Undeclared - Explore Center New Student Enrollment

Rebecca Carr Author

05/01/2020 Added

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New Student Enrollment information for Undeclared students in the Explore Center at UNL.

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[00:00:00.880]Welcome, new Explore Center students.
[00:00:02.950]Thanks for watching this short video about being an undecided student at UNL.
[00:00:07.690]My name is Rebecca Carr and I'm an Academic Advisor in the Explore Center.
[00:00:12.220]Today I'm going to talk a little bit more about the Explore Center, about
[00:00:16.120]academics at UNL, and your next steps toward enrolling in classes at the
[00:00:20.920]university.
[00:00:23.800]You're watching this video because you are undecided on a major and the Explore
[00:00:28.210]Center is going to be your academic home on campus.
[00:00:31.930]We want you to know that all undecided, or undeclared, students have an Explore
[00:00:36.850]Center advisor as your go to person for all your questions related to choosing a
[00:00:41.800]major and a career. We also work with students who are Pre-Health,
[00:00:46.540]Pre-Law, Pre-Engineering and students working on entrance requirements for other
[00:00:51.490]colleges.
[00:00:53.230]We have eight full time academic advisors and one career advisor in the explore
[00:00:57.970]center and we are all here to help you navigate the ins and outs of academics at
[00:01:02.830]UNL and help you find a major and a career that's a good fit.
[00:01:07.120]Whether you're completely unsure on a major or just narrowing down your options,
[00:01:12.160]your advisor will help guide you along the way.
[00:01:15.370]The explore center is located in Love Library South room 127.
[00:01:22.930]A lot of times students associate academic advising with just picking out your
[00:01:27.340]classes each semester and while this is certainly true,
[00:01:30.820]we can also help with a lot more than just choosing classes.
[00:01:34.600]Here are just some reasons why you might talk with an academic advisor: major and
[00:01:39.580]career exploration classes and degree requirements, academic success,
[00:01:44.620]navigating college life and really anything else.
[00:01:48.310]Whether you have questions about requirements for a certain major,
[00:01:52.360]need some tips on succeeding in your classes,
[00:01:55.390]want to talk about your transition to UNL and your new life on campus, or really
[00:02:00.130]just have any other question,
[00:02:02.020]we are your go to place and can help guide you in the right direction.
[00:02:08.800]We have required advising in the Explore Center through a program called the
[00:02:13.330]COMPASS required advising program. Through COMPASS,
[00:02:16.990]you're required to meet with an academic advisor at least twice each semester
[00:02:21.520]before you enroll in classes for the next semester,
[00:02:24.640]and we encourage you to connect with an advisor within the first five weeks of
[00:02:29.230]the semester for your first advising appointment.
[00:02:32.950]Advisors can help you identify and work towards your academic career and
[00:02:37.120]personal goals.
[00:02:39.070]An example of an academic goal might be working toward a 3.5 GPA or earning an A
[00:02:45.550]in your chemistry class. A career
[00:02:47.770]goal might be shadowing a healthcare worker or researching careers in
[00:02:52.150]psychology,
[00:02:53.380]and a personal goal could be joining a club or student organization on campus.
[00:02:59.140]So whatever your goals are,
[00:03:00.640]your academic advisor will help you as you work toward these goals through your
[00:03:05.050]own COMPASS advising plan.
[00:03:10.330]Many students come to UNL without a major. In fact,
[00:03:14.020]25% of the incoming class comes in undecided,
[00:03:17.620]so you are definitely not alone. When you work with an academic advisor,
[00:03:21.910]you can choose classes to explore different majors while also staying on track
[00:03:26.590]to graduate in four years.
[00:03:29.380]While the major exploration process looks different for every student,
[00:03:33.130]most students declare naturally within their first year. There are many,
[00:03:37.810]many ways to explore majors, but here are just a few examples.
[00:03:41.590]Taking classes towards specific majors, attending the majors
[00:03:45.430]fair to learn about your options,
[00:03:47.620]participating in workshops offered by the Explore Center that allow you to talk
[00:03:52.030]with other students, exploring majors,
[00:03:54.730]connecting with staff across campus who can provide you with more information
[00:03:58.690]about different majors and getting involved in
[00:04:02.350]student organizations or clubs within the community.
[00:04:06.100]We want you to remember that exploring majors is an active process,
[00:04:09.910]so make sure to talk with your advisor about ways that you can explore.
[00:04:16.560]While we know that exploring majors is important,
[00:04:19.380]exploring your options for careers is just as important.
[00:04:22.950]Many majors can lead to a variety of careers,
