Academic Orientation FAQs

Banner SPACMNT – Academic Orientation Key

EMAP	Students placing into ENGL101A, ENGL101 or above
IMAP	Students placing into ELAP courses
D-EMAP	Students placing into IERW courses
CE-ESL	Students placing into CE-ESL classes
EMAP no  course placements found*	Students who have done the orientation prior to the scores appearing

* Note:  The system defaults to the EMAP track if it cannot find placements.

When a student attempts to do the orientation track prior to waiting the required number of days for course placements to go in the system or before taking the test, the student is allowed to see the orientation but on the screen where the placements show up midway through the orientation, it will show a message that says “no course placements found” and there is a link that the student is instructed to click that identifies the possible reasons why there are no course placements with instructions on what to do in those cases. The student can log in again, once course placements are in the system and get the correct track and get course placements if they have followed the proper steps the second time around.

The New Online Orientation - FAQs

When will it start?

1.        Accuplacer ESL test takers  will be directed to the academic online orientation starting October 30, 2017. Accuplacer test takers and new students submitting college ready level scores on SAT, ACT, TOEFL and IELTS have been directed to new academic orientation  since late July 2017.

How is the academic orientation accessed?

2.       It is accessible through the student’s MYMC account.  A link labeled Academic Orientation is located under the heading “New Students” on the homepage.

How does it work?

3.       When the student logs on the academic orientation it automatically accesses the student’s SOATEST data from Banner and the student will be presented with the appropriate orientation track based on their course placement. There are four orientation tracks: EMAP for students placing into ENGL 101 or higher, D-EMAP for students placing into developmental English, IMAP for students placing into ELAP courses, or CE-ESL for students testing into the CE-ESL program. While the EMAP, D-EMAP and IMAP share similar content, each of those tracks has several slides that are unique to those populations. The CE-ESL track has information specific to that population. The orientation presents material in a multimodal format, using audio, video and text content. Closed captioning for audio and video is available and the format  is ADA complaint.

What about course placement information?

4.       The academic orientation has five modules. The course placements are presented in the fourth module and include an explanation of the placement.

How can I see it?

5.       Counselors and staff that want to view the academic orientation can see the EMAP version by logging into their own MYMC account.

How many times can a student view it? Does it update test results?

6.       A student may view the content as many times as needed. The course placement information is refreshed in the system on a daily basis so therefore should a student retest or submit new scores for an SAT or ACT TOEFL, or IELTS they will be able to see that updated course placement by logging on again.  Please note, the orientation has NOT yet been programmed to show placements based on APPE and APPM notations in Banner at this time.

Is there a waiting time for course placements to show up in the orientation after testing?

7.       Yes, if the student takes the regular Accuplacer test at MC they must wait 48 hours for the course placements to be visible on the orientation. For students taking the Accuplacer ESL, it may take as long as 10 days before they can log in and see their scores. Because the ELAP committee has to score the tests and get that data into Banner and that turnaround time may vary depending on the time of year, Accuplacer ESL test takers will receive instructions from Assessment Center staff with the exact date their score will be viewable on the orientation.

What if the student logs on before  their course placement data is in Banner?

8.       If a student logs on before course placements are in Banner, the system will default to the EMAP track and no placement results will show up. The orientation includes several warnings to students to wait the prerequisite time before logging on. Students who complete the orientation without receiving placements will be able to log back in after the appropriate time and see their placements.

What will the student receive after they complete the orientation?

9.       After the student completes all the orientation modules,  he or she will be able to print a certificate of completion with course placements listed. The certificate is also sent to the student’s MC email address. If the student logs in and does not complete the entire orientation in one sitting, they can log back in again and start where they left off. A reminder email is sent to those students who have started but not completed the orientation.

How will a counselor or staff person know that they student has completed the online academic orientation?

