The University Testing Center will be closed on Monday, October 9th, and Tuesday, October 10th for Fall Break.
Testing will resume on Thursday, October 12th.
Good luck on midterms, and enjoy the break!
Category: Student Academic Success Programs
As the University Testing Center (UTC) launches its second year of operation this fall, we are excited to welcome Amie DeRegge as our new Testing Coordinator!
Amie brings over 20 years of experience in student academic records management, having served as a Texas charter high school registrar. Her passion for serving students and her strengths in data management, multi-tasking, and customer service make her a tremendous addition to the UTC team.
“I’m so happy to work in the University Testing Center. I love the culture and spirit of SMU and look forward to helping our students reach their academic goals for success in life,” Amie said.
Amie’s arrival at the UTC coincides with more new changes coming to the UTC this fall. In addition to providing testing services to students receiving accommodations from DASS (Disability Accommodations & Success Strategies), the center will expand testing services to student-athletes during their sport’s competition season. A migration to test scheduling software in the new UTC Portal will provide additional academic testing and credit-by-exam services to SMU students and the local community.
“It’s an exciting time to be at the UTC and be a part of its growth,” Amie said. “It provides yet another opportunity to become immersed in the life of SMU.”
Amie enjoys spending time outdoors in her spare time, vacationing with family on the beach, being “Minyama” to her grandkids, and having fun with her pets Sparky and Doc. She and her husband, Andrew, are proud Mustang parents to their daughter, Molly, an incoming freshman and member of SMU Cheer.
The UTC is certified by the National College Testing Association (NCTA) and adheres to professional standards ensuring exam integrity and accessibility for both examiners and examinees.
The Summer Forge, an academic support program at SMU, has successfully wrapped up the inaugural year. Summer Forge provided the initial cohort of 20 undergraduate students with financial, academic, and social support to accelerate their path to on-time graduation.
Students who participated in Summer Forge could select courses during May Term, Summer Term, or August Term, in addition to SMU–in–Taos that fulfilled a major or Common Curriculum requirement. The initial cohort for Summer Forge attempted over 80 credit hours during the summer terms, with 96% of the attempted coursework completed.
Summer Forge participants were offered tailored campus resource referrals and coached on strategies to support a successful academic summer term. 83% of the Summer Forge students report using the tutoring services provided in the ALEC, and 17% report receiving support from the Writing Center.
Here is what some of the students had to say about their time in Summer Forge:
“Summer Forge exceeded my expectations with the ability to aid in summer tuition and provide opportunities to students who are struggling or need a little help. I would highly recommend the program in order to catch up on classes and graduate with your class on time.”-Katie P.
“It allows the opportunity to raise your GPA without worrying about any finances in the process, as that can be stressful to worry about in itself.” -Morgan L.
“Summer Forge was a great opportunity for me to take Summer courses and advance my studies. The program is helping me graduate on time and make up time lost.”-Sloan H.
Summer Forge is a collaboration between the Office of Student Success and Retention, SMU in Four, Office of Financial Aid, and Student Academic Success Programs.
For more information visit www.smu.edu/summerforge.
As the Fall 2023 semester fast approaches, the Office of General Education is pleased to announce the Peer Academic Leader program (PALs) relaunch.
PALs are third- and fourth-year SMU students who have proven to be successful academically and are also highly involved on campus. Their mission as peer leaders will be to plan and facilitate programming throughout the academic year to ensure first- and second-year students are knowledgeable about campus resources. PALs will also serve as peer advisors to ensure students are registered for classes on time and understand common curriculum requirements.
Be sure to follow our Instagram (smu_advising_pals) for updates on PALs events. The PALs have quickly adopted this page and begun their first social media campaign, “Meet Your PAL“. These posts contain short videos where the PALs can introduce themselves, discuss their favorite part of being an SMU student, and share back-to-school tips.
View this post on Instagram
The PALs will move back to campus on August 10th, 2023, and we’re excited to welcome them back.
They will be in training from August 11th until August 16th. As a result of training, PALs will be Certified Peer Educators, ready to support their fellow Mustangs. The training includes eight modules, covering the role of peer education, helping peers make a behavior change, listening skills, response and referral skills, how to take action and intervene, recognizing the role of diversity and inclusivity, programming and presentation skills, self-care, and group dynamics.
Finally, starting on August 17th, PALs will serve as Stampede Guides to further connect with their residents.
Questions, comments, or social media collaborations are welcome. Please contact Melina Padron, Senior Advisor for General Education.
SASP is fully staffed to kick of the fall, 2023 semester!
Please join us in welcoming Gracy Herrera as the new academic probation counselor. Gracy will counsel all pre-major students on academic probation. Gracy is an education advocate with over 14 years’ experience developing academic courses of action for students of varying social backgrounds, scholastic levels, and special needs. Gracy has most recently focused on advancing the skills of student-athletes in Dubai. Gracy will start next Monday, August 7.
