Author: Kim Sandlin

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.

If you would like to provide feedback about new student Orientation, please complete the anonymous Orientation feedback form by Oct. 31.

The form offers students an opportunity to share their experiences about what they would like to see in future programs involving First-Year Programs in Student Success. Please note that these programs serve our new, domestic degree-bound students.

For more information, contact kim.sandlin@wichita.edu.

Wichita State transfer students and one guest are invited to a dinner with President Rick Muma at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the Rhatigan Student Center. The event is part of  National Transfer Student Week Oct.18-22.

Reservations are required as space is limited for this event.

If you need help to finish strong this semester, reach out to a Wichita State Success Coach. Success coaches can help students make an individualized plan to help with organization, time management, motivation, study skills and accountability. To schedule an appointment, visit the WSU Success Coach website today.

As the date for spring 2022 enrollment approaches, it’s time for students to check their degree progress. Students who haven’t used Wichita State’s Degree Works to run an audit of their classes will need to before meeting with an advisor.

WSU’s Degree works is a great way for students to view the courses they have completed and find out how these courses fulfill their degree requirements. It also shows students which courses have remaining for their degree plan. If a student is considering changing their major, the audit can also help them understand how their completed classes count toward their new major.

For more information, visit the Degree Work website. Students can also contact their academic advisor or OneStop.