After a student completes the orientation, a notation will show up on Banner’s General Comment Screen so that counselors and MC staff will be able to verify which specific track the student has completed. It should be noted that if the student has logged on BEFORE assessment results are available, the system defaults to the EMAP track and thus the notation in Banner cannot be relied upon to correctly identify the placement. The possible notations on the general comment screen are: EMAP, D-EMAP, IMAP, CE-ESL.

        After the student completes the orientation, what will they need to do?

10.   The orientation directs the student to make an appointment with a counselor for guidance with first semester course planning and confirmation of their course placement. The three counseling departments are in the process of implementing small group advising sessions that will be offered to incoming students during peak times.  At this time, we expect that small group sessions will be offered to students that take the Accuplacer ESL test from mid-December through late January. All others, students taking the regular Accuplacer or showing qualifying SAT, ACT, TOEFL or IELTS scores will be expected to make a regular Counseling appointment. 

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)

EMAP Update

Dear Counseling Faculty and Staff:

We would like to inform you that the new EMAP will be having a “soft” limited launch from Wednesday July 5^th-Friday July 7^th.

The updated EMAP will not only provide students with an overview of academic information through text, audio and animated graphics but also will display a student’s course placements based on the Accuplacer, SAT or ACT scores found in Banner. A test link to the orientation is found below.

Accuplacer test takers that come into either the Rockville or the Germantown Assessment Center on Wednesday, July 5^th through Friday July 7^th will be given instructions on how to access the new EMAP from their MYMC accounts. After July 7^th, the Assessment Centers will revert back to the old instructions so as to give us the chance to assess any problems. At this point we are testing only EMAP/Dev EMAP with IMAP to come in the fall.

The orientation will direct students to make an advising appointment with a counselor through Starfish. A printable certificate of completion with the student’s course placements is provided at the end of the orientation and is also sent to their MC email.  Counselors will also know that a student has completed either the Developmental EMAP, the regular EMAP or IMAP track (when the IMAP become available) by checking the comment screen in Banner. We have done extensive work with IT on developing the coding required to ensure that the orientation displays the student’s course placements based on the data found in Banner’s SOATEST screen. Because of the recent addition of Alternative Placement Program codes for some of our incoming MCPS students as well as some unique cases we may not be able to anticipate we ask that as you see these students coming in for appointments you verify the course placements and let us know of any problems that may arise.

To access the test link for the EMAP version of the orientation please click on the link below. Please note that as this is a shared test link viewed by many it will not display exactly the way a student would see it if they were linking on for the first time through their MYMC account.

: https://academicorientation.montgomerycollege.edu/?netId=t1234567890&fn=test&ln=test&em=ADGOrientation@montgomerycollege.edu &st=EMAP&rp=IMAP_2&ep=EMAP_2&mp=MATH_2&sp=IMAP_3

Kudos to Linda and Jessica for their diligent work!  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

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 Procedures for CB215 - January 2010

General Notes:

WALK-IN SHIFTS - NEW ROLES

• Phone Counselor, identified on walk-in schedule (separate email to describe duties will be sent)
• Triage Counselor, identified on walk-in schedule (separate email sent to describe duties)
• Express Counselor, needs to be identified by each shift (duties below)
  
  Pulls students off list who have minor issues, as determined by the triage counselor.
  
  Issues include but are not limited to: third attempts, prerequisite errors, eMAP consult after getting test scores.
  
  If it looks like the issue will take more time, refer back to triage. (State up front that if you determine they may need more time you will refer them back to the main list)

IMAP PROGRAMS

Starting Tuesday, January 12th, check-in for IMAP programs will take place at an alternate location. Most likely in TC136 or CC015 but this has not been finalized.

COMPUTER SIGN-IN

The new electronic sign-in program will be launched in late January/early February. Training will be provided.

Specific Procedures:

1. Students will enter CB215 and sign in on paper.
2. Students will be called up individually to speak with the triage counselor to assess need. The triage counselor will determine if student should be referred to another office or seen by FT/PT counselor, cadre or express counselor.

eMAP Packet Improvement

Please take a look at pg. 2 of the eMAP Interpretation Packet.

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/studev/emappacket.pdf