Fall 2008 Advising Notes

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Registration for the winter 2009 semester begins Friday, October 31^st.
Last day to drop a fall 2008 course and receive a “W” grade is Friday, October 31^st.
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Double Counting
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Liberal Studies Program and Graduation Requirements (2008-2009)
Math Placement FAQ
Registration Week Schedule
Senior Checklist
“What to do with a Major in…”
2008-2009 Undergraduate Bulletin

Academic and Career Advisement Center

Visit ACAC online at: www.nmu.edu/acac. The ACAC website is a comprehensive web resource for advising information, including:

Academic Support Services

All Campus Tutoring (ACT): www.nmu.edu/tutoring

ACT provides FREE academic support to NMU students. ACT offers walk-in tutoring, tutor-facilitated study groups, and peer-assisted learning programs.

Computer Science and Math Labs: http://math.nmu.edu/

Tutoring is offered through the department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Jacobetti Complex Tutoring: www.nmu.edu/tutoring

The tutoring program at the Academic and Career Advisement Center—Jacobetti Complex Office provides free tutoring for students enrolled in programs and/or courses offered through NMU’s School of Technology and Applied Sciences.

Student Support Services (SSS): www.nmu.edu/studentsupport

SSS provides comprehensive tutoring services for the freshman through senior level student. CORE tutors assist incoming students with developing effective study, test taking & time management skills. Specialized tutors address specific academic subjects. Study and supplemental instruction groups are available for courses which often challenge all NMU students.

Writing Center: www.nmu.edu/writingcenter

The Writing Center’s mission is to help NMU students improve their writing skills. To fulfill that mission, the Writing Center employs excellent undergraduate student writers to provide free, one-on-one tutoring sessions for all forms of writing, particularly (but not limited to) expository, argumentative, research-based, and technical writing. Overall, the Writing Center works with the English Department to promote clear self-expression and to prepare students for their encounters with writing, first at NMU, and later, as members of the workforce.

Advising a Student Athlete?

Some tips for advising student athletes:

Each semester, student athletes MUST be enrolled in at least 12 degree-applicable credits.
Furthermore, course choices must be filed with the Registrar’s Office and submitted as part of the student’s Plan of Study. Bottom line: Student athletes cannot enroll in “random” courses. If a student athlete is taking elective courses, those elective courses must be approved by the adviser, and then filed with the Registrar’s office.
In order for student athletes to be eligible for athletic participation and competition, they must be actively pursuing a baccalaureate-level degree.
The university administration endorses a policy that permits student athletes to be excused from class due to athletics travel or home competition. Faculty members are to provide student athletes with reasonable accommodations to make up missed course work due to the circumstances listed above.

If your student athlete advisee has questions that you cannot answer – please feel free to contact either:

Bridget Beerman (Assistant Director of Athletics). She is very knowledgeable regarding NCAA academic rules and regulations for student athletes. Via phone at 227-2371, or via email at bbeerman@nmu.edu.

Julie Rochester (Associate Professor and NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA). Julie provides oversight and advice in the administration of the institutional athletics program, including academic oversight of student athletes. Via phone at 227-2026, or via email at jrochest@nmu.edu.

Registrar’s Office

Visit the Registrar’s Office online at www.nmu.edu/records.

Online Degree Evaluation

The majority of enrolled undergraduate students in degree-granting programs can have an unofficial degree evaluation generated by their adviser. How does it work?

Log in to mynmu.nmu.edu,
Once logged in, click the “Advisor Services” tab,
Refer to the “Web for Faculty” section,
Click the ‘View Student and/or Advisee Information Main Menu” link,
Then select “Degree Evaluation”, and follow the prompts.

Faculty with questions on how to access online degree evaluations should first talk with their department head. They may also contact the Assistant Registrar, Sara Niemi, at 227-1350. Sara is in charge of the degree audit process and keeps online programs up-to-date. She specifically wants to hear from anyone who believes there is an error with the online evaluation system.

In October and March, Degree Audit staff review records for undergraduate students eligible for an official degree evaluation: Bachelor candidates with 87 earned credits; Associate candidates with 36 earned credits; and Certificate/Diploma candidates with 16 earned credits. Once an evaluation is generated, students and their major department are notified by email that an official evaluation is available.

