Barry McQuarrie's Advising Syllabus

• Office: Science 1380 phone: 589-6302 (I do not use voicemail)
• Email: mcquarrb@morris.umn.edu Homepage: http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~mcquarrb/
• Office Hours Fall 2008: M 9:15-10:30am; WF 9:15-10:30am and 1:00-2:00pm; or email appointment, or drop in

My View of Academic Advising

UMM is committed to developmental academic advising. Caring interaction and good communication is encouraged between students, faculty and staff. Advising is broadly defined to include activities and interaction between faculty and students that will:

• help students clarify educational goals,
• inform them of the range and scope of experiences available to them,
• help assess strengths, weaknesses and exploration of how decisions affect personal and occupational goals.

I view academic advising as a process which changes dramatically over the course of a student's career at UMM. A freshman may need help navigating the tricky waters of registration, prerequisite structure, general education requirements, campus life, or course load issues. However, as the years progress, advising should become less concerned with the administrative details of getting a degree at UMM, and more concerned with the larger issues of life.

The ideal I believe we as a university should strive for is that of a graduating UMM student who requires no advising whatsoever. The university experience will have prepared you to think critically, independently, and gather the appropriate information you need to make your life decisions.

Key considerations for academic success

• Go to class everyday. Get to know your professors.
• Balance school with the rest of your life. Plan enough study time to do well in your classes.
• Have good study habits and get academic assistance early if needed. Deal with any difficulties that arise as soon as possible.
• Understand the impact of dropping classes-academically and financially.

Advising Calender

UMM Offices

• Student One Stop (online portal to your UMM information): www.morris.umn.edu/onestop/
• Campus Departments (includes academic disciplines): www.morris.umn.edu/services/
• Student Organizations: www.morris.umn.edu/webbin/StudentActivities/
• Study Abroad: www.morris.umn.edu/cerp/abroad/

Some particular resources you may find useful are:

• Deciding Students Self Paced Workbook (on Advising Webpage): www.morris.umn.edu/academic/advising/undecidedmajor.htm
• Academic Advising (328 Briggs Library): www.morris.umn.edu/academic/advising/
• Acdemic Assistance Center (AAC) (328 Briggs Library): www.morris.umn.edu/services/dsoaac/aac/
• Athletics: www.morris.umn.edu/athletics/
• Career Center (201 Behmler Hall): www.morris.umn.edu/services/career/
• Disability Services (328 Briggs Library): www.morris.umn.edu/services/dsoaac/dso/
• Health Services (Gay Residence Hall Room 18)
• Peer Health Educators (Gay Hall room 16): www.morris.umn.edu/committees/phe/
• Multi-Ethnic Student Program (MSP) (110 Multi-Ethnic Resource Center): www.morris.umn.edu/services/msp/
• Residential Life: www.morris.umn.edu/services/reslife/
• Student Activities (UMM Student Center, Lower Level, Rm 15): www.morris.umn.edu/services/stac/
• Student Counseling (235 Behmler Hall): www.morris.umn.edu/services/counseling/
• The Writing Room (327 Briggs Library): www.morris.umn.edu/academic/writing_room/

Financial Aid

Financial Aid (105 Behmler Hall) is very important to many students who attend UMM. If your grades slip or you fail to complete 75% of your classes, you will be in danger of having your financial aid cut (you are also not eligible for financial aid if you have over 180 credits). Since these requirements for financial aid are a federal government standard, they may change from time to time. You should make it your job to be aware of the requirements for good standing if you are on financial aid while at UMM. If you are planning to drop a course, check with financial aid to see how this affects your situation. If you get midterm alerts, check with financial aid to see how this affects your situation. The direct link to Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress is on the SAP web page.

Academic Progress

There are also Academic Progress Requirements, which must be met. These policies ensure you are meeting the minimum academic requirements set by the Scholastic Committee to be a student at UMM. If you fall short of the minimum academic progress requirements, you can be put on academic probation or suspension.

You should note that it is possible to be on financial aid probation/suspension, and yet still be in academic good standing at UMM. These are two separate criteria, one aimed at determining your eligibility for financial aid, and one aimed at determining your academic progress.

Career Planning

You should check out the Academic Advising Homepage. It has many useful resources for you, from four year plans for all majors to pre-professional guides.

Also of interest is the Career Center. If you are undecided as to your major, you should start here and see what sorts of jobs people are able to get with different majors. Think carefully about what you want to do with your life-this may not be easy, and probably never ends! You need to decide what your professional goals are, and how you can go about meeting them.

If you are a deciding student (meaning you are still deciding on what to major in at UMM), there are many useful resources collected together on the Advising website.

The internet is a powerful collection of information--if you are interested in a particular career choice but want to learn more, an hour on the internet can prove extremely informative.

