N E W S L E T T E R

S t u d e n t A f f a i r s

June

2020

A d m i s s i o n s ︳ C o u n s e l i n g & C a r e e r S e r v i c e s ︳ F i n a n c i a l A i d ︳ H o u s i n g ︳ R e g i s t r a r

S t u d e n t A c t i v i t i e s ︳ S t u d e n t L i f e ︳ S t u d e n t S u p p o r t S e r v i c e s ︳ U p w a r d B o u n d

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 MEETINGSJune 4, 2020July 1, 2020August 5, 2020September 2, 2020

DATES TO REMEMBERTransfer OrientationJuly 7, 2020Freshman OrientationJuly 9-10, 2020

VP for Student Affairs:MR. RICHARD HESTER

May transitioned into June and we are easing back to fully staffing offices across the university campus. This continues to be a stressful year for our students and fellow workers. Pandemics, politics, injus-tice, economics, and civil unrest lead the news every day and there seems to be little peace or uplifting stories at a time when we need them the most. We all need to show compassion and understanding for the concerns our students are dealing with as they come back to campus. We have a very diverse and close knit community and we will need to be the voices of reason, compassion, and support. St. Francis gave us a great example in his prayer for peace:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;Where there is sadness, joy;

Sincerely,

Inside This Issue

Student Support ServicesStudent Support ServicesUpward BoundUpward BoundHousing Housing

Counseling & Counseling &

Career ServicesCareer ServicesRegistrarRegistrarFinancial AidFinancial Aid

Student ActivitiesStudent ActivitiesStudent LifeStudent LifeAdmissionsAdmissions

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66

44

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Office of Student Life• Construction is completed on a new con-

crete event space outside of the Wallace Student Union Building. Planned activi-ties for this space includes band par-ties, Homecoming festivities, and Greek Week just to name a few.

Student Government Association• SGA Freshman Senator Applications are

available and will be ready for Orienta-tion this Summer.

• Collective 3.46 GPA for SGA Members this past Spring.

Greek Life• Recruitment dates have been set for both

Panhellenic and IFC Greeks:• Panhellenic - August 20-24• IFC - August 31 – September 3

• NPHC Convocation has not been set. Fitness Center• June 1 - The Fitness Center reopens.

STUDENT LIFE MR. BYRON THETFORD

By the Numbers

• Summer 2020 vs Summer 2016 • Applications: 74 (+6)

• Transfer: 31 (-1)• Freshman: 43 (+7)

• Admits: 30 (NC)• Transfer: 14 (-1)• Freshman: 16 (+1)

• Fall 2020 vs Fall 2016 • Applications: 2,565 (+1,399)

• Transfer: 224 (+5)• Freshman: 2,341 (+1,394)

• Admits: 1,220 (+526)• Transfer: 105 (-16)• Freshman: 1,115 (+542)

Campus Tours (individual):• August 15, 2019 - May 28, 2020: 176

• 86% check-in rate• August 15, 2018- May 28, 2019: 228

• 77% check-in rate

Campus Tours (group):• August 15, 2019 - May 28, 2020: 434 (stu-

dents)• August 15, 2018- May 28, 2019: 242 (stu-

dents)

Virtual Meetings (individual):• August 15, 2019 - May 28, 2020: 15

Scholarships• Fall 2020 vs Fall 2019 (Freshmen)

• Reviewed - 631• Awarded - 559 (-274)• Accepted - 114 (-39)

• Fall 2020 vs Fall 2019 (Transfers)• Reviewed - 74• Awarded - 60 (+22)• Accepted - 37 (+14)

• ECF Payments: • Fall 2020 vs Fall 2019

• Total - 269 (-58)• 199 freshman (-73)• 70 transfer (+15)

• Summer Orientation 2020 vs 2019• Freshmen - 4 (NC)• Transfers - 10 (+8)

• Fall Orientation 2020 vs 2019 regis-trations

• Freshmen - 136 (-66)• Transfers - 44 (+18)

Staff Notes

• May 12 - Mrs. Brenda Jones attended the ALACRAO sponsored Alabama Community College Transfer Fair. All students that requested information on UWA received a personal email with UWA information along with an invitation to visit campus. They were also added to ongoing communication plans for prospective students. Prior to the event, Mrs. Jones attended weekly Friday meetings with the Alabama Transfer Recruiters.

