Month: April 2023

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Updates made to 44 COVID-19 cohort students for one-time exceptions for Proficiencies and Experiences

Students study before Spring Finals at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Tuesday, May 6, 2021 on the SMU Campus.

The Office of General Education communicated on Monday, February 20, to the campus community about the one-time exception to two Common Curriculum Proficiencies & Experiences for COVID-19 cohorts.

Based on feedback from School Record Offices, we completed the first of three recommended audits. The first audit was conducted today, a day after the originally published Withdrawl Deadline. We added waivers to 44 undergraduate students on the Common Curriculum who dropped courses with needed tags following the February 20 announcement. We applied 38 Community Engagement waivers and 37 Civics and Individual Ethics waivers.

The next audit will be conducted on Thursday (after the extended Withdrawl date due to the ice storm), and the final audit will be as soon as possible following the posting of final grades for the Fall 2023 semester to limit impacts on graduation verifications.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of General Education at gened@smu.edu.

Categories
SMU in Four

Mid-Term Progress Reports (MPRs) completed at an all-time high this semester

As part of SMU in Four, undergraduate faculty are asked to complete early and midterm progress reports each semester. During the fall semester, requests for reports from faculty occur during September
and October, and for the spring semester in February and March.

Faculty members report on any deficient grades by students and may indicate if students are failing due to attendance or assignments.

This semester we had a record-setting 80.3% of faculty report mid-term grades, with over 90% of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and Lyle School of Engineering faculty making submissions.

Submitting MPRs is a crucial step in the SMU in Four initiative, as it allows records offices, advisors, and academic support staff to identify and support students who may need additional help in certain academic areas.

Staff will now reach out to students with two or more reported deficiencies and invite them to discuss academic support options, such as peer tutoring and meeting with their professors, that can help boost their academic performance.

Thank you to all the undergraduate-serving schools and colleges for coming together in this effort and to the faculty who submitted MPRs.

Categories
SMU in Four

New Degree Planner issues and requests tracker now available

The Office of the Registrar has created an easy and convenient way for advisors to report Degree Planner issues and requests to the Academic Advisement (AA) team.

Using the Degree Planner Issues/Request Tracker makes it easy for staff to describe their issues, attach pertinent documents and alert the AA team promptly. The form also helps the AA team to process requests and document actions taken. Users can see the progress of their requests and will automatically be notified when there is any progress on their reported issues/requests.

We encourage you to bookmark Degree Planner Issues/Requests Tracker, where you can find the form and the instructions. However, the link to the Degree Planner Issues/Requests form is also available from the Registrar’s Faculty and Staff page.

Please be aware that there are now two forms: one for DPR issues and another for Degree Planner issues. Contact the AA team (desaa@smu.edu) if you have any issues using either form.

Please use the Degree Planner Issues/Requests Tracker to submit any future issues/requests rather than emailing the AA team to ensure a timely response. The Office of the Registrar will no longer accept issues reported via email after today.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Brittaney Wilson transitions to the Office of General Education full time

Effective April 17, Brittaney Wilson will transition to full-time at the Office of General Education as the inaugural General Education and Academic Appeals Coordinator.

Brittaney Wilson

Since October 2022, Brittaney has served in a joint Undergraduate Degree Counselor position between the Office of General Education and Meadows Student Academic Services. In this role, Brittaney provided:

  • academic advisement for declared majors,
  • aided in adopting the new Degree Planner tool in my.SMU, and
  • launched new student outreach related to general education to Meadows students.

In her new role as General Education and Academic Appeals Coordinator, she will:

  • support the Council on Academic Petitions (CAP),
  • aid in the development and compliance of Common Curriculum pre-approved programs and organizations,
  • Provide data analysis and marketing to encourage student progress through Common Curriculum requirements, and
  • to develop inter-office agreements and audits for the Office of General Education.

Wilson shared, “Though my time in Meadows Academic Services has been short, I have enjoyed supporting students and working with such a knowledgeable team. My new position offers the opportunity to provide support in a different way.  I look forward to increasing my knowledge of university processes, and continued growth on the Hilltop.”

The Office of General Education and the Meadows School of the Arts are grateful for the collaboration to successfully implement this shared Undergraduate Degree Counselor position pilot program. Due to increased demands on both offices, full-time staff was required. The Meadows Academic Services office will begin serving all Meadows graduate and performance degree students in addition to their long-standing service to the undergraduate population, which requires the addition of a full-time Meadows Degree Counselor.

Please join us in congratulating Brittaney Wilson (brittaneyw@smu.edu).

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success

Approved meeting minutes from the Council on General Education on March 31, 2023

The Council on General Education met on March 31, 2023. The meeting minutes for March 10, 2023 were approved at this meeting. Below is the agenda, and the meeting minutes have now been posted on the General Education website.

  1. Approval of Agenda for the March 31, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  2. Approval of Minutes for the March 10, 2023 Council on General Education meeting.
  3. Course Proposals
    1. Previously Reviewed & Revised
      1. DANC 3363-Breadth/ES
      2. RUSS 3341-PREX/CIE and PREX/HD
      3. EMIS 2375-Breadth/TAS and PREX/CIE
    2. New Proposals
      1. ITAL 2302-Breadth/CA
      2. ADV 2301-Breadth/SBS
      3. FILM 4353-Breadth/PREI
      4. ADV 2323-Breadth/HC
      5. FILM 3353-Breadth/HC
      6. MUHI 1305-Breadth/HC and PREX/HD
      7. WL 3319-PREX/HD
      8. ADV 2343-PREX/GPS and PREX/HD
      9. FILM 2351-PREX/GPS
      10. WL 3311-Breadth/TAS, PREX/GPS, PREX/HD
      11. CEE 1302- Breadth/TAS
      12. JOUR 3313- PREX/CE
      13. JOUR 3362- PREX/CE
      14. JOUR 3382-PREX/CE
  4. Office of General Education Updates
    1. Writing Board
      1. Intercessions W-tagged Courses
    2. Electronic Course Submissions
      1. Administrative Review Process
      2. Recommendations for Streamline
      3. Summer – PDF Proposal Forms, Example Proposals
    3. UC Tag Audit

Please contact the Office of General Education for questions or proposal development support.