Tuesday, July 25, 2017

ACA General Meeting July 2017

No photo of the spread...
instead enjoy this, 2005 champs!
A special thank you to Athletics Student Services for hosting the July ACA meeting in the beautiful Belmont space. We enjoyed a breakfast fit for champions and learning more about the work Athletics Students Services does for UT Austin student-athletes.









Athletic Student Services
Kat Hastings, Associate Athletics Director for Student Services

Kat Hastings announced that in June Dr. LaToya Smith was named the new Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Services. She will assume oversight and management of student services for the 20 sports programs this fall.

Kat also announced that "academic counselors” will transition to a new title of “academic coordinators.” The change is meant to signal to student-athletes that their job is to coordinate academic advice. The message from academic coordinators will be that college/department academic advisors and program coordinators are the best source of information regarding the specific academic requirements of their degree plan.

Kat took the opportunity to dispel some myths about the 500 student-athletes in 20 NCAA championship eligible sports at at UT Austin.
  • Myth #1: All student-athletes are the same.
False: It is a 50/50 men to women split and nearly 10% of UT student-athletes are international students. Also, each sport has its own ebb & flow making prescriptive advising very difficult.
  • Myth #2: All student-athletes attend UT Austin on a full scholarship.
False: Approximately 20% of UT Austin student-athletes do not receive any form of scholarship and most are on partial scholarships. Only 5 sports can give full scholarships: Men’s/Women’s Basketball, Women’s Tennis, Volleyball, and Football
  • Myth #3: Student-athletes are content in a bubble.
False: Athletics welcomes a partnership with ACA and other campus partners.
  • Myth #4: Student-athletes never go to Orientation.
False: Student-athletes are encouraged to attend Orientation if it fits into their academic and athletic schedule. There are 130-140 incoming student-athletes this fall and 1/3 of those students are already taking summer classes. Athletics Student Services is working with NSS to help many of those incoming student-athletes attend the August 24 Orientation.

Other things you should know about UT Austin student-athletes:
  • Many student-athletes attend UT Austin year-round to allow for the necessary training time and to keep on track academically. A lot of students also travel during the summer to compete (specifically in the individual sports).
  • They are VERY busy. Every day is consumed by some combination of classes, study hall, office hours, sport practice, strength and conditioning, meals, etc. Some are on the go until 10 pm only to wake up very early for practice the next day.
Athletics Student Services needs your help with advising students within a timeline that is a little earlier than that of your average student:
  • September & January – Student-athletes should check-in with academic advisors.
  • October & March – Student-athletes are directed to meet with their academic advisor to create a registration plan well before course schedule is even out.
  • November & April – Priority access opens; Athletics Student Services will register students with proof of a meeting with their academic advisor such as toolkit note and a completed registration advising form. Athletics Student Services only lifts advising bars if student-athletes have met with advisors first.
Athletics Student Services hopes to increase its partnership with academic advisors in a few ways over the next academic year:
  1. Academic coordinators plan to make toolkit notes with student-athletes' practice schedules, major interests, and other relevant notes to help Academic Advisors during their registration planning meetings in October and March
  2. Academic coordinators will partner with departments across campus to better educate student-athletes on the various internal transfer processes.
  3. Place more accountability on student-athletes.
Academic advisors can help in this partnership by understanding the tight schedules of student-athletes and the unique advising timeline when student-athletes run into issues scheduling appointments.

