday Session of Professional Writing HS 004 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM EXCEL Fun with Charts and Graphs (Option 1) Milne 105 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Career Office Hours HS 214 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Math Refresher II (Option 2) HS 004 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EXCEL "Fun with Charts and Graphs" (Option 2) Date Location Time Slot Event Thursday 8/24 HS 004 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Introduction to Stata (the statistics program used in core course PAD 505) HS 008 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Milne 105 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM Career Office Hours HS 014 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Date Location Time Slot Event Friday 8/25 HS 2 nd Floor 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM Breakfast Professional Standards in Using and Citing Sources in Written Work (Option 2)- Bring a copy of the pre-reading and your assignment Resume Writing/Internship Basics (Option 2) - Bring Career Handbook and resume Milne 107, 108 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Student Services Office Hours HS 204 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM Math Refresher III (Option 2) Husted Café 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Ice Cream Social (Drop by at your convenience) HS 2 nd Floor 9:15 AM - 10:00 AM Professional headshots (for LinkedIn and other social media) Stop by when you have a free minute! HS 008, 014, 202, 204, 210, 214, 219 HS 106A 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM Case Study debrief Group Presentations of Case Study Outcomes to Faculty Panels Unitarian Hall 12:45 PM - 1:30 PM Lunch Unitarian Hall 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM Introduction of all Faculty Unitarian Hall Meet on Milne Lawn 2:15 PM - 4:00 PM Upon completion of the day Advisathon 2017 - Bring your MPA Program Manual PASA Happy Hour at Washington Tavern 3
Workshop Descriptions Advisathon 2017: In an effort to help you make wise decisions about your time at Rockefeller, we have designed Advisathon 2017. All faculty members will be present at this exercise. You will have the opportunity to meet with your current advisor, as well as any other faculty members with whom you may be interested in speaking with. Please bring your MPA Manual, as you will also fill out your Tentative Degree Program Planning sheet (TDPP) during this session. This is a mandatory session. Case Study Group Exercise: One of the most important skills you can gain at Rockefeller College is to work in groups. To that end, we have designed a group exercise that you will complete during Welcome Week. You will be assigned to groups to complete a case study that is based on current events in the State of New York. To communicate your group s recommendation, you will: (1) write an individual memo; and (2) deliver a group PowerPoint presentation in front of a faculty panel. The use of both PowerPoint and Excel will be part of this exercise. The mandatory attendance times for the group project are Saturday, August 19th, from 2:30pm to 4:30pm; Monday, August 21st, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm; and Friday, August 25th, from 9:15am to 12:45pm. Additionally, several professors will hold office hours on Sunday and Tuesday to answer any questions you may have concerning the case. The group exercise includes a graded portion that will be applied to your RPAD 507 grade. This is a mandatory session. How to Find an Internship Using Handshake and the NYS Internship Portal - This informative workshop will demonstrate how to find an internship using Handshake (the University s internship and job search database) and the New York State Internship Portal. The session will feature a guest speaker from the NYS Department of Civil Service. This session is mandatory for all students who have not received an internship waiver. International Student Orientation: This orientation is designed to help international students transition to University at Albany Rockefeller College and help you better adjust to the new environment. This session is mandatory for all international students. Math Refreshers I, II and III: You will take a math diagnostic test on the first day of Welcome Week to determine if you need to attend one or more of the Math Refresher courses. Depending on your score, you will be assigned to attend one or more refresher courses. There are two different times for each of the Math Refresher courses. If you are a continuing student and have already taken two of the following courses: RPAD 501, 503, or 505, and have received a B or higher you are exempt from the refreshers. Even if you do not need to take any math refreshers, you are welcome to attend the sessions if you feel you need the review. Microsoft Excel Basics & Fun with Charts and Graphs (2 sessions): You will be required to use Excel extensively in your core courses at Rockefeller College. To determine your familiarity with Excel, complete the pre-test (titled Handout for MPA Admissions data exercise ) available on Welcome Week Central and read through the workshop materials. If you cannot complete the entire pre-test, you should plan to attend these two workshops. The Excel workshops will include an assignment for RPAD 504, to be submitted on the first day of class. Excel Basics will cover Part 1 of the assignment; Fun with Charts and Graphs will cover Part 2. Even if you are not planning to take RPAD 504 this fall, it may be helpful for you to attend this workshop and complete the assignment while the material is fresh in your mind. If you are familiar with Excel and can complete the pre-test, you do not need to attend these workshops. Because of space constraints, we ask that you sign up ahead of time for one of each of the workshops. 4
Workshop Descriptions Professional Standards in Using and Citing Sources in Written Work: You will need to attend one of two options for the Professional Writing Workshop. The workshop will focus on how to properly use and cite sources in academic work, and will utilize readings that can be found on Welcome Week Central. This is a mandatory session. Resume Writing/Internship Basics: Conducted by Yalitza Negron, Director of Internships & Career Services, the workshop will be divided into two sections: resume writing and internship basics. All students are encouraged to attend the resume writing portion to review the basics of resume and CV writing for MPA students. The second half of the workshop will cover the expectations of the MPA internship program. Please be sure to bring a copy of your current resume and Career Handbook to the session. In addition, Yalitza will be holding office hours throughout the week for individual resume review and specific questions pertaining to the internship requirements. This session is mandatory for students who will be completing the internship requirement. (This session is NOT mandatory for students who have already completed their internship requirement or have obtained an internship waiver from the Office of Career Development, but they are welcome to attend). Stress Management Workshop: Graduate school can sometimes be stressful, and it definitely requires superior time management skills. Learn tips on how to manage time, develop school-life balance, and ease stress. An interactive presentation will be offered by the University Counseling Center. This workshop is optional. Introduction to Stata: In this workshop, Professor Stephen Weinberg will teach the basics of Stata, the statistical program used in PAD 505. This workshop is optional. 5
Schedule by Workshop Workshop Option 1 Option 2 Professional Standards in using Monday 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM and Citing Sources in Written HS 219 Work - Bring a copy of the (Blackboard assignment due at pre-reading and the assignment 12:00 PM on Sunday) you submitted to Blackboard Thursday 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM HS 008 (Blackboard assignment due at 12:00 PM on Wednesday) Excel Basics Excel- "Fun with Charts & Graphs" Math Refresher I Math Refresher II Math Refresher III Introduction to Stata Resume/Internship - Bring Career Handbook Monday 10:00 AM- Noon HS 004 Wednesday 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM HS 004 Tuesday 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM HS 204 Tuesday 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM HS 214 Wednesday 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM HS 204 Thursday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM HS 004 Tuesday 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM HS 214 Tuesday 6:00 PM-8:00 PM HS 004 Wednesday 6:00 PM-8:00 PM HS 004 Tuesday 6:00 PM-7:30 PM HS 204 Wednesday 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM HS 214 Thursday 5:30PM - 7:00 HS 008 Thursday 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM HS 014 How to find an internship using Rockefeller Careers and the NYS Internship Portal Wednesday 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM HS 106A Stress Management (optional) ISSS Orientation Monday 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM HS 219 Monday 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM Milne 200 6
Building Maps Husted Basement 2nd Floor 1st Floor 3rd Floor 7
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The Washington Tavern 250 Western Avenue Monday Saturday 4PM - 9 PM Happy Hour Albany NY 12203 2-4 - 1 tap beer (518 427 0091) $3.50 well drinks $5 Irish whiskey $5 house wine 11
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