FaithManor Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Ds was told by his advisor on the 11th, that he had no classes until the day after Labor Day. She even wrote that at the top of his very nice U of MI Flint semester spiral bound scheduler that each student is given. He has been going with that. She was wrong. THANK GOODNESS WE ATTENDED STUDENT CONVOCATION TONIGHT! The Chancellor mentioned in her speech how much she was looking forward to being with the students tomorrow, and that a full schedule began at 8:00 a.m.. Dh and I looked at each other in a panic. We had just that night, 30 minutes before convocation finally managed to get his back ordered copy of his German grammar book - needed for Monday/Wednesday classes. Ds was unflappable, "Oh mom, lots of kids have classes, but I don't. My advisor said so." (I held my tongue from the lecture that went like this, "MY advisor was so inept that I would have taken eight years to get a four year degree going full time if I had listened!") We impressed strongly upon him the need to check his online messages and account. Sure enough, there was a "please note these changes to your schedule" week at a glance calendar. Sure enough he has English and German tomorrow. Faint. So, now that we have had a heart attack, we have had to frantically rearrange our schedules for tomorrow because his car - the one that the brake line failed on the other night - is still in the shop being repaired. He can't just take my car because I have a doctor's appointment mid day that I really should not cancel. I drop him to school two hours before his first class so he'll hang out, get the correct parking pass, have an early lunch, and a leisurely day. Meanwhile, I'll drive home like a crazy woman, tutor my chem student, teach trig to my 15 year old, run to the doctor, run to the bank, and then get back in the car to drive the 1 hr. 15 min. back to campus. So, now all of you very nervous parents can go tap dance on your newbie freshman's head until they check their college messages and accounts. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Oh dear! It will all be ok. Lesson learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 oh my. I would not trust another word this advisor says. That's a big oops. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justkeepswimming Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 :ohmy: :ohmy: :scared: oh my gosh. My heart is in MY throat and it wasn't even our situation! Sounds like you all dealt with the sudden switch in plans like champs! Hope tomorrow is a great day after all! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 That is a huge oops! You know, a lot of people pay a ton of money for a stress test. Oh wait, this is college you're talking about. You likely ARE paying a lot of money for this stress test. Glad you passed it! ;) May his classes and your travel go well - and may the car be fixed soon! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 So glad you caught it! My experience with advisors has been less than stellar. I have yet to met an advisor (for myself or my kids) that knew much. I can usually find out much more online. I have also been told some rather wrong things. I've been drumming into my girls' heads to do ALL the research yourself, double check everything the advisor says, and only use the advising appointment as the box you need to check. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Did something change or did the advisor not doublecheck? We,ve been dealing with multiple oops for one of our students, including hunting in increasing panic for a class that didn,t start until mid-semester, but at least nobody missed their first class. Yikes! Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It was because of a parent here that I knew to tell my son to check his college email before classes started, so thanks for the heads up! And I get the "it's fine mom" thing from my student too. He knows everything there is to know about taking a college class, even though he's never done it before. And mom, the one that has attended FOUR different universities in this state, is obviously clueless as to how things work. I told him we needed to get his book before school started and he said no, since he couldn't log into the class yet he must not need anything. I told him the bookstore on campus and online has the books listed for every class, you just have to look. He argued with me for 30 minutes before I proved I was right. Then rolled his eyes at me as if he'd been the one to say it all along. Sigh. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 The other thing about advisors is that if they give you the wrong advice, even though they are representatives of the university, it doesn't bind the university in any way. So they don't really have any standing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It was because of a parent here that I knew to tell my son to check his college email before classes started, so thanks for the heads up! And I get the "it's fine mom" thing from my student too. He knows everything there is to know about taking a college class, even though he's never done it before. And mom, the one that has attended FOUR different universities in this state, is obviously clueless as to how things work. I told him we needed to get his book before school started and he said no, since he couldn't log into the class yet he must not need anything. I told him the bookstore on campus and online has the books listed for every class, you just have to look. He argued with me for 30 minutes before I proved I was right. Then rolled his eyes at me as if he'd been the one to say it all along. Sigh. I am right there with you. So many mini-crisis that occured could have been avoided if my student would have listened to me and checked his Blackboard account EVERYDAY! