Student Success Update
Preparing for In-Person Classes
As we all have now adjusted to teaching online, it is time for us to start making plans for our transition back to campus. This may be exciting for some but may have many feeling anxious as the state of health is still very uncertain.
Consider making a plan to outline your return to campus. This could simply include starting your transition slowly by working from your on-campus office one or two days a week if you are not already doing so. You should encourage your students to do the same and continue to encourage them to take advantage of NSM and campus resources, such as the Undergraduate Advising Center, CAPS, SEP (workshops and tutoring), LAUNCH, etc. The Fall semester will be here soon, so let’s all get prepared to welcome our students back to campus.
Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS) Transition
The transition of many of the UH course numbers and titles to the Texas Common Course Numbering System takes effect for the Fall 2021 semester. Students registering for classes for the fall will register under the new numbers; however, summer registration remains under the current system. The list of impacted courses can be found at the following link: www.uh.edu/academics/courses-enrollment/course-number-updates/.
Over 160 courses university-wide and over 50 in NSM have new numbers and/or names. The NSM Undergraduate Advising Office has updated degree plans to reflect the changes related to this transition.
If you use the degree plan checklists when advising students, please be sure to use the updated versions now available on the NSM Advising website and discard any old paper versions you may have on file.
Scholar Enrichment Program Offers GRE Prep Workshop
The Scholar Enrichment Program (SEP) received five GRE exam vouchers along with vouchers for GRE test prep material from the Educational Testing Service. These vouchers supported SEP scholars interested in attending graduate school.
Eduardo Cerna, SEP director, and Jessica Ramirez, program manager, attended the GRE Test Preparation Workshop for Campus Educators to receive insight about the exam and to learn about best practices for conducting a GRE Test Preparation for SEP scholars. After months of preparation, SEP administrators offered their first GRE prep workshop in March. The virtual workshop was a two-day event, held through Microsoft Teams. Students spent three hours each day exploring test logistics, strategies for approaching each question type, and example questions in each section of the exam. Six students attended the event, and a survey was administered to get feedback for future improvements.
The goal is to offer the free GRE workshop to all NSM students interested in attending graduate school. The next GRE prep workshop will be held in Fall 2021.