2009

I had the opportunity to attend the NACADA Annual Conference this fall, and it was almost an overwhelming experience.  So many sessions were offered, and many offered only once, that at times I went to the first half of a session and then ran to the second half of another session.

Because of the number of military families we serve, I tried to attend a few of the sessions focusing on military students and their challenges.  We discussed their adjustment problems, such as a change in family structure when coming home after deployment, being in a less structured environment, and, of course, some of the mental health challenges, such as PTSD, and explored how these variables in their lives affect advising these students.

Because I advise our pre-health science students, I also attended some sessions regarding this particular population.  One of the sessions discussed data that a community college had collected which indicated that taking fewer classes, and therefore a little longer time to complete, improved not only program acceptance rates but also retention and graduation rates once these students were in a program.  That is how personnel in our center have been advising these students, especially since most of them have jobs and/or family responsibilities, but it was good to see data backing what we’re doing. 

Our center also advises all first-semester students, so I attended sessions on the first semester/year of community college students.  Most sessions agreed on the front loading of information:  there are basic things college students need to know their first semester.  There were many different ways to transmit this information, including summer orientation and orientation classes.  One of the sessions I attended concerned an advising guidebook; we spent the entire session discussing what was included and why.  One of the things I discovered in the book was a sheet on “Balancing Your Life and School Commitments” and a corresponding “Weekly Planner for Your Semester Journey”.  We have already amended these documents to fit our needs and are using them.  We’ve also shared these materials with other staff and faculty on campus.  In addition, I plan to use them with my sessions with the ACA students.

Because of our numbers and limited staff, I also attended sessions on various ways to stretch human resources.  The one I felt would be most suited to our campus was a group advising model that a mid-west community college had just begun.  I requested, and they emailed, all their information, including the slides they present to all students.  I have not yet had the opportunity to digest all the information, but I feel that we can develop our materials so we can serve more students in less time.  We at Carteret Community College simply do not have the manpower to advise all students one-on-one, especially during the summer when we’re preparing for fall.

In short, the conference was a wonderful, although tiring, experience.  I definitely came back with tools that I’m currently using and tools I’ll use in the future.

Don’t forget Applications for Allied Health programs began October 1st. All applications must be received by January 31st, 2010. See Student Enrollment for any questions.

College Day is coming November 3rd! Make plans to meet representatives from North Carolina Colleges and Universities. You will find them in the Bryant Student Center from 8:30-10:00 AM

A blog from Melinda Rouse:

DAY 1:   I was surprised to learn just how busy the CAPS office is in the month of July.  There was always a pretty steady stream of students between 10 am and 3 pm and at times, it was really busy, with every staffperson working with someone.  I don’t know the exact percentage, but if I had to guess, I would say that in addition to the scheduled appointments, there were another 30-40% of folks who were just walk-ins. 

In the very first few minutes of being in CAPS, I was acutely aware of how much I could learn from simply listening to another staff person on the phone.  So, with that as my guide, whenever time permitted, I listened and learned from “eavesdropping” on another staffperson as she helped a student.  In addition, I learned frequently from asking questions, to which the CAPS regulars can attest.  Advising was a lot easier with the experts from CAPS close at hand.   

I had a nice desk set up for me in CAPS and a number of the worksheets were particularly helpful throughout the process.  Several Datatel mnemonics were used frequently today, so I no longer feel rusty on the system.  The academic program course of study sheets, the placement score sheets, the campus map sheets, and the sheet listing all the possible programs at CCC.  Students come into CAPS with all levels of neediness—some students know exactly what they need and want and yet others come in not even knowing what they need.

DAY 2:

The CAPS office was buzzing from 10-3 today.  I felt much more adept at helping students today, feeling my way through RGN, SCHD, TRCL, TSUM, PERC, some of the more commonly used features of Datatel.  Again, the curriculum sheets, maps, first year checklists, and other forms here in CAPs were extremely helpful.  One can do a lot if the right tools are available.  CAPS was so busy today that the staff were not even sure if everyone who came through had remembered to sign in.   I saw a number of university transfer and prehealth students who required a lot of explanation in addition to the “normal” selection of courses and registration.  The idea that was foremost in my mind today was “good advising takes time”.  There is really no way around it.  Students can absorb some information at an initial session where they are first exposed to their course of study sheets, but they really need that follow-up to make sure they are satisfied and on-track. 

It was very clear to me how very interrelated CAPS is with the other offices at CCC.  Today, CAPS sent students over to Financial Aid and to the Registrar to answer questions.  Students were sent to the Student Center to obtain their IDs and parking passes.  Staff from CAPS visited the Academic Skills Lab to obtain a math prep packet so a student might try to improve her scores on a math placement test.  Even the information processing staffperson was in CAPS today fixing a printer.  CAPS staff have to call frequently all over CCC to make sure they are giving correct information to a student.

