Among those representing �鶹ӳ����ý were staff members in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services. During the conference, SDES Associate Vice President DeLaine Priest presented, Emerging Leaders Program. The Office of First Year Advising and Exploration members Brendali Melgoza and Darren Skinner presented, High-tech and High-touch are Not Mutually Exclusive: You CAN have it All! In addition, Danielle Aming and Jena Smith presented, Enhancing Student Relationships; A Counseling Advising Approach.

This year’s theme – What Happens in Advising Stays with Students – focused on the individual relationships that advisors develop with advisees and how these experiences influence student success. These relationships rank high by students as a critical element of academic advising. The conference focused on how the development of relationships with students is powerful in supporting numbers and data through stories that advisors tell about accomplishing student success.

SDES employees have positions in the Southeast Region. The chair of Region 4 [Southeast Region] is Josh “JJ” Johnson, SDES Veterans Academic Resource Center. Rita Simpson, coordinator of academic advising services in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Sophomore and Second Year Center, is chair of the Region 4 Conference. The conference will be held in Orlando on March 16-18, 2016.

The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) is an association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty, administrators, and students working to enhance the educational development of students.

FAIRWINDS Credit Union sponsored the event, providing free food and prizes for first-year students. During the event, students were able to meet their academic advisor and visit various tables to learn about campus resources that will aid them in their academic success.

Knights of the Round Table, Student Academic Resource Center, University Testing Center, Wellness and Health Promotion Services and FAIRWINDS Credit Union were all present. By visiting these tables and completing an event checklist, students had the option to be entered into a chance drawing for various prizes. They could also spin the Prize Wheel to win other prizes.

One student remarked, “The event was very helpful with helping me get to know different resources on campus and meet my academic advisor.”

Open House was just the first step for students; it doesn’t stop there. Students can beat the registration rush and meet with their academic advisor during Advising Weeks which run through October 9. They can schedule an appointment with their academic advisor to discuss course progress, learn about resources and plan for spring courses.

First Year Advising and Exploration and the Sophomore and Second Year Center offices are located in Howard Phillips Hall:

During this event, students were able to meet with their academic advisors based upon their assigned office. If students opted to schedule an appointment with their assigned advisor, they obtained 1,500 LINK Loot points. To appeal to our target populations, we offered free food and prizes provided through the assistance of the Fairwinds Credit Union grant. Students could spin the prize wheel to win a variety of prizes. Several campus partners including Knight Quest, Student Academic Resource Center, University Testing Center, and Fairwinds had tables where students could learn about the resources that each provide for social, academic, and personal success. “Through visiting these tables, students also had the option to be entered into a chance drawing for a pair of Disney tickets or a �鶹ӳ����ý Spirit Ticket package,” said Courtney Demings, academic advisor. “This event was truly designed with the intent of creating an atmosphere of ‘edutainment.’” 

According to the survey given at the end of the open house, 98.6% of students strongly agreed or agreed with this statement: “This event was beneficial to me as a first-year student.” Such a high percentage indicates that FYAE and SSYC were successful in meeting the goals determined by the organizers. Another student stated: “This event opened my eyes to all the resources available on campus that I had previously only heard about in orientation.”

“It is truly great to read the positive responses from our students and know that they are receptive to establishing relationships with their academic advisors,” said Demings. “FYAE and SSYC look forward to continuing a fruitful partnership in hopes of launching a larger event next year.”   

FYAE and SSYC are departments in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

The theme was “Get Smart.”  A total of 63 students attended and met with academic advisors from SSYC, plus support staff from the Student Academic Resource Center, Career Services and Study Abroad.

They learned about valuable academic resources, strategies for academic success, and heard from a student panel who discussed their experiences at �鶹ӳ����ý and gave advice to incoming students. The panel also included an active question and answer session, followed by an interactive Trivia game played by the students attending this session.

