In this issue:
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Liberal education: Did U know?
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Forging best practices in scholarship student selection
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Earning graduate credits before admission to degree program
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Fall 2009 and spring 2010 class scheduling
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April RAC meeting
Liberal education: Did U know?
Question: Do service-learning courses or study abroad opportunities qualify for LE designation?
Answer: Yes. Theme courses offer fertile opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry, problem-based learning, and community engagement and service learning. Activities such as these are important to the development of students as active and engaged citizens, and we encourage their implementation in the context of LE. By providing students with the opportunity to engage actively with the community at large and in learning activities that involve participation, we encourage them to connect their formal knowledge with the world in which they live.
The Council has also recommended that all Learning Abroad experiences for which students earn at least three college credits should fulfill the Global Perspectives Theme requirement. The designation is not automatic; courses will need to be submitted for approval.
For more information on the new Liberal Education curriculum or to view the Council’s final recommendations, please visit: https://www.myu.umn.edu/public/cle.html.
Forging best practices in scholarship student selection
The Office of Student Finance and the Scholarship Search and Management Project will host a series of meetings this spring in which stakeholders from around campus will share their most effective scholarship student selection practices. The goal is to create a documented menu of best practices that administrators can use to most efficiently meet their strategic goals for scholarship management.
The meetings will be held the first Wednesday of the month at 2:00pm in room B-20 Fraser Hall. Invitations have been sent to the April 1st meeting. If you would like to attend, or are interested in more information, please contact Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez at ferna010@umn.edu.
Earning graduate credits before admission to degree program
Students with a prior bachelor’s degree have the opportunity to earn graduate credit at the University before applying for admission into a master’s degree program. This option enables individuals to determine if a program will meet their academic goals as well as get a jumpstart on fulfilling degree requirements. If interested, students should submit a completed Request for Graduate Credit form, available online at http://onestop.umn.edu/pdf/RequestforGraduateCredit.pdf, to the department(s) offering the course(s) starting April 14 for the 2009 May/summer term. If the department’s director of Graduate Studies or their designee approves the course(s) for graduate credit, the form should be signed and forwarded to: One Stop Student Services, 130 West Bank Skyway, 219 19th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55455-0427, or faxed to 612-626-9129 for processing. Fall 2009 request forms may be submitted as early as May 1, 2009.
Complete details are available at http://www.onestop.umn.edu/non-degree/registration/graduate/pro_development/index.html. Questions can be directed to One Stop Student Services staff at 612-624-1111 or helpingu@umn.edu.
Fall 2009 and spring 2010 class scheduling
The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) continues working on fall 2009 and spring 2010 scheduling issues. Please remember that space shortages make strict adherence to the course submission guidelines an absolute necessity for departments and colleges. OCM is still aiming to have all scheduled courses placed in classrooms by the opening of fall 2009 student registration, April 9.
Ways for departments and colleges to help solve the scheduling problems:
1. Verify that all courses listed in the schedule are being offered.
2. Schedule courses at standard class times.
3. Spread course offerings throughout the day and week.
4. Assign as many courses as possible into departmentally-scheduled classrooms.
5. Avoid over-projecting enrollments; look at actual enrollments from prior semesters after the drop/add period.
Spring 2010
In response to requests from colleges and departments, please note that new 75-minute, twice-per-week patterns have been added as standard "C" times. These are pilot/trial times that are being evaluated. See the OCM Web site for details.
Please remember that you will still need to submit a Request for Approval of Non-Standard Meeting Time/Day Pattern if the course is meeting at a non-standard time for spring 2010.
Find more information about scheduling improvement resources at the OCM Web site or by or contacting scheduling at classrm@umn.edu.
ECS Periods
Departments and colleges should note that ECS Period 3 for fall 2009 opened March 13 and will close April 8. Remember ECS Period 3 is for emergent and minor changes (i.e. instructor names). Adding additional courses, or changes to times or meeting patterns, may result in the course not being able to be placed.
ECS Period 1 for spring 2010 closes on March 27. Please update course information (delete, add, change) by this date.
April RAC meeting and policy of the month
The next meeting of the Registrar's Advisory Committee (RAC) will be Monday, April 6, in 101 Walter Library from 10-11:30 a.m.
Policy of the month: The April 6 session will feature discussion on the mandatory attendance at first day of class policy. Please review the current policy and come prepared to share your department's or college's practices for implementing this policy, as well as typical issues that may come up. Each month a policy will be highlighted at the RAC meeting by Tina Falkner, director of administration for Academic Support Resources.
If you have questions about this meeting or would like to be added to the listserv to receive meeting minutes and important messages for student services staff, please contact Kasi Williamson at will2026@umn.edu.