College of Education & Human Development Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture Freshman Meeting Fall 2013

TLAC Advisors Justin Smith Asst. Director of Advising Amanda Mather Bonnie Bustos-Rios Charles Otto Front Desk:

Making Appointments All TLAC students are required to meet with an advisor EVERY semester. Advising Office: Advising Office: Heaton Hall Suite 115 Office Hours: Office Hours: Monday-Friday (8:00 am - 5:00 pm) Walk-ins: Fridays (8:30am-4:30pm) Phone: Phone: (979) Website Website:

Advising Office Communications Your TAMU account is the official communication method of the University and the TLAC Advising Office. Newsletters, course announcements, and important info are sent to you from the Advising Office- you are responsible for reading them! DO NOT have your TAMU forwarded to Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc- often the messages don’t get to you and you miss important info!

TLAC Website & MyCEHD mycehd.tamu.edu

Early Childhood –Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 6 –With ESL Supplemental Middle Grades (Grades 4-8) –Language Arts/Social Studies –With ESL Supplemental –Math/Science- HIGH NEEDS AREA! Teacher Certification Options

Student Responsibilities Achieve and maintain a minimum 2.75 GPR. Freshmen- you have until the end of Spring 2014 to achieve this GPR. If you don’t meet this requirement, you WILL be dismissed and asked to change your major. No Ds or Fs are allowed on our degree plans. So the goal is: 2.75 (or better- AIM HIGH!)

Student Responsibilities Attend mandatory advising session once per semester. Schedule & register for the proper courses each semester. (This may mean taking a TAMU that you’d planned to take elsewhere.) Progress thru your degree plan in a timely manner. (Again, this may mean taking TAMU instead of a CC.)

Byrne Student Success Center Shailen Singh ‘01- Director- and your new best friend! Located in Heaton Hall, next to the TLAC Advising Office Also: Academic Success Center, Multicultural Services, Student Learning Center… Student Resources

What will we discuss in the mandatory advising session?What will we discuss in the mandatory advising session? –Plan the next three semesters –Questions and/or concerns about classes and grades –Catalog requirements –Registration procedures –Community college equivalent courses Advising Session

Q-Drops Q-Drops Can be used to quit a class in progress May be used anytime before the 60 th class day (Nov. 15) Only have 4 for all your time at TAMU- must be used carefully! Recommendation: Do your best in the class. Talk to your instructor if you are struggling, but stick it out. If you are not passing at the Q-drop deadline, we can assist you in dropping the class.

Teacher Education (Or “Upper Level”) To be admitted into Teacher Education, you must meet the following requirements: At least 45 hours of course work on degree plan Completion of ENGL104, and TEFB 273 or INST 310 Completion of Math 141/166 and Math 142/131 Completion of 8 hours of science courses 2.75 overall GPR *When you successfully complete all requirements, you will be admitted to “upper level” by an advisor.

Junior & Senior Methods Junior Methods –2 nd semester Junior year –1 full day per week in field placement –2 courses, 6 cr. Hours, TEFB 471 & EDCI 454 Senior Methods –Taken semester prior to Student Teaching –Two full days per week in field placement –Block of courses, 12 hours –All coursework must be completed by this point

Student Teaching Last semester before graduation from TAMU Student teaching office will place you, may be local or distant 12 weeks of student teaching, including 4 weeks of full responsibility No other coursework allowed this semester Great field experience!

Other Information You must complete the online questionnaire before your mandatory advising meeting- bring it with you to have your hold lifted. The questionnaire is available on the MyCEHD website. Look for it on the TLAC Advising page, next to the date/time for this meeting. We will begin seeing freshmen on Oct. 21.

Any Questions? Remember, we are here for you! Please feel free to call or us with any questions you have, and we will answer them! Don’t be afraid to ask, we promise we have probably heard it before! Thanks and Gig ‘Em!