Housing Staff Attends Conference

First Generation College Students/Staff Celebrated

NOVEMBER 2018

p. 5

S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

p. 15

White Reaches Career Milestone

p. 13

10

Admission

Brock Hall

Student Life

Student Union

Registrar

Webb Hall

Counseling &

Career Services

Foust Hall

Upward Bound

Foust Hall

13

Special

Recognition

Student

Support

Services

Foust Hall

Housing

Special Event

Financial Aid

Webb Hall

NEWSLETTERPUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Will AtkinsonAsst. to VP for Student AffairsStation #56(205) 652-3581watkinson@uwa.edu

DIRECTORS ADMISSIONSMrs. Libba BakerCAREER SERVICES & COUNSELING Ms. Tammy WhiteFINANCIAL AIDMr. Steve SmithHOUSINGMr. Luther GremmelsREGISTRARMrs. Susan SparkmanSTUDENT ACTIVITIESMr. Jason GardnerSTUDENT ACTIVITIESMr. Byron ThetfordSTUDENT SUPPORT SERVICESMs. Andrea FarquharUPWARD BOUNDMs. Vickie Pullum

UPCOMING MEETINGSNovember 7, 2018December 5, 2018

DATES TO REMEMBERPREVIEW DAYNovember 10, 2018

Inside This

Issue

VP for Student Affairs:MR. RICHARD HESTER

14

864

16

9

17 18

Student

Activities

Student Union

14

Housing

Brock Hall

It is hard to believe that the Fall 2018 semester is drawing to a close. It seems like yesterday, we were all welcoming the incoming class to campus with the Welcome Back BBQ and here we are hav-ing already enjoyed the camaraderie of Homecoming with the warm days of September just a memory. Thank you for the continued commitment to our students and the countless sacrifices that you make to so that each and every semester is a success. I am proud of our division and although much of your hard work is done behind the scenes, it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you all and Go Tigers!

Sincerely,

3S T U D E N T A F F A I R S2 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

Residence Life:• RA Appreciation Week was held the first week

of October. Refreshments were provided at the Housing Office.

• The residents and hall staffs participated in a vari-ety of activities as part of this year’s Homecoming. • Each residence hall participated in the station-

ary float competition. Gilbert Hall won first place (pictured) and Hoover placed second.

• Guadalupe Meza (Selden Hall Director) was crowned the Homecoming Queen. Alisha Chaney (Gilbert Hall Resident Assistant) was selected as the Sophomore Maid. DeJa Sum-rall (Reed/Patterson Hall Director) was a member of the Homecoming court.

• RA mid-semester evaluations were completed this month, providing RAs with feedback to help them improve their performance and better serve their residents.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA):

• Sent four students (Kaitlyn Strachan, Brandy

Rankins, Kiyah Hall, and Tay’la Robinson) to

attend the regional leadership conference for

SAACURH at North Carolina State University.

Tiffany Willis attended as the RHA advisor.

• Teamed up with RA Chyanna Bennett at

Hoover for Do You Know Your Breast?, a can-

cer awareness program.

• RHA is raising funds to travel to their national

conference, which will be held at Louisiana

State University this summer.

Programming Highlights:

• Abby Hawkins and Erica Johnson of Gilbert

Hall and Nikki Aledo of Patterson Hall hosted

Diversity Carnival, a program in which resi-

dents participated in a number of activities to

encourage understanding of themselves and

others, and to celebrate similarities and differ-

ences.

• Sofia Meza’s Gilbert Hall residents had fun at

Bad Art Night, where she encouraged residents

to de-stress with a night of coloring, by coming

up with the worst and/or most dreadful draw-

ing instead of the ‘best’ or ‘most perfect’.

• Brett Heckman and Kaitlyn Strachan of Gil-

bert Hall hosted Say Yes to Best Dressed, a

program that showed residents appropriate

and inappropriate professional attire for inter-

views, presentations, and life.

First Place in the Stationary Homecoming Float Competition - Gilbert Hall

HOUSINGMR. LUTHER GREMMELS

Housing Operations:• Teamed up with a company called “My Col-

lege Roomie”, to offer a roommate match-ing service for students that will integrate with the new Housing software. By using this new service, it is anticipated that room-mate satisfaction will increase and that room change requests will decrease.

• Online housing applications have been cre-ated within the new Housing software and are now available for Spring 2019.

