University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The ASC is, in many ways, about academic resilience, and as Jamais Cascio once commented, “Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.” From our expanding Major Pathways Program, to our student-athletes’ outstanding academic success, to managing the largest First-Year Seminar program at UNLV, the ASC team has engaged with our students so that all of us, together, can not only survive, but instead thrive. Learning Support Director, Dr. Anne White, recently commented to our leadership team that we have expanded tutoring, supplemental instruction, coaching and our bridge programs to foster a dynamic engagement between students and their desire to achieve a successful graduation. This quest to help students thrive, as opposed to simply survive their academic challenges, is the underpinning of many of the services and various roles of the administrative faculty featured in this newsletter.

Dean Ann McDonough with ASC alumnus and Marketing specialist, Marlon Bulaong  and Graduate Assistant and Social Media Specialist, Alexis Page

As Laurie A. Schreiner, author of “The Thriving Quotient” puts it, “Thriving college students not only are academically successful, they also experience a sense of community and a level of psychological well-being that contributes to their persistence to graduation and allows them to gain maximum benefit from being in college.” It is in this spirit that the entire ASC faculty and staff seek to raise our success quotient by inspiring students to become engaged in campus activities, promote health and wellness, and layer these initiatives throughout basic academic support that help students over scholarly speed bumps.        - Dean Ann McDonough, Academic Success Center

To reflect on the events of October 1st, the ASC staff wore red unity ribbons to remember the friends, family, and UNLV students that we lost on that day. In times of grief, we aim to come together as a community and pay our respects. Thank you UNLV A thletics for making the unity ribbons. During that somber week some of the ASC staff made donations of their own along with donating blood and their time at hospitals. At the ASC, we are a family not just among our staff, but also including our students whom we see every day. The ASC is an outlet for students not only academically but emotionally. We are students. We are staff. We are family. We are friends. And we are #VegasStrong.

Walking through the hallways of Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) one might notice the various displays hanging on the walls. UNLV student-athletes work hard on the field, but SAAS wants to make sure those who excel in the classroom also receive recognition for their academic successes. The SAAS Academic Champions wall recognizes a student-athlete from each sport and is chosen by that team’s academic eligibility specialist. The Academic Champion is a well-rounded leader who demonstrates academic achievement while maintaining a productive role in their respective sport. This wall is updated each spring. Each semester SAAS updates the Dean’s Honor List display, which showcases all student-athletes who received at least a 3.5 semester GPA. Last Spring 99 student-athletes made the Dean’s List. Last May, SAAS honored the first ever recipients of the Mehdi Bouras Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. This honor, the highest academic achievement a student-athlete can receive, is awarded to a male and female athlete at the end of the academic year. The award is named in honor of Mehdi Bouras, a high achieving student-athlete who passed away, tragically, in 2013. This fall, SAAS unveiled the Academic Starting Lineups display. This wall features nine colorful graphics representing the playing fields for each of UNLV’s Division I athletic teams. This display will represent the “starters” for each team solely based on their GPA’s from the previous semester. These "starting lineups" will be updated each semester, and will create friendly competition amongst the student-athletes vying for a spot on the wall for their respective teams.

An exciting development in the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program at UNLV is the creation of the Observation Volunteer position. Individuals with strong critical thinking and evaluation skills, looking for ways to volunteer on campus helping peers, can provide valuable course content feedback to SI Leaders by completing 1-3 volunteer hours per week during the semester. This new opportunity will help Volunteers stay current on course material needed for graduate school exams, and enhance their resumes for future employment opportunities. Applicants for the SI Observation Volunteer position must have completed the prospective SI courses they wish to volunteer for, with a grade of “B” or higher, have a cumulative 3.0 or above GPA, and be highly recommended by UNLV faculty. To learn more about SI and the benefits of being an SI Leader, or Observation Volunteer, please visit  unlv.edu/asc/supplemental-instruction.

Name: Amber Rivera Major: Biological Sciences, Preprofessional Anticipated Graduation: Spring 2020 What are your educational goals? My educational goals consist of earning my Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences, and using that degree to help me get into the UNLV School of Medicine. 1. How have you seen Supplemental Instruction (SI) impact learning? I've seen Supplemental Instruction impact learning in many different ways, especially through the use of group/collaborative learning activities. Instead of having students attend a session that resembles a "mini lecture" of the class, Supplemental Instruction encourages students to work with one another. By facilitating communication between students and having them work as a team, students are able to share new ideas with one another, making it a valuable learning experience. 2. How did you learn about the Volunteer Position ? I learned about the Volunteer Position through the Academic Success Center website. I noticed that there was an application to become an SI Observation Volunteer, and after reading the job description, I immediately became interested in the position. 3. What did you learn from your experience as an SI Observation Volunteer? My experience as an SI Observation Volunteer has taught me how much of an impact an individual can make on an exceptional program like Supplemental Instruction. By attending SI sessions and providing course content feedback to SI leaders, you're not only looking for ways that the SI leaders can improve, but you're also looking for ways that you can improve as an SI Observer, and as a student as well. 4. Why should students consider being an SI Observation Volunteer? Students should consider becoming an SI Observation Volunteer because it's a wonderful position that's there to help improve the SI program here at UNLV. While the job of an observer consists of providing valuable feedback to help SI leaders improve their SI sessions, individuals who take on this position may also gain and/or improve on their leadership and critical thinking skills.