The ACA Membership asked Kat Hastings some excellent advising questions related to our student-athletes:

Q: How are you ensuring student-athletes have access to study abroad, internships, and other co-curricular experiences?
A: If study abroad experiences/internships fit into their athletic plan and allow student to still compete at the level needed, then students are encouraged to participate in one of those experiences.
  • How Athletics helps students to study abroad: Every four years teams travel internationally. COLA created a 1-hour class to prepare students for the experience abroad. It has helped students to better understand the culture when in country and reflect on their experiences abroad. Key limitation to other opportunities: Difficult to help students to finance study abroad experiences and fit into tight schedule.
  • How Athletics helps students complete internships: Web-based classes are sometimes a way to help students to complete an internship because it builds time into schedules where students can be away from campus. Key limitation to other opportunities: Per NCAA rules students are required to have a day off which makes squeezing in everything tough already. An internship can be an extra layer.
Q: It seems that student-athletes still only have access to certain majors. How is Athletics Student Services helping student-athletes navigate major selection?
A: The Internal Transfer process is difficult to navigate and that is why we have a difficult time fitting students into all of the majors on campus. We often run into scheduling issues for example if entry-level courses required for internal transfer are only offered in the afternoon during practice times that student cannot pursue that major. There needs to be more conversations at the provost/deans level to better address this concern.

Q: How do you document students taking courses as electives?
A: As long as the elective course counts toward a degree requirement such as the 120-hour rule or the upper-division credit hours requirement, the student will still satisfy NCAA eligibility requirements. Students need to be strategic and elective varies by degree plan.

Q: How do minors and certificates work with NCAA Certification?
A: If the students have applied to the minor/certificate program, have followed the procedure to declare the minor/certificate, and the minor shows on their record before the first class day, then it is appropriate and meets NCAA standards.


University Leadership Network (ULN)
Kyle Clark, Experiential Learning Program Manager, and Cierra Campbell, Year III Program Coordinator

Kyle Clark and Cierra Campbell joined ACA to update the membership on the University Leadership Network program and a leadership opportunity for ACA members this fall.

What is ULN? ULN is a performance-based 4-year scholarship program for students demonstrating financial need and who may be unprepared for the rigors of university life at UT Austin when they step onto the 40 acres as freshman. Every year ULN admits 500 students into the program with the college-to-career goal of graduation in 4 years. Students earn a $20,000 scholarship over their 4 years in the program by meeting monthly benchmarks.

ULN also needs your help on Monday, August 28 from 2-4pm at the 2017 ULN Leadership Summit Networking Session. The Leadership Summit is a one-day professional conference for students designed to provide UT Austin juniors with additional networking and leadership skills as they prepare for their careers and graduate or professional schools after graduation.

By volunteering as an expert professional at the Networking Session you will help to make networking less intimidating for ULN juniors and help students define the value of networks across identities, interests, and ideologies. All you need to bring is your awesome personality (and some business cards)! Interested? Learn more here and RSVP for the Leadership Summit here.


ACA Updates
Kayla Ford, ACA President 2016-2017, Ana Dison, ACA President 2017-2018, and Tepera Holman, 2016-2017 Awards and Recognition Committee Chair

Kayla provided an update on the committee work she contributed to on behalf of the ACA Membership during the 2016-2017 academic year. Kayla served on the Educational Policy Committee as a Consultant Without a Vote where the committee discussed transfer courses, Cockrell School of Engineering study abroad programs, catalog language related to minors and certificates and other changes still in the works. As ACA President, she also attended the Academic and Student Affairs Committee for campus-wide updates that she brought back to the membership and the Provost's Council of Student Advocates (PCSA).

Kayla then recognized the accomplishments of the 2016-2017 ACA Executive Board and thanked the board members for their contributions to the organization.
Thank you, Ana!
2016-17 President-Elect

Thank you, Daniel & Jillian!
2016-17 Vice Presidents and Program Co-Chairs

Thank you, Blake & Sara!
2016-17 Communications Coordinator & Treasurer

Thank you, Alexis & Katie!
2016-17 Treasurer-Elect & Historian
Thank you, Kayla!!
2016-17 President
(she got a standing ovation for her work)

New Officer Oath
Kayla Ford swore in Ana Dison as the 2017-2018 ACA President and Ana swore in the following elected board member for the 2017-2018 academic year:


Congratulations to the 2017-2018 Executive Board:
o President-Elect: Jay Guevara
o Vice President/Program Co-Chairs: Mary De Sopo and Eric Carter
o Treasurer: Alexis George
o Treasurer-Elect: Cassie Burton
o Historian: Joshua Barham
o Communications Coordinator: Brittney Cox
o Secretary: Briana Weiland (not able to attend July ACA meeting)


ACA Staff Awards
Tepera Holman, Awards and Recognition Committee chair

Tepera awarded the 2016-2017 ACA Staff Awards to the following deserving ACA members for their service to the advising community.