ADMISSIONSMRS. LIBBA BAKER

Staff Notes (cont.)

• May 15 - administered Residual ACT (9 in at-tendance). The final Residual ACT before fall semester begins will be given on July 17, 2020, and registration for that test is now open.

• May 26 - Mr. Kirstan Cunningham and Mr. Patrick Lovette hosted Admissions first ACT prep webinar- The ACT, What is it? (13 par-ticipants). The series will also include The ACT, How to Prepare! and ACT Boot Camp! on June 2 and 8, respectively

• May 28 - Mrs. Brenda Jones traveled to Coastal Community College with Dr. Tina Jones and Mr. Johnnie Aycock to learn about the new Apprenticeship program for freshman and transfer students. UWA is the only regis-tered 4-year institution in Alabama offering this program, which aims to increase skilled labor in the Black Belt region through em-ployer partnerships. The program will include an innovative Skills on Wheels mobile training

unit which will travel to high schools and com-munity colleges offering hands on labs and curriculum to increase career awareness and promote the apprenticeship program.

• Mr. Kirstan Cunningham created a webpage dedicated to ACT prep where students and parents can see more information on the webi-nars and resources available. Visit www.uwa.edu/actprep for more information.

• Mrs. Sonia Shaw attended 9 virtual fairs in May. These fairs targeted juniors, but many seniors took advantage of them, as well.

• Mrs. Emily Stuart attended the following webinars: Chatbots and Conversational Marketing - Higher Ed’s Ticket to Engagement Right Now, Preparing Your CRM for the Next Enrollment Cycle, Closing the Student Skills Gap in a Changing Economy, and Radius by Campus Management Product Update.

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REGISTRARMRS. SUSAN SPARKMAN

• May 7 – End of the 2020 Spring Semester and 2020 Spring Two Online Term

• May 8 – End of term processes were run for the Spring

• May 12 – Degrees were posted for the 2020 Spring Semesters for campus and online terms

• May 14 – Deregistration for the Summer One Online Term

• May 18 – 2020 Summer One Online Term began

• May 26 – Registration Day for the 2020 Summer Campus Se-mester. Deregistration was run for the campus term

• May 27 – 2020 Summer Semester began

• June 25 – Summer One Online Session ends. Deregistration for Summer Two Online Term

• June 29 – 2020 Summer Two Online Session begins

• 1,033 transcripts were processed for May 2019 compared to 765 transcripts processed in May 2020

Campus Activities Board (CAB)

• Entering the final stages of completing the calendar for the Fall Semester.

Intramurals

• Completed Fall Semester Calendar

• Continuing to maintaining the playing fields throughout the summer.

• Congratulations!!! Troy and Joni Maddox are the proud par-ents of Braden Hoyt Maddox. Braden was born on May 28 and weighed 8lbs 2 oz and is 21 inches long.

Band

• Director, Mr. Michael Tignor, virtually attended the College Band Directors National Association Athletic Band Symposium

• All auxiliary auditions were successfully held via video submis-sion.

STUDENT ACTIVITIESMR. JASON GARDNER

• 2020-2021 Financial Aid Processing:

• As of June 1, 2020

• Downloaded 4,222 ISIRs (608 since last report)

• Packaged 3,298 awards (579 since last report)

• 442 selected for verification (26 since last report)

• 261 verifications completed (56 since last report)

• Delinquent Loans Activity:

• In following guidance from the Department of Education, the

delinquency notifications have been suspended until October.