• Mr. Luther Gremmels, Ms. Angela Ward, Mr. Jeremy Sheffield, Ms. Tiffany Willis, and Ms. Adriauna Alston (pictured) at-tended ALAHO 2018, the state housing officers conference, at Birmingham South-ern College on October 23. Former hall director, Mr. Xavier Mundell, a 2018 UWA graduate, also attended. He is now a hall director at Auburn University.

• Mr. Jeremy Sheffield attended ASUG, the Adirondack Solutions User Group confer-ence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the beginning of October, where he was able to attend sessions and receive additional training for The Housing Director and Con-ference Host software.

• Information about room changes and hous-ing releases for the Spring 2019 semester has been sent to on-campus residents. The deadline for requesting a release from the housing agreement in November 15, which is also the priority deadline for room change requests for next semester.

• On Campus Marketing, the vendor used for linen and care package sales, sent new items for our show rooms at Gilbert Hall.

54 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

ADMISSIONSMRS. LIBBA BAKER

By the Numbers

Enrollment Comparison:

• Fall 2019 Applications vs Fall 2018 Applications

• 4,362 (+281) applications

• 1,169 (+205) admits

• Transfer - 46 applications (-10) with 9 (-3) admits

• Freshman - 4,316 (+291) applications with 1,160 (+208)

admits

• Spring 2019 Applications vs Spring 2018 Applications

• 338 (+102) applications

• 82 (+41) admits

• Transfer - 114 applications (-4) with 9 (-11) admits

• Freshman - 224 (+106) applications with 44 (+30) admits

• Summer 2019 Applications vs Summer 2018 Applications

• 185 (-14) applications

• 26 (-9) admits

• Transfer - 4 applications (-1) with 1 (no change) admits

• Freshman - 181 (-13) applications with 34 (-9) admits

Scholarships:

• Freshman Awarded - 68

• Freshman Accepted - 10

• Transfer Awarded - 3

• Transfer Accepted - 2

Campus Tour Comparison:

• August 15 - November 2, 2018 vs August 15 - November 2, 2017

• 54 (+13)

• Check-in rate - 75% (-4%)

Preview Day Total/Comparison:

Total Students - 239 (an additional 338 guests)

• Preview Day 1

• 100 students and 137 guests attended

• Preview Day 2

• 139 students and 201 guests preregistered

Staff Notes:

• The Admissions Office is excited to officially welcome Ms. BreAnna

Johnson to the team as a Graduate Assistant. BreAnna will be serv-

ing as the Admissions Counselor over the West Alabama and East

Mississippi area which was previously Mrs. Jenny Miller’s territory.

• Selection process for the 2019 Ambassadors began October 29. The

selection committee consists of representatives from various Stu-

dent Affairs departments. 112 current students submitted an Ambas-

sador application, and 95 students were invited to phase one- group

process. The selection committee invited 47 students to phase two-

individual interviews. The 2019 Ambassadors will be announced

November 12.

• Alabama’s College Application Week was held October 29 - Novem-

ber 2. During this week, Alabama high schools and colleges partner

to promote applying to college and completing the FAFSA.

76 S T U D E N T A F F A I R SS T U D E N T A F F A I R S

Student Involvement:• With the help of the Sumter County Board of

Registrars, the SGA sponsored a Voter Reg-istration Drive on October 9. Reports stated this was the most successful event of its kind on campus to date.

• In response to receiving a grant from the Truth Initiative, the SGA passed a resolution to make UWA a Tobacco Free campus, but has to be approved by the UWA Administration before it will take effect.

• SGA raised almost $250 for breast cancer awareness by selling pink pom-poms for the Pink Game on October 13.

• The SGA held a meeting in the Young Hall Caf-eteria this month in encourage more student involvement and share with students how the SGA conducts its meetings.

• During Homecoming Week the SGA hosted a “Stock The Pantry” event benefitting the UWA Student Food Bank. The event boasted almost 1,200 non-perishable food items in order to restock the food bank located in the basement of the Student Union Building (SUB).

• The SGA proudly sponsored prizes for floats in this year’s Homecoming festivities.

• Mobile Float: 1) Softball, 2) Alpha Sigma Alpha, 3) Phi Mu

• Stationary Float: 1) Gilbert, 2) Hoover, 3) SMC

• The SGA sponsored 230 UWA students who wished to attend the NCAA Women’s Soccer Regional Playoff game that was hosted on the UWA campus.

