NEW STAFF
Cho
Kim - Registrar's Office
STAFF LEAVING
Shahnaz Khaja - Enrollment Services
Christy Tanton - UG Admission
Isaac Reddic - Financial Aid
Katie Stoudenmire - UG Admission
Kerry Schneidewind - UG Admission
Rod Del Rio - Bursar Birthdays
Kimberly Scott - Aug. 30
Luisa del Rosal - Aug. 31
VIPs -
Very Important Poniesfont>
Some
of our VIPs this month are:
Kathleen Hayden - I am a junior in high school from
Sugar Land and I just recently visited SMU on a campus visit. I got the
chance to speak with you before I went out on my tour of the gorgeous campus and
I really just wanted to thank you for taking that time to speak with me!
All of your advice and things you had to say about the university just
encouraged me to do anything and everything I can to become a Mustang!
Your passion for the school and its students was a huge impact on helping me
understand what an outstanding school SMU really is. But thankfully I will
be back to experience it all again when I come for Mustang Monday. Thank
you again for taking so much time to talk to me personally and for helping me
realize everything SMU has to offer.
Charles Harper
- I got a call from a very nice person with a distinctive accent [Charles] who
caught my error. I evidently made payments in two sections. He
cancelled one, so it was fixed. Very nice + responsive. He works in
the Bursar's office. He said that he was delighted that my daughter is
going to SMU + made my day! A great representative of the university.
Happy Dad
Stephen Forrest and
Damon Wilkins sent to Cate Hamilton - Thank you very
much for the picture (holding the mace, that is!) during commencement!
Very thoughtful! You know I have a deep appreciation for what the
"Academic Ceremonies" people do at SMU. In particular, what you did during
the transition this past year was phenomenal. Indeed, a very nice job.
Jose Lage, Faculty Senate President
Mary Ann Frye
- Thank you for all of the information and assistance you provided this morning.
I cannot thank you enough as I understand how busy you must be. This is a
very confusing time for my wife and I as we are new to all of this and the time
you so generously gave me this morning helped demystify the [Federal Perkins
Loan] process. I am proud of my daughter for her selection of and
admittance into the SMU family and the time you gave me today only reinforced my
pride in my daughters decision. I wish to thank you once again for all of
our assistance. Happy Parents
Claire Brooks
- Claire received a beautiful orchid plant from a family in appreciation of her
steadfastness in getting their student registered in a summer school class that
had a waitlist. Claire worked diligently with the family over several
weeks and was able to secure a spot for the student. The family was
pleased and grateful for her help. Family of a Visiting Student
Blanton Building staff - Damon Wilkins and Stanley Stubblefield - [SMU's]
desire for excellence shows in every detail. One of the top things that I
noticed about SMU was the cleanliness of the men's room in the Blanton Building.
I looked at the faucets, and compared them to the faucets at my university.
I realize that not every bathroom at SMU will be pristine, but I believe that
when an organization pays attention to details, it shows that they are also
looking at the big picture. Every soap dispenser I used had soap in it.
I did not have to go on a soap hunt to wash my hands. The men's room had a
sign kindly requesting patrons to place paper towels into the trash receptacles.
Sometimes when we want to elicit a positive form of behavior, simply asking for
it politely can net great results. Prospective Graduate Student
Susan Evans
- Creating an entirely new curriculum in terms of philosophy and implementation
[the UC]
doesn't take just a village, it takes an entire university. And there are
some offices that consistently go above and beyond. Thank you, thank you,
thank you.
The Executive
Directors, Damon Wilkins, and Stanley Stubblefield - Thank you, thank
you, thank you . . . I am excited to start using the new [Blanton staff] lounge.
