In this issue:
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Working your way though the U: Then and now
-
Consultation available regarding imaging files
-
Save the date for the August RAC meeting
-
UMACRAO conference in Fargo, ND
-
Student records training workshops
-
Farewell to Steve Fitzgerald
-
Help revamp the Record
Working your way through the U: Then and now
In
the 1968-1969 academic year, a full time undergraduate
student paid $385 to study at the University of Minnesota. Compare that
with
today's rate of $10,756. The real challenge for current students is not
higher
education costs—it's that increases in wages and household income have
not kept
pace.
In
fact, a 1969 student could easily cover his school
bill working a part time job. At a minimum wage of $1.20 an hour (after
taxes)
a student accumulated $385 working about six hours every week for a
year.
Today,
student employment is a vital component of
education funding but far from the singular solution it used to be.
Current
undergraduates make a minimum $6.11 an hour after taxes. Earning their
way to a
zero-balance University bill now takes 34 hours a week. Needless to
say, very
few even attempt such a feat in 2009. It's no longer realistic for a
full time
student to pay for school without help.
Does
that make student employment less beneficial in 2009?
Quite the opposite—working during school is more important now than
ever
before.
Part
time student employment offers much more than just a
paycheck. It provides real-world experience and possibly a sneak
preview of
one's prospective career. Balancing school and work demonstrates time
management skills future employers look for. Those who work also make
connections that help them become engaged members of the campus
community. For
these reasons and more, the Office of Student Finance (OSF) encourages
undergraduates to consider a modest 10-15 hour work week as an asset to
academic success.
Jobs
are easy to find, especially with a work-study award
from OSF. Qualifying students will automatically be offered a
work-study award if
they indicated their interest on the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid
(FAFSA). Over the course of an undergraduate career, typical work-study
awards
could replace $10,000 of loan debt.
OSF
is concerned that work-study is under-appreciated by
students. Last year more than a half of these offers were declined,
totaling $9
million. We're responding with better outreach at orientation, Welcome
Week,
student-facing publications, and the One Stop Web site.
Students
should know that part time jobs are available,
with or without work-study, to virtually every student who wants one.
It also
bears mentioning that off-campus jobs can be good options, but choose
one that
costs you little or nothing to get to work. The cost of maintaining
(not paying
for) a car is about $6,000 a year.
Working
your way through the University is a valuable
pursuit and more students should take advantage of employment
opportunities
that contribute to their educational experience.
Students
looking for jobs should be directed
to www1.umn.edu/ohr/studentemployment
or employ@umn.edu.
Consultation available regarding imaging files
Academic
Support Resources (ASR) is available to provide information, guidance,
and in
some cases, assistance regarding utilizing Image Now to capture and
preserve
student files. Imaging is one solution to preserving student data
without
requiring an increase in physical storage space. If you are interested
in
learning more about this service, please contact Jackee Wernersbach at j-wern@umn.edu
Save the date for the August RAC meeting
The Registrar's Advisory Committee (RAC) is taking a
break during the summer. Join us for our next meeting on Monday, August
3, from 9 a.m. to noon. A location has yet to be determined. Contact
Ingrid Nuttall at ingridn@umn.edu
with questions.
Upper Midwest Association of Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO) conference
The 2009 UMACRAO conference will be held in Fargo, ND,
October 28-30 at the Holiday
Inn. Registrar and admissions representatives from over 100
institutions of higher education from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota,
and South Dakota come together to share best practices, network, and
connect with colleagues from near and far. More information, including
session information, will be available late this summer.
Student records training workshops
There will be no student records training workshops
during June and July. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, August 18, at 11
am and join the Student Records Training Team in B20 Fraser for a
workshop on semester reminders. This includes items such as
waitlisting/registration, the readmit process and dates, and other
topics related to the start of the semester.
Questions? Contact the Student Records Training Team at srhelp@umn.edu or 612-625-2803.
Farewell to Steve Fitzgerald
Steve Fitzgerald, director of the Office of Classroom
Management (OCM) in ASR, has decided to pursue other opportunities,
effective at the end of June.
In 1999, Steve accepted the challenge of fixing the
pervasive and wide-spread problems in classrooms that had existed for
years on the Twin Cities campus. As the founding director, he set a
vision and successfully created OCM as an accountable and innovative
organization that has produced tremendous outcomes in all facets of the
classroom experience, and that has made a great positive difference for
students and faculty.
Under Steve’s guidance and leadership, OCM has implemented many
innovations and initiatives that are now part of our normal classroom
landscape. His focus on accountability, deliverables, and a systematic
planning approach has been balanced by constant awareness of developing
faculty friendly technology and a teacher-focused support system. He
has helped develop an expert classroom staff that is a great resource
for the University today and in the future.
Innovations include the Projection Capable Classroom (PCC) technology
system in 98% of all central classrooms; transparent Balanced
Scorecard, dashboard and web reporting; a powerful user-oriented
classroom web resource; automated scheduling and web-viewers for both
central and departmental classrooms; Active Learning Classroom (ALC)
designs that are nationally recognized for innovation and excellence; a
responsive Support Hotline system with viable emergency help for
teachers in classrooms, and significant improvements in both room
utilization and physical condition of all central classrooms.
Steve’s use of leveraging and partnership programs with colleges
accelerated the pace of classroom upgrades and improvements, and his
forward looking ideas have helped in the planning and construction of
future formal and informal learning space on campus.
OCM has been a resounding success, and today this University of
Minnesota classroom management model is widely regarded as a best
practice enterprise level model for supporting teaching and learning in
classrooms. We thank Steve for his voice as classroom champion and
advocate, for his many contributions to teaching and learning at the
University of Minnesota and for making a lasting positive impact on the
lives of students and faculty. We wish Steve all the best in his future
endeavors!
Help revamp the Record!
It's time the Record had a face lift. Why do you read the Record each month and what would you like to see in future publications? What suggestions do you have for making it a more useful newsletter? Send your suggestions to Ingrid Nuttall at ingridn@umn.edu. Any and all thoughts are welcome.