Name: Winna Pham Major: Biology, Pre-professional Anticipated Graduation: Spring 2019 What are your educational goals? In the future, I hope to attend dental school. 1. How have you seen Supplemental Instruction (SI) impact student learning? So many students don’t realize that their struggles and frustrations with certain course material is not an experience they face alone. Others need help too, and it doesn’t make them unintelligent or inferior. SI gives students an opportunity to connect with their peers outside of lecture and participate in group/collaborative exercises, which helps all attendees build a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of even the most difficult aspects of the course. 2. How did you learn about the Volunteer Position? I heard about this position through one of my own SI leaders, Anthony Chang. He gave a presentation in an AED meeting where he mentioned the new Volunteer Position. He mentioned that it’d be great for students who were interested in SI, but didn’t have the time yet in their schedule to take on the role, and I thought it was perfect for me. 3. What did you learn from your experience as an SI Observation Volunteer? Learning is a process, and it’s messy…The goals of SI are student oriented, and through my observations, I’ve become acutely aware of how important active peer-to-peer interactions are in students’ knowledge and confidence in their own abilities. The process towards these goals is sometimes messy and uncomfortable, but necessary. 4. Why should students consider being an SI Observation Volunteer? The Observation Volunteer position is not only a great opportunity to supplement a resume and gain experience before becoming an SI Leader, it is a way to impact current students’ experience in SI sessions. The SI Observer may seem like a passive role in sessions, but it actively aids SI Leaders in connecting their lesson plans to the goals and visions of SI, which in turn benefits other students. If you’re a student of SI like I was, this would help you too!

Cheyenne Rogers Academic Transitions Coordinator Barstow California native Cheyenne Rogers “came home” when she joined the ASC as Academic Transitions Coordinator. She asserts “Ever since I served as an Academic Success Coach during my graduate program it’s been my goal to come back. There’s a lot of teamwork, and everyone’s willing to help out others around them in the center.” A first generation college student, Cheyenne earned her Associate of Arts in Social Science from Barstow Community College (2010). Subsequently, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (2012), and her Master of Education in Higher Education (2014), both from UNLV. Helping others is key to Cheyenne’s motivation. While in community college, along with serving in Student Government, she worked as a peer advocate helping students with life skills, such as study skills, and time management. Once at UNLV, she “immediately had a student worker position at the admissions office.” Shortly after completing her Master’s, Cheyenne worked as an Academic Advisor and New Student Orientation Coordinator for Nevada State College. She provided a variety of advising, coaching, programming, and other aid. This was in addition to teaching a first-year seminar, and overseeing a mentorship program. Not surprisingly, Cheyenne values “getting to know students as individuals, as opposed to just them coming in and giving that prescription of, okay here’s what you need to do.” At heart, she wants “to help students accomplish anything that drives them to be who they are, and pushes them forward.” Through her work, Cheyenne tries to embody her philosophy that “every experience you encounter is going to shape who you become after you leave UNLV.”

Dr. Emily Shreve Associate Director of Academic Transitions  Dr. Emily Shreve did not start out wanting to be anything like Associate Director of Academic Transitions at the ASC. At the beginning of her educational journey, Dr. Shreve focused on Literature. She earned her BA in English, with a Film Studies minor (2006) from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, her MA and PhD in English from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Her PhD dissertation initially dealt with “the relationship between anger and justice in late medieval British literature” before she realized her research should match her true passion for teaching and administration, especially working with first-year students. This epiphany did not appear out of nowhere. As it is, Dr. Shreve has “been teaching first-year students for over a decade, mostly teaching them in first-year writing classes at Lehigh.” She also taught a smattering of other courses including upper-level courses and electives including one “on reality TV that was fantastic.” Also at Lehigh, Dr. Shreve served as Assistant Director of the first year writing program. She also worked as a graduate assistant in the Office of the First-Year Experience focusing on the “Summer Read Program.” Dr. Shreve credits three summers working with the Institute of Reading Development for helping her learn to “teach everyone, from four and five-year-olds, to adults, reading development skills.” Dr. Shreve’s goals for the ASC match her passions. She hopes “as the ASC continues to grow, I want to make sure that the curriculum is flexible enough that individualized issues can be handled, and given the appropriate support so that our growth is always still focused on that one student and what they need.”

