Notices and What Our Students Are Doing

Current Students

Notices - Advising:

April 13, 2009
Dear students and advisees:

We hope your semester is going well.

As you know, there is a campus-wide effort to understand and correct UMD retention and graduation rates. Over the last two years, various committees and task forces have dedicated their efforts to 1) determine specific factors that contribute to the problem and 2) come up with a constellation of acceptable solutions. The reality is the following: one quarter of UMD students graduate in four years; one quarter of UMD students graduate in five years; one quarter of UMD students graduate in six years. Hence, solutions to the problem include the 30-60-90 plan, universal use of the Grad Planner and reconceptualizing advisement.

The Grad Planner is a useful tool that assists students in designing and following a direction throughout their academic career. The Grad Planner is instrumental in assisting each individual student to take ownership for his/her own academic career, to do the ground work to have a comprehensive view of the proposed four years of study. The Grad Planner is also helpful during advisement sessions. It is invaluable to have your academic career planned, to have a feasible direction early on in your years at UMD.

The 30-60-90 plan is being advocated by faculty, administrators and especially student affairs academic specialists. The essence of this is that each year a student should complete 30 credit hours (be they the sum of two semesters; or the sum of two semesters, summer classes, May term and/or January term). If this is followed, a student will have earned 120 credits within four years. With timely planning, these credits would meet graduation requirements for UMD and our programs, and they also would allow you to explore other fields.

A significant issue has been identified as we work to expedite your graduation: disparate perceptions of the use and implementation of advisement, and the misperception that advisement is unnecessary. While it has become clear that many UMD majors (i.e. students) rarely or infrequently meet with their advisors, in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, we are willing, able and available to advise you through your academic career. We expect you to stop in to see us at least once a semester, even if you already have visited with an advisor in a second field. Although it might seem like one more obligation in your already hectic life, in reality it is simply an opportunity for you to connect with a faculty member who knows not only graduation requirements, but the field of study. In other words, your advisor is aware of myriad opportunities for you during your undergraduate career and beyond. As advisors we care about your academic standing, but also about your future and well-being.

Notices - Tertulia:

Tertulia offers students a chance to chat in Spanish in a relaxed atmosphere, with fellow students and faculty. It meets four times per semester at a local coffee house. We hope to see you there. The dates for the remainder of Fall 2009 are:

• November 10, 2009
• December 1, 2009.

Notices - Kaffeeklatsch

The Kaffeeklatsch offers students the opportunity to speak German--with one another and faculty--in an informal setting at a local pub. The gatherings are the first Friday of the month around 7:00 pm. Please contact one of our German Studies faculty for the location.

What Our Students are Doing:

Sadie Sigford writes (Fall 2009) about her Independent Study project:

Working in a collective bike shop this year taught me a lot about bike culture here in Duluth and in the U.S., but I've begun to wonder about bike culture in other countries. This semester I'm independently studying the bicycle's use in Latin American countries. Is cycling used as an alternative way of transportation or just a necessity to meet daily needs? Do people have access to bicycles? How does cycling differ in urban and rural settings across Latin American countries? Why are women riding less than men? What patterns of bicycle usage are specific or special to poorer countries and people? What projects or groups are organized in these countries to promote the use of bicycles? These are just a few of the questions I'll be working on this semester.

If you have stories to add, please contact: Prof. Eileen Zeitz, H 477, ezeitz@d.umn.edu, 218-726-8239.

Alumni

We would love to hear from alumni. We will shortly have in place a page for you to contact us where you can share your stories and updates with the Department, and with others if you so choose.