connect more deeply to the UNLV community. Yet, it is hard to make time for a visit to the Writing Center or to attend Rebels After Dark when balancing work schedules, family commitments, assignment deadlines, or athletic practices. For that reason, COLA 100E, the first-year seminar offered by the Academic Success Center, is now incentivizing student engagement with UNLV resources and activities through a semester-long assignment under the umbrella title “Connecting to UNLV.”
To complete this assignment, students are required to participate in at least six campus opportunities (in addition to another three required meetings with their COLA 100E instructor, academic advisor, and ASC peer mentor). Half of the six activities relate to academic support and development; the other three opportunities focus on social connection and personal development. Students receive points for each activity they complete and document via a photo.
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We encourage students to develop a plan for their six activities that matches the goals they already have–those to-do list items that they intend to do, but regularly put off for a less-busy week. Now, they have an additional reason to finally meet with an Academic Success Coach to discuss note-taking strategies, to attend that Lady Rebels basketball game, to stop by a meeting of the Engineering Entrepreneurship Club, to drop in to the office hours of one of their other instructors, or to see the latest exhibit at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art. There are also opportunities to earn credit for activities that help with mental health, stress, and self-reflection: creating a self-portrait, engaging in a mindfulness activity, or taking a fitness class at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. With a full semester’s length of time to participate, multiple options, both special events (like the Festival of Communities) and regular services (like Tutoring), and both in-person and virtual activities, students are able to create a plan for completion that works with their schedule.
The added benefit of this assignment is that these activities are shared with their classmates. Sometimes literally, as when a group of COLA 100E classmates walked over the Homecoming Festival together, but also through an end-of-semester presentation in which each student reflects on their experiences with this assignment. That allows the class to learn about opportunities on campus they may not have known about before (do you know how cool Service Day is?!), or to hear a first-hand account of what it is like to use a service, such as going to the COM Lab for help on a presentation or meeting one-on-one with a UNLV librarian.
In Fall 2021, surveyed students said the assignment was “feasible, fun, and helpful,” and that it “took me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to get involved in campus activities as well as utilize campus resources.” Though we are still making little tweaks to the assignment (for example, building in more check-ins to help students plan and manage their time), we are positive that encouraging COLA 100E students to get involved and use resources will deepen their COLA 100E experience, increase their academic success, and build a stronger connection to UNLV.
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The added benefit of this assignment is that these activities are shared with their classmates. Sometimes literally, as when a group of COLA 100E classmates walked over the Homecoming Festival together, but also through an end-of-semester presentation in which each student reflects on their experiences with this assignment. That allows the class to learn about opportunities on campus they may not have known about before (do you know how cool Service Day is?!), or to hear a first-hand account of what it is like to use a service, such as going to the COM Lab for help on a presentation or meeting one-on-one with a UNLV librarian.
In Fall 2021, surveyed students said the assignment was “feasible, fun, and helpful,” and that it “took me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to get involved in campus activities as well as utilize campus resources.” Though we are still making little tweaks to the assignment (for example, building in more check-ins to help students plan and manage their time), we are positive that encouraging COLA 100E students to get involved and use resources will deepen their COLA 100E experience, increase their academic success, and build a stronger connection to UNLV.
Many thanks to students Sean Santos, Jasmine Reynaud-Singh, and Leslie Gonzalez for sharing pictures of their "Connecting to UNLV" assignment!
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Academic Success Coaching
SSC-A, Room 254
702-895-0975
asccoaching@unlv.edu
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General Subjects Tutoring
LLB, 2nd Floor & Virtual
702-895-3199
tutoring@unlv.edu
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Engineering Tutoring Lab
TBE A309 & Virtual
702-895-2910
engtutoring@unlv.edu
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Supplemental Instruction
702-774-4625
si@unlv.edu
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ComLab
ASC 101, GUA 4131 & 4132,
& Virtual
702-895-3177
comlab@unlv.edu
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Advising
Virtual Drop-in Advising: Fri. 9-4
or call for an Appointment
702-895-3177
ascadvising@unlv.edu
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Ko Yang, Learning Programs Coordinator, will be presenting her dissertation, “More than Just a Good Hmong Daughter: Hmong Women Reimagining Leadership in Higher Education” at the Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education Conference, April 7-8, 2022, Long Beach, CA.
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Tiffany Schmier, Assistant Director of Advising & RPC, and Nicole Stella were invited to present at the NACADA Region 9 conference in Orange, California, in March 2022. Their presentation is titled, “Identity Theory 101: Using Identity Development Theory to Support Students.”
