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Minutes – LEAD 1000 Class, November 27, 2017

LEAD 1000 Class

Intro by Jeff Cox

  • Intro on teaching and research visioning

Intro to A&S Strategic Planning Process by David Brown

  • Overview of A&S process

Comment:  We need to have the same class offered in various teaching styles for students who have different learning styles – traditional, online, and interactive.  We need to be able to take classes that use the methods best suited for us to retain information.

Comments on graduating in 4 years.

  • There are several courses at the junior- and senior-level that always have significant waitlists.  This means we often have to wait until another semester to take a class that is required for graduation.  This impacts our ability to graduate in 4 years.  Offering online (to achieve larger class sizes) or additional after-hours classes would give us additional opportunity to graduate on time.
  • We would like to see additional “semesters”, such as winter break, to take courses.
  • Students need more information and education about core requirements to set the expectation of course loads needed to graduate in 4 years.

Comments and ideas on how to reach student population to increase student engagement in this process:

  • Surveys are effective, especially if incentives (e.g., gift cards) are included
  • Set up a table in the UMC and have someone there with flyers who can answer questions – this is especially effective if food is available
  • Faculty members telling classes
  • Tie it into the folders/FCQ’s at the end of the semester
  • Provide a link on D2L
  • Use social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • Hand out flyers at various places – classes, UMC, etc
  • Engage student government for ideas

 

Comments on the cost and availability of student housing:  

  • We need more transparency in the breakdown of costs associated with on-campus housing to see if we can find ways to lower the cost.  Off-campus seems to be cheaper than living in the dorms, but some of us would rather live on-campus.
  • Transfer students have difficult time finding housing, especially when transferring in for the spring semester.  We need to find a way to hold some spots for housing on and/or off campus for transfer students.

Comments on the cost of tuition:

  • Comment:  Since out-of-state tuition is so high, it affects student retention.  Offering scholarships for students who return after the first year, such as based on grades, would help keep students coming back.

Comments on diversity:

  • We need to come up with available and affordable student housing options both on- and off-campus.  Lack of accessibility to affordable housing is affecting the makeup of the student body.
  • There is a distinct lack of diversity on campus.  This does not provide opportunities for people from different backgrounds to feel welcome.  The pamphlets we pick up during campus visits show a diverse set of people in the photographs, but that doesn’t represent the actual population we see when we walk around campus.  This feels like misrepresentation.  CU needs to walk the walk when it comes to diversity, not just talk the talk.

Comments on building spaces: 

  • We would like to see additional common spaces for students in the buildings for study and collaboration.  Spaces similar to what is in the UMC and Ketchum would be great.
  • We would like to see building hours extended so that we can use the study spaces or use classrooms as study spaces.
  • We would like to have all buildings be wheelchair accessible and easily accessible for those who use crutches.  We have had to miss classes because we could not get to the classroom and/or there were no easily accessible desks for wheelchairs/crutches.

Comments on orientation:

  • Online orientations is helpful for out-of-state students – saves on significant travel costs.
  • CU needs to provide an orientation for transfer students similar to freshmen – how to sign up for classes, resources available to students, how to use the printers on campus, etc.  This needs to include connecting the community of transfer students. 

Comments on advising:

  • Freshmen need to be informed on who to talk to and how the levels of faculty (instructor, tenured, etc.) can impact the advice that is given.  We get different answers depending on who we talk to, so we need to know what advice carries the most weight.
  • It is frustrating to go to academic advisors in A&S.  They seem to have too many students, and cannot devote the time to advise properly, especially in non-standard cases (e.g., double major with a minor).   The website is confusing, you can’t get in for an appointment sooner than 3 weeks, and we’re not getting the help we need.
  • The updates for degree audits are not timely.  I’m on track to graduate this December, but the degree audit still does not show it.  My advisors have assured me I’m ok to graduate, but it is frustrating.

Comment:  We need to make study-abroad more accessible and clear.

  • What courses are available and what will be accepted for credit
  • Need more courses/majors available
  • Need more opportunities – e.g., summer abroad

Comment:  We need more communication about safety on and near campus, including:

  • We need more education and active messaging about sexual assault
  • What to do in the case of emergency events (notifications sometimes come out after the event is over)
  • Safety on “the hill” – even though it’s not part of campus, it is part of student life
  • Joint and coordinate communication with Boulder police and campus police
  • Students need to encouraged to be involved in events – if we see something, we need to know who we can text to alert emergency personnel on potential danger

Comment:  There is a lot of turnover in the disability services office – this leads to inconsistent processes and accommodation solutions.

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