Important Dates

Registration is coming...start planning now!

Registration for 2012 January term and spring semester courses begins on November 7, 2011. Find out your time to register by checking the Registration Schedule on the Registrar's Office website.  The registration schedule is based on completed  credits.  This does not include your fall semester courses.  Transcripts for courses taken elsewhere must arrive in the Linfield Registrar’s Office by Nov. 3 in order to be evaluated in time to count toward your completed credits for registration.  If you are not sure how many credits you have, check your transcript on WebAdvisor. 

Before registering for classes, you will need to meet with your Faculty Advisor and be approved to register in WebAdvisor. Here are some tips for planning a valuable advising meeting:

• Schedule early.  Your advisor is meeting with alot of students right before registration.  Don't wait to the last minute to schedule your appointment.
• Set goals for the advising appointment.  What do you hope to get out of the appointment?  What do you hope to learn?  Do you have questions beyond simply what courses you should take?  Write them down and arrive at the appointment with a clear idea of the information that you want to come away with.
• Come prepared!  Print your program evaluation and transcript from WebAdvisor (the program evaluation function on WebAdvisor is new and improved!).  Review the list of course offerings on the Registrar's Office website or on WebAdvisor and sketch out your proposed schedule for January Term and Spring.  Bring your college catalog, LC worksheet, and any other useful records.
• Talk about more than just classes.  Because you already did the legwork on putting together a schedule, it shouldn't take too much time for your advisor to review your proposed schedule and suggest some alternatives. Use the rest of your appointment time to discuss long-term planning in your major, ideas about internships and other professional experiences, or simply how things are going in your classes right now.  If you have alot of in-depth questions, consider scheduling a follow-up appointment with your advisor after registration, when his/her schedule isn't so booked.

After your advising appointment, check to make sure your advisor has approved you for registration by going to  “Approved for Registration?” on WebAdvisor.  You will also need to make sure your account is clear and resolve any issues causing a registration hold on your account. Refer to the Registration Information on the Registrar's Office website for more details.

The Registrar’s Office will be open to assist students with registration questions from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, November 7-11.

Faculty Corner: Making Your Advising Appointments Valuable and Stress-Free

Meeting individually with your advisees is a great way to develop a great advising relationship.  Use your one on one time with your advisees to explore their goals and aspirations, to develop a life plan that includes more than a simple class schedule discussion.  Use this time to get to know your students and for them to get to know you.  Faculty to student interactions are important in student success at college.

• Advisee Email Lists: You can email all of your advisees at one time by sending an email to myadvisees@linfield.edu. 
• Set Clear Expectations.  Let students know whether they need to schedule an appointment or visit you during drop-in advising hours.  Let the student know how  to prepare for the meeting (e.g. bringing a proposed course schedule, printing their program evaluation, brining their catalog, etc)
• Use WebAdvisor.  Keep WebAdvisor open during advising appointments to run program evaluations and check academic alerts for your advisees.  You can also use the program evaluation in WebAdvisor to explore different majors.
• Academic Alerts: If an advisee has received an alert, bring it up and discuss ways that the student can improve his/her performance.
• Discuss more than class schedules. Consider asking open-ended questions such as:
  • What opportunities have you pursued or do you plan to pursue to apply what you’re learning to “the real world”--through internships, volunteer work, service activities, co-curricular activities, leadership, offcampus study, research with a professor?
  • How are you preparing for the diverse world you’ll enter? Can you read and speak another language? Have you sought out experiences and classes which focus on global issues and perspectives of diverse groups? Have you lived, worked, or studied in a cultural community different than your own--do you plan to?
  • Are you talking to your professors about your work and getting ideas about how you can enhance your skills?
  • Are you taking advantage of study groups, tutoring, the writing center, and other supplementary help so you can do your best work and develop your skills?
• Refer to Resources: considering referring students to the appropriate college resources:  Learning Support Services, Counseling, Career Development, etc. Check out this useful list of academic support offices on campus.
• Track Advising Meetings.  Consider printing your advisee list from WebAdvisor to help keep track of your advising visits.  Clear them to register on WebAdvisor immediately following the meeting or keep a record of your appointments and clear them all at once. Don't wait until just before registration to clear your students. Let your students know that you will clear them before registration. 
• Contact us!  If you need assistance with advising or have any questions please call the academic advising office- we are here to support you!

Exploring Potential Majors?  Check Out This Course!