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Tiffany Schmier will be concluding her NACADA Region Nine Steering committee position of Communications and Social Media Coordinator in March 2022. She has served in this position since October 2019. This position serves advisors in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and American Samoa.
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Jason Blankenship
Academic Advisor
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You've recently started as an Academic Advisor with the ASC. What inspired you to become an Academic Advisor?
I was in academic advising for about 12 years before. It began with very positive and varied experiences in academic advising as an undergrad. I was an exploring student at the time and then the relationship and the
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dynamic of advising changed even when I declared my major. I recall that I was getting ready to go to graduate school and looking for funding, I intentionally sought out an assistantship in academic advising. It was something I always knew that I was interested in. There’s something kind of immediate about the relationship between the advisor and the student. It’s a very nice blend of information, teaching, policies and procedures with this human connection and the power of being seen and understood. The combination of the hard and soft of that.
Tell us a bit about your professional background and your journey to UNLV?
I have a Master’s in English Literature. Then I came back later and completed a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling. I had no intention of being a practicing therapist. I was an academic advisor at that time and I wanted to be better. I got to the point of internship and it just didn’t become feasible to maintain full-time employment in higher education, so I put a hold on my higher education career. After the internship, I returned back into the role of an academic advisor.
I began in a first- and second-year advising center with students who were exploring or undeclared. I transitioned from that assistantship to a full-time advising position for an honors program, specifically honor students in the liberal arts and sciences. I did that for seven or eight years. From there, I moved into national award advising. During the time I left higher education to complete my practicum and internship, I worked in a high school as a college and career coach. Then, I taught at a local community college. Rather than practicing therapy, I returned to campus, where I was an academic advisor for honors students, focusing on pre-professional advising for all colleges and majors.
I came here from Kansas City. For the past four years, I decided that I would give therapy a go, so I’ve been a practicing licensed therapist, working both in private practice and at a psychiatric hospital. A lot of times, I split time between both. That was hard work for six days a week. It was a good experience, but for me, I missed the higher education environment, and specifically, the university setting. But mainly, I missed academic advising.
I am married and my husband works remotely and we felt like we could live anywhere. So, we started looking at various places and decided we would look for warm weather. I began to research and UNLV is very comparable to where I used to work: top-tier in research, the student population is similar, and it’s a public university, which is important to me.
I moved away from advising, I tried so many things and it was not a good fit. It feels like I’m coming home.
What are you looking forward to doing as an academic advisor in the upcoming semester?
The Academic Success Center is a great place to start, isn’t it? It encompasses all the school divisions, colleges and majors here. So, it’s a lot to learn. There’s a lot to know in addition to all of the policies and the exceptions to all of these rules. So, what I really want to do is, gain that understanding of the nuances of each degree program, the majors and the curriculum. This may be an impossible goal, but I don’t want to make advising errors. Then, I just really want the students to say “this person knows what they’re doing, and I can rely on him whenever I need. I may not see him all the time but when I do, I know that that foundation is there.” I hope the students not only see me as reliable, but also as someone who cares.
What do you believe is the #1 thing that is important for Exploring students to remember?
I would encourage a student to trust their inner instinct - what feels light and right and at peace when they consider the curriculum, courses, and majors. Trust that more than what outside voices may be telling them or influencing them. Then, it’s such a good time to assess who you are and assert who you are right now. Perhaps that comes through understanding your values. Then, don’t let anybody shame you for who you are figuring out you are.
If you could go back to your freshman year in college, what advice would you give yourself?
I have two pieces of advice. One is that my very best may not be an A, and that’s okay. I can still try at whatever that is. Number two is that I would not concern myself with people’s questioning, “what are you going to do with that?” Whenever you tell them, "hey I think I’m going to explore social work or anthropology" or whatever that is, don't let that question have so much influence over your decision. I wish I had known then that there is such good value in learning, even just for the joy of learning.
If you weren't working at UNLV as an advisor, what would you be doing?
During my graduate program, I took a part time job teaching at a community college in the area. I taught composition as well as what they called developmental writing. I taught both of those for a few semesters. I loved that. I loved teaching and I loved teaching the early level English courses. That still feels unfinished to me. So I would say I would probably be teaching some kind of English.
What is something you like to do in your spare time?
Right now, it’s just exploring the city. I have a commitment with my husband. Every weekend, we’re going to try a new place to eat or something new, somewhere. This past weekend, we went to Henderson. You have a lot more food opportunities than from where I’m from, so that’ll be nice as well. Then, I have a dog, so I spend time walking my dog. He’s a bit of a curmudgeon. He’s not very social. I have friends and relatives in South and Midwest so a few years ago, I started writing a newsletter just about things that are happening in my life. I send this out a few times a month. I just sent one out over the weekend and it was about the drive from Kansas City to Las Vegas and our drive though Colorado and Utah.