FINANCIAL AIDMR. STEVE SMITH

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CAREER SERVICES &COUNSELING CENTERMS. TAMMY WHITE

Career Services

Individual Student Contacts: 31

• Resume advice/critiques: 18

• Mock Interviews: 3

• Other: 10

Events/Meetings/Other:

• Provide required progress report and

Innovation Strategy Matrix to CPI Staff (UNCF

Grant)

• Completed Weave for 2020-21 year for

Career Services and Counseling

• Phone meetings:

• Dr. McCall to help with his Graduate

BY 598 (Conservation) class

• Staff meetings

• Virtual Meetings and Webinars attended:

• Alabama Connection Meeting (for Fall

planning)

• CPI Town Meetings (two in May)

• Alabama Works: Workforce Recovery

– The Future of Work Post COVID – 19

• NACE – Resilience in the Job Search

• Conducted Doodle Poll to recent graduates

(receiving undergraduate degrees) to determine

best times for virtual workshops (Poll ends June

1) and summer events will be scheduled.

• Continued social media posts (25 posts)

Employer information and connections:

• Emailed 125 employers (total 225 for April and

May) to update information and request they

consider participating in virtual workshops or

recruiting events this summer and/or fall.

• Planning for virtual workshops and employer

partners for June

• Re-sent resume of recent graduate for

Quality Control Technician position - Cemex

(Demopolis)

• Assisted five (5) recent Education graduates

in job search requests which included sending

resumes to potential employers.

• Email contact with AIDT Rep who has

shown interest in being involved with virtual

workshops.

Counseling Services

Individual Student Contacts: 12

• Phone Sessions – 1

• Zoom session - 10

• In-person session - 1

Events/Meetings/Other:

• Attended orientation and committee meetings

• Conducted a Skills Group for the School

Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling

residency requirements

• Zoom meetings:

• Dr. Kenya Bledsoe regarding the role of the

Alabama Counseling Association’s secretary

position (for 2020-21)

• Executive Committee and Chapter

III meetings of the Alabama Counseling

Association

• Annual Planning for 2020-21 including Weave

completion

• ADA Services:

• Completed all documentation to send ADA

Accommodation letters to professors for Summer

and Summer 1 online ADA students

• Presentations:

• A workshop for Student Support Services

via Zoom on “Pushing Through” (5 students

and 1 SSS staff member attended)

• Upcoming:

• ADA Summer 2 Online Accommodations

• Fall Workshops and Small Groups

ADA Services:

• Mr. Will Atkinson – 1

Referrals:

• West Alabama Mental Health – 2

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Housing Operations:• Housing Applications Fall ‘20 vs ‘19

• Freshmen - 155 (-79)

• Transfers - 37 (-9)

• Current students - 328 (-101)

• TOTALS: 520 (-189)

• Room and Roommate Selection

• The residence halls closed on May 7, with residents completing a “no-contact” check out process this year. There was a signifi-cant increase in dirty rooms and aban-doned property (mainly by residents that moved out early). However, overall, the “no contact” process went well for staff and students.

• Three (3) residents are living on campus for the first mini-term of the summer semester. An increase is expected for the second mini-term. To support social distancing, summer residents have been assigned to single rooms at Reed Hall.

• Due to the pandemic, all external groups have cancelled their summer camp reser-vations.

• Sorority contracts have been signed and room selection is underway for the eigh-teen women that have been approved to live on the sorority wings.

• June 1 - New freshmen who have com-pleted the housing application will receive

a welcome email from My College Room-ie, inviting them to log in, create their profile, and complete a questionnaire to start the process. The timeline for new freshman Room Selection is as follows:

• Priority Room Selection will take place June 25 and 26. This process will be for new freshmen who have completed their housing application and matched with a roommate in My College Roomie by June 21.

• Regular Room Selection will take place July 23 and 24. This process will be for new freshmen who have completed their housing application and matched with a roommate in My College Roomie by July 21.

• The Housing staff will manually assign freshmen that do not select a room by July 24, or who apply for housing after the room selection process has ended.

• Staffing

• Due to the pandemic, several students that were selected to serve as resident as-sistants for the 2020-21 school year, have resigned. Since it is anticipated that the pandemic will reduce campus occupancy for the upcoming school year, the Hous-ing staff is developing a temporary re-structuring of the resident assistant staff.

