Family Weekend Academic Affairs Friday February 8, 2019 Dr. Bill Daub Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Connolly Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Dean Amy Bibbens Associate Dean for Academic Resources & Student Success Amy - lead; introduce self; Bill & Liz introduce selves 2018 Welcome DSA for half hour Me alone for an hour, not split All years together Less of the first year stuff, keep all the upper div Could talk about stems ADAA always held by a faculty member that has that kind of experience with students – goal of position is to be bridge We are constantly reviewing our curriculum and chekcing ourselves – give gender result from stems Academic excellence through whole career

What we’ll touch on Student paths through the curriculum Core, Majors, HSA Academic resources Summer plans Questions Amy

First-Year Students Mostly Core courses this semester Core samples all disciplines 2nd semester includes: biology, physics (mechanics), chemistry, linear algebra, differential equations, HSA10 (Critical Inquiry, multiple discipline choices), lab Building blocks for what students do later Liz A large number of you are parents of first year students. they are deep in our core curriculum. You parents of sophomores and juniors are sitting here saying I remember that, it was rough. But now I hope you see you students using all that breadth and applying it to what they are now choosing as their focus and settling into their academic “homes” here

Sophomore/Junior Students Sophomores beginning to focus on majors – GPAs rise for many Juniors solidly in majors and looking toward capstone research/Clinic Continuing work on HSA requirements Planning path to 128 credits Liz majors typically declared in fourth semester some certain in freshman year. Some here in sophomore spring are still trying to keep engineering, CS, physics and chemistry open. That’s distressing to them right now,which makes sense, but big picture, isn’t it great to have such intellectual curiosity and love of learning and breadth of interest? I try to convince them that these four years are not their last chance to learn, and share with them that because of the breadth of the education and the focus we have on open ended problems and learning how to learn to solve them, students of every major go on to do every thing. Are there parents of seniors here – your students are bringing it all together now in thesis and research Before talking about what resources to help your students with all these things, I want to take a short diversion

What’s next after Core? Choosing a major Required courses Major electives Capstone experiences (research, Clinic) Individual Program of Studies & off-campus majors Bill

What’s next after Core? Capstone experience CS, Engineering: all Clinic Math, Physics: departments offer Clinic or research Biology, Chemistry: departments offer research, but Clinic available Bill

What’s next after Core? Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts (HSA) Ten courses beyond the core Concentration and distribution requirements Writing intensive course Minimum five on-campus courses Bill

What’s next after Core? Advice for course selection in major Major advisor Other professors in the major Registrar Website, catalogue, resources sent by registrar Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Advice for HSA course selection HSA advisor HSA professors Bill these are all the resources we really want them to use. really for usually better but sometimes worse, a lot of their info comes from other students - not always accurate or the best advice for the student

Academic Requirements 128 credits to graduate Core + major + HSA < 128 Number of elective units is major-dependent Average course load 16 units per semester (5 classes plus lab/PE/colloquium) Bill

Academic Resources & Support The Three Deans Dean Bibbens: academic or personal support, communicating with faculty, study strategies, time management Deans Daub & Connolly: course selection, core and major requirements, drops/withdrawals Workshops & events: pre-registration, study strategies, time management Amy - initial entry point for students, triage & connect to resources; all three deans are available by appt; ADAAs have open office hours throughout the week

Academic Resources & Support Professors Advisors Academic Excellence for Core courses Writing Center Proctors, Mentors, PALs (Peer Academic Liaisons) Study groups Amy Professors in classes, in major - FY/Major/HSA advisors office hours - connect with professors - students often intimidated - work with students to learn how to communicate with faculty - ask for help Study groups - HMC encourages students to work collaboratively, and for many students, study groups are a key strategy to get their work done; independent work also important don’t focus on group too much - indep. - start on own

How can you help? Remind them… Academic challenge is part of learning experience Access available resources Develop a network of support Amy academic standards higher - challenge is part of learning process

Summer – what to do with it? Spend time with family & friends Decompress Travel Work Summer research Internship Summer math Bill

Summer Research engineering chemistry Australian collaborator physics Bill

Summer research 10 week immersive experience Stipend provided Close to 200 students work with 40+ faculty each summer All departments well represented Even rising sophomores may get positions Bill

Summer Math Two half courses normally taken in sophomore fall taken over first three weeks of summer Costs: tuition, room and board Provides flexibility in sophomore fall semester Fast-paced and intense academic experience which may not fit everyone’s learning style Liz Last thing before I take your questions - I want to tell parents of first year students about is summer math

Questions? Dr. Bill Daub daub@hmc.edu Dr. Elizabeth Connolly connolly@hmc.edu Dean Amy Bibbens abibbens@hmc.edu

Computer Science Policies https://www.cs.hmc.edu/program/policies

Summer experiences No evidence any one summer makes a huge difference for “next steps” Good, just not critical Definitely not critical for first-years! Grad schools want HMC students Clinic guarantees work-like experience