Creating Positive Change and Innovation Award: Sara Sanchez

Sara's Nominator described how Sara changed advising practices this year: This system is a reworking of an old system that was no longer used, but required working with our IT/Computer Services to modify it. This new system allows us to easily track students who have not completed the indicator courses they need to declare their major. Not only that, but the system is also a tracking system where we have the students input during what semester and where they will take the course. This requires them to constantly think about this every semester it is not complete and if they are taking it at another institution, it also requires that they use the ATE to look up the course that transfer correctly. This has caused our students to plan for their Eco & Calc courses, and it allows us to see their plan and follow up easily.

Dedication to Students Award: Jinane Sounny-Slitine

Jinane's Nominator described Jinane's commitment to her students as follows: Jinane has an open door policy. On a daily basis she has students stop by her office just to update her on their lives. She readily has candy available for them! She advises students on their academic progress and opportunities but many students seek her advice about personal matters and her input about their decisions concerning their future plans. Because of her strong bonds with students, they look to her for advice and often continue to seek her advice even after they graduate. Jinane has shared that she holds mini reunions for alumni in various cities. She holds regular gatherings in Austin, Houston, and Dallas. She remains close to her students even after they graduate which comes in handy because she can refer her current students to alumni when they have questions about careers and internship opportunities.

Beyond her regular advising duties, Jinane created and facilitates the Econ Peer Mentor Program. This program helps students develop skills to master their academics but also their leadership skills. Mentees learn about time management, resources on campus, study skills, career opportunities, and more. Mentors learn how to expand their leadership skills and receive continuous supervision and extensive training.

Service to Advising Profession Award: Kayla Ford

Kayla's Nominator described Kayla's commitment to advisors as follows: Kayla Ford demonstrates passion for the advising profession by repeatedly volunteering to take on additional roles and responsibilities such as ACA President, POD program facilitator, Working Moms group organizer, and various team-building/professional development roles. She is always working to improve the advising experience for advisors so that they, in turn, can improve advising services for students. By facilitating various team-building activities, Kayla helps advisors build their network across campus so every advisor knows who to call when they encounter student questions that go beyond their own knowledge or competencies. Beyond the networking opportunities, she realizes the value of the Academic Counselors Association in developing each advisor’s knowledge and skills, which is why she ran for ACA President Elect even while on maternity leave. (The fact that she was even thinking about ACA, advising, and her fellow advisors while on leave to care for her newborn, is just another indication of her passion for the work she does and her colleagues.) Her willingness to volunteer for extra work and tasks which others might pass up or overlook, demonstrates her commitment to the advising profession.

Congratulations to all!!




ACA Committee Recruitment
Thinking about ways to get more involved in ACA during the 2017-2018 academic year? Consider contributing your time to an ACA committee. 2016-2017 Committee chairs and members shared their experiences from the past year at the end of the July ACA meeting and provided the ACA membership a chance to sign-up for more information.

Didn't get a chance to sign-up? Don't worry! You can add your name to this Google Doc to indicate your interest as a committee member or committee chair.

Click here for ACA Committee Descriptions

ACA KUDOS and Member Spotlights - check them out!! Thanks again to Erica Matos-Lindsey and Chris Montes for being good sports :)

Thursday, July 6, 2017

ACA General Meeting June 2017

A special thank you to Student Veterans Services for their sponsorship of the June 2017 ACA meeting and for providing helpful updates regarding  UT veterans and dependents of veterans.