[00:04:25.590]so it's important to start getting to know your options early on so that way you
[00:04:29.790]have a good idea of your career goals and options after graduation.
[00:04:34.770]Our career advisor, Kelsey Yadon,
[00:04:37.080]will help you as you explore potential careers and help you make connections
[00:04:41.340]between majors and careers.
[00:04:43.500]Some of the ways she can help you identify your interests,
[00:04:46.110]skills and values are through assessments or workshops offered through the
[00:04:51.000]Explore Center.
[00:04:52.830]She can help you learn more about careers through research or identifying
[00:04:56.610]professionals you'd like to shadow in the workplace, and she can help you get
[00:05:00.630]involved in activities like undergraduate research, education abroad,
[00:05:05.400]and volunteering in the community to help you explore your interests firsthand.
[00:05:13.790]There are a variety of components to your UNL degree.
[00:05:17.540]We'll go through some of these components. The first is ACE.
[00:05:22.670]ACE stands for Achievement Centered Education and is UNL's general education
[00:05:28.160]program. No matter what college or major you declare,
[00:05:32.180]you need to complete one class in each of the 10 ACE categories before you
[00:05:36.710]graduate.
[00:05:38.120]These are great to use as exploratory classes for your different areas of
[00:05:42.590]interest. Most of you will take one or more ACE classes in your first semester.
[00:05:49.090]There are a few things that all degrees have in common at UNL.
[00:05:53.050]Most degrees require 120 credit hours.
[00:05:56.470]One credit is equivalent to about one hour of class time per week.
[00:06:01.100]So the average course is about three credit hours.
[00:06:04.970]All degrees at UNL include ACE requirements,
[00:06:08.300]college specific requirements, major requirements and electives.
[00:06:13.900]College requirements are based on the requirements for the academic college
[00:06:18.130]your major falls under.
[00:06:20.020]There are nine academic colleges at UNL and a couple of examples of colleges are
[00:06:25.600]the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.
[00:06:30.580]Major requirements include specific classes that are required for the major
[00:06:34.960]you end up choosing, and a major is the main focus area of your education at UNL.
[00:06:42.010]Some majors require students to also have a minor or a secondary area of focus
[00:06:47.350]with fewer classes required than a major.
[00:06:50.740]Not all majors require a minor,
[00:06:52.960]so talk to your academic advisor if you have questions about this.
[00:06:57.430]Some degrees have additional requirements outside of majors and minors as well,
[00:07:01.810]so you can also discuss this with your academic advisor.
[00:07:06.410]If you're interested in Pre-Health or Pre-Law, that is you'd like to
[00:07:10.700]pursue a career in healthcare or go to law school after graduation,
[00:07:15.050]the requirements that you would take for these areas are called
[00:07:18.410]pre-professional requirements and they could include a list of specific classes
[00:07:23.390]required or a general suggested list of courses based on different skill areas.
[00:07:31.670]The final component to your UNL degree is elective classes.
[00:07:35.630]These are courses that allow you to explore areas outside of your major,
[00:07:39.830]but also work toward your UNL degree requirements.
[00:07:44.700]So all of these different degree components might sound like a lot to keep track
[00:07:48.720]of, but don't worry,
[00:07:50.160]you'll have an opportunity to talk with your academic advisor more about classes
[00:07:54.210]and requirements during your virtual academic advising meeting,
[00:07:57.840]which I'll talk more about later.
[00:08:03.490]Here are some examples of first semester schedules for students with four
[00:08:07.900]different sets of interest areas. Based on their conversations with their
[00:08:12.640]academic advisors,
[00:08:14.230]these students were able to set up a schedule that allows them to take classes
[00:08:18.250]to explore their interests while also meeting general education requirements
[00:08:22.810]such as English, humanities, and math, just to name a few.
[00:08:28.590]You'll notice that each student is in a course called Explore Center Start Smart.
[00:08:33.750]This is an introductory course for all Explore Center students that I'll
[00:08:38.400]talk more about on the next slide.
[00:08:45.730]One way that you'll learn more about academic resources at UNL is through your
[00:08:50.200]first course at UNL called Explore Center
[00:08:53.090]Start Smart. Start Smart is a free pass
[00:08:56.400]no pass course required for all of Explore Center students.
[00:09:00.510]This means that if completed by the deadline, you'll pass this non-graded course
[00:09:05.250]and it does not impact your GPA. However,
[00:09:08.430]it will appear on your transcript so do take it seriously.
[00:09:12.900]You can complete the course through your academic portal called Canvas.
