MATH 202 Transfer Rules -- Temporary Retraction

As it turns out, the math department would like to have further discussion of whether or not transferring in MATH 202 will allow students to automatically register for MATH 103 or 104—or any other course with a MATH 051 pre-req.

Therefore, with their request for more discussion, I have deleted my previous blog post on this topic, and I will advise you to revert, at least temporarily, to our former policy of having students take placement tests if they transfer in MATH 202.

I apologize for this change and retraction. However, I will not keep you as an advisor – or more importantly our students – in limbo or a situation of uncertainty.

I will update you again after the Math department meets again during Week 0.

Winter Term Credit Limits

As per Christine Nowik, Dean of Student and Academic Success...

Please note that students are permitted to enroll in only four credits during the winter term unless failing to do so will delay their immediate graduation. Requests for approval for additional credits should be sent to Nancy Bobersky.

Additional myHACC Registration Tool Search Functionality

The following video outlines some additional myHACC registration tool functionality, including the ability to search for multiple courses and subjects at one time.

3 Inactivated Programs -- And Links for Inactive & Active HACC Programs

Three additional programs have been inactivated recently, effective for Fall 2017.

MAJOR	DEGREE	PROGRAM CODE	PROGRAM NAME	EFFECTIVE TERM
5430	CERT	HUM_SVC_C	Human Services	Fall 2017
3260	CERT	MLT_C	Medical Laboratory Technician	Fall 2017
3520	AS	MED_ASST_AS	Medical Assisting	Fall 2017

A complete list of all inactivated or new programs is available at this link.




A complete list of all active programs is available at this link.

MATH 008 - MATH 022 Pre-req Errors Fixed

Our Central Student Affairs Enrollment and Records staff have fixed the pre-req error issue that has been arising when students try to register for MATH 008 and MATH 022 in subsequent parts of term. Therefore, students should no longer get pre-req errors when trying to register for those classes.

Please note that the higher-level math developmental courses (MATH 033, 044, 055) may still elicit pre-req errors as we continue to work on a fix for those classes, so you should still continue to use overrides for those courses.  

Thank you to Genita Mangum, Ragin El-Shater, Crystal Scheib, and Erika Steenland for their “behind the scenes” work to fix the MATH 008/MATH 022 issue. 

Additional FYS Options for Students

As you work with students, it's important to remember that there are many options for students to meet the FYS requirement. Please see this previous blog post for more details.

Please know that the FYS options will continue to expand for students as more departments and disciplines build the outcomes into existing courses.

Current FYS options

3 Credits--FS 100 (on campus, face to face), FS 103 (online students only)

1 Credit -- FS 102, EMS 231, HONR 101, FS 101

New Math Developmental Courses and Pre-req Errors

Many of you have reached out to me regarding the pre-req errors that students receive when trying to register for back-to-back developmental math courses in the same term (e.g. Spring 2017) but different parts of that term (e.g. first seven weeks, second seven weeks). For example, a common instance of this error occurs when a student registers for MATH 008 in the first part of term and then tries to register for MATH 022 in the second part of term, only to get the pre-req error message. Unfortunately, this same error occurs for all the new math developmental courses as well.

Know that we are very much aware of this issue and its potential impact on the college and our students. Central Student Affairs staff and IT are working on the problem, but there is not an immediate fix available. Therefore, the only short-term fix is to continue to enter overrides for students. Campuses and advisors might also consider some outreach to their affected students, just to minimize the impact on enrollments. Please note that I am happy to work with any counselor, advisor, or campus to develop such an outreach plan.

Faculty advisors who have difficulty with overrides can reach out to any campus-based advisor -- or the campus Welcome Center -- for help with giving the students overrides. 

I apologize for the inconvenience and extra work that results from this issue. I sincerely wish I could offer an immediate fix, but since I cannot I will continue to push for a resolution and advocate for our students. Thank you for your patience.

Please continue to bring new concerns with the Banner XE registration portal to my attention. 

Tim Barshinger

tpbarshi@hacc.edu

717-780-2655

New Student Retention Report

There is a new report available in ARGOS that could be useful to advisors. It’s located in the Enrollment Services folder titled "STUDENT_RETENTION_CONTACT."