Information session on Tuesday, November 1 at Noon in Walker 124 (Career Development Hub)

Michael Hampton, Director of the Career Development Office,  will offer IDST 298 Career Exploration Experience: Through the Lens of the Wine Industry (4 credits) in January Term.

Students will be able to explore a variety of careers and industries through experiential learning opportunities.  The course will include: Seminars (skills of the job search, marketing yourself, and career decision making), guest speakers, company & organization tours, job shadows, and informational interviewing.  Students will view first hand a multitude of professions to help them in the career decision making process.

This course will provide an up-close view of several aspects of the wine industry including: Technology, Marketing, Economics, Tourism, Import/Export, Production, Distribution, Sales, Social Service, Non-profit, Human Resources, Immigration, Science, Nutrition, Law, Global Aspects, Associations, Public Policy, Management, Accounting, Environment, Retail, and more.

Major of the Month - International Relations

The International Relations major, approved just last year by the Faculty Assembly, provides an exciting new opportunity for students interested in global issues "to integrate concepts across disciplines, to push intellectual boundaries, to think critically and creatively about a wide range of international issues, and to apply their coursework in real-world settings.  In so doing, it promotes the development of the interdisciplinary knowledge and leadership skills necessary to excel in an increasingly interconnected world." 

Why become an International Relations major?

1. International and global issues are not only interesting, but matter more now than ever before.
   War. Economic crisis. Debt. Terrorism. Climate change. Disease. Immigration. Drugs. Education. Human rights. Refugees. Poverty. Piracy. Nuclear weapons. Ethnic conflict. Gender equality. All have critical transnational dimensions and major implications for the lives of millions.
2. The job market is globalizing.
   It is not just that more jobs have an international component, but interconnectedness is breaking down traditional disciplinary and vocational divides.  Employers increasingly value more balanced, versatile, and innovative candidates.  An international education cultivates a dynamic and interdisciplinary skill set well suited to excel in rapidly evolving professional environments.
3. Studying abroad will change your life.
   Studying overseas helps you see the world from a completely new perspective, reflect upon your own national identity, and provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop proficiency in a foreign language.
4. The IR major is customizable.
   IR majors have considerable flexibility in choosing their course of study, along with built-in incentives to double-major (up to 12 credits can double-count).
5. There are other perks.
   You can study for a semester in DC, conduct collaborative research with a faculty member, take January term courses abroad, participate in structured public debates on international issues, and get involved in student clubs.
6. The world needs you.
   We live in a time of unprecedented global change.  Yet what defines our time is not simply that change is all around us.  It is that individuals are ever more capable of exercising influence in international contexts and hopefully moving society down better paths.

What career paths does the IR major lead to?

Given its interdisciplinary focus, the IR major capitalizes on the liberal arts mission to cultivate a dynamic skill set well suited for excellence in:

• Government and public policy (ranging from being a foreign service officer at the US State Department to the federal service to state and local agencies)
• Law (e.g. international, corporate, environmental, and beyond)
• Intergovernmental organizations (e.g. the UN, the IMF, and World Health Organization)
• The non-profit sector (e.g. Human Rights Watch, Mercy Corps, or the Gates Foundation)
• The private sector (multinational corporation, consulting, small and medium businesses)
• Communication (e.g. public relations, journalism, and beyond)
• Education (ranging from academic to administration to primary and secondary)

Check out the International Relations website for more information and an advising guide.

Pre-Nursing Advising Update

Students interested in pre-nursing are required to meet with the pre-nursing advisor prior to registering for classes.  Most of the pre-nursing students have already met with Janet Peterson.   Please direct any pre-nursing student who has not met with Janet Peterson to do so as soon as possible. 

The current requirements for pre-nursing and some tools for your students to use to assist in tracking their progress are listed on the Pre-nursing website.  This includes a list of current pre-requisites, a pre-requisite tracking sheet, important dates and a pre-requisite GPA calculator.

If you or your students have any questions or concerns about pre-nursing please do not hesitate to contact Janet (japeters@linfield.edu ) or x2248.

Jan Term Course on the Portland Campus

Looking for a great Jan Term class?  Dr. Hillary Crane is teaching SOAN 229 Contemporary Chinese Society (4 credits) on the Portland Campus in January 2012.  The course will meet MWF from 10:00-2:00 and 2:00-4:00 and  is available to both Mac and Portland campus students.  This is a great opportunity for students interested in the topic and wanting to satisfy an IS or GP Linfield Curriculum requirement.  Students from the Portland area can live at home and take this class!

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