In This Issue:

• BPCC Provides Credit for What you Know
• NSU Advising Helps Students Reach Goals
• MSU Responds to Current Advising Trends for Adults

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BPCC Provides Credit for What you Know

BOSSIER CITY – Looking for a way to earn college credit based on your experience? Accelerate your education with exciting new opportunities through the CALL program at Bossier Parish Community College. Summer classes start June 1st and for the first time, BPCC will offer a Portfolio Workshop during the summer term. New and current students can enroll in the Portfolio Workshop and experience the process of creating an academic portfolio. This process is one of several ways students can earn credit through Prior Learning Assessment. At BPCC, Prior Leaning Assessment is the process of earning credit for college-level learning through work, training, volunteering, or personal experiences. While PLA works through a variety of avenues, Portfolio Assessment has become a vital link in our students accelerating to degree completion. The Portfolio Workshop offers college students the opportunity to earn college credit for knowledge and skills attained through educational or life experiences. Students enrolled in the workshop will work with an instructor to identify courses for which each individual should consider creating a portfolio. The instructor will take students through the process of identifying learning outcomes and documenting learning experiences. The workshop will blend the use of online instruction and face-to-face sessions in the evening to help working adults participate fully in this exciting opportunity. This workshop is a great way to return to college if you have been away for some time or to accelerate your time to degree completion if you are currently enrolled. A $50 fee will be assessed to all students enrolled in the workshop. If being a part of this exciting workshop interests you, our CALL team is here to help. E-mail a CALL team member at call [at] bpcc [dot] edu or by phone at 318-678-6050. What are you waiting for? Answer the CALL to participate in a summer Portfolio Workshop.

For more information on CALL, go to http://www.yourcallla.org.

NSU Advising Helps Students Reach Goals

NATCHITOCHES – David Bullard is seeking a general studies degree at Northwestern State University after a 30-year hiatus so that he has a college education to fall back on in case the recession gets worse. “I figured I’d go back before the economy goes sour,” Bullard said. Bullard, a general foreman for Taylor Electric Company in Dodson, was originally enrolled at Louisiana Tech in the 1970s but was not able to complete his degree. Bullard majored in general studies at NSU because he found Northwestern had the best online program to suit his needs. With his busy schedule, working 40-50 hours per week as an electrician, on-call as a volunteer firefighter and taking classes to fulfill his Firefighter One certification, Bullard said the University College helped him work around his schedule and matched his 30 year old classes with today’s prerequisites. Bullard said a college education is expensive and there is no reason for someone to fall behind or take more classes than he or she has to with all the available resources. “Using an advisor properly can lighten your workload, save you money and help you graduate in the most efficient time possible,” Bullard said. Due to budget cuts, NSU has eliminated printed summer and fall class schedules, placing those schedules online. That could lead some students to schedule their classes online with no help from an advisor. “David [Bullard] is an example of a very self-sufficient, driven student who doesn’t have any problems with looking at his degree audit and figuring out what classes to take,” Steve Hicks, coordinator of the University College, said. “He’s also smart enough, after he’s done it, to have an adviser double check for him. Some students don’t do that, and they could make mistakes.” Hicks said it is best to consult an academic advisor because of their greater wealth of knowledge concerning university resources and programs. The general studies degree can be challenging to advise for, Hicks said, since every student is different. It is most labor-intensive during a general studies major’s third and fourth year because their schedule consists mostly of electives that still must meet the degree’s guidelines. “I had done my research when I got there so I knew the requirements and what to expect to get credit for,” Bullard said. “But between me knowing what my final goal was and them having the experience and knowledge to advise me towards my best options online, they helped me tremendously.” The University College works with over 700 students in two categories, freshmen with undeclared majors and general studies majors. The University College also oversees university-wide programming like the Academic Center Tutoring Program, Disability Services, Major’s Fair, Summer Bridge Program. They also advise students in the CALL (Center for All Louisiana Learners) program.

For more information on CALL, go to http://www.yourcallla.org.

MSU Responds to Current Advising Trends for Adults

LAKE CHARLES – “Beginning with summer 2009, the Office of Adult learning and Retention will implement changes to the current advising and degree planning processes for students enrolled in the university’s CALL Program. These changes are being made in an effort to increase the efficiency and improve the sequencing of the current CALL advisement process. The university’s CALL Program Coordinator received an overwhelming request from CALL students to provide individualized degree sequencing and advising. In an effort to accommodate the needs of the CALL students, the previous advising processes were reevaluated and changes were made. Previously, all summer and fall advising took place simultaneously and in a quick manner. The rush to advise both semesters was not consistent with the university’s mission of providing “Excellence with a Personal Touch,” nor did it allow for the adult learners motivating factors for pursuing their education or individual learning characteristics to be taken into account. The new advising process will allow CALL students to utilize several advising tools converted from written form to an electronic form. This conversion will allow the adult learner to become more actively involved in their advising and will help them maintain perspective regarding their end goals. This new approach will allow us to advise by semester and to create an advising atmosphere to meet the learning styles and traits of the adult learner. The Office of Adult Learning & Retention is focused on engaging our adult learner population and providing an advising process that enables and guarantees student satisfaction. Matthew Welsh, Coordinator of Adult Learning and Retention, said, “McNeese State University feels strongly about offering our CALL students one-on-one interaction and providing them with the tools necessary for academic excellence. The strong ideology behind the university’s mission was one fundamental reason for implementing this new approach to advising.” Current research suggests an active and open line of communication between the advisor and advisee proves beneficial to both the student and the university. The key to student and program success lies in providing adequate student support by listening to student feedback and implementing new strategies, if any, based on the student feedback. The Office of Adult Learning and Retention has taken this into account with this new approach. Welsh stated, “This new approach to advising is being tested to increase student satisfaction and advising efficiency and effectiveness. However, we will listen to our student’s feedback and make adjustments to this new advising approach based on their needs.”

For more information on CALL, go to http://www.yourcallla.org.