Last Day to Change POS/Major for Fall 2017

Good Morning All,

I wanted to let you know that the deadline for students to change their major during a standard fall or spring semester has changed from the end of the third week of classes to the end of the second week of classes.  I have been informed that the last day for a student to update their major for Fall 2017 is Monday, September 11, 2017.

Please feel free to share this information.  We are working on adding this date to the Important Student Dates and Deadlines website.  We have also updated our form to indicate that students have until the end of the second week of a fall or spring semester to update their major, and are working on getting this posted online too.  (For winter and summer, the deadline for now is still the end of the first week of classes).

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  Thanks!

Sincerely,

Katie Kelpy, M.A.

Campus Director of Enrollment Services and Assistant Registrar

Germantown Campus

Montgomery College

Office of Enrollment Services

20200 Observation Drive

Germantown, MD  20876

240-567-7817 (phone)

240-567-7815 (fax)

Fall 2017: On-Time Registration Policy

·         Remember that MC follows the on-time registration policy.  Please note that effective Fall 2017, changes to this process have occurred.  Students must be registered for a course before its first meeting, unless students meet the criteria for one of the five exceptions to the policy and can provide supporting documentation:

o   Assessment: If a student is assessed by the department and it is determined that the student should be moved to another course.  Approval from department chair required.

o   Course cancellation: If a course is cancelled too late for the student to add another course on time.  Approval from department chair required.

o   College error: If there is a documented registration error by a College staff member.  Approval from campus registrar required.

o   Medical: If there is a documented medical emergency that prohibited the student from registering online or in person prior to the start of the class.  Approval from campus registrar required.

o   Add/Drop: Student was registered on time and dropped for reasons other than listed above and has been deemed academically ready to re-register in the course.  This exception mostly focuses on students who have attended class and purchased books, but were dropped for nonpayment and wish to re-register as a one-time exception.  Approval from department chair required.

Please note the addition of the fifth exception.  Students should go to the department chair or campus registrar based on the reason they are registering late.  If the appeal is approved, the student must bring back all documentation for processing to Enrollment Services within three business days of the approval.  All appeals must be received by the 20% course completion date.  Individual instructors should not be signing forms or providing approval for a student to register for a class late.  Any questions about this new process can be referred to your campus registrar or your department chair.

Fall 2017 - PACE Ends Sept. 7

Just a few notes as we come to the close of "PACE season":

1. Please continue to make sure everyone is aware that the Reading cutoff score for PACE is 79 (they must have 79 or higher). Thanks for reminding everyone of this!
2. Please also note that we do not allow students to retake the PACE writing sample. We're seeing some students referred to retake, and we have to tell them that their original placement is final. If you can help us cut down on disappointments, it would be great. Students can only take the sample once; there is no reconsideration of placement.
3. Our PACE testing will end on Thursday, September 7. Students who test this late will only be placed in one of our late-start sections. 

Rebecca Eggenschwiler
Associate Professor of English
Montgomery College, Rockville
219 Macklin Tower
240-567-1751

MATH098 Placement - SAT/ACT

If a student has a SAT math score of 550-590 or ACT math score of 24 or 25, Banner is coded to permit students to register for MATH098 - not MATH098 + MATH165.   If the student desires to take both in the same semester, an override must be provided by a counselor/advisor or by someone in the math department. 

Coding Issues in Banner - What to Do?

Over the past few weeks, you have likely encountered students that “should” be able to register for a course, but are receiving pre-requisites errors.   After some investigation it appears there are a number of issues with the coding in Banner, mostly due to recent changes in the developmental/ELAP sequences.

If you encounter what appears to be an issue with coding in Banner, please take the following steps:

1. 1)      Check the advising blog, colleagues or the Counseling Chairs to see if the Student Information Systems Specialists  (Debra Ritenour/Jennifer Gottwald) are already aware of the issue.
2. 2)      Contact the Student Information Systems Specialists directly to see if you can resolve the issue with their assistance.
3. 3)      If necessary, provide pre-requisite override(s) in Banner and document justification in SPACMNT.