Greek Life:• Greek Council volunteered to assist with the

University Charter School (UCS) Fall Festival. All who participated seemed to enjoy the event.

Fitness Center:• The UWA Health Fair was a great success. The

change in venue to the Bell Conference Center was well-received by the vendors in attendance.

• There were over 500 students, faculty, staff, and community members who participated in the health fair.

• 24 vendors participated

• The Group Exercise classes are averaging 8 participants per session with the most popular offering being the “Muscle-Mashup” class.

• During the month of October, the Fitness Cen-ter hosted a Drug and Alcohol Awareness event at the Young Hall Cafeteria and an alterna-tive to alcohol fun event partnering with UWA Cares to host a kickball tournament.

STUDENT LIFEMR. BYRON THETFORD

9S T U D E N T A F F A I R SS T U D E N T A F F A I R S8

Career Services

• Workshops/Presentations

• Graduate School Application and Resume Writing

• Micro Internships/Internships

• Spooktacular Event – A career planning event held in Selden Hall (October 31) – 35 attended.

• Total Fall Semester Workshop Attendance: 163 students

• The efforts of the Marketing Assistant have helped increase the overall attendance.

• Recruiting/Special Events/Employer Postings

• Accounting & Finance Day (October 17) boasted...

• 9 employers and 3 graduated schools participants

• 65 students in attendance each having an opportunity to network

with employer/graduate school representatives and participate in a practice interviews.

• Prepared and transported 6 students to Birmingham Business Alliance’s Magic City Talent Recruitment Project on October 26 to network/explore internships with several employers including Altec, Shipt, McLeod Software, and Honda

• GD Copper Meeting (at their site) to explore internships and co-ops

• Promoted and transported students to Alabama Connection at Stillman College where 65 graduate and professional schools participated.

• Individual Student Contacts: Total - 64

• Resume advice/critiques: 41

• Mock Interviews: 1

• Other: 22

CAREER SERVICES & COUNSELING CENTERMS. TAMMY WHITE

• Other

• C2C - Participated in Institutional update

phone call with Darryl Ann Watkins.

• Participated in virtual meeting with Edu-

cation Design Lab along with Dr. James

Robinson and Mrs. Veronica Triplett to

plan sophomore course specified in grant.

• Responded to Equifax/EMSI Project as

outlined by UNCF CPI Team including

getting agreement signed by Dr. Tucker

and submitting it to EMSI (for the de-

tailed data reports on alumni).

• Continued website updates

• Participated in Phi Eta Sigma’s 44th

National Convention in Washington D.C.

and was recognized with a Distinguished

Service Advisor Award.

• Attended True Vines Informative meeting

and NACE Webinar on the Class of 2017

FDS.

• Provided Qualtrics Training for Waters’

Psychology class.

• Upcoming Events

• November 5 - CPI Progress Report Due

November 7 - CPI Site Visit

• November 12 - Meeting with ABET Team

Chair (for COBT Re-Accreditation)

• November 29 - C2C Advisory Board Lunch

• Conduct First Destination Survey for Fall

2018 graduating class

• Mrs. Allie Mills will attend the SoACE Con-

ference in Atlanta and a meeting along with

Dr. James Robinson in January in Norfolk,

VA with Education Design Lab to develop the

sophomore career readiness course.

11S T U D E N T A F F A I R S10 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

Counseling Services

• Individual Student Contacts

• Student Intakes – 9

• Counseling Sessions – 62

• Events/Meetings/Other

• Active Minds Interest Event in Young Hall Cafeteria – “Chalk It Up” – 75 participated

• Red Ribbon Week Information - Over 50 pieces of information and stickers disseminated regarding the dangers of Underage Drinking & Drug Use

• Active Minds Event – Mental health Seminar – 32 attended

• Active Minds Mental Health Awareness Program – 70 participated

• 2 student conduct meetings

• Small group for SSS students – 4 present

• Supervising a CMH Practicum student

• DHR Quality Assurance Committee Meeting

• 10 Substance Abuse small groups held – 10 present

• Attended the Annual Alabama Administrative Office of Courts Alcohol/Drug/Legal In-Service

• ADA Compliance Committee Meeting

• Meeting with Active Minds President

• Maxient data entry

• Presentations

• Stress Management Program presented for Patterson Hall (Aledo and McLeod RAs) – 2 students present

• Bullying Program to Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority - 23 students present

• Financial Management Presentation to SSS students – 19

• Stress Management Presentation to Reed Hall residents (Robinson and Williams RAs) – 12 students present

• Planning for (November)

• UWA 104 Presentation

• Presentation to Nurses’ Professional Development Seminar on Suicide Awareness and Opiate Crisis

• ADA Services

• Mrs. Shannon Edmonds’ report reveals that students registered and requesting accommodations this semester are 34 on campus and 8 online.