How do you like the Las Vegas weather so far? Are you looking for tips to survive the summer?
Everybody talks to me about the heat. I’m very optimistic about my first summer. Just check with me in a year from now.
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Alyssa Brown
Freshman
Finance Major
UNLV Women's Basketball
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Why did you choose to come to UNLV?
For the athletic part of my journey, I chose UNLV because of the coaches. They just gave me a good sense of family. Their morals and their values for the program are just in line with everything. I want to give back to the community and everything that I would consider a part of me. For UNLV itself, they have a great finance program. I’m also close enough to
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home (Tucson, AZ) where I can visit all the time, but still far enough away where I get to develop as my own person.
I live with my team and I think that has helped the most with my adjustment. They’re like my older sisters. They take care of me. They look out for me. So it was an easier transition than probably most.
In high school, you received a lot of awards, including the Arizona Female Athlete of the Year. What have you learned as a student-athlete that you're using now to succeed at UNLV?
Just never be satisfied. I mean, awards are nice and it’s great to get recognition, but you can always be better and always push yourself. Just making time to chase your dreams every day is something that I think I’ve really taken with me to UNLV. Just making sure I put time in each day to at least acknowledge my goals and work towards them.
What does a typical day look like for you, as a student and a student-athlete?
I wake up and have breakfast. From breakfast, I usually go straight to class or on days I don’t have class, study hall. From classwork, straight to practice. We usually have practice and weights for three hours. Then, treatment or watch film with a coach. Then usually just homework, hanging out with my teammates and repeat!
I’m super organized. I have 3 or 4 calendars. I always try to stay ahead or on top of my work so it’s easier to manage.
Describe what it's like working with your SAAS Academic Eligibility Specialist?
So, we have Becky Pugh and she is just amazing. She’s so kind and understanding with our schedules and her check-ins…I don’t necessarily struggle with school, so our check-ins are a little bit different. They more just say, “tell me what you’re doing, how’s everything going, are you stressed?” It keeps me honest with my work, it keeps me just on top of it. It’s nice to have somebody, you know, who cares not about your basketball performance necessarily, but your grades and how you’re doing and if you’re struggling. So, she’s just great.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of basketball?
Hobbies, probably not. I love listening to music. I read sometimes, but not very consistently. I’m very interested in budgeting and finances. That’s why my major is currently finance.
After you graduate in a few years, what are your plans?
I want to work as a financial analyst or personal financial advisor. That’s my goal. I want to be able to work from home and travel. I didn’t travel a lot growing up because of tight basketball schedules and I’m one of four children, so we were always on the go for somebody. I feel I want to just experience the world.
(Basketball after college?) Hopefully. That’s definitely a dream of mine. My biggest goal was to get to the collegiate level. So playing Division-I has just been amazing and been one of my biggest goals since I can remember.
What is one piece of advice you would give to new UNLV student-athletes?
Take advantage of all of it. The traveling, you’re gonna make tons of friends from other sports, your teammates are basically going to be your sisters while you’re here, all the resources that we get. I would just say, take advantage of all of it. Take care of your school, take care of yourself, and just enjoy it.
I would just say it’s been an amazing experience so far, just in one year. I’m excited to continue to not only grow as a person, but as an athlete. It’s been the best experience. It’s just indescribable at times.
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SUMMER MATH BRIDGE APPLICATIONS OPEN 3/1/22 |
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Do you know someone who wants to:
- Improve their math skills,
- Place into a higher-level math class &
- Connect with peers and resources?
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FREE for admitted UNLV students!
Exclusively online!
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The Academic Success Center's Math Bridge Program
has 3 summer sessions available.
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Hixson-Lied Success
Scholarship Program:
Applications Due 4/30/22!
Thousands of students across Nevada may never have the opportunity to earn a college degree primarily because of economic and academic challenges, and there are very few programs in place to help these students. The UNLV Hixson-Lied Success Scholars Program helps make a difference in the lives of these students by providing both financial and academic support through the ASC.
This program provides students:
- A scholarship in the amount of $1,250 per semester ($2,500 per year) for up to 8 semesters
- Academic Success Coaching Sessions
- The ability to make a difference through serving peers and giving back to UNLV
- Access to the Hixson-Lied Success Scholars Newsletter, a monthly newsletter created by the scholars
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Looking for an On-Campus Job?
The ASC is currently recruiting for several student-worker positions. Click on the position for more information.
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Be sure to follow the ASC on Social Media! |
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