 

This report shows current term students who have not registered for the next term's classes (e.g. Fall 2016 students who haven't registered for Spring 2017). The report excludes anyone who has applied to graduate during the current term. It will show the students' current academic standing, financial aid SAP status, and if they have any active registration holds on SOAHOLD. It also lists their campus and contact info.

Thank you to Christina Dietz for creating this new report!

Gettysburg Dual Admission Event

Check out this November 15th event in Gettysburg.

Share with students who want to learn more about dual admission.

Learn more at this link.

New and Inactivated Programs

This link will take you to a list of new and inactivated programs.  (You may need to log in to myHACC to view the list as it is located in myHACC Extended.)

Please note that even before the program is officially inactivated we should be advising students of other options and guiding them away from the inactivated program. Such action prevents situations where students cannot finish a program because the courses are no longer offered--as well as the need for endless sub-waivers. 

Updated Prerequisites and Course Inactivations for Spring 2017

This link leads to the final spreadsheet that shows course inactivations and prerequisite changes approved for Spring 2017.   

Additional Winter Course Sections Being Added

According to Academic Affairs, many of our winter session classes, both those offered virtually and those being held on the Harrisburg Campus, are filling very well, and many are either full or nearing capacity. Thus, the decision has been made to open additional course sections. Virtual Learning plans to stagger the opening of new online winter session courses on 11/7 and 11/14.  The latter is vital because the last thing we want is 0 seats available when New Student (particularly guest students) Enrollment starts on 11/14.  It is important that we strike a balance between serving current students to aid in completion and attracting new students/guest students.

 

At the moment, it appears we will likely reach around 30 winter sessions offerings with most being additional sections of existing offerings being added over the next two weeks.

 

New Class -- ENGL 056

English 056ST is now active on Banner.

This course can be offered to those students who test into both English 002 and English 050. Like English 057, ENGL 056 is an integrated reading and writing course, and like 057, it is a three-credit course, designed to move students more quickly through the developmental English sequence, and without sacrificing essential literacy skills.

We are offering sections at Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York.

Questions about English 056 can be directed to Julie Keenan or Geraldine Gutwein.

Special Note:  For some reason, ENGL 056 is not populating into the search tool when you search specifically for that class. However, if you search all English classes at the college or at a specific campus, ENGL 056 does appear. Likewise, you can find the course by searching for ENGL 056ST.  For some reason the "ST" is required with the "056."

Engineering Program Presentations

The following links will take you to PowerPoint presentations that will benefit anyone who advises engineering  programs:

• Engineering presentation
• Mechanical Engineering
• Structural Engineering
  

Please note that you may need to sign in to myHACC to access these documents.

Inactivation -- Environmental Specialist AAS (ENSP)

Follow this link to learn more about the Fall 2016 inactivation of the Environmental Specialist AAS degree.



https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6IKKGKKCX0zSlRzekU1X0M4cm8


Please note that you may need to sign in to myHACC to access this document.

Changes in Scheduling Advising Tools

As many of you have found, the former hacc.edu scheduling tool no longer works for the upcoming semesters. This change is the result of our move to Banner XE, the newer version of Banner that went live in the last few months. Unfortunately, the old hacc.edu scheduling tool was custom built for the older version of Banner and is not compatible with Banner XE. Likewise, there are no plans in the immediate future to custom build a newer version of the hacc.edu scheduling tool. Therefore, in the short term, our only recourse when working with students is to use myHACC.

We are aware that many of you were very accustomed to using the hacc.edu scheduling tool, and I apologize for the inconvenience of it not being available. Please know that Christine Nowik and I had very little control over this change and were also caught off guard. Certainly, if we were aware of the change, we’d have communicated it to you much earlier.

Likewise, we are also aware that there are limitations to myHACC scheduling. Not least among these limitations is the “hidden” nature of important course notes. It is important to note that these notes do exist, but users must click on the link for a course and then drill down into the “Course Details” or “Course Description” to find these notes.