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It was because of a parent here that I knew to tell my son to check his college email before classes started, so thanks for the heads up! And I get the "it's fine mom" thing from my student too. He knows everything there is to know about taking a college class, even though he's never done it before. And mom, the one that has attended FOUR different universities in this state, is obviously clueless as to how things work. I told him we needed to get his book before school started and he said no, since he couldn't log into the class yet he must not need anything. I told him the bookstore on campus and online has the books listed for every class, you just have to look. He argued with me for 30 minutes before I proved I was right. Then rolled his eyes at me as if he'd been the one to say it all along. Sigh. I'll admit there were a few times I wished I didn't need the books before class started. The worst case was when you needed to open the (super expensive) shrink wrapped pack of books for one tiny thing and then the professor would say that his or her section didn't use the textbooks themselves. So there's another thing to share. Don't open the shrink wrap until you 100% need to. Before that you can return it for full price. After that they buy the same books back for $5 each. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 At my daughter's college they don't get Labor Day or Memorial Day off. So you just never know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Ugh, how frustrating! I think I found gold in my advisor. When I went to declare my major, I read the CV of every professor in the department. I had the option of who (whom?) to choose. He's turned into my mentor, is overseeing my honors project, and has helped me find opportunities at my school that aren't always available to undergrads. I do most of the research for class sign ups beforehand, but he's does way more than just advise about classes. So good ones are out there. You might have to dig a bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Well, after driving to and from convocation last night his leg was pretty achy. He went straight for a double dose of extra strength Advil and Tylenol plus an ice pack, so I did the driving this morning. I dropped him at 8:15 so he had 45 minutes to go fix the parking permit situation because he's a handicapped individual who still can't park in the handicap spot in the parking garage closest to the building where most of his classes are held this semester though they guaranteed that assigned space. The main problem has been making contact with the right person who is supposed to be in the office today. He gave me a HUGE grin, and walked away. I sniffled just a little even though for goodness sake I'll see him at 4:30! I refrained from making him pose for a picture, LOL. It's been a rough, rough year, and I hope we are putting most of that behind us and starting a new, happier chapter of life. Meanwhile, I have the most terrific headache. I didn't get a pot of coffee made before we left. Since I don't have a parking pass on my vehicle - his vehicle is in the shop being repaired - I was too cheap to consider paying for parking so that I could go into University Pavilion and get a nice cup of Starbucks. There wasn't a convenient spot to get off on the way home due to traffic and construction, so I am just now getting coffee. People, I am normally drinking well into the first pot at 7:15 am. It is now nearly 10! I feel like my head may explode and have to see the doctor in 45 minutes. GAH! This will not happen again tomorrow - we will be taking turns driving with him for two weeks until his leg gets more used to it (he's only been off the meds for about 14 days, and wasn't driving all summer due to that muscle relaxant). We just need to make sure he is safe, and has no PTSD issues. So, I have to make a concerted effort on my driving days to make sure I have my morning coffee before we leave. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 ((Faithmanor)) ((Faithmanor's son)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I'll admit there were a few times I wished I didn't need the books before class started. The worst case was when you needed to open the (super expensive) shrink wrapped pack of books for one tiny thing and then the professor would say that his or her section didn't use the textbooks themselves. So there's another thing to share. Don't open the shrink wrap until you 100% need to. Before that you can return it for full price. After that they buy the same books back for $5 each. Better than that, we were able to order it off amazon, after finding out what he needed. For half the price. And returnable :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 On the plus side, for many classes the first day is mostly just having the syllabus read out loud to you (because college students can't read?). There are exceptions of course, but I wouldn't sweat it even if he did miss the first day of class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 On the plus side, for many classes the first day is mostly just having the syllabus read out loud to you (because college students can't read?). Judging from the amount of questions I get that are very clearly answered in the syllabus, I have to come to the conclusion that a substantial portion either can't or won't. From talking to my colleagues from the English department who deal with reading comprehension, it turns out that "can't" is probably accurate for a disturbingly large fraction of those. There are exceptions of course, but I wouldn't sweat it even if he did miss the first day of class. In all advice to faculty I've seen, it is strongly discouraged to spend the fist day on the syllabus. I have decided to actually teach the subject, after a five minute intro. (I am explaining them the syllabus in a video - which, despite a quiz for points - many won't watch either. It is a source of great puzzlement to all of us.