by Joe Napolitano, FA Mentor, New Member Mentoring Program
Editor's Note: Due to technical problems with the listserv last week and this week, we're a little behind on our posts. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Now that we're back, up and running, please welcome FA Mentor Joe Napolitano as our third fabulous guest blogger of the semester. Joe, who teaches Biology on the Eastern Campus, writes in his post about some of his own experiences as a first-year faculty member advising first-year college students, and gives us some relevant advice as we begin this semester's period of Priority Registration at SCCC.
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| Snow, Shark, and Priority Reg |
It’s that
time of year, once again. The birds are
flapping off to warmer climes (enviably), the trees are giving up on
photosynthesis in one final festival of color (which we get to clean up), and
surplus Halloween candy is cheap and plentiful (I’ve had Twizzlers for
breakfast every day this week).
You may have
also noticed the cool autumn breezes carrying faint whispers of “mid-semester…”,
“SAIN report…”, and “priority registration….” - that’s right, it’s advising season.
Although our
teaching duties probably occupy the bulk of our time, especially for new
faculty, advising and mentoring students is, arguably, an equally important
role of Suffolk faculty. Regardless of
rank or discipline, we all have two common goals - to facilitate students’
academic success during their time here, and to prepare them for their academic
or professional endeavors to come. Advising
takes many forms and, chances are, you’ve already done plenty this
semester. However, the mid-semester mark
is a useful advising cue for two reasons - it’s a good time to appraise
students of their progress in your courses thus far, and also to start planning
a course schedule for the next semester.
Sometime
between the mid-semester mark and priority registration (October 24th
and November 11th, respectively, this semester) I require all of my
students to sit down individually with me for a brief advising session I call
the ‘mid-semester check-in’. During the
check-in, we review their academic progress and attendance, calculate their
current grade and estimate what they’ll need to get on upcoming assignments in
order to end up with a final grade they’re satisfied with. For students who are struggling, we talk
about study skills and time management and plan additional meetings, if
necessary. I’ve found that, despite
transparent grading policies and regular feedback, students don’t always have a
clear idea of how they’re doing. Perhaps
it’s just easier to think “if I just keeping showing up it’s somehow going to
be ok” instead of “holy crap, if I don’t do get it together in this class I’m
completely screwed”. Regardless, the
check-in has been effective at ‘scaring straight’ some at-risk students (and
providing a nice ego-stroking to those who are doing well).
The second
part of the check-in is about planning ahead - getting students to start
thinking about the next semester. If you
are unaware, Priority Registration is a period just after mid-semester when
students can begin registering for the next semester’s classes. In general, the longer a student has been at
Suffolk, the earlier the registration date - this gives students with fewer
semesters left the first crack at registering for the courses they need. Students can check this date by logging in to
MySCCC, clicking the “My Courses” tab, then “View My Holds”.
I encourage
my students to have a schedule ready before their registration date so they can
jump on the classes they want. Wait too
long and the class may fill (or be canceled) and there’s no waitlist system for
courses at Suffolk so it’s hit or miss as to whether a seat will open up.
Advising can
be a little intimidating, especially for new faculty. After all, how can you guide a student
through the intricacies of Suffolk when you just got here yourself? To you, I have two pieces of advice:
First, fear
not. Advising is actually one of the
best ways to learn about courses, requirements and programs at the College that
you’re not already familiar with. There
are also plenty of resources available to help faculty with advising - from
your FA faculty mentor to the Academic Advising and Mentoring Centers. Although the AAMCs may seem like
another service for students, they’re also very much for faculty. Check out the brand new AAMC Short Guide - a
brief how-to for faculty advising and mentoring. It’s available at every AAMC, on the Virtual
Learning Commons and via the Title III Project home page. The guide also includes a veritable gold mine
of contact info for College programs and offices. Don’t know the answer? Just call someone and ask!
My own first
advising experience was terrifying (initially).
I volunteered for ‘arena advising’ - students queue up at a computer lab
to meet with a counselor or faculty member during priority registration. I showed up with little knowledge of Suffolk,
to a long line of waiting students who knew even less and were expecting me to
guide them. Not only did I survive, but
I learned so much from the experience that
I ended up doing it every semester thereafter - not just to help students, but because
every advising experience made me a better adviser.
Second,
never underestimate your ability to make a positive difference as an adviser. Even a few minutes spent showing a student
how to access their SAIN report or check their registration date can add up to
some serious empowerment down the road. College
isn’t high school, and it can be daunting for students when they realize that,
to a large degree, they’re expected to be their own guidance counselors, and navigate
an unfamiliar educational system while making important life-decisions.
One of my
favorite advising moments happened when I checked in with a student to whom I
had suggested applying for a new summer research assistantship. The student was one of the brightest I’d
had, and the research experience would look great on her resume and perhaps
even open a few doors. As the deadline
loomed, I asked if she had applied. She
replied that it looked interesting but was too expensive. “Expensive?”
I was baffled - “the program is free”.
“But what about the $3000 stipend?” she asked. “Uh, ‘stipend’ means *they* pay *you*…” Needless to say, she applied, was accepted
and spent the summer as an assistant researcher. Crisis averted by a wee bit of advising.
(For more information, log in to MySCCC → click “Virtual Learning Commons” tab → click
“For Instructors”.)