Sarah Wattenberg Student-Athlete Engagement Specialist Above all, “the sense of family, and team” is what New Jersey native Sarah Wattenberg really appreciates about UNLV athletics, and the ASC. As a “trailing spouse,” she came to Las Vegas to be with her husband, six-year-old daughter, and three-year-old son. The Student-Athlete Engagement Specialist brings significant and varied expertise to her work. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in H uman Biology, Health, and Society from Cornell University in 2003, all the while competing as a student-athlete in track and field. The self-proclaimed “thrower” specialized in shotput, discus, javelin, and hammer. Sarah earned her Master’s degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 2005. Shortly thereafter, she had the good fortune to be able to return to Cornell to become an Assistant Athletic Trainer for the men’s and women’s cross country indoor and outdoor track teams. In 2012, Sarah became Cornell’s Assistant Athletic Director of Student Services. As such, she engaged in academic advising, personal needs counseling, and athletic counseling. She says she “grew to love the passion of helping the holistic student-athlete experience,” and that “it was great because I didn’t have to touch feet anymore.” Love of the holistic drives Sarah. She coordinates the ASC’s life skills programming for student-athletes including seminars and workshops on everything from sexual violence prevention to careers. To Sarah, “our student-athletes are students first,” She hopes to foster collaboration among all resources on campus to help students find and utilize the resources they need to have a smoother transition than she did, and, also, to aid in their future successes after they leave UNLV.

The beginning of the fall semester can be a roller coaster ride of mixed emotions. From picking your class schedule to socializing with your classmates, and everywhere in-between, we find ourselves in need of a little guidance, and fun, along the way. Acknowledging this, the ASC wanted a way for students to discover services on campus while having a smooth transition from their summer breaks to their bustling fall semesters. That is why we, at the ASC, thought of a perfect way to inform students by giving them insight into resources on campus and providing them with the freedom to discover these services on their own. This was all done through the inaugural ASC scavenger hunt. The premise of the ASC Scavenger Hunt was simple; visit three of the ASC services, learn about each of their benefits, and receive a complimentary item at each stop. At each stop, the participants were asked to follow the ASC on our multiple social media sites. Our goal was to introduce our new students to the ASC resources: academic advising, the coaching spot, and tutoring. We saw an amazing turnout of participation, and campus wide activity, that allowed us to guide our students in the right direction. As a token of our appreciation, we provided each of our participants with complimentary ASC hats, shirts, and gym shakers. We wanted our students to know that by doing the scavenger hunt, they would not be going home empty handed. With these complimentary prizes we saw our numbers of participation skyrocket, and with a little help from our grand prizes, we got a turnout of students that have not known of our resources before. Our grand prizes included a UNLV athletic bundle, an iPad, RebelCash, a semester of paid books, and Life is Beautiful passes. With the combination of the complimentary prizes and the grand prizes, students found the scavenger hunt as an amazing opportunity to explore campus, learn of our resources, and have fun. Our social media following also found success by participants following our channels. Having our students follow us on social media allows the ASC to provide them with interactive and engaging content that inform of upcoming events. Our new followers now will be notified about all of the ASC events, including our current activities. We hope that each new post will increase participation in the highlighted event. The ASC Scavenger hunt is expected to occur every semester allowing new students, incoming freshmen, and transfer students the chance to participate. We predict the numbers of participants to grow, and we aim to provide more prizes and opportunities for students to learn about UNLV and its resources.

With over 600 students entering the program, the First-Year Seminar for Exploring Majors (COLA100E) is the largest first-year seminar at UNLV. Given that our students possess a variety of potential academic interests, how do we provide them a shared learning experience beyond student success tips? We bring them a shared analytical experience via the common reader program, of course. The common reader program invites students from all sections of COLA100E across an academic year to read and critique the same book. In addition to professor led discussions, students often participate in small group activities where personal perspectives and knowledge are encouraged. In this fashion, students practice academic discourses that are later applied to classes in their future majors. For the 2017-2018 academic year, we have chosen Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. The story occurs during two eras – 1986 when the main character, Henry, is an adult and WWII while he is a young man in Seattle. After befriending a young Japanese-American girl, Keiko, Henry is faced with a range of competing values that encompass the UULOs in spirit. By discussing the story and Henry’s choices, students begin to embrace a deeper style of reading than most have experienced before college. In the end, students write a relevant essay assignment requiring the implied or explicit use of the UULOs to investigate the global and personal themes of the book. While the common reader provides the foundation and evidence to build the thesis, students learn a new way to analyze literature while gaining exposure to a story they may have, otherwise, overlooked. Through participation in the common reader program, students build valuable skills in reading for a different purpose. Rather than learning to summarize, they begin to appreciate the importance of taking notes and discussing concepts at a deeper level. They also experience that many times, there is not a “right” or a “wrong” answer. Rather, they learn to provide an evidence based explanation to their perspective and ideas on a topic. And from instructor to student, we all learn something new.