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 OP I copied your post and emailed it to someone in MI. They are going to drop her older DD off at U of MI tomorrow. GL to your DS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Our students should become familiar with their college's academic calendar. It will show days with no classes and even more importantly registration dates, add dates and drop dates, housing and financial aid deadlines, etc.. It's something they should glance at fairly regularly. Faith so glad you went to convocation and caught it in time! Hope it's a great semester of learning and continued healing for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thanks everyone! Back from the doctor's office and well, my blood pressure was up which is not normal. Thankfully, they didn't lecture me, and instead we had a nice chat and then doc took it again. It was WAY down. Whew! LOL I am now nursing a homemade mocha coffee extra strong. I guess there has been a LOT of confusion. For the past several years, U of MI Flint has not held classes before Labor Day. Freshman move in was right around this time frame. One of the nurses at the office today said her daughter, a sophomore commuter, had a last minute change - as in less than 48 hours notice - that a MW class she was signed up for in the morning was pushed into the afternoon, and another class switched days completely. She had quite a bit of crazy shuffling to do at the registrar's office this morning in order to figure it all out with her job as a lab assistant in the biology department. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the administration building because I suspect something rather significant changed this summer that has necessitated starting earlier than is their tradition. I would have thought the advisor would have been on top of it. But, there I go thinking again. It's possible that the calendar was changed after their last meeting because she otherwise appeared to have a very strong bead on the path he needs to take to graduate in four years, and she is an English department and Writing professor; ds is a Writing with Journalism emphasis major. It isn't as though she was stuck advising someone in a department she knows nothing about. At any rate, no matter what, it is HIS responsibility to check messages and stay on top of things. He has been made to understand this! The conversation with the nurse was good. She told me not to buy U of MI bucks for him to use on campus for meals. The school has a "food court" but not a cafeteria, and she feels that for any kid trying to eat a healthy diet, there are no real choices but salads at Subway in the pavilion. On top of which, the amount of choice amongst the standard foods is not that great. They bought the "commuter meal plan" for their daughter last year, and she had $400.00 still on her account at the end of the first semester because she ended up packing instead. They were not entitled to a refund. Since it was specifically a meal plan, the policy is no refund, and the left over money can't be carried to the next semester either. The school does donate a portion to the Flint Farmer's Market - it's a huge, healthy food market with free range, antibiotic and steroid free beef and poultry vendors, cheese deli, etc. in addition to the produce - and what is purchased with it is donated to the homeless shelter and soup kitchen. That's a nice idea in theory, but the parents' and students' should be able to carry that over to the next semester and use it on books or supplies since they provide so little food choice. I would NOT be willing to pay the price tag on the meal plans for dorms given that they are not doing more. And no, though the Flint Farmer's Market is actually sharing campus grounds and has a wonderful Mexican diner, organic deli, barbecue diner with yummy, healthy options, and tons of produce, they have not set it up for students to use their food dollars there. The price tag in the food court is the same - no discount for commuters who do not buy the meal plan. There isn't any incentive to put money on his account for this. So, he'll have cash on him, and likely pack a lot. He has string cheese, apples, and granola in his backpack today, and was going to get a six inch turkey sub at Subway so for now we have it in hand, but he needs to do some grocery shopping for next week. I did not have a lunch bag with ice pack option on our list of school supplies, but I do now! I am glad the nurse and I talked. But, despite the bumps, she did say that her daughter is getting a fantastic education, is interacting a lot with her professors, has some great internships on the horizon for her junior year, and full funding for a summer in Germany. Educationally, I think this is all going to be just fine. It's the other stuff that is the crazy maker! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Faith I think you're right that they did change the calendar at some point. If you pull up their academic calendar, the first listing is for Labor Day and the one below that is Sept 2 for Classes Start. It's chronologically out of order. Someone taking a quick glance might easily assume that classes start after Labor Day! Major oops on their part! https://www.umflint.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Office_of_the_Provost___Vice_Chancellor_for_Academic_Affairs/documents/academic_cal_1516.pdf I also noticed that none of the other information I mentioned, such as add and drop dates, is included on their calendar. These dates are important for students to know! Edited again. I wonder if the changes were due to budget negotiations. I noticed that last year there were 69 days of instruction and this year and next have 67. At least next year's calendar has the start date showing as before Labor Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Faith I think you're right that they did change the calendar at some point. If you pull up their academic calendar, the first listing is for Labor Day and the one below that is Sept 2 for Classes Start. It's chronologically out of order. Someone taking a quick glance might easily assume that classes start after Labor Day! Major oops on their part! https://www.umflint.