2018 Winter Advising Forum

UCSC Advising: Approaching Intersections

March 26, 2018, at the UCSC Coastal Campus.

Schedule:

Session 1 Workshops (9:45 - 11:00 AM):

A. Financial Aid and Advising - Crossing Paths During Crisis
Undergraduate students receiving some form of financial assistance has climbed from 70% in 2012 to 77% in 2017. And in spite of the surge in the economy since the “Great Recession,” the increase in students receiving financial assistance is also increasing the number of students whose finances are negatively impacting their academic careers. What types of aid are available and what are the limits of the assistance? In this workshop Patrick Register, Director of the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, will provide a brief overview of UCSC’s financial aid program before driving into the intersection between students' academic careers and their financial support.

• Presentation Materials

B. Students in Distress are Distressing!
How do you help students in distress and simultaneously manage your own concerns and worry about students? Working with distressed and at risk students is an everyday challenge for advisers. Learn effective methods for dealing with at-risk students and strategies for managing your own stress and worry about their well-being. Join Maryjan Murphy, Senior Associate Director for UCSC’s Counseling and Psychological Services, in an interactive and participatory workshop for advisors wanting to improve their skills in this area.

• Presentation Materials

C. Community College Counselor Panel
Have you ever wondered what our transfer students experience BEFORE they get to UCSC? What are the most challenging aspects of the planning process for transfer to UCSC, and how can we make it easier for our students? This panel of community college counselors will share their perspectives, and we’ll allow time for discussion and sharing of ideas. Bring your questions and ideas to this panel facilitated by Magdalena Serrano, Academic Adviser at Merrill College.

• Presentation Materials

Session 2 Workshops (1:15 - 2:30 PM):

A. Cultivating a Sense of Belonging
An engaging discussion about a year-long, mixed-methods study of staff and leadership at the Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP) office at UC Santa Cruz. This project investigated the practices EOP advisers drew on to cultivate a sense of belonging among EOP students. Study findings showed that students who experienced practices rooted in cultural humility reported a stronger sense of belonging. The workshop will be led by Ethan Chang of the SSERC, and will center on actionable steps advisers can take to create more effective approaches on serving first-generation students.

• Presentation Materials: Cultivating a Sense of Belonging Using Cultural Humility
• Presentation Materials: Exploratory Study of Cultural Humility 

B. Disabilities and Intersecting Identities
Having a disability of any kind intersects with all representations of identity: racial/ethnic,
gender, class, socio-economic status and cultural lines. All of us have more than one
identity, and even within certain disability categories, students may not experience
disability in the same way. In this session, led by Angela Holleman of the Disability Resource Center, advisers will learn some best practices for working with students with disabilities and intersecting identities and explore how we communicate that disability is a valued and welcome perspective at UC Santa Cruz.

• Presentation Materials

C. Intersectionality: Understanding and Advising at the Intersections of Identity
What is "intersectionality," and how does it affect our students? What can we, as advisers, do to ensure we're supporting our diverse students with intersecting identities? And what can we do to understand intersectionality in our own lives? Join Aaron Jones, ABC Retention Specialist, as he shares what he's learned about this important topic in the process of developing his dissertation.

• Presentation Materials

Session 3 Workshops (2:45 - 3:45 PM):

A. Creating the Connection - Making Warm Referrals to Campus Partners
How many of you have referred students to a campus resource but are not quite sure how to paint a picture of what the student may experience once they get to that office? Or perhaps have received feedback that once they get to the resource they are overwhelmed in some way? This session focuses on gaining insight into what students can expect to experience when they walk into a resource for the first time, and how those offices would like us as advisers to make warm referrals. A panel of staff from frequently visited resources (Angela Holleman from DRC, Glenn Gumin from the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, and Christina Hall from the Career Center) will give a description of their office culture, intake process, and answer questions from the audience. Asia Valdivia, EOP STEM Counselor, will facilitate.

B. Transfer Student Panel
We’ve all heard about the goal to enroll one new transfer student for every two new frosh (2:1 initiative), and our campus is working to achieve that goal. What does the transition from a community college to UCSC look like from a transfer student’s perspective? What special challenges and opportunities do transfer students face, and how can advisers help to smooth their transition? This transfer student panel will approach some of these questions, and will be facilitated by Sara Radoff, Director of STARS, Riana Howard, STARS Program Coordinator, and Jannet Ceja, STARS Program Coordinator (Services for Transfer and Re-Entry Students). Bring your questions and an open mind to hear directly from our students!

C. Advising Task Force: Overview and Discussion
The final report from the Advising Task Force was recently released, and a number of recommendations were made. Join some of the members of the Advising Task Force for an overview of the charge of the task force and of some of the top recommendations, followed by a discussion about what to expect next. This session will be an informal discussion, and we hope advisers will bring their questions, thoughts, and ideas! The task force report is available here.

• Presentation Materials