It looks very nice and comfy. Blanton Staff member This is
a typical comment. Many thanks for the work on recreating the 1st floor
break room and for hosting the open house this morning. The new room is a
1000% improvement, and is very much appreciated by the staff. John
Hall
Kelly Milazzo, Gena
Kelbert, and Charmissa Ajakaiye - what an outstanding team. These
three present a session at each summer AARO providing new students and their
families with information regarding Enrollment Services. They have worked
to develop a session that prepares the student and their family for a smooth
transition to SMU, We appreciate your commitment to our students and
families and the enthusiastic energy project at each session.
Important Dates
August 13 - UG Payment Due Date
SMU Trivia
Question
Answer
Work Anniversaries
Carol Morris
- 22 years
Rick Diaz - 21 years
Cheryl Moore - 17 years
Damon Wilkins - 10 years
Tali Koerner - 9 years
Kellen Lewis - 8 years
Stephany Coleman - 7 years
Mirjan Laci - 6 years
Paola Sotomayor - 6 years
Charmissa Ajakaiye - 6 years
Veronica Decena
- 5 years
Allie Bures - 2 years
Allison Witucki - 1 year
Katie Stoudenmire - 1 year
New Website for University Bursar's Office
During the retreat, staff was divided into small groups to brainstorm ideas related to better service to our students and families.
One group focused on general communications and one group looked at the Bursar's
website. Both groups has similar observations. The office did not
have good name identification so the first initiative was to brand the office -
the Office of the University Bursar. Pat Woods was the University Bursar
but the office was Student Financial Services.
The groups decided that students should be asked about their use of the website
and how they obtained information with regard to their student accounts.
The survey showed that the website was not a primary source of information,
students and families got assistance through email, telephone, or in person.
Beginning in the fall of 2011, under the leadership of Damom Wilkins, Pat Woods
began a major, comprehensive effort to redesign the Bursar website to enhance
its effectiveness and use to provide students and families with needed
information related to costs and payments for their SMU education. To
complete the leadership team, Jeremy Parish and Paley Wu were added.
Jeremy would work with staff from the Bursar's office and other areas of
Enrollment Services to evaluate the content and to create the text for the site.
Damon and Paley would work on the look and layout of the site -- Paley providing
the technical expertise to actually design the page layouts and navigation.
"The result is amazing," said Pat Woods as she thanked all of the staff who spent
the better part of the fall and spring terms working on this project.
Please see for yourself -
http://smu.edu/bursar/
If you have
feedback, direct it to Damon Wilkins at
damonw@smu.edu .
Schedule.SMU for Events
Schedule.SMU is the university's name for room scheduling software purchased
to provide one source to schedule space at SMU. The product Ad Astra is used by many colleges and universities to schedule
academic space.
John Hall, University Registrar and Randy Phillips, Associate Dean of Dedman
College, were given the task to purchasing, installing, and implementing the Ad
Astra software to not only schedule classroom space but to provide a central
location to book space for campus events.
John and Randy began working with Ad Astra as the company prepared to
convert the software to the web. SMU planned to begin with the web-based
product. To prepare John and Randy met with representatives of the schools to create
the information needed to schedule classroom space. A technology team
under the leadership of Joe Papari was assembled that was headed by Monica
Cordero. Later Tom Gibbs was added to the team. Darrah Rippy was the
functional lead because of her duties preparing the Schedule of Classes each
term.
By the fall of 2011, Schedule.SMU was installed and ready to provide scheduling
assistance with classrooms. Since that time the team has worked on
the implementation of the scheduling of space for events. The Laura Lee
Blanton building will participate in a pilot project beginning in August to
schedule space through Schedule.SMU. The team also will begin
investigating the upgrade to 7.5 in Ad Astra planned for fall 2013.
SMU Medical School Diploma
If you have been in the 2nd floor lobby of the Blanton Building over the past
year, you may have noticed something was missing - the SMU Medical School
Diploma that had hung in the nook on the southeast side of the lobby.
Well, it is back.