[00:09:17.790]Canvas is a website that will house all of your courses at UNL and has a variety
[00:09:22.920]of functions including communicating with your classmates and instructors,
[00:09:27.840]submitting assignments and keeping track of due dates on the calendar.
[00:09:32.940]You'll be required to complete the Start Smart course over the summer before
[00:09:37.470]fall classes begin in order to pass.
[00:09:40.620]The course will be open August 1st and will be available until August 23rd. The
[00:09:47.750]course is self paced and you'll have a number of units to complete that will
[00:09:51.770]introduce you to important resources at UNL.
[00:09:55.310]It will also touch on important topics regarding how to explore majors and how
[00:10:00.230]to get involved at the university. Explore center advisors
[00:10:05.060]teach the class and are available Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 to help
[00:10:09.770]answer any questions you might have about the course.
[00:10:13.010]If you have any concerns about being able to complete the course on your own,
[00:10:17.090]do let your academic advisor know,
[00:10:22.860]We want to stay in touch with you not just through the summer but throughout the
[00:10:26.400]school year as well.
[00:10:27.690]So here are a few ways to stay connected with the Explore Center.
[00:10:31.890]Setting up and checking your Huskers email account regularly is important as
[00:10:36.930]this is the main way that we communicate with you throughout the year.
[00:10:41.130]You'll receive instructions from the university on how to set up your Huskers
[00:10:44.910]email account.
[00:10:47.240]Text message reminders are also another way that we keep you in the loop on
[00:10:51.110]important dates and deadlines.
[00:10:53.150]Now's a great time to sign up for our texting service.
[00:10:56.150]So if you aren't already on your phone,
[00:10:58.460]you can go ahead and sign up by texting @exploreunl to 81010
[00:11:07.490]We'll try to keep text reminders to a minimum,
[00:11:10.070]so don't only rely on this as your main form of communication,
[00:11:13.760]but rather an extra reminder for important events.
[00:11:18.750]Finally, the university will have a variety of events during
[00:11:22.620]Big Red Welcome within the first few weeks of the semester,
[00:11:26.460]so don't forget to participate in these events.
[00:11:29.220]More information will come later regarding these opportunities.
[00:11:37.090]The next step toward enrolling in classes is meeting with an academic advisor.
[00:11:41.770]You'll receive an email from an Explore Center advisor in the weeks leading up
[00:11:46.120]to your New Student Enrollment day.
[00:11:48.280]This email when will include a link for you to schedule a virtual advising
[00:11:52.660]meeting via Zoom with a specific academic advisor.
[00:11:57.430]Be sure to continue checking your email in the weeks prior to your New Student
[00:12:01.330]Enrollment date for this information. If you have questions or concerns,
[00:12:06.100]please contact the Explore Center at (402) 472-3605.
[00:12:14.620]Here are a few items to make sure you complete before you meet with your
[00:12:18.490]academic advisor. The Math Placement Exam,
[00:12:22.090]the Advising Inventory, the Modern Language Placement Exam
[00:12:26.200]if you plan to take a course in a foreign language, and of course setting up your
[00:12:30.910]advising meeting.
[00:12:34.480]More information about how to complete these items can be found on the Explore
[00:12:39.100]Center New Student Enrollment webpage.
[00:12:45.310]Before you meet with your academic advisor,
[00:12:47.620]here are some things to be thinking about to help you prepare:
[00:12:51.640]Let your advisor know if you have college credit coming in from high school such
[00:12:55.750]as AP credit, dual enrollment, or IB credit.
[00:13:00.460]Think about your interests and any majors that you'd like to explore.
[00:13:04.270]What are your favorite and least favorite classes?
[00:13:07.000]What careers can you see yourself in?
[00:13:09.460]But don't worry if you don't have it all figured out yet.
[00:13:12.130]That's what your academic advisor is here to help you with.
[00:13:16.040]Finally, think about activities or organizations that you might be interested in
[00:13:20.720]joining, especially if this might impact your course scheduling.
[00:13:24.920]Some examples of this include ROTC, Greek life,
[00:13:29.420]and music groups such as marching band and show choir.
[00:13:35.790]That's all the information I have for you today about your next steps at UNL.
[00:13:40.020]We're excited for you to start your journey and your advisor is happy to answer
[00:13:43.680]any questions you might have during your virtual advising meeting.
[00:13:47.490]As a reminder, you'll receive an email from an Explore Center
[00:13:50.430]academic advisor in the weeks leading up to your New Student Enrollment day
[00:13:54.660]regarding scheduling your advising meeting. Thanks and have a great day.

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Undeclared - Explore Center New Student Enrollment

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