Also, there have been a number of registration issues with students in ELAP courses attempting to register for math courses.  In the case of students with placements into MATH092, MATH093 or MATH096 with an assessment level lower than READ120, you may refer them to Math Department Chairs to discuss permission to enroll in these courses. 

New EMAP Ready to Launch!

It is with a great deal of excitement that I write to alert you that the new online academic orientation is ready to launch. As you know the old EMAP was out of date and was in need of extensive updating. The old version will no longer be accessible in lieu of this new version.  Please note that the old link, will redirect students to the new version. So, we do not have to rush to update our documents to facilitate the transition. Your counseling colleagues, Jessica Present and Linda Robinson, have worked diligently with the vendor ADG and with IT to successfully pilot the EMAP this summer. Kudos to them for tackling this complex endeavor. The new EMAP is currently accessible to students and you may have already noticed some students coming in with their new certificates. Students who have taken the Accuplacer will be directed to the New Academic Orientation link that is found on the homepage of the student’s MYMC account.

Although the online IMAP is also ready, that option will not be made available to Accuplacer ESL test takers until the fall. IMAPs will continue for the remainder of the summer.

Additional notes for Counselors:

·         The new online academic orientation certificate contains placement information and next steps.

·         Counselors can check (for students who do not have certificates) that the online orientation has been completed by looking in the comments section in Banner.     

·         Please remember that alternative placements (APPE/APPM) are not yet coded into the orientation so, always check Banner for test scores.

·         Please note that if a student logs onto the orientation too soon (prior to 48 hours after Accuplacer testing) or has no test scores in the system, the system will direct that student to the “default” information for the English 101 placement, but will not show placement. So, always verify the correct placement in Banner.

Any IT related questions should be directed to the IT Help Desk as usual. Other questions about the EMAP can be directed to Jessica Present and Linda Robinson.

Best regards,

Tonya R. Mason, Ph.D.

Collegewide Dean for Student Success

and Rockville Student Affairs

Montgomery College

Rockville Campus, 605 Macklin Tower

Rockville, MD 20850

(240) 567-5052 (VM)

(240) 567-5028 (Fax)

Advising Worksheets Updated for 2017-18

Counselors and Faculty Advisors,

The Advising Worksheets for Associate degrees have been updated and posted online.  All the current worksheets are based on the new general education program.

The most current Advising Worksheets can be found at the Advising Worksheet Index:

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/plain.aspx?id=15000

These links are also available in the 2017-2018 online catalog in each curriculum:

“All students should review the Advising Worksheet and consult an advisor.”

The Advising Worksheet Archives have the Advising Worksheets based on the old general education program and any deleted programs:

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/EDU/plain.aspx?id=15001

The link to the archives is also available on the Advising Worksheet Index:

“Advising Worksheets (Degree Planning Forms) Prior to 2017 - 2018”

  

The Certificate and LOR Worksheets are still in the process of being updated.  The Advising Worksheets Archives is also a work in progress.

If you discover any errors in the content, bad links or non-functional worksheets, please email  me the details and I will fix them immediately.

Also, if you need an old advising worksheet that you cannot locate in the Archives, I will be happy to email them to you directly and post them to the Archives.

Thank you for your patience with this process and I appreciate all the emails I receive that help keep the advising worksheets and the online catalog as accurate as possible for the MC community. 

Anthony Solano, MA, LCPC

Distance Counselor/Professor

Chair, Collegewide Curriculum Committee

Counseling & Advising

Germantown Campus

Montgomery College

240-567-1997

CE Students: ACCU ESL Retake Referrals

1.  A new ESL student finds out during the IMAP session that he/she needs to take R910/W910 courses. The student is not happy with the placement scores. He/she does not want to take a CE class or wait a semester cycle before retesting. 
   The student needs a referral from the ELAP chair to retest.
   
2. A new ESL student finds out during the IMAP session that he/she needs to take CE courses. The student is not happy with the placement scores. He/she does not want to way a semester cycle before retesting.
   
   The student needs a referral from a CE counselor/coordinator/professor to retest. Most likely, the CE counselor attending the IMAP session can sign or decline the retake request (the one used by counseling).
   