DAY 3:   Working in CAPS, I have seen that advising the students who are interested in prehealth professions is tricky business.  Many of them are not really sure what they want to do and are “kinda” interested in radiography, respiratory therapy and nursing.  Since I am not really clear on how admission decisions are made, I am not clear when I am explaining this to a potential student.  I have definitely learned about the CNA course and the CPR/First Aid courses that are required before someone can apply to the ADN program.  It costs $199.30, extra for books, extra fees for uniforms, extra fees for the State Exam and is very time-consuming. 

One student really stuck in my mind today because both she and her friend seemed to have very low frustration tolerances.  Registration is time consuming; a student may not get all of the courses they want at the exact times they want; computer systems can be challenging at times; and CCC is spread out so that a student may have to go to more than one office. 

DAY 4:  Oops!   Today I realized that I may have made a couple of mistakes over the past three days when registering students in the Datatel system.  For some classes, Datatel prompts the user for the need to register for a lab that goes along with the course.  Sometimes, after Datatel states this, it will automatically put the additional course into the person’s schedule.  However, this does not always happen.   So, I may have not scheduled a couple of students for the lab portion of one of the College Preparatory courses.  The silver lining in this is that I have learned from my mistakes, so in the future I will take a lot of care when Datatel makes prompts yet allows me to proceed.  Datatel is a very interesting system to say the least—I have continued today to learn more about the various mnemonics that the CAPS folks use day in and day out.

I have learned so much this week from CAPS where I have had the opportunity to advise a number of first year students and walk them through the registration process for the first time. I have learned from doing and really appreciate the opportunity.  I know the folks who will be helping next week and the week after in CAPS will learn a lot as well.  

 A blog from Meg Rawls:

Working in CAPS turned out to be a great professional development opportunity.  It forced me to look at programs other than my own, and it reminded me of the delicious diversity in programs that we offer at CCC.  Here at the end of July, we are on the crest of a wave of students who will register over the next few weeks.  Whether they are potential new students, scurrying to get all of their paperwork in order, or returning students, hoping to snag seats in desired classes, they all need and deserve some direction in their studies.   Being here to help them is very satisfying, and it’s nice to have time right now to work with students to optimize their schedules so as to fit their sometimes complicated lives.   The staff in CAPS is ready for anything:  they have an arsenal of answers for almost all questions students might have.  They also stand ready to refer students appropriately to other school personnel, if needed.   Every faculty advisor should have a chance to witness the great things happening in CAPS!  Meg Rawls

A blog from Lela McClanahan:

CAPS Week – July 20-23

This has been a great reminder for me of just how lost a new student can be in the beginning.  Sometimes we have a tendency to forget that the new student has to start somewhere.  Often times, their parents know even less about the world of college.  Therefore, don’t take anything for granted.  A warm attitude, and taking your time with a new student (and their parent), could make a large difference with how they feel about Carteret Community College.  This reminds us of the old saying, first impressions are everything!  This leads me to say, the First Semester Check List, and the CAPS Intake List, I have found very helpful!

A couple of tidbits I’ve discovered:

• Applicants that have been out of school for perhaps more than one year should brush-up on their math.  It is amazing that someone who passed Pre-Calculus Math in high school three years prior could possibly place into 070 Math.  A “brush-up” packet, and coming back in a few days could make quite a difference in test scores and placement.
• There are time overlaps in major courses for fall semester.  For example, the major math, and major science courses overlap making it impossible for some students to sign up for what they need to get started on an Associate degree.  This was frustrating for students wanting to get started, and stay on track.
• I should have been registering the students for their classes through Datatel.  Instead I have been going over everything, making sure they are aware of what they need to sign up for, and explaining web advisor to them.  I have encouraged them to call/come back if they run into any difficulties signing up for classes.  Oops!

As the days have passed, I have felt more comfortable with helping students.  I have answered the phone, handled cancellations, made sure calls are returned for rescheduling, and become much more familiar with the whole CAPS process.   I’ve also gained more knowledge about other curricula on our campus.  I now have a better grasp on what takes place in CAPS and why it is so important!  I can’t imagine being a new student, and not having a CAPS to get me started.  Lela McCananahan

Congratulations to the following faculty for completing all modules of our CAPS development training:  Doree Evans, Heather Hebert, Lela McClanahan, Sharon Mills, Meg Rawls, Melinda Rouse, and Wic Southern. 

 CAPS held its first advisor development modules during the months of March and April.  The following topics were covered:  “Advising Through Web Advisor”, “Financial Aid”, “Laws, Policies, and Procedures”, and “Appreciative Advising and Putting Things Together”.  Thanks to Tammi Coble, Brenda Long, and Rick Hill for helping with the presentations.  Pre and post tests show that these advisors are feeling more knowledgeable and comfortable with various areas of advising since receiving this training.  Suggestions and comments made in the evaluations will be taken into account when the next group of sessions is held during the 2009-2010 school year.