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STUDENT LIFE STUDIES (SLS)
STUDENT LIFE STUDIES (SLS)Access our new, streamlined project intake form to get your assessment project started! It's never too early to reach out.
What we learned (and did!) from last year's client focus groups: DSA staff appreciate the new report format that puts recommendations up front, the staff expertise, and posting reports on the SLS website. Our staff has been working to decrease the time it takes to write reports, getting results to clients faster, and we are increasing the amount of communication with clients throughout the project.
Need a little assessment refresher? Watch our videos, listen to our podcasts, and read our blog posts!
UNIVERSITY CENTER & SPECIAL EVENTS
We are preparing our facilities to safely welcome students back to campus for the fall semester, including readying our spaces to host academic classes.
We successfully hosted the first-ever completely virtual Beef Cattle Short Course, sponsored by the Texas A&M Animal Science Department.
We are installing a new, powerful wireless internet system throughout our facilities that will allow for more concurrent connections and great bandwidth for devices, enough for every seat in our venues to average 1.5 devices or 5,000 concurrent devices total.
MULTICULTURAL SERVICES
We hosted the First-Year APIDA (FAM) Mixer August 13 from 3 p.m. to 5 pm. FAM is a virtual program that welcomes incoming first-year students interested in engaging with the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community, where they converse with other APIDA students, learn about campus resources, and the history of the term APIDA.
The 33rd annual Excellence uniting Culture Education and Leadership (ExCEL) Conference will be held virtually on August 22. For conference details and more about how ExCEL assists freshmen in making a smooth transition from high school to college by cultivating relationships between peers and mentors, visit the ExCEL page.
We are excited to share information on a new position: program advisor for cultural community initiatives. This multifaceted position offers opportunities for supervision, leadership development, strategic planning, and oversight of programmatic functions in Black/African American community initiatives. Apply here.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DoIT)
All DoIT loaner laptops are checked out. As a reminder, if you are nearing or are past the due date, please return the device. If you have a long-term need, please reach out to help@doit.tamu.edu for guidance and options for purchasing new laptops.
The TAMU Division of IT is ending support of legacy phone systems. Nortel/Comdial systems will no longer be supported after Aug. 31 2021. Visit our website for more information.
We are rolling out Windows 10 feature updates to devices to apply changes related to settings, security, layout and fixes. Please read the email regarding the update schedule and let us know if you experience any issues.
RESIDENCE LIFE
Welcome to new live-in staff, all of whom have been training and preparing for our students: Community Directors: Lindsey Potter (Underwood/Harrington); Kaitlyn Aaron (Krueger); and Justin Majors (Lechner/McFadden). Graduate Hall Directors: Preston Knowles (Clements); Jacquelyn Askew (Haas); Taylor Jones (Moses); Polet Milian (Davis-Gary); Kassidy Giles (Hullabaloo); Jenn Daily (Hart); Jordan Howell (Mosher); Jenny Kotz (Wells); and Bertie Johnson (Appelt).
Campus housing move-in started August 8 by appointment only. Almost 2,500 students have moved in across the 50 buildings, and we have positive feedback about physical distancing and clear signage. PepsiCo provided water for distribution and New Student & Family Programs distributed welcome items. Residence Life provided COVID-19 health kits, including hand sanitizer, masks and thermometers.
Community Learning Centers will remain operational for student use with increased cleaning protocols to help combat COVID-19. All campus students have swipe access to enter the facilities that contain open-access computers, AggiePrint kiosks, and a variety of individual and group study spaces conducive to physical distancing.
Residence Life is happy to report that since last year we have recycled over 60 pounds of electronic waste. We received two grants from the Aggie Green Fund to provide recycling bins (pictured above) for students, faculty, and staff to responsibly deposit their old and broken electronics such as batteries, cords, and chargers. Discover bin locations and learn more.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Congratulations to Fish Camp and T-Camp on successfully completing the first-ever virtual camp season! In the words of one freshman: "I am beyond impressed with my counselors and co-chairs! They did an amazing job pouring into #TAMU24!"
The 12th Can food pantry will host a pantry opening on August 26 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 12th Can members operate the pantry from start to finish. From food orders to product donations to food drives to pantry openings, they do it all! Thanks to 12th Can members, who are a diverse group with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, all unified in the spirit of service.
The 20 Freshman Leadership Organizations (FLOs) will move recruitment online this fall. A recent study found the following: FLO students were retained at a higher rate than those not in a FLO; all FLOs maintained above a 3.0 GPA for both the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters; and students in a FLO had a higher GPA for both semesters when compared to students who were not in a FLO.