Spring Annual Planning

What is annual planning? It is choosing the courses you want to take in the future, and ensuring that you meet all the requirements for graduation. What does this mean to you? Depends how far along you are in your studies. Here are the important details.

Some students will need my approval (signature usually) to register. If you are a returning sophomore next fall, you will need to plan your next year. If you are a returning junior next fall, you will need to plan your next two years. If you have fewer than 60 credits, or are on academic probation, you will also need to talk with me about annual planning. All of these students need my permission to register. My permission is granted once we have met to talk about your academic plans for the upcoming year(s). It's that simple!

One thing to note, especially if you are a freshman, is that courses are numbered based on the level of the course--1xxx is a freshman level course, 2xxx is a sophomore, 3xxx junior, and 4xxx senior. Higher level courses will expect more from the students, possibly moving at a faster pace, requiring more independence from the students, or more involved work outside of class to complete assignments. As a freshman, it is usually unwise to register for courses above the 1xxx level, even if you have taken all the prerequisites for the course. If you do want to enroll in a course that is at a level beyond 1xxx, I would recommend talking to the instructor of the course and making sure that they feel you will be able to succeed in the course before you enroll.

If you are a returning senior in the fall, you do not need my permission to register. However, if you would like to meet with me to talk about your senior year I would be glad to discuss it with you.

If you are a current senior who is going to be graduating this spring--make sure your APAS will have no minuses on it by the time you finish your current courses. If you've planned carefully in the previous years, this will not be a problem.

The things to keep in mind as you do your annual planning are the following:

• I will not pick courses for you. I am here to help you, but I want you to have thought deeply about your planning before we meet. UMM offers many diverse opportunities, and I want you to seek out the ones that appeal to you.
• Learn to read and understand your APAS (Academic Progress Audit System). It shows what requirements you have met, and more importantly, what requirements you still need to meet in order to graduate. You will have to turn every minus into a plus before you graduate.
• If you are unsure about exactly what to take, refer to the four year plan for your major.
• Make sure you are meeting General Education Requirements.
• If you have transfer credits from another institution, or AP credits, make sure they are being properly applied in your APAS.
• Deal with any errors on your APAS immediately! They will not fix themselves, and sometimes they aren't errors. For example, if you mistakenly think something should be a plus but it really is a minus, you need to know that as soon as possible so you can incorporate that minus into your planning.
• You can use the Graduation Planner to help you keep track of your course plan for graduation.

The Gen Ed Check List:

Catalog Description of Gen Ed Requirements

You need to take the First Year Seminar (FYS).

You need to take five courses which satisfy:

• One College Writing (CW),
• Two Foreign Language (FL),
• One Mathematical/Symbolic Reasoning (M/SR),
• One Artistic Performance (ArtP).

You need to take six courses of at least two credits each which satisfy:

• One Historical Perspectives (Hist),
• One Human Behaviour, Social Process and Institutions (SS),
• One Communication, Language, Literature, and Philosophy (Hum),
• One Fine Arts (FA),
• One Physical and Biological Sciences (without lab) (Sci),
• One Physical and Biological Sciences (with lab) (Sci-L).

You need to take two courses, from each of two areas, of at least two credits each, which satisfy:

• Human Diversity (HDiv),
• People and the Environment (Envt),
• International Perspective (IP),
• Ethical and Civic Responsibility (E/CR).

The Mathematics Major

Prerequisite Structure: This is meant as an overview; in cases where there is a discrepancy with the catalog the catalog is assumed to be correct. Consult the catalog for more specific prerequisite information.

To get a math major you will need the following:

• all courses coloured gold,
• one course numbered x4xx (an applied math course; choose from the ones coloured blue),
• a minimum of 5 additional credits in Math courses at the 2xxx level or above,
• a course with significant mathematical application outside the discipline.

To get a math major and prepare to obtain Secondary Education teaching licensure, you will need the following:

• all courses coloured gold,
• the three courses with the green border,
• a course with significant mathematical application outside the discipline,
• Secondary Education has additional course requirements for admission. These requirements are found on this web site.

Required courses may not be taken S-N unless offered S-N only.

Getting the requisite courses together to get a major in mathematics at UMM is relatively straightforward. The following are only sample plans, you should modify them to fit your personal needs.

• Sample four year course plan for math major.
• Sample five year course plan for math major seeking Secondary Education Teaching Licensure. Here, your choices are somewhat restricted. Note that Geometry and History of Math are offered in alternating years, so it is very important you take them when they are offered!

The important things to keep in mind as you set up your course schedule are the following:

• You need 120 credits to graduate
• You need 60 of these credits as Gen-Ed credits
• You need to meet the specific Gen Ed requirements (easy to do, but make sure you do!)

You should note that for the sample plan for teaching licensure, many of the Gen Ed requirements are met by taking specific courses which are required by the Secondary Education Discipline.