Save the Date/More on FSEM mentorship in Win/Spr 2023

FSEM instructors,

Thank you all for your flexibility and feedback on the changes to FSEM advising this autumn quarter. As a reminder, you will continue to serve as part of FSEM students’ “core constellation” of mentors/advisors for the rest of the year. For some of you, you will continue to provide advising at the level of feedback on course selection and PIN deletion. For others, you might shift into a broader mentor role without advising.

We expect that all FSEM faculty will do the following during BOTH Winter and Spring Quarters:

• Communicate with FSEM students about how to get advising and mentorship for the rest of their first year
• Offer a quarterly meeting (group or individual), which can occur at ANY time during the term
• Ascertain whether each student is connected to a DU faculty or staff member who can support their academic experience moving forward
• Communicate how advising will transition into the second year (laying groundwork in Winter, encouraging connections at Spring Quarter events meant to welcome students into their majors – more on these later)

For the third bullet above (ascertain whether the student has made a connection), this faculty or staff member could be you, a professor in another course, a faculty advisor for their major, an academic or LEP advisor, a residence director, or anyone else they have made a personal connection with. If students do not volunteer this information, we encourage you to ask directly, “Have you found someone who works at DU that you’ve made an ongoing connection with? If you haven’t, let’s see how we can get you connected.”

In order to provide guidance on our relatively new roles as primarily mentors in Winter and Spring Quarters, our Winter Quarter professional development will be a mentorship panel. This will be held Friday, January 13, 2023, from 12-2 pm in Sturm 151. Please RSVP here. Lunch will be served, and those who attend will be paid $150 for their time.

If you cannot attend this event, see attached and below for some quick hints on FSEM mentorship in Winter and Spring Quarters. For those of you who also prefer to continue doing academic advising, please review the first-year advising outcomes for Winter and Spring Quarters (attached and below). As a reminder, mentorship meetings can happen at any time during the quarter.

Kateri 😊

Suggestions for group activities:

• Class reunion pizza party
• Meal near campus (Snarf’s, Illegal Pete’s, and Tacos el Metate are all popular). 
• Ice skating at the Richie Center (reservations required)
• Ice cream truck party 
• Movie party (Reserve a classroom with a large screen and show a movie related to your class, or not. Bring fun snacks!)

Suggestions for individual meetings:

• Post appointments in Inspire (we suggest you make some of these available even if you employ other ideas)
• Block of an afternoon when you have time and invite students to drop by as individuals or in groups; consider holding these meetings in the Community Commons or somewhere the students frequent 
• Send more than one invitation/reminder to students, and consider asking your 4D peer leader to remind the class in raftr

Suggested mentorship conversation prompts:

• How is your major/major exploration going? 
  • Have you taken any risks in your major/minor exploration?
  • What has been unexpectedly interesting or underwhelming in your classes?
  • Based on what you were surprised by, is there a topic or question you want to more deeply explore?
• What connections have you noticed between the various things you’re drawn to (courses of different types, out-of-the classroom learning experiences)?
  • Have you noticed themes in terms of skills, interests, and values that cut across multiple aspects of your time at DU?
  • What kinds of things are emerging as important to you?
• Are there any resources on campus that are helping you engage in self-care? Can I help you find resources that might help with that?
  • Are there any experiences in which you find yourself being completely absorbed? Can you make more space for those?
  • How is your constellation of support (advisors, mentors, staff, RAs, peers) helping support your well-being?
• Have you identified any long-term goals? 
  • If yes:
    • Is there a single, actionable next step you could take to be on the path to your long-term goals? What short-term goals will move you toward them?
    • Have you started to think about career options? Have you connected with anyone in career and professional development?
  • If not quite yet (that’s OK! It’s quarter #2):
    • How are you thinking and feeling about exploring to discover potential goals? 
    • Would you be interested in working with someone to explore your interests or see if any long-term goals spark your curiosity?

Winter Spring 2023 Advising Learning Outcomes

Winter 2023 – focusing on 2,3,4,6 

At the end of the first year-

1. Students will understand the value of the Common Curriculum and display the ability to select courses that satisfy core requirements.

2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of degree program requirements and the ability to select courses each quarter toward degree progress.

3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of DU’s academic policies and procedures and how these policies and procedures impact their educational progress.

4. Students will effectively utilize technological resources to assist in degree planning and course registration.

5. Students will select majors based on their interests, abilities, and career goals.

6. Students will be able to identify campus resources and services that can be used to assist them in achieving their academic, personal, and career goals.

7. Students will understand the importance of co-curricular programs for supporting and promoting their educational and life goals.

— 
Kateri McRae, Ph.D., she/her
Professor, Department of Psychology  

Director of Faculty Advising  

Co-host of The Actor’s Mind podcast  

Make an individual advising appointment   

The University of Denver on Cheyenne and Arapahoe land
Frontier Hall, 2155 S. Race St
Denver, CO 80208 
(tel) 303-871-3632
(fax) 303-871-4747