We are also excited to welcome Makenzie Moriarty as the new academic counselor. Makenzie will counsel declared majors on academic probation, university probation, Prelude students, and the general undergraduate population. Makenzie comes to SMU from the University of South Carolina where she was a GA in the Student Success Center working to empower peer leaders and counsel students who were working to transfer to USC. Makenzie will start next Monday, August 7.
Varun Singh is our new Graduate Assistant for the First-Generation Initiative. Varun will work closely with Chris Meyers to support our first-gen students and implement our signature events. Varun is pursuing a MS in Business Analytics in the Cox School of Business. Varun has worked as a head organizer for a film festival, managed various projects, and has spent the last six years starting and managing his own real estate and construction firm. Varun will start next Wednesday, August 9.
We’d also like to thank our colleagues who assisted in the search process for all our positions this spring and summer – your collaborations are so appreciated.
Undergraduate Education and Academic Success is a branch within the Office of the Provost’s Division of Student Academic Engagement and Success which oversees a wide range of academic support and engagement offices and initiatives.
Our 2022 – 2023 offices and initiatives included:
- First-Generation Initiatives
- University Testing Center
- Office of General Education
- Mustang Scholars Program
- SMU in Four
A copy of the annual report is included below and is available for download.
Questions, comments, and feedback can be directed to Dr. Dustin Grabsch (dgrabsch@smu.edu).
Effective June 1, the Committee on Academic Petitions (CAP) launched a new webpage and an appeal submission form for undergraduate students.
Students must submit their appeal using the electronic form and include all supporting documentation. They will instantly receive notification that their appeal has been received. Additionally, students will receive notification from the system as the appeal is reviewed and considered.
All offices should inform students to submit their appeals via the official appeal submission form. Email submissions will no longer be considered, and students will be redirected to www.smu.edu/cap to submit their CAP appeals.
The Committee on Academic Petitions is a committee with membership appointed by the Provost. It is charged with considering and deciding student academic petitions, as set out in the SMU Statement of Process for Undergraduate Student Academic Petitions.
Academic Petitions are requests by a student for an exception to an academic policy. Academic policy includes any policy, rule, or regulation that applies to academic matters at SMU.
Have questions about the CAP appeal process? Visit www.smu.edu/cap for more information or email your questions to cap@mail.smu.edu
Student Academic Success Programs welcomes Grace Okoro, who will start as tutor coordinator July 5th. Grace has a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from UTA and a master’s in Health Administration from TWU. She is also working towards a PhD in Health Sciences. Grace will be assisting Adreana and Nancy in expanding our tutor training program, working with our tutors, and working with students. Grace will bring SASP experience in data collection, and as a teaching assistant.
Dr. Robin Corbett, DASS Coordinator, will be leaving SMU to be closer to her home and family to pursue new endeavors effective 7/7/2023. All student files will be temporarily reassigned until our new staff member arrives. For any questions, please call the office while we’re in this transition – 214-768-1470
We are welcoming the new Coordinator in July and will be introducing her before the fall semester begins.
Please join us in wishing Robin well and thank her for her work with SMU.
Our second change involves the First Gen Initiative. These programs and student academic support will be overseen by Associate Director, Chris Meyers. Chris has done an outstanding job working with our students on academic probation and will supervise a new academic counselor to take over those duties. Chris is excited to work with our first generation students and pick up the program that has grown tremendously over the past three years. He’ll work hand in hand with the advisor to the First Generation Association, the recognized student organization, to expand the programming and celebrations for these students. Please contact Chris if you are interested in working with our First Gen students – cmeyers@smu.edu. Any graduate student interested in joining this program as a graduate assistant should look at the job description on Handshake.
This summer, SMU launched a new academic support program called Summer Forge. Summer Forge provides invited undergraduate students with financial, academic, and social support to accelerate their path to on-time graduation.
Invited students receive up to 8 paid semester credit hours over May, Summer, and/or August terms. The initial cohort for Summer Forge includes 20 students attempting over 80 credit hours during the summer terms. The average participant takes 6 hours that fulfill either major or Common Curriculum requirements.
Animating the university’s commitment to improving retention and graduation rates, Summer Forge is a collaboration between the Office of Student Success and Retention, SMU in Four, Office of Financial Aid, and Student Academic Success Programs. Ivy Phillips, a Success Counselor in the Office of Student Success and Retention, initially identified the students based on various criteria, in addition to their commitment to complete classes in the Fall 2024 semester at SMU.
Throughout the summer, Summer Forge participants are offered tailored campus resource referrals and coached on strategies to support a successful academic summer term. Becca Umobong and Sarah Cartwright, members of the Student Academic Success Programs team, are available to provide academic counseling and support. Lydia Allen in the Writing Center is also available to assist students with writing, and A-LEC has tutoring services across course content areas.
Please get in touch with Brittaney Wilson, General Education and Academic Appeals Coordinator, with any questions about the program.