Student Veteran Services
Jeremiah Gunderson, Director of Student Veteran Services; and Jeff Moe, VA Outreach Coordinator, Mental Health Clinician with Student Veteran Services



Jeremiah and Jeff, both veterans, provided updates regarding the support they offer veterans and the dependents of veterans (approximately a 3:1 ratio of dependents of veterans to veterans at UT Austin).  Approximately 80% of veterans nationwide are first generation college students so Student Veteran Services works to support students with each step of the academic process in mind. Student Veteran Services provides assistance regarding:

  • Benefits
    • The intake processing and regular certification of both federal and state education benefits can be tricky for students using veteran education benefits. Jeremiah reminded ACA to ask all students if they receive veterans benefits as that can significantly impact academic decisions such as dropping a class.
  • Academic Support
    • Student Veterans Services offers veterans free tutoring, academic counseling, peer coaching and mentoring both in their office and through campus partners such as the Sanger Learning Center and the Undergraduate Writing Center.
  • Career Support
    • Since the majority of veterans are admitted to UT Austin as transfer students, Student Veteran Services works with incoming students to set professional goals and build strategies to reach each professional goal while at UT and following graduation. Student Veteran Services connects students to networking, internship, and research opportunities on campus and within the VA.
  • Health Care and Counseling
    • Jeff Moe is Student Veteran Services' in-house VA Counselor. He is able to counsel students through issues such as PTSD, academic accommodations related to health issues, and VA health care enrollment. He also connects students through the VITAL initiative to services available to veteran students. Student Veteran Services promotes seeking help and hopes to connect students to services earlier rather than later.
    • VITAL (Veterans Integrated to Academic Leadership) is a collaboration between UT Austin, the Central Texas Veteran Health Care System, and other Central Texas Higher Education institutions designed to increase access to health care, mental health, and clinical services such as individual and group counseling regardless of discharge status. 
  • Community Outreach
    • Student Veteran Services leads a Veteran Advisory Council comprising of campus partners and veteran students to help write policy, educate campus partners on the unique skills set and concerns of the campus veteran population, and provide leadership opportunities for veteran students.
    • Student Veteran Services also hosts its own Orientation Program, Student Veteran Association, Women Veterans Group, and Mentor Programs designed to connect veteran students with each other and to important campus resources.
Jeremiah and Jeff had time to answer questions from the ACA membership:

Q: How many students are veterans on campus?
A: There are 500 total veteran students on campus with just under 300 undergraduates. A large concentration of veterans are in McCombs graduate programs.

Q: Is there any way to flag students in Advisor's Toolkit, for example? 
A: Not really at this time, but Student Veterans Services is trying to create a database for all veterans whether they use benefits or not.

Q: Clarification: If a dependent of a veteran is already taking a full course load of 12 credit hours that count toward specific degree requirements, can additional coursework above 12 credit hours be anything that student chooses to take?
A: Yes, anything past 12 credit hrs is fine; they just won’t get book money for it.



Texas Recruitment & Interview Services (TRIS)
Susanna Hill, Director

Susanna addressed the ACA membership to explain how TRIS services can help students connect to employers and career resources across campus. Visit http://recruit.utexas.edu and instruct students to follow the link "I am a job or internship seeker."
This website provides easy access to:
  • HireUTexas
  • Hire-A-Longhorn
  • Career Resources from across campus for all students to access regardless of major
  • a Career Fair and Events Calendar
Thank you for the reminder about this helpful and comprehensive resource, Susanna!


ACA Updates

The June meeting provided a lot of time for ACA love with ACA Executive Committee nomination speeches and ACA Committee Recognition.

ACA Executive Committee Nominations and Speeches

President-Elect Candidates (L-R): Jillian Kozlowski and Jay Guevara

Treasurer Candidates (L-R): Cassie Burton and Sara Corson

Historian Candidates (L, Top R, Bottom R): Josh Barham, Jordyn Harrison, Erica Matos-Lindsey

Secretary Candidates (L-R): Micah Jackman and Brianna Weiland

Communications Coordinator Candidates (L-R): Brittney Cox and Chris Montes
For a complete recap of the nomination speeches, please visit this page on The Argosy.