HOUSINGMR. LUTHER GREMMELS

• Staffing (cont.)• Katie Burrall will be returning as the

Marketing Specialist for next year.• Discussions are ongoing as the Housing

Office plans for the re-opening of the resi-dence halls during this pandemic, espe-cially in regards to how resident assistants can effectively build community and fulfill responsibilities, while still staying safe and reducing risk.

Residence Life:• While the Housing Office was not able to

host its annual End of the Year Banquet, the following staff members were recognized for their support of residence life at UWA:• Golden Paw Awards (for overall

contributions to halls, staff, department, university, and community): Kaitlyn Strachan (Gilbert HD) and Ma’Kiyah Hall (Hoover/Selden HD)

• Veteran RA of the Year: Tiffany Webb (Hoover)

• Rookie RA of the Year: Zack Collins (Patterson)

• Gilbert Hall Awards:• Extra Mile Award: Hannah Eng-

land• Program of the Year: Donut Panic,

Landy Marable• Bulletin Board of the Year: Love

Thy Kinky Hair, Autumn Nolen• Door Decoration of the Year: Dis-

ney Characters, Christian Malone• Living Learning/Themed Com-

munity of the Year: Emerging Leaders, Hannah England

• Living Learning/Themed Com-munity Program of the Year: Poetry Slam, Alisha Chaney

• Living Learning/Themed Com-munity Faculty/Staff of the Year: Dr. Kendrick Prewitt

• Hoover Apartments Awards: • Extra Mile Award: Tiffany Webb• Program of the Year: Paint and

Sip, Tiffany Webb and Madison Lewis• Bulletin Board of the Year: Don’t

Flake on Responsibilities, Nate San-ford

• Door Decoration of the Year: Popping Into the New Year, Tiffany Webb

• Reed/Patterson Hall Awards: • Extra Mile Award: Zack Collins• Program of the Year: Who Killed

Will?, Zack Collins• Bulletin Board of the Year: Leg-

endary, Abby Hawkins• Door Decoration of the Year: I

Have A Dream, Kayy Jones• Selden Hall Awards:

• Program of the Year: Ladies Night, Alex McLeod

• Bulletin Board of the Year: Can You Feel The Love?, Wesley Howard

• Door Decoration of the Year: Hand Designed Sneakers, Tyler Har-ris

• Stickney Hall Awards: • Extra Mile Award: Jakyser Lett• Program of the Year: Paint a Val-

entine, Tieson Samuel• Bulletin Board of the Year: Pills

and Pour-tions, Tieson Samuel• Door Decoration of the Year:

Stay In Groove Lava Lamps, Tieson Samuel

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UPWARD BOUNDMS. VICKIE PULLUM

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES MS. ANDREA FARQUHAR

• UB Staff continued conducting meetings with

students to assist those needing help with the

completion of high school packets. Students

have received their promotion notifications in

the mail along with discussions about healthy

activities and benefits of social distancing.

• Continued exploration on implementation of

virtual summer program.

• Program is to include Math, Science, and

English utilizing Google Classroom. One

challenge is some of the students do not have

access to the internet, cell phones, or comput-

ers at home.

Student Support Services• By the numbers:

• Completed end of spring reports on student academic progress• 36% of SSS Scholars recognized on

UWA Spring President’s or Dean’s list• 53% of SSS Scholars participated in

tutoring in 2019-20• 48% of SSS Scholars earned a GPA of

3.0 or greater• 98% of SSS Scholars in Good Academic

Standing• 80% of conditionally admitted SSS

Scholars earned a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater

• Created videos highlighting...• Graduating SSS seniors to share with

students

• Students receiving honors in place of

spring honors banquet

• Ms. Jessica Lotz and Ms. Tanzie Brown began

six (6) month Academic Life Coaching training

program

• Ms. Tanzie Brown is working on adapting

UWA 200 Skills Course to create a hybrid

version for Fall 2020.

• Ms. Andrea Farquhar and Ms. Jessica Lotz

participated in UWA 101 Committee meetings

to prepare for UWA 101 for Fall.

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