In the short term, to help you and your students adapt to using myHACC for scheduling, Howard Alexander has created two very nice videos that you might find beneficial. Please note that Howard’s videos are somewhat focused on Gettysburg; thus, there are a few items to be aware of:  1) Winter session classes are predominantly online, but there are some, especially in Harrisburg, that may be blended or face-to-face. 2) Howard’s video has a personal note to Gettysburg advisors and faculty at the very end of the staff video. Despite these two small nuances, the videos are accurate and should be helpful to anyone who needs an overview of myHACC scheduling.

Student-focused video on using myHACC scheduling/registration

Staff-focused video on using myHACC scheduling/registration

Thank you, Howard, for allowing us to use these great resources! 

Caution: Transferring from a Degree to a Certificate Program

With thanks to Angela Campbell and Heather Reber...

If students change their major from an AA program to a Cert/Diploma program late in their educational experience, the chances are pretty high that they will have exceed the number credits required to graduate by 150%. It may help when advisors are meeting with students who are considering a major change from AA to Cert/Diploma that they take a quick look at the number of credits a student has attempted versus the number credits needed for the new major. Obviously, this change could affect a student's SAP status.


Here is way FA calculates 150 Per Suspension:  

“Total number of credit required to complete major” x 150%= (X)

[Then look at the student’s file (SHATERM and SHACRSE)]

“Total Attempted Credits” – “Total number of Development Credits”= (Y)

If (Y) is greater than (X), the student will be on suspension.

New Credit Transfer Analysis Tool -- Transferring to HACC

Thank you to Genita Mangum and her team for the creation of a new tool for Transfer Credit Analysis.


Please note that the tool is not the official word on transfer of credit, as a student's transcripts must still be evaluated by the Records Office.  However, I know you will find this transfer credit analysis tool very helpful in that it should allow you to do a better job of advising and helping transfer students make informed decisions.


The transfer credit analysis tool is also available under the "Faculty" tab of myHACC -- and in myHACC Extended > Student and Academic Success Resources > Advising > Transfer.

SAT Math Scores for Placement

The math department has moved to accepting recent (from within the last 5 years) SAT scores as a means of placement. 

An SAT math score of 590 or above would be the equivalent of the student having successfully completed Math 051. As a result, the student with such an SAT score should be able register to take the following math courses without needing a placement exam score:

Math 100

Math 103

Math 104

Math 111

Math 113

Math 114

Math 161

Math 172

Math 202

Additionally, for courses in other departments that require math 051 as a prerequisite, the student with an SAT math score of 590 or greater should also be able to register for those courses.

New Courses for FYS

This message is extracted from an email from Kathy Doherty, Associate Provost regarding the FYS requirement:

In general, the requirement is not an FS (Foundational Studies) requirement. It is an FYS (First Year Seminar) requirement. Some students are required to complete a course that contains learning outcomes appropriate for 3-credits of FYS (those who place into 2 or more developmental courses). Other students are only required to complete a course that meets the equivalent of a 1-credit FYS component. The Academics House has developed universal learning outcomes, so any course must contain these learning outcomes to qualify as fulfilling either 1-credit of 3-credit requirement. As you might imagine, the 3-credit list is longer and it will be quite a challenge for courses in other disciplines to incorporate 3-credits worth of FYS outcomes and still maintain their content focus. So right now, FS 100 is the only course that will satisfy the 3-credit requirement.

However, a few courses outside of FS have incorporated the smaller number of 1-credit outcomes and can now be used to satisfy the 1-credit requirement. Those courses are: FS 102, HONR 101, and EMS 231. We will likely add to that 1-credit list next year as well. Keep in mind that the EMS course is a 5-credit course and the HONR 101 is a 3-credit course. But most of the focus is on discipline content. Thus, both HONR 101 and EMS 231 only meet the 1-credit FYS requirement, not the 3-credit requirement.

Addendum from Heather Burns and Foundational Studies:
   -FS 103 (fully online students only) -- 3 credits of FYS
   -FS 101 (only counts as a 1-credit FYS)

While the status of “FYS” won’t be effective for both FS 103 and FS 101 until fall 2017, we did receive notice from the Provost’s Office last spring that if students took FS 103 in Spring 2017, graduation waiver substitutions could be filed, and those students would receive credit for taking the required FYS course. Upon follow-up, FS 101 was given the same status for Spring 2017. 