3.  A CE student completes an ESL course in the current semester. Does not have an “end of course form”. CE student comes to the assessment center asking for a retake. Assessment Staff checks the student in Banner and sees the student completed a CE course (the grade for the course is in Banner and shows completion). The CE student is allowed to retest.
   
   No referral needed.
   
4. A CE student completes an ESL course one, two or X number of semesters ago. Does not have an “end of course form”. CE student comes to the assessment center asking for a retake. Assessment Staff will find the following conditions:
   
   
   a)    Banner shows the student completed a CE courseb)    One or more semester cycles have already gone byc)    ACCU ESL scores are only good for 1 year
   All these conditions allow the CE student is to retest.
   No referral needed.

University of Baltimore - Aspiring Baccalaureate Scholars Program (ABSP)

UB has launched a new Aspiring Baccalaureate Scholars Program (ABSP), which offers $1,000 to students who have earned an associate’s degree and who enroll in at least 3 credits at UB in the fall. Please note only 200 ABSP awards are available to incoming students. This award is in addition to our merit transfer scholarships of up to $3,000, for which students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits. Your students can learn more at UB’s transfer admission decision day on Thursday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

The dates for all admission events that will precede the start of fall classes on Monday, Aug. 28, are listed below my signature.

·         Tomorrow, Thursday, August 10, 6pm, CPA Graduate Information Session

·         Friday, August 11, Financial Aid Friday on Facebook: Chat with representatives from the offices of admission, financial aid and the bursar

·         Saturday, August 12, Admission open 9-Noon

·         Sunday, August 13, 11am-1pm, UB @ USG Summer Sunday

·         Week of August 14, Admission office open until 7pm, Monday through Thursday, 4:30 on Friday

·         Wednesday, August 16, 11am-5pm, UB @ USG

·         Thursday, August 17, 9am-8pm, Transfer Decision Day

·         Saturday, August 19, Admission open 9-Noon

·         Week of August 21, Admission office open until 7pm, Monday through Thursday, 4:30 on Friday

·         Saturday, August 26, Admission open 9-Noon

·         Monday, August 28: Classes start

·         Week of August 28, Admission office open until 7pm, Monday through Thursday, 4:30 on Friday

·         Week of September 4, Admission office open until 7pm, Monday through Thursday, 4:30 on Friday

Please note that if students can’t connect with us in Baltimore, they can meet with us at the Universities at Shady Grove on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

Thanks!
Seth

New Course! DATA 101 – Introduction to Data Science

Montgomery College is now offering DATA 101 – Introduction to Data Science for Fall 2017 as part of our new Data Science program.

The demand for data science skills is exploding at all levels across a growing number of careers and fields such as business, science, social science, and many others -- and this course provides a great opportunity to gain both practical and marketable skills in this dynamic field. 

• A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education cited an analysis that “found an additional 137,000 entry-level jobs for liberal-arts graduates who had data-analysis or management skills. It also found that such data-analysis jobs paid an average of $12,700 above the average salary for jobs traditionally open to liberal-arts graduates without such skills.” 

• Dr. DJ Patil, former U.S. Chief Data Scientist under President Obama (and former University of Maryland faculty member), famously stated “I'm the U.S. Chief Data Scientist — and I got my start in community college.” Read more about his  remarkable career.

To learn more about DATA 101 and our new program, visit our Data Science page -- or email for more information.

To register for DATA 101, Log in to MyMC, click on "Registration," choose the “Register for Classes” icon, and select "Fall 2017."  The Course Registration Numbers (CRNs) are below. Register soon… seats are filling up.

Introduction to Data Science - DATA 101 (3 sections to choose from)

CRN: 25128              MW    8:00 am - 9:15 am Rockville      

CRN: 25139              MW    2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Takoma Park/Silver Spring         

CRN: 25109              TR       5:30 pm - 6:45 pm Germantown          

Please contact Professor Brain Kotz in Math/Stat, at the Germantown campus, for questions regarding the Data Science curriculum/courses.

MATH092 Option for MATH115 or MATH117

If a student placed into MATH093/MATH096/MATH115A/MATH117A and has really struggled in algebra content, MATH092 is an option.  However, MATH092 is NOT a good option for students in need of MATH110 to fulfill the math foundation.  It is an option for those in need of MATH115 or MATH117.