Author: Kim Sandlin

Students should take time now to reflect on the past 16 weeks and think ahead about the upcoming spring and summer semester. Reflecting on what went well and what you would change are important steps in maximizing your opportunity for future success at Wichita State.

To aid with this, there are a number of resources available. Students can meet with a success coach or a peer financial coach at Student Success for assistance in setting goals, completing success plans or designing a financial plan to remain on the path to graduation.

Students should also consider future co-curricular opportunities which are also important in developing goals and plans for next year. To do this, students can meet with Student Involvement to discover applied learning experiences, social and leadership opportunities.

Don’t wait. Start planning the rest of your academic year now. Enrollment is now open for spring If you haven’t already, enroll today.

Have you thought about finals yet? Find out when your finals are scheduled and learn what kinds of exams will be offered in each class. If you are new to online exams, be sure you learn how online testing works and check your tech before your exams.

It’s helpful to know the supplies you will need so you can get them ahead of time. You may also need to manage your time differently and, if possible, consider lowering your hours at work or changing your work schedule to accommodate study time.

For more information and resources, visit the Student Success website.

Helping students develop job skills inside and outside the classroom is essential when preparing them for life after graduation. Students should be working on their career-ready competencies and strengthening them before graduation. If students need professional work experience in their field, they can explore applied learning opportunities.

Students can track their applied learning opportunities (and earn prizes) in the Shocker 360 app, which allows them to log experiences to share with potential employers. All of these resources can be found at the Shocker Career Accelerator website.

Sure, you have the academic knowledge for your job after you graduate, but what other skills do you have? Do you know what employers expect from their new employees? If you don’t, you can look through the Shocker Career Accelerator’s career-ready competencies.

Students can also create a profile and search for a job on the Shocker Career Accelerator website with the career database, Handshake. Students can also track their applied learning experiences in a new app called Shocker 360 (and earn prizes.)

Congratulations to Stephanie Cockrell, who was been named the assistant director for Student Success’ First-Year Programs. Cockrell will begin this position in January 2022 and will oversee orientation and transition programs for undergraduate, degree-bound domestic students, transition mentors and peer coaches, and other first-year retention initiatives in Student Success.

“We are excited to have Stephanie in this new role,”  Kim Sandlin, director of Student Success said. “Her passion for student success and higher education has been evident throughout her service as a success coach, and we are excited to bring her talent and experience in event planning and advising students to our new Shockers to help us reach our student success goals.”

Enrollment will soon be underway. Instructors should encourage students to speak with their academic advisors to help them develop a schedule to meet their needs and to help them complete 30 credit hours in one academic year.

Students can remain on track with their degree programs and potentially shorten the time it takes to earn a degree by enrolling in a combination of fall, spring and summer classes. They can also utilize the summer semester to help balance academic work during the fall and spring semesters.

The last day to withdraw from a full-semester class and receive a W on your transcript is Oct. 26. Make sure you communicate with your instructors if you have questions about where you stand academically and with your academic advisors if you are unsure of how to withdraw. You should also reach out to the Office of Financial Aid to understand the potential Financial Aid implications of withdrawing from a class.

Enrollment will open soon. Have you done your degree audit and met with a faculty and academic advisor? Do you know how many credits you will need to complete next year? To accomplish these tasks, students should consider enrolling in a pre-session or summer class to help them reach 30 hours without overwhelming themselves during the fall or spring semesters. This schedule would be similar to the following example:

15 (fall) + 15 (spring) = 30
3 (pre-session) + 12 (fall) + 15 (spring) = 30
12 (fall) + 12 (spring) + 6 (summer) = 30
3 (pre-session) + 12 (fall) + 12 (spring) + 3 (summer) = 30

No matter how you build your 30 hours, you have the potential to graduate earlier, begin your career sooner, reduce your student loan debt and increase your GPA. Talk to your advisor about options you may have.

It’s normal to feel not like yourself from time to time. Fortunately, students have a lot of resources available if they need someone to help them through a difficult time, including Counseling and Prevention Services, the CARE Team, Success Coaches and other advisors who can help students manage academically and personally. We encourage students to reach out for help when they need it.

Student Success is seeking  students to serve as transition mentors (TMs). Students in this paid position play a key role in university student success efforts by assisting with the transition of new students to Wichita State.

Transition mentors will have the opportunity to build relationships, interact with university staff and faculty and work with a team of peers during these unique leadership experiences. Applications are due Oct. 31.