Additional course information now available in the Undergraduate Bulletin

The 2008-2009 Undergraduate Bulletin now allows users to query when certain courses are offered. This will be especially helpful if you work with a student who wants to plan out subsequent semesters, and needs to know during which semester(s) a course will be offered.

Visit www.nmu.edu/bulletin,
Select the “Courses” tab at the top of the page,
Click the “search for courses” link,
Provide the course information,
Then select the term in question using the “Offered” tab,
Finally, make sure to hit the “Search” button at the bottom of the page.

Department News

Art and Design

The School of Art and Design now offers a BA or BS degree in Art History. Visit their website to learn more.

Center for Native American Studies

The Center for Native American Studies is pleased to offer several courses for the winter 2009 semester, many of which serve as liberal studies requirements.

NAS 101 Anishinaabe Language, Culture and Community I
NAS 102 Anishinaabe Language, Culture and Community II
NAS 204 Native American Experience
NAS 280 Storytelling by Native American Women
NAS 288 Politics of Indian Gaming (web-based course)
NAS 295a Special Topics: History of Indian Boarding School Education
NAS 295b Special Topics: Issues within the Representation of American Indians
NAS 295c Special Topics: American Indian Communities
NAS 310 Tribal Law and Government
NAS 342 Indigenous Environmental Movements
NAS 488 Native American Service Learning Project

*NAS 101 and NAS 102 meet the Division V requirement.

*NAS 204 meets the Division II and World Cultures requirement.

*NAS 288 and NAS 310 meet the Division IV requirement.

* Special topics courses will be eligible credit towards a Native American Studies minor.

For more information about these courses or the Native American Studies minor, call 227-1397 or e-mail cnas@nmu.edu. Visit the CNAS website at www.nmu.edu/nativeamericans.

Criminal Justice

Students interested in pursuing a Criminal Justice degree should meet with advisors in the Criminal Justice Department. Faculty in that department use advising sheets specific to their academic program to advise students.

Economics

Before your advisees register for EC 101, they should consider:

In order to register for EC 101, a student must have never earned credit for a college-level economics course (particularly EC 201 and/or EC 202), or received advanced placement from a high school experience.
A student cannot take EC 101 concurrently with any other economics class.
If a student dropped or failed any economics class (including EC 101, and assuming the student has no other economics credit), he or she may enroll in EC 101.
If the above conditions are met, EC 101 may be counted toward the economics major or minor.

Education

While selecting courses for winter 2009, students and advisers need to be aware that there are several courses in the Education program that will no longer be offered during the summer sessions. These courses are:

AD 310,
ED 201/301,
HL 150,
MSED 250, 251, and 252,
MU 149A,
PE 224.

English

Those students choosing a major or minor in English Secondary Education should take EN 350 (Materials and Methods of Teaching English) the semester just prior to their student teaching semester.

Those students who are eligible to student teach in Fall 2009 should contact Dr. Kia Jane Richmond via email at krichmon@nmu.edu with the following information:

Name
ID #
email
phone
Major
Minor (or 2nd major)
Accepted to Methods     Yes/No
Taken and passed MTTC Basic Skills Test     Yes/No
Planning to student teach Fall 2009     Yes/No

Hospitality Management

The Hospitality Management Program is offering a new course beginning the winter 2009 semester: HM 495 Special Topics/Travel & Tourism.

Course description: The course introduces the basic concepts, tools, and techniques of tourism management. Material will include an introduction to the tourism industry, the effects of tourism on society, and current developments in the field. Special consideration will be given to students interested in traveling to South America. The course will also include discussion of the history and significance of travel and tourism as a sector of the Brazilian economy.

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Barb Coleman, Associate Professor, made this request: “I would sincerely appreciate it if advisers would NOT tell students to ‘just show up for the first class and ask the instructor to add you’. Students do this constantly, and I do NOT add them because I ALWAYS have a waiting list for many of my classes. I have added all that I can add, and, to be fair to those on the waiting list, cannot add someone just because he or she ‘showed up’”.

Mathematics and Computer Science

Please note:

All mathematics courses have the prerequisites included with the course descriptions. If your advisees do not have the prerequisites for a course, the Banner system will not permit them to sign up for that particular class. If the student believes he/she has the correct prerequisite for a class and cannot sign up, have him/her contact the Mathematics and Computer Science office.

There are two placement exams, and it is important that students take the correct test.