Global Education, Study Abroad Courses for Spring and Summer 2017

The following links can provide you more information about Global Education and our Study Abroad Courses.

General information about the Center for Global Education as a whole:  http://www.hacc.edu/Students/GlobalEducation/index.cfm

General information about study abroad:  http://www.hacc.edu/Students/GlobalEducation/StudyAbroad/index.cfm

Program specific info and link to apply for participation: http://www.hacc.edu/Students/GlobalEducation/StudyAbroad/Faculty-Led-Travel-Courses.cfm

PTK College Completion Essay Contest

Phi Theta Kappa -- with generous support from the HACC Foundation -- is hosting an essay contest open to all students.

As part of the college completion agenda, students are asked to spend no more than 750 words discussing why they want to complete a degree or certificate at HACC.

SIX tuition vouchers of $500 will be offered, one for each campus and Virtual. Thanks for your help in promoting this opportunity to students! Please see the attached slides related to completion and the essay contest rules. 

The deadlines are coming up quickly! York and Harrisburg are set for 10/10, with the other campuses set for similar deadlines. Questions should be directed to these individuals:

Gettysburg: Catherine Frost or Donneva Crowell
Harrisburg: Christine Nowik
Lancaster: Jenn St. Pierre
Lebanon: Vick Angell
York: Mary Richards

Thank you for helping us promote college completion! 

Follow this link for additional rules and details. 

IT & Computer Career Webinars

A number of  IT & Computer career webinars are scheduled in the coming weeks.

Information about these webinars has been posted on the HACC website at www.hacc.edu/webinars.

• ·        October 5, 2016, 12-12:30pm: Computer Information Systems
• ·        October 26, 2016, 12-12:30pm: Real Estate
• ·        November 2, 2016, 6-6:30pm: Dual Enrollment
  
  
  
  Any questions can be directed to Emily FoxEmail: ejfox@hacc.edu
  
  Office Phone: 717-780-2347

MACCA Career Conference

The Annual Conference of the Middle Atlantic Career Counseling Association is scheduled for December 2016.

Consider joining us for a day or the entire event!

Conference Highlights and registration

 

Early Bird Registration Rates end September 30.

 

 

 

Advising Guide Updates

The most recent version of the Advising Guide is now available.

You can find the advising guide in the following places:

• In the advising section of myHACC 
• Quick Links > Student Affairs Resources > Student and Academic Success Resources > Advising Materials and Information > Advising Guide
  
• Under the faculty tab of myHACC, in the the "Advising Services" window.

Please note that you need to be signed in to myHACC in order to view the document.

My suggestion is that you bookmark the link to the advising guide or simply visit it from one of these locations. That will enable you to always have the most up-to-date version of this document.

Special thanks are extended to the following team members who worked on the updates to the Advising Guide:

• Tannisha Fuentes
• Ruth Purgason
• Joy Tien
• Irma Alicia Villareal
• Michael Williams

Winter Session Course Offerings

The following courses are the tentative course offerings scheduled to run during our first HACC winter term:

• CIS 105
  ENGL 101
  ENGL 207
  FS 102
  HIST 101
  HIST 102
  HIST 103
  HIST 104
  METR 101
  NUTR 104
  PHIL 101
  PHIL 225
  PE 183 (for BCM, GERT, and WHP majors)
  PE 184
  PSYC 101

IMC will market to current students and externally.  Additionally, Amy Withrow will ensure information gets sent in the next Skigram, campus newsletters, and student affairs newsletters. 

If there are any questions about the offerings, please contact Dwayne Hunt or Amy Withrow.

HACC Scholarships and Qualifications

Student Success Coach Ashana Taylor has created a list of scholarships and the qualification criteria for each.

I am aware that Academic Works helps to filter which scholarships students qualify for, but we've noticed that sometimes students are actually qualified for more opportunities than the program returns.

Therefore, this list may prove to be helpful if you're working with students interested in scholarships. You can certainly print and share it with students.

Click on this link to view the scholarships and qualifications. Please note that this is a Google Drive document; thus, you may need to log in with your HACC credentials. Note that this document has more than one tab, and the scholarships are organized alphabetically.