CAREER SERVICES & COUNSELING CENTERMS. TAMMY WHITE

Congratulations

Ms. Tammy White (left) being honored with the Distinguished Service Award at Phi Eta Sigma National Conference held in October.

Ms. Tammy White celebrated 30 years of service at The University of West Alabama this month and was also presented with the Distinguished Service Award at the Phi Eta Sigma National Conference.

13S T U D E N T A F F A I R S12 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

UPWARD BOUNDMS. VICKIE PULLUM

• SSS Office activities included:• 1,245 Professor Evaluations received and

documented in student folders in October• Ms. Gloria Mayo began entering data for

the 2017-18 APR. A total of 39 data fields will be entered on 258 students.

• 11 SSS students attended the Graduate School Fair at Stillman college, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

• 17 SSS students attended UWA Senior Career Expo - by Ms. Tammy White in Career Services.

• SSS presented four workshops in October:• Studying Abroad During College

• Led by UWA Coordinator of International Programs, Ms. Connie Marine

• 22 SSS students attended• Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange – A

US State Department program• Led by UWA Assistant Director of

International Programs, Ms. Ingrid Galinat

• 22 SSS students attended• Financial Planning 101

• Led by UWA Counselor, Dr. Jane Coleman

• 17 SSS students attended• Understanding Your Federal Financial Aid

• Led by UWA Financial Aid staff, Ms. Abby Cook and Ms. Erica Robinson

• 16 SSS students attended

• The “SSS FLi Society” Student Club:

• All first-generation college graduates on the UWA staff and faculty were invited to stop by the 1st Generation Student Celebration, November 8 in front of the Young Hall Cafeteria. “First to FLi” stickers (pictured) were distributed to all first-generation students, faculty and staff.

• Assisted in initiating a new $500/semester scholarship for a local 1st generation student, to be funded by Cody Mordecai, Livingston’s local State Farm agent.

• Completed two fundraising efforts in October, earning more than $400, with funds going towards a textbook lending library for SSS students.

• Focused its first 1st Gen spotlight on Mr. Brad Montgomery.

• Upcoming...

• Review course progress reports from professors with students

• Assist students with registration for spring semester

• Assist students in completing the 2019-20 FAFSA

• Continue to enter data to prepare for submitting the 2017-18 APR

• August 29 – UWA’s Upward Bound Program received a Grant Award Notification

• The award increased from the previous year and Sumter Central and Demopolis High School student participation is set at 78.

• Received an additional award to increase STEM involvement ($39,000) to be used to purchase Android tablets and scientific calculators to help students prepare for use testing (e.g. ACT).

• October 10 – Ms. Diana Pullum met with the Demopolis High School 9th and 10th grade counselor, Mr. Barley, and Principal, Mr. Hath-cock, to discuss 2018 Upward Bound Applica-tions.

• October 13 - Hosted the Saturday Session• 34 participants• Several of those not in attendance attended

the Advance Placement Seminar and Train-ing in Hale County.

• October 15 - Upward Bound Program Applica-tions are due

• October 24 and 25- Ms. Diana Pullum pre-pared and delivered a letter of recommendation to Sumter Central High School for the 18 se-nior participants to include in their scholarship packets.

• October 25 – Ms. Diana Pullum met with the 9th and 10th Grade Counselor, Mr. Barley, at Demopolis High School to discuss 2018 Upward Bound Applications.

• Upcoming...• November 10

• The next Saturday Session• Senior participants will be attending the

University of West Alabama’s Preview Day

• Begin interviewing new freshmen candi-dates (and parents) later this month.