You did not know SMU had a medical school? Through the research of Nancy
Skochdopole related to the diploma that was given to the Registrar's office from
the daughter of the graduate, SMU was a medical school before it opened to
undergraduates and theology students in 1915. A local Dallas Medical
School affiliated with SMU for a few year after our chartering in order for the Medical School to retain its standing to
provide medical school instruction. After the school obtained
accreditation on its own, the relationship was terminated.
The diploma was awarded in 1913 and was not framed properly to preserve this
precious piece of SMU history. With the assistance of Joan Gosnell,
University Archivist, the diploma was restored and framed to protect it for the
future. It has been replace in the 2nd floor lobby and is worth seeing.
Mark your calendar
August 19
Opening Convocation
August 13 - International AARO
August 14 - Final AARO
August 16-18 - Mustang
Corral
August 19 - Opening Convocation
August 20 - first day of class
Aug. 24 - last day to add/drop/enroll
Sept. 3 - Labor Day
Holiday
Sept. 7 - Mustang Monday
Sept. 24 - Early Intervention grades due
Sept. 28-29 - Family
Weekend
Oct. 8 - Mustang Monday
Oct. 15-16 - Fall Break
Oct.21 - Mid-term grades due
Oct. 26-27 -
Homecoming
Oct. 29 - 60% day for Federal Financial Aid
Oct.29 - Spring enrollment
begins for continuing students
Nov. 2 - Last day to drop a course
Nov.20 - Last day
to withdraw from the university
Nov. 21 - No classes/Offices open
Nov. 22-23 -
Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec. 3 - Last day of instruction
Dec. 3 - Mustang Monday
Dec. 4-5 - Reading Days
Dec.
6-12 - Final Examinations
Dec. 15 - December Graduation
Quotation of the Month
Forgiving is not forgetting; it's actually remembering -- remembering
and not using your right to hit back. It's a second chance for a new
beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important.
Especially if you don't want to repeat what happened.
Desmond Tutu
In 2012 the student body is 24 times larger, the faculty is 19 times
large, and the number of building is 50 times bigger plus 4 buildings on the
Plano campus and 27 buildings on the Taos campus.
Staff Changes Prepare Enrollment Services for
Fall 2012
New faces, faces in new roles, and new staffing structures will assist two
areas of Enrollment Services to meet the challenges of 2012-13. The
office of Transfer and Transition Services has welcomed new programs and Undergraduate Admissions adds staff, creates new
staffing structures and gives staff new duties.
In May, Nancy Skochdopole, Director of Transfer and Transition Services,
welcomed Claire Brooks and non-degree programs to her area. Claire has
worked with non-degree programs for many years at SMU. This move was made
to provide more administrative focus for this important program. Nancy also
will supervise Academic Ceremonies. Cate Hamilton was promoted to Assistant
Registrar/Director of Academic Ceremonies this summer and Kimberly Scott was
promoted to Coordinator of Administration for the
Registrar's office. By bringing these programs and their staff
together under one unit provides the needed staff to continue the excellence
provided as these program grown.
Undergraduate Admission completed a successful recruiting year under the
leadership of the new Dean of Undergraduate Admission Wes Waggoner.
After hitting the ground running in October, Wes has had 9 months to view
the process and recommend ways to move Undergraduate Admission to a place
that supports the recruiting goals of the university for the future.
The addition of two staff members to work closely with Integrated Marketing
in the planning, design, and implementation of a comprehensive marketing
campaign will be the most visible change. Many staff have taken on new
responsibilities and the summer has been spent updating information,
planning, and preparing for another year.
The school spotlights will be on campus again this fall to provide
prospective students with a day long opportunity to focus on their intended
course of study.
Meadows Spotlight - October 5
Cox Spotlight - October 19
Dedman College Spotlight - October 22
Simmons Spotlight - November 2
Lyle Spotlight - November 9
Undergraduate Admission staff will begin traveling to Previews scheduled
throughout August in California, Texas, the Southeast, the East coast, and
Midwest.
Remember prospective students visiting SMU may be identified by the red
backpack that they carry.