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Office_of_the_Provost___Vice_Chancellor_for_Academic_Affairs/documents/academic_cal_1516.pdf I also noticed that none of the other information I mentioned, such as add and drop dates, is included on their calendar. These dates are important for students to know! Exactly! I noticed that too! Ds received an email late last night with some add/drop information, and let me tell you, it looked like today was going to be a hairy day for the registrar's department. Normally, add/drop information is in advance of the coming semester so that students can plan accordingly. Also, he can log into the system and actually search for a specific course and section number in each department, and instead of coming up with the actual start date for that class, it comes up with "date range" of Sept. 2 - 12 or in some cases Sept. 2-15! Any specific section assigned an instructor should have the start date listed. I consider that unacceptable. So, I'm not as upset with the advisor as I was - thankful that I have not communicated any angst to campus - because I am beginning to think this was an administrative lapse. Still, his weekly calendar did come out last week with adjustments indicated in the subject line, and he didn't bother to read it. I'm trying to balance impressing him with the need to be ultra responsible in this department with remembering that his online DE class was completely different so he has no experience with this either. It is a good learning experience. I am willing to bet there are students who missed their first classes today! Another interesting thing is that apparently instead of stating unequivocally that there will or will not be class on Saturday which is of course a holiday weekend, they left it up to individual instructors. He has class. It is on his weekly schedule that just came out, but he never received a communication from the professor. I would have though that given it was instructor choice, the professor would have posted something to "blackboard" for his students. Ds has his books for that class because we purchased them from Amazon, but at the school bookstore, they are on back order. This should be interesting. We'll iron it all out. I might need an extra nap by the time we do! :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Another interesting thing is that apparently instead of stating unequivocally that there will or will not be class on Saturday which is of course a holiday weekend, they left it up to individual instructors. He has class. It is on his weekly schedule that just came out, but he never received a communication from the professor. I would have though that given it was instructor choice, the professor would have posted something to "blackboard" for his students. Ds has his books for that class because we purchased them from Amazon, but at the school bookstore, they are on back order. This should be interesting. We'll iron it all out. I might need an extra nap by the time we do! :D Is college classes on SAturday normal? When I was in school, some classes were MWF and others were TR and the rare class was MTWR. But nothing I recall on saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Is college classes on SAturday normal? When I was in school, some classes were MWF and others were TR and the rare class was MTWR. But nothing I recall on saturday. At this school, yes. His class is a 3 hr. comp sci. 1 hr. lecture, 1 hr. lab back to back. They had a bumper crop of freshmen this year so scheduling it all seems to have been a crazy maker. Back when I was in college, classes for "regular people" :D , never occurred on Saturday, but we music majors often had mandatory rehearsals, lessons, lectures from visiting musicians, etc. This was in lieu of not having quite so many evening sessions so people could potentially eat a meal and study for something besides music. :lol: Apparently the nursing students also have a lot of Saturday seminars. Medical ethics is one of them that is every Saturday this semester, and I noticed a couple of other colleges that also have Saturday classes in the nursing department. My guess is that it may be tricky to schedule lecture classes and clinicals M-F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 At my daughter's college they don't get Labor Day or Memorial Day off. So you just never know. Or when I was at Cornell University for grad school and the public colleges got Labor Day off, but the private colleges didn't. Now that caused some serious confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Is college classes on SAturday normal? When I was in school, some classes were MWF and others were TR and the rare class was MTWR. But nothing I recall on saturday. My daughter who attended a small liberal arts college had a Sunday evening three hour movie class lab. They met to watch the movie on Sunday evening and then met during the week to attend the lecture on that movie. .... I told him we needed to get his book before school started and he said no, since he couldn't log into the class yet he must not need anything. I told him the bookstore on campus and online has the books listed for every class, you just have to look. He argued with me for 30 minutes before I proved I was right. Then rolled his eyes at me as if he'd been the one to say it all along. Sigh. I'm reminded of the quote commonly attributed to Mark Twain, "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." Just give him a few more years, and you'll be much more intelligent! Regards, Kareni 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Middle son has had at least one Saturday class (or maybe lab). His college also gives tests on Sundays. It's always important to find out what individual schools do rather than assuming they are all the same. My guys have three different schools and they each have different quirks. Youngest gets a nice bonus this year. His room has a nice water view. Lucky chap! It certainly helps that he's at a college located right next to big water... I definitely wouldn't expect that quirk at any college! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Someone taking a quick glance might easily assume that classes start after Labor Day! Major oops on their part! https://www.umflint.edu/sites/default/files/groups/Office_of_the_Provost___Vice_Chancellor_for_Academic_Affairs/documents/academic_cal_1516.pdf Maybe I'm being overly picky, but I'd be really annoyed by the disclaimer at the bottom of this calendar: "Dates are subject to change at any time by the Board of Regents" Sure, calendars that are far off in the future may change, but at some point, the administration has to say "this calendar is firm", and (emergencies notwithstanding), here is our first day of classes. Otherwise, what about foreign students who are flying in, or professors planning schedules, or even the custodial staff who need to keep the grounds and buildings ready to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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