Seven BMCC faculty members participated in the most recent training session of the Title V Academic Advising Program January 16-18, 2008. The workshops were the sixth conducted under the auspices of the $2.3 million grant from the United States Department
of Education under the Title V (Hispanic Serving Institutions) Program.
BMCC's Title V program is designed to improve faculty advisement to liberal arts majors. The purpose of the workshops was to train faculty and staff in the models and assessment of academic advising, familiarize them with the academic advisement process, clarify the goals of the Title V program, and learn how to navigate the data management system.
The National Academic Advising Association's executive director Charlie L. Nutt kicked off the three-day training program with a morning session on core values in academic advising and an afternoon session on advising as teaching and learning.
Professor Nutt, the author of several publications and numerous presentations on academic advising and retention, has won several awards for advising.
Other presentations included "The Title V Academic Advising Program and the Role of the Title V Advisor," in which M. Claire Pamplin, Co-Activity Coordinator for fall, 2007 and assistant professor, English; Nidia Pullés-Linares, Activity Director; Freda McClean, Director, Academic Advisement & Transfer Center, and educational planners Mary Quezada, Kevin Simmons, and Lynnise Pimentel gave an overview of the Title V Academic Advising grant including the goals of the program, the advising process and the roles of faculty advisors and educational planners.
Senior Registrar Gregory Wist, Academic Advisor Carei Thomas and Prof. Precious Sellars-Mulhern, Student Affairs, participated in a panel titled "Advising and Referring Students: Legal and Ethical Issues."
The second day's lineup included Marcos A. González, Director of Services for Students with Disabilities, who presented key factors in advising students with disabilities and Lesley Leppert, Assistant Director, Academic Advisement & Transfer Center, Director, Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) led "Introduction to Advising."
Dean of Student Affairs Marva Craig addressed the group, as did Howard J. Entin, Director of Financial Aid, who discussed the fact that student financial aid depends on satisfactory academic performance, course load requirements and other factors.
A panel of experienced advisors from previous cohorts conducted a question and answer session. Participants included Hollis Glaser, Holly Messitt, Frank Crocco and Claire Pamplin.
James Tynes, Director, Learning Resource Center, explained BMCC's Academic Support Services to the cohort on the final day. Lisa Rose, Coordinator, Distance Learning, presented information for advising students who wish to take distance learning courses. For students desiring to transfer into nursing programs, Jose Sierra, Pre-clinical Coordinator, presented important information. The needs of International Students were addressed by Lily Yi-Elkin, Assistant Director of International & Transfer Services.
Later on the final day, Glenn Miller, Title V Co-Activity Coordinator for Technology, headed a two-hour workshop on utilizing Blackboard ad DegreeWorks, CUNY's new degree audit system.
Finally, Holly Messitt, Coordinator of Faculty Mentoring and Assistant Professor, English gave an introduction to the new Title V Disciplines Guide and answered final questions from trainees.
Cohort F
Mary Sepp - Developmental Skills
Rita Plotkin - Mathematics
Alla Morgulis - Mathematics
Rafael Corbalán - Modern Languages
Charles Kosky - Science
Jennifer Kyle - Social Science
Melissa Brown - Social Science