Refreshments were served, numerous prizes awarded, and students earned 1,000 LINK points for attending [LINK points can be used at the end of the semester]. Student comments included: “I really enjoyed the event,” “It was great,” and “Very helpful.”

SSYC is an office in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

Game Day Ambassadors work a one game shift for approximately 2 ½ hours at a home football game during tailgating at the Memory Mall as a helpful university resource for home and visiting fans. As an appreciation for working on game day, each ambassador will receive two game tickets for that day’s game, one for you and one for a guest.

Training will be provided, please try to attend one of the following training sessions:

1. Tuesday, August 27, 2013 @ 1- 2 p.m., HPH214A
2. Thursday, September 19, 2013 @ 10-11 a.m., HPH214A

If you are interested in serving as an ambassador this year, or would like more information, contact Rita Simpson or Robert Snow at 407.823.3375, or email: rita.simpson@ucf.edu or robert.snow@ucf.edu.

Football Schedule for all the home games:

The 2012 SARC Learning Fair theme of “50 Years of Growing Together” supported �鶹ӳ����ý’s 50th anniversary celebration. SARC created an event mood for students to move through the past five decades and into the future through various visual and auditory elements including a large-scale SARC Family Tree, progressive background music moving from the 1960s to current times, and historical images from the �鶹ӳ����ý archives. SARC staff and Learning Fair representatives wore retro outfits depicting the decades.

New this year, walk-in advising was offered at the event by First Year Advising and Exploration, Sophomore & Second Year Center as well as Transfer and Transition.

The 2012 SARC Learning Fair was a success with 266 students who attended. Of those student participants about 58% were freshmen. Based on results of a written evaluation:

Student comments included:

The Sophomore and Second Year Center held a Summer Social on July 25 for Accelerated FTICs– students coming to �鶹ӳ����ý for the first time with 30 hours or more college credits– at Academic Village in the Nike Programming Center. The theme was “Get Smart, Get Connected.”

Twenty-eight students attended and met with academic advisors from SSYC and staff from Student Academic Resource Center staff and Office of Pre-Professional Advising. They learned about valuable academic resources, strategies for academic success, and heard from a student panel who discussed their perspectives as to what helped them be successful in the Summer B session and following semesters. The panel also included an active question and answer session, followed by a very interactive Tic-Tac-Toe game played by the students attending this session.

The event began with an “icebreaker,” refreshments were served and students earned 500 LINK points for attending. LINK points can be used at a lottery at the end of the semester.

Student comments included: “It was very informative,” “Great attitude,” “I loved it – educational and fun games,” and “I learned a lot.”

SSYC is a department in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

The Pre-Tailgate Rally was themed to get students excited for the start of the football season and build campus spirit with the playing of the �鶹ӳ����ý fight song and having a special appearance from Knightro. The students enjoyed interactive games, refreshments, many prizes, plus 1,000 LINK points for freshmen students.

One student commented, “This was a very fun event – and I learned about a lot of programs that I wasn’t aware of – thanks for having this program.”

The event was held on September 1 at the Tower III residence hall lobby and was hosted by the Sophomore and Second Year Center, in collaboration with Burnett Honors College and Housing and Residence Life.

SSYC is a department in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

The Sophomore and Second Year Center hosted a Summer Social in the Academic Village Hercules Activity Center for Accelerated FTICs − students coming to �鶹ӳ����ý for the first time with 30 hours or more of college credit. The event, themed “Get Smart, Get Connected,” was attended by 36 students who met with academic advisors and learned about valuable academic resources and strategies for academic success.

Additionally, attendees listened to a student panel who discussed their experiences as to what helped them be successful in a Summer B session and following semesters. The panel engaged attendees in an active question and answer session.

The event began with an icebreaker, refreshments were served and attendees earned 500 LINK points which can be used at the end of semester LINK event. Student comments included: “It was informative. One of the best I’ve been to because it gave all my questions good answers” and “Great presentation, very educational.”

SSYC is an office in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services. For more information about the Office of SSYC, visit: ssyc.sdes.ucf.edu.