The Mathematics Placement Exam is for freshmen coming straight out of high school.
The Diagnostic Test is for all other students who have been enrolled at NMU for a semester or more. This includes transfer students, non-traditional students, etc.

Additional Information

If a student has taken a math course at NMU, that information should be available in the student’s records.
If a freshman has not taken a mathematics course yet, review their placement test results and help them make the appropriate course choice.
If a student has taken a mathematics course elsewhere, ask to see NMU’s transcript evaluation before enrolling them in any mathematics course.
If math placement information is not readily available, call the Mathematics and Computer Science Department (227-2020) and ask the secretary to provide that information.
Students who are eligible to enroll in the MA 090 class should be advised that they are unable to register for this class without first visiting the Student Service Center.

Modern Languages and Literatures

What’s the difference between a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree?

If your advisees are wondering about differences in course requirements, this excerpt from the Undergraduate Bulletin may prove helpful:

To qualify for a bachelor of arts degree, students must complete a language offered at Northern Michigan University at the 202 level. Students with a major in the Walker L. Cisler College of Business must complete one of the following options:

FR 202 and FR 310
GR 202 and GR 310
SN 202 and SN 310 or SN 312 or SN 314

In lieu of the culture course, College of Business students may meet the requirement by completion of the language at the 202 level and an approved directed study for a summer or semester in a country of the language. This must be submitted in writing by the student’s adviser to the Registrar’s Office prior to inception of the directed study.

Multicultural Education and Resource Center

The PACE program:

The Peer Advising, Counseling, and Education (PACE) program is a service of the Multicultural Education and Resource Center at NMU. PACE is open to freshman and sophomore students. The program emphasizes academic and personal development through participation in learning communities as a means to academic success. The learning teams come together as often as twice a week to discuss their ideas of college life, and also to share educational experiences with other team members and facilitators.
Typical topics include time management, class preparation, stress management, effective writing, resume and business etiquette, discovering a leadership style, community service and more!
The learning teams are comprised of 10-12 students, with two additional students serving as team facilitators (team facilitators are juniors and seniors only). The Team Facilitator is a student staff member who provides leadership in the individual learning communities.

For further details, contact the MERC office at 227-1554.

Music

The Music Department would like advisers to remind students that choose to MINOR in music that their course curriculum must be approved by Professor Donald Grant (department head). Contact information: (906) 227-1039 or via email at dgrant@nmu.edu.

Nursing

The Nursing Department is in the process of revising their curriculum for fall 2009 and advisers should be aware of the following:

A number of changes will be made to program pre-requisites. Details regarding these changes are available through the Nursing department.
As part of the revision process, no students will be admitted to the program in the winter 2009 semester.
Beginning with the fall 2009 semester, students will have three semesters to complete program prerequisites, and upon admission to the Nursing program, will complete the NE sequence courses in five semesters.
Changes to the BSN fast track program requirements have not yet been finalized. Also, it has yet to be determined if that program will proceed in the fall 2009 semester.

For questions pertaining to NMU's Nursing programs, contact the School of Nursing office at bsnnurse@nmu.edu or 906-227-2834.

Office of International Programs

NMU sends students to study abroad in a variety of placement settings: 1:1 exchanges, service learning internships, university direct enroll, and traditional cultural/language immersion centers. Programs range from short-term field experiences, led by NMU faculty members, to a semester or academic year abroad.

The Adviser’s Role:

Encourage your advisees to consider working a study abroad into their academic program. Your influence plants a seed that will grow.
Start them out early: Even freshmen can begin to plan a study abroad. (In fact – more and more incoming students seek us out during freshman orientation, eager to find out when and how they can study abroad.)
Send them over to visit with us in the Office of International Programs, 145 Whitman. We are staffed to help students select programs that best suit their needs and interests.
Better yet – Invite us into your classroom for a brief presentation. (Returnees love to help us spread the message about study abroad.)
Department Heads usually prefer to sign off on specific study abroad course pre-evaluation, but students will ask for your input as well. They should be prepared to show you contact hours, recommended U.S. credit, and course description and/or syllabus. You can help them fit electives, major/minor credits, and liberal studies requirements into their particular degree program.

Political Science and Public Administration

For students with either Political Science or Public Administration minors, please be aware that if following an Undergraduate Bulletin that is 2005-2006 or newer and they earn less than a C in a PS course, it will not count towards their minor.

This same policy applies to all Political Science majors as well.