Congratulations to Eric Carter and Mary De Sopo, 2017-2018 ACA Vice-President and Program Co-Chairs already voted in as the pair ran uncontested!

Eric Carter and Mary De Sopo - Your 2017-2018 VPs


ACA Committee Recognition

The following individuals were recognized for their service to an ACA committee during the 2016-2017 academic year. There were too many active members to take photos of each committee member as they accepted their certificate of appreciation. Thank you all for your service to ACA!!

If your name was left off of one of the committee lists by mistake, please let me know and I will happily add you. Names are listed in random order by committee.

ACA Advisory Council
Chair: Ana Dison
  • Lovelys Powell
  • Jeff Hallock
  • Jazminne Bailey
  • Sarah Shields
  • Chris Montes
  • Courtney Sy
  • Megan Rovang
  • Patty Prado
  • Sara Corson
  • Sarah Talley
  • Sarah McKay
  • Melissa Taylor
  • Brad Humphries
  • Janice Williams
  • Tomi Yamamoto

ACA Holiday Party Committee
Chair: Briana Weiland
  • Alexis George
  • Jay Guevara
  • Lily Doñes
  • Mei Lai
  • Daniel Zarazua
  • Allison Cawvey
  • Patty Prado
  • Jillian Kozlowski

ACA Pods | Co-Chairs and Pod Leaders
Co-Chairs: Amanda Golden & Rebecca Silverblatt
  • Ana Dison
  • Craig Gilden
  • Kristen Kessel
  • Jack Duffie
  • Yesenia Sanchez
  • Esmer Bedia
  • Kayla Ford
  • Jasmine Rose Schmitt
  • Eric Carter
  • Sarah McKay
  • Jinane Sounney-Slitine

Annual Advising Event Committee (Advising Expo)
Co-Chairs: Susan Somers & Rose Mastrangelo
  • Beth Labate
  • Jeff Mayo
  • Anne Pugh
  • Jordyn Harrison
  • Diane Larson
  • Bri Liu
  • Olga Koutseridi

Awards and Recognition Committee
Chair: Tepera Holman
  • Sarah McKay
  • Cindy Gladstone
  • Megan Conner
  • Lauren Marriott
  • Cassie Burton
  • Micah Jackman
  • Tomi Yamamoto
  • Josh Barham
  • Ryan Nelson
  • Brittany Rumble 
  • Jeff Handy
  • Kayla Ford

FUNdraising Committee
Chair: Megan McKay
  • Christina Tobar
  • Alexis George
  • Tisha Monsey
  • Lovelys Powell
  • Rose Mastrangelo
  • Carter Burks
  • Shannon Rose
  • Katie O'Donnell

Nominations and Elections Committee
Chair: Anne Pugh
  • Daniel Zarazua
  • Carter Burks
  • Jackson Miller
  • Cassie Burton

Professional Development Day (PDD) Committee
Co-Chairs: Michelle Hiatt & Alyson Bodner
  • Kelly Frazer
  • Jordyn Harrison
  • Brittany Rumble
  • Lauren Marriott
  • Ryan Nelson
  • Sarah Talley
  • Jeff Mayo
  • Tim Myers
  • Mary De Sopo
  • Sara Sanchez
  • Alexis George
  • Eric Carter
  • Kaytlen Powers
  • Patty Prado
  • Brittney Cox
  • Laura Jones
  • Saralyn MicKinnon-Crowley

R.O.A.D Committee
Chair: Josh Barham
  • Kristina Graves
  • Sara Sanchez
  • Megan Rovang
  • Daniel Zarazua 
  • Joana Tryon



Next Meeting: Wednesday, July 19th from 8:30am-10am in the Centennial Suite on the 9th floor of Belmont