By the numbers: Spring Student Degree Progress

The Regents Progress Card established graduation rate goals of 65% for our four-year cohort (i.e., the fall 2017 entering freshman class) and 82% for the six-year cohort (i.e., the fall 2015 entering freshman class) by 2021. Currently, our four-, five-, and six-year cohorts are on the right track, trending slightly higher than last year's rates that locked at 63.3%, 75.7%, and 77.69% respectively.

Our potential graduation rates are based on the number of students whose degrees have been awarded, plus the number of students who have applied for degree. Reaching those rates depends on every student who applied to graduate through summer 2016 actually receiving their degree.

To assist students financially in completing their degree, ASR currently has money available in the form of "Completion Funds.” While an ASR committee reviews each student on a case-by-case basis, priority is given to students who could benefit from registering for summer in order to get back on track for four-year degree completion or who are ready to graduate this summer. Preference is also given to students who are struggling to pay off their spring 2016 balance and need to register for summer or fall. If you have any students that you would like to nominate for completion funds, or any questions about who would be a good candidate, contact ASR Student Degree Progress (asr-sdp@umn.edu).

EAB SSC pilot project wrapping up

The University of Minnesota has completed its pilot of the Education Advisory Board Student Success Collaborative (EAB SSC). Between March 7 and May 6, 2016, 29 advisors representing 8 colleges and programs on the Twin Cities campus used the SSC platform during their regular advising appointments and provided feedback through survey submission and checkpoint meetings. The project team is preparing a recommendation that will be reviewed by Provost Hanson to determine next steps.

Spring Forward (again!), Spring Staff event reminders

As a reminder, here are the details for this year’s ASR Spring Staff event:

• When: Check-in begins at 7:45 a.m., Lunch will be served at 12:00 p.m.
• Where: Bruininks Hall (formerly STSS), floor 2

View the full event schedule and session descriptions >>

Notes:

• Coffee will not be provided, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own.

• If participating in the bike ride, we recommend bringing a helmet, if you have one. There will be a location to store personal items, but we recommend not bringing valuables, as we cannot be held liable for them.

ASR Spring Cleaning on May 19

Don’t forget that Thursday, May 19 is our ASR annual afternoon of spring cleaning. From 12:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m., staff are encouraged to spend the afternoon purging old emails, voicemails and paper files or clean up any work surfaces, shared common areas, dust blinds, shelves, or machines.

Project Management 201: Making Projects Work

Project Management 201 is an intermediate course intended to develop an understanding of the project management life cycle that incorporates the skills necessary to confidently participate and provide leadership on project teams. The 201 course will take place on June 23 and highlight some of the soft skills necessary to help your project succeed.

Course outline:

• Forming a strong team
• Building relationships with stakeholders
• Change management and communication

Project Management 201 will be led by John Vollum and Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez. The first PM 201 will take place on June 23. Staff assigned to lead or participate on projects, as well as staff looking for development opportunities, are encouraged to participate.

To register, click here and login using your university login and password. Contact pwf-team@umn.edu if you have any questions.

AATUCYKTOTA?

That’s “Acronyms At The University: Can You Keep Track Of Them All?” for those not in the know. And hopefully it’s an acronym that you should never have to use or ever see again, but also highlights a bigger issue at the University.

As an ASR staff member, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of University acronyms. Though they are intended to make things easier for University staff to write or discuss, they can quickly get out of hand. But, it’s important to stay in know. On the ASR website, you can find a handy spreadsheet of widely-used acronyms >>

Drone’s-eye view of Campus

Take a different view of the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus with this video highlighting some campus landmarks from a drone’s point of view.