Category: News

The Office of Student Success: First-Year Programs is inviting faculty and staff to nominate undergraduate students they believe will make outstanding transition mentors (TMs). TMs play a vital role in guiding, supporting and motivating incoming Shockers throughout summer orientation programs and the fall semester.

A nomination holds the potential to significantly impact the academic journey and future success of new Shockers. Nominations will be accepted until Sept. 30 and applications will open Oct. 1.

Nominate a student. Contact Kaelyn Hannah at kaelyn.hannah@wichita.edu for any questions.

Admissions is partnering with PowerPrep Inc. to offer a series of ACT Workshops, the first being scheduled for Oct. 5. These classes allow high school students to develop successful strategies for taking the ACT. Most students who participate see an increase of three to five points on their ACT scores. The cost of the course is $75, lunch is provided.

Later dates to participate in an ACT workshop are Feb. 1 and June 9.

The Office of International Education will be moving to its new location in the lower level of the Shocker Success Center Friday, Sept. 20. The office will be closed beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 and will reopen Monday, Sept. 23.

The Shocker Career Accelerator is excited to announce that this year’s Career Connection Root Beer Kegger, held Aug. 28, was a remarkable success. 1,205 Wichita State students joined the fun, and the event also welcomed 41 employers.

Shocker Career Accelerator wants to thank the employers, students, outstanding faculty support and the entire campus community for coming together and making this event a success.

Historically, August is a month of transition, with students typically experiencing homesickness and trying to make friends and campus connections. This past month, CARE Team case managers worked with 76 students whose top concerns were distress, basic needs not being met and expressions of hopelessness, fear or worthlessness. Receiving 76 referrals in August is an appropriate reflection of the number of referrals seen over the last three academic years, as the average number of referrals in August is 75. However, one major change that was identified was the severity of student concerns.

The concerns shared above may not sound severe, but the follow-up care that took place shows their severity. In August, nine student transports took place, including students being transported for mental health or medical reasons. These levels of concern are historically what the CARE Team sees around weeks seven through eight of the semester but were occurring in the second and third weeks of students being on campus. When a student is transported to a higher level of care, the case managers for CARE Team work to coordinate services for the student post discharge. This includes setting up supports on campus, coordinating with professors and coordinating services within the community to ensure safety and wellbeing of the student.

In September 2023, the CARE Team saw a drastic increase in referrals as more students responded to wellness surveys and check-ins from staff and faculty, requesting that the CARE Team connect with them to offer support. Knowing this information, the CARE Team can predict that it will likely see a large increase in the number of referrals made to the office, and the severity of student concerns will continue to be present throughout the month of September. If you have any questions regarding CARE Team referrals or are interested in learning about trend observed throughout the semester, contact the CARE Team at 316-978-3149.

Here are ways you can help:

• If you see something, say something. Concerning behaviors should be shared with the appropriate offices so the student can receive support and barriers can be addressed. The CARE report can be found on the CARE Team website.
• Attend a CARE Team training. In these trainings, participants discuss the concerning behaviors that take place on WSU’s campus and coach staff and faculty on how to engage in those difficult conversations.
• Reach out. If you have questions, the CARE Team is happy to discuss your concerns and share how it can support you.

Attention graduate students: Want to have a say on campus and get more involved? Join the Graduate Student Council (GSC), a university-affiliated body representing over 2,700 graduate students at Wichita State.

The GSC focuses on advocacy, support and community-building initiatives, and it’s entirely student-run. If you’re interested, fill out a nomination form.

Graduate students who plan to complete all degree requirements this semester must file an application for degree and pay the $25 filing fee. This needs to be done no later than Monday, Sept. 16. Submit your application for degree even if you have a plan of study pending to be approved or have not submitted a plan of study.

To submit your application for degree, log into the myWSU portal and click on the myClasses tab. On the right hand side, you will find a section called “Graduation Links,” with the appropriate links to proceed. The $25 fee must be paid using a credit or debit card.

For questions, email the Graduate School at wsugradschool@wichita.edu.

WSU Math Circle resumes its weekly meetings, with the first starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 in 372 Jabara Hall. Math Circle is a program for middle school students.

Math Circles are education enrichment and outreach groups that bring mathematicians and mathematical scientists into direct contact with pre-college students. These students meet with math professionals in an informal setting, after school or on weekends, to work on interesting problems or topics in mathematics. The goal is to get the students excited and passionate about mathematics.

Students should bring with them a completed registration form from the website.

The WSU Child Development Center has Pre-K openings for the year. Children must be going to kindergarten in the fall of 2025 to be eligible. Call 316-978-3109 or email amy.mease@wichita.edu with questions.

Starting October 2024, schedule builders, department chairs and deans will use a new CourseLeaf module called CLSS (pronounced “class”) to create and approve their department’s schedule of courses. Several training sessions will be taught Oct. 22-23 by a CourseLeaf Software Trainer and the Registrar’s Office. Register via the myTraining link in myWSU.

• Schedule builders: All current and new schedule-builders are required to attend training to receive access to CLSS. Register for a two hour “CLSS Schedule Building’ training session:
  • Oct. 22 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 1 to 3 p.m.
  • Oct. 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. or 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
• Department chairs and deans: Those in the workflow approval process of schedule-building can register for one of two ‘CLSS Workflow Approver’ 45-minute training sessions:
  • Oct. 22 from 3:15 to 4 p.m.
  • Oct. 23 from 2:45 to 3:30 p.m.
• Open labs: Schedule-builders and approvers can register for as many ‘CLSS Schedule Building Open Lab’ sessions as they’d like:
  • Oct. 24 from 9 to 11 a.m. or 3 to 5 p.m.
  • Nov. 6, Nov. 14, Nov. 20, Dec. 5, Dec. 15 and Dec. 18, all from 2 to 3 p.m.