Good work, Ashana!

Advising Codes

Advising codes will be run beginning September 23rd (audit date) and should be available for Monday, September 26th.


That gives our departments about 5 weeks to meet with continuing students before registration begins for them on November 2nd.


Please direct any questions to Tim Barshinger at  tpbarshi@hacc.edu.

Winter Session at HACC -- FAQ's, Page 1

New This Academic Year -- Winter Session at HACC


Goal – HACC will offer a winter session starting Monday, December 19, 2016.


Winter Session FAQ's, Page 1 

Questions	Answer
When will the winter session take place?	December 19, 2016, through January 13, 2017. Final winter session grades will be due by noon on January 18, 2017.
When will students register for the winter session?	Registration for the winter session will align with spring 2017 registration dates: November 2, 2016, for current students. November 14, 2016, for new students.
Will financial aid be offered?	Yes, for an aid eligible student. The student must also be enrolled in spring 2017.
Will financial aid offered over the winter session adversely affect a student’s ability to receive financial aid during the regular part of term for spring 2017?	Students who enroll in the winter session and use financial aid must also be enrolled in the spring 2017 term. This is considered a single term for financial aid purposes.
When will winter session students receive their financial aid distribution?	They will receive the distribution the first week of February 2017, along with the regular part of term spring 2017 students.
What campus/unit will offer the winter sessions courses?	Virtual Learning will offer winter session classes to support online learning cohorts and to offer additional classes that will attract guest students and work well in a condensed delivery period. Campuses are welcome to participate in the winter session, but there are currently no plans to do so.
What online courses will be offered?	Kelley Engle, the academic affairs dean of Lebanon and Virtual Learning, is currently working with the department chairs to identify classes best suited to a condensed delivery period. Additionally, student affairs has provided data regarding the most popular guest student course selections.
When will the low enrollment scheduling decisions be made?	December 14, 2016.
How will student affairs have time to process student registrations, payments, etc. before the holiday break?	Registration for the winter session will close on December 7, 2016, to allow time for processing and student communication after the first no pay drop on December 9, 2016.
Will faculty be allowed to override for late registrations during the winter session?	No. To allow for enough processing time, registration for the winter session must close on December 7, 2016.

Winter Session at HACC, FAQ's, Page 2

Winter Session -- FAQ's, Page 2

What about end of term processing and how it might affect students? Particular processes of interest are grading, prerequisite checking, and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for financial aid.	It is imperative faculty submit their final fall 2016 grades by the stated deadline. Students enrolled in the winter term could begin attending and then have to be removed if they are not successful in a fall class that is a prerequisite for their winter session class or if they are placed on SAP financial aid suspension and cannot pay their balance. This could also occur at the beginning of the spring term based upon a prerequisite check after the outcomes of the winter term classes. This will be a minority of students. If this occurs, they will be backed out of the courses and given a zero balance.
What is the confirmation of attendance date for the winter session?	December 24, 2016.
What is the last day to drop a course for the winter session?	January 5, 2017.
When will winter session final grades be available to students?	January 19, 2017.
How will online students be supported during the week HACC is closed (December 26, 2016 – January 2, 2017)?	Virtual Learning staff will monitor voice messages and virtual@hacc.edu emails remotely during that time. Also, Virtual Learning staff has administrative access to enroll students into Brightspace by D2L, if needed.
What if students have issues accessing the myHACC portal during the week HACC is closed (December 26, 2016 – January 2, 2017)?	HACC’s learning management system has a backdoor address at http:ehacc.hacc.edu. This can be used if an emergency access issue occurs. The IT Support Center will provide support December 26 to December 30 between the hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
What if students have issues operating within Brightspace by D2L during the week HACC is closed (December 26, 2016 – January 2, 2017)?	Brightspace by D2L 24/7 online chat support will be implemented starting fall 2016. This service is available 365 days a year.
Will HACC limit winter session credits that can be taken per student?	Yes. Four credits will be the limit.
How will winter session scheduling affect full-time faculty schedules for spring 2017?	Full-time faculty can teach a winter session course as a spring in-load course or as an overload course.
Will winter session scheduling affect adjunct load limits for spring 2017?	Yes.