As part of the Top Tier initiative at UNLV, Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity is an important Pathway Goal. The ASC contributes toward this goal through the work of several permanent, full-time faculty who conduct research, present at conferences, and publish, in addition to their required job duties. A majority of the research conducted centers around teaching and learning strategies, learning support services, advising best-practices, student-athlete academic services, and all around student success. There is a continual need for research on the long-term success of our students, and also on the types of interventions that best serve their varied needs.  Between Fall 2016 and Summer 2017, ASC faculty gave a number of highly regarded, insightful presentations on topics covering a wide variety of issues within their research areas. It is, perhaps, not surprising that these assorted efforts stand at all stages of completion. For sake of clarity, from here on, ASC presenters are underlined. In October 2016, Dr. Joseph Ervin presented his paper “Can Faculty and Advisors Collaborate to Serve Students in Transition?” at the Students in Transition Annual Conference. Also in October 2016, David Wedley presented “Academic Advising Best Practices and Academic Advising for At-Risk Student-Athletes” at the N4A Region V Conference. Also, in October 2016, Katie Humphreys and Dr. Dan Gianoutsos presented “Collaborating Around a Transparent Framework for Employee and Student Success” to the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. ASC faculty made a strong showing at the 36th Annual Conference on the First Year Experience in February 2017. Dean Ann McDonough , Dr. Dan Gianoutsos , and Dr. Allison Carr, delivered their joint effort “Rescue Remedies: Interventions for Pre-Probation/Suspension First Year Students.” Dr. Dan Gianoutsos , Hellen Lee, and Courtney Milleson collaborated on “Navigating the Journey: Designing and Implementing a Common Reader Program.” Shelly Volsche offered up “Approaching Intersections in the Classroom.” Dr. Emily Shreve and Stephanie Burke shared their combined vision with “Cultivating a ‘Common Sense’ in First-Year Reading Programs.”

Later in the spring, in March 2017, Nicole Stella & Jenna Chang presented their paper “Creating Pathways for Success” at the NACADA Region 9 Conference. Meanwhile, at the Southwestern Social Sciences Association: Gender and the Family Session in April 2017, Shelly Volsche contributed her paper “Setting the Childless Free: How Modernity and Feminism Converge in the Formation and Practice of the Childfree Identity.” More recently, several ASC faculty contributed to UNLV’s Research Week – Excellence in PK-20 Urban Education Settings, in October 2017. Megan Cogliano , Dr. Matt Bernacki, Dr. Dan Gianoutsos , and Dr. Nathan Slife came together to deliver their paper “Examining Digital Curricular Enhancements to First-Year Seminars and Effects on College Success.” Dr. Anne White and Dr. Brandy Smith likewise collaborated on “Expect Success: Examining the Impact of Academic Support Services on College Freshmen Success.” Also, Michael Terry , Nicole Stella , and Jenna Chang shared their insights in their paper “Major Pathways Progress Report Outcomes after the First Year. Around the same time, in October 2017, at the National Mentoring Symposium Debi Cheek and Emily Balcom shared their ideas in “Fast and Furious: Lessons Learned on the Fly from a Faculty-Peer Plus-Student Mentoring Program.” In addition, Shelly Volsche is currently serving as curator of the “liminal” exhibit at the Marjorie A. Barrick Museum of Art. This thought provoking exhibit is slated to run until January 20, 2018, in the West Gallery. ASC faculty also have a number of exciting upcoming research projects in the works, which they intend to debut in the near future. For instance, several of them have submitted presentation proposals to the 37th Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience. Dr. Dan Gianoutsos and Cheyenne Rogers hope to present on “Assessing Morale and Satisfaction of Peer-Mentoring Scholars in First-Year Seminars.” Shelly Volsche is seeking to present about Using Transparent, Problem-Based Learning to Inspire First-Year Students. Dr. Joe Ervin (with Emmanuel Ayim) is equally eager to showcase his work concerning “College Identification and First-Year Students: Approaches to the FYE Curriculum.” Alongside these efforts, Debi Cheek is planning on submitting a proposal to the First Experience Conference in 2019 regarding the RebelPRIDE program. The focus will be on first-generation students and their college transition. Moreover, it will focus on the areas from Rebel PRIDE including: developing a Peer network, connecting with campus Resources, learning UNLV Information, college transition Discussions and Engaging with faculty. Meanwhile, Dr. Brandy Smith is working on a literature review regarding communication among higher education professionals. This piece hopes to serve as a reference for new or mid-level professionals in colleges and universities.

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