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES MS. ANDREA FARQUHAR

• Conducted more than 240 individual meetings with new and returning students in October, providing a variety of support services including:• Planning spring class schedules• Reviewing degree plans and developing

a semester-by-semester plan toward graduation

• Reviewing mid-term evaluations• Scheduling tutoring as needed (or required)

based on the progress reports• Completing 2019-20 FAFSAs• Discussing career goals, majors and

graduate school application processes• The tutorial center activity:

• 9 tutors tutoring for 37 different courses• 103 tutees• 144 individual tutorial sessions per week

• The attendance rate in October was 78%

15S T U D E N T A F F A I R S14 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

• 2018-2019 Financial Aid Processing:• As of October 30, 2018

• Downloaded 9,982 ISIRs (398 since last month)• Packaged 7,173 awards (347 since last month)• 1,7360 selected for verification (29 since last month)• 838 verifications completed (55 since last month)

• Delinquent Loans Activity: • The following delinquency emails were sent in August 2018:

• 433 emails to those who are 31-134 days delinquent• 92 emails to those who are 75-115 days delinquent• 134 emails to those who are 135-239 days delinquent• 77 emails to those who are 240+ days delinquent• 646 TOTAL emails

• These students are at risk of defaulting on federal student loans.• 31 letters/emails were sent from the period September 14, 2018

through October 14, 2018 advising those that are in default to contact their student loan servicer to resolve their defaulted loan(s).

• As a result of the hard work of Ms. Teresa Biglane, as indicated monthly by the above information, our default rate has dropped from 8.5 to 7.8%.

Upcoming:• Six staff members traveled to Montgomery on October 17-19 for

federal aid training, national credentialing, and federal updates.• The FAFSA for 2019-2020 was available on October 1. However,

processing did not begin at that time. Several changes in Col-league, as well as, a final academic calendar, are underway and should be in place soon so processing can begin.

• On Monday, October 22, Student Support Services teamed up with the Financial Aid Office to host a financial aid workshop for current students. The event was a huge success and was deemed extremely beneficial by those in attendance.

• The Financial Aid Office is on track to begin processing 2019 federal applications mid-November. This should place UWA in a select group of schools that will be awarding this early.

FINANCIAL AIDMR. STEVE SMITH

REGISTRARMRS. SUSAN SPARKMAN

• October 6 - Grades due for Fall 1• October 10 - Degrees for Fall 1 posted• October 15 - Beginning of Fall 2 session• October 29 - Beginning of Spring 1 and 2 registration• November 5 - Last day to drop/withdraw without academic penalty

for Fall 2• November 6-8 - 408 transcripts were processed for the month of

October this year compared to 448 processed in October 2017• Mrs. April Atkinson met with Mrs. Kristen Woodruff and Mr. Mark

Watts from The Learning House (TLH) on October 30 to discuss about ideas to make the registration process go smoother, particularly after web registration is turned off

• Schedules for Spring campus were entered, corrected, and posted.• Mrs. Susan Sparkman will be attending the VA Conference in Orange

Beach, Alabama.

16 S T U D E N T A F F A I R S 17S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

S T U D E N T A F F A I R S

By the numbers

• 70 young women were nominated for the Homecoming Court. After the interviews and student voting, Guadalupe Meza was crowned as the 2018 Homecoming Queen.

• New rules were established for the Homecom-ing Stationary Float Competition and this year was arguably the best Stationary Float Competi-tion in over 25 years.

• Campus Activities Board

• The Campus Activities Board hosted 5 events during the month of October. • Downtown Ghost Tour 148• Casino Night 256• Campus Ghost Tour 243• Serendipity 1,123• Fireworks Cancelled• Concert 367

• Special thanks to Dr. Alan Brown for his as-sistance with the two Ghost Tours.

• Currently completing the Spring 2019 CAB Schedule.

• Cheerleaders

• Continue to cheer at Tiger Football games, including the away game at Mississippi Col-lege

• Traveled to Pensacola Beach, Florida to cheer on the Tigers at the GSC Volleyball Championship.

• Days away from beginning the home basket-ball game schedule for the 2018-2019 sea-son.

• Band• Performed at two home football games this

month, including the homecoming parade• Hosted three high school bands who partici-

pated in our Homecoming Parade.• 67 students are registered to participate in

the November 10 Band Day.• Performed at Tiger Madness (basketball)

and at the Women’s Soccer GSC Tourna-ment game.

• Intramurals

• 21 teams signed up for volleyball (5 wom-en’s, 8 Men’s, 8 co-rec)

• 13 volleyball officials trained

• 15 participants for Connect 4 Tournament

• 5 participants for Mario Kart Tournament

• Help construct Homecoming Bonfire

• Assist with construction of Homecoming Stationary Floats

• Completed football playoffs at the beginning of October

STUDENT ACTIVITIESMR. JASON GARDNER

19S T U D E N T A F F A I R S18