Last week, I was in my office when a student comes in
needing assistance completing some paperwork.
While I was completing the paperwork, we were making small talk about
her summer plans. During the
conversation, she asks if those of us in the Advising Resource Center are here
all summer to which I responded “yes.”
Then she questions, “So what do you do all summer?” ,or as I heard it, “What
could you possibly have to do during the summer? After all, no students are around.”
This is a common question I get from students
and it makes me chuckle every time. My
initial reaction is to say “we just sit around with our feet on the desk,
eating bonbons and reading magazines.” Thankfully,
I catch myself (most of the time) and respond with a vague description of what
we do. In reality, we stay pretty busy
over the summer. Granted, we don’t have
as much student traffic as when classes are in session but we have many other
tasks to keep us busy. So, for those who
have always wondered, here is a little insight into what we do during the
summer in the Advising Resource Center.
After the spring semester finishes, we spend the next few
weeks wrapping up the semester by reviewing and processing A LOT of student
records. Our office is responsible for verifying
that students have completed their degree requirements as well as reviewing students’
academic standing. So, at the end of
each semester, the record of every student who has applied for a degree is
evaluated and verified to make sure degree requirements have been completed and
the records of students whose academic standing has changed are reviewed and
processed. Additionally, we have new
student registration for both summer sessions, which occurs on the Monday after
graduation in May and during the first week of June.
By the second week of June, we are in full planning mode for
the summer advising conferences which run from the third week of June through
the second week of July. The summer
advising conferences consist of twelve freshmen, three transfer, and two
readmission conferences. The summer
advising conferences provide students the opportunity to meet faculty and
staff, register for classes, get any questions answered about UK and college
life, and start to learn their way around campus. Freshmen attend two-day conferences while
transfer and readmission students attend one day conferences. On day
one for freshmen, students are on main campus participating in various
presentations and interest sessions.
Students receive information on residence life, housing, dining,
parking, financial aid, student employment, Greek life, and much more. On day two, students meet with
representatives from their academic college for advising and registration. During this time, advisors work closely with
students to help them prepare a schedule of classes and ensure that they are
taking the appropriate courses. While
the students are with the academic colleges, parents are participating in a
parent program which highlights topics of interest for them. After students complete the registration
process, they meet back up with their parents for the conclusion of the
conference. Over the course of four
weeks, we will work with approximately 400 new students!
Once the summer advising conferences are completed, we spend
the next few weeks wrapping up the summer sessions, which includes processing
more student records, and preparing for the fall semester. We also begin work on creating the schedule
of classes for the upcoming spring semester.
Our student traffic increases during this time as our new students have
questions and concerns in addition to our returning students.
So, as I mentioned previously, we have plenty
to keep us busy over the summer which leaves very little time for eating
bonbons…or at least eating them at work.
Jamie Dunn is the Director of First-Year Success at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Advising Resource Center. She is a UK graduate and coordinates the Agriculture Residential College in Baldwin Hall.
