News from the Office of the University Registrar

The Inside OUt
Fall 2005 - Volume XIV Issue 1

Included in this issue:

Deans List GPA Requirement Changed, Threshold Increased
Class Lists Now Show Means of Registration
Priority Registration
Maggie Thomas Receives Circle of Influence Award
Office Highlight - Scheduling Area
Student Employees - Spring Quarter Graduates
New Employee - Brandon Elliott
News Blurbs
AKAX Screen Highlight

Deans List GPA Requirement Changes, Threshold Increased

Effective Fall Quarter 2005-2006, students who wish to be on the Deans List must achieve a 3.5 grade point average for a minimum of 16 quarter hours of credit earned, including at least 12 hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate the grade point average. This is a change from the previous 3.3 g.p.a. requirement.

This change was recommended by the Assistant Deans’ Council and approved by the Provost, after consultation with the Educational Policy and Student Affairs (EPSA) committee of the Faculty Senate.

Research indicated that Ohio University’s Deans List threshold of 3.3 was below almost every other Ohio academic institution’s threshold. In addition, Ohio University requires an accumulative g.p.a. of 3.5 to 3.749 for graduation honors notation cum laude, 3.75 to 3.899 for magna cum laude, and 3.9 to 4.0 for summa cum laude. Prior to this g.p.a. change, a student could be on the Deans List every quarter and not graduate with honors.

Class Lists Now Show Means of Registration

Printed faculty class lists and e-mailed add/drop notices now identify students who have been registered by an Ohio University staff member. A double asterisk appears next to the student's name if he or she registered by a means other than Web Registration or TRIPS (i.e., class permission slip).

The Educational Policy and Student Affairs committee of the Faculty Senate sought help from the Registrar's Office in identifying students who are registered inappropriately. Faculty are interested in knowing how students register for their classes, and this feature enables faculty who feel a student was registered inappropriately to identify those students and follow up with the Registrar's Office. The Registrar's Office maintains the class permission slips for a period of five years. If a faculty member needs to know how a student was registered he/she may call 593-4182 or e-mail registration@ohio.edu. Please include the student's identification number and class ID.

We are working with Computer Services to identify students who register via class permission slip on the online faculty class list and hope to have this enhancement available soon.

Priority Registration

The term "preregistration" has been discontinued and the 15-day period when students register for the coming quarter based on priority order is defined as priority registration. The registration order is Honors Tutorial College, graduate students, and undergraduate students (based on rank and accumulative hours earned).

The change is a result of Web Registration and TRIPS being accessible longer than the 15-day period. Any time after this period is considered simply "registration." The term priority registration more accurately describes the time set aside for students to register based on their status. Increasing technology allows Ohio University to have the registration system (Web Registration and TRIPS) available for longer times when students continue to register for the coming quarter.

"The term preregistration is a hold over from the time when students submitted their course requests during preregistration and then waited to find out what courses they were actually registered for," says University Registrar Debra Benton. "It seemed time to move away from preregistration since students know their schedule immediately upon registering." Therefore, after discussion and approval of the Assistant Deans' Council, the period in which students are released in groups to register will be referred to as priority registration, and after the last day of priority registration we will have open registration.

Maggie Thomas Receives Circle of Influence Award

VA Benefits Coordinator Maggie Thomas received the Circle of Influence award from Army National Guardsman student Jared Fliegel. The award, generally given to employers, was a gift to Thomas in appreciation of her assistance with his deployment status. This U.S. Government award is given to Army National Guardsmen upon returning from abroad to give to someone who has helped them make the deployment process easier. Fliegel, a Columbus native, served in Europe for ten months before returning to Ohio in December.

Thomas and Fliegel pose with the award.

Fliegel says Thomas made the Veterans Administration, which is a large organization, easier to work with and seem much smaller. He says it was very convenient having a single person to interact with in his dealing with the VA. He also said that Thomas was helpful and efficient with processing his information.

Thomas says she is extremely honored to receive the award.

Registrar's Office Highlight

A key area of the Office of the University Registrar is the scheduling area. Staff members are responsible for updating the master curriculum file by adding and deleting course information, assigning call numbers for classes, working with room assignments, and compiling and producing the quarterly Schedule of Classes. This occurs well in advance of the quarter opening, and it's not unusual for staff members to be working with data from three quarters at the same time. For example, while Spring Quarter is still in session, students are registering for Fall Quarter during priority registration, students are also registering for Summer Quarter, and the staff members in the scheduling area are working on the Winter Quarter course offerings. This area also deals with student organizations around campus. The staff assigns rooms for organization meetings.

Several changes have occurred in this area in recent years. New faces include Scheduling Supervisor Renee Coen, Documents Specialist P.J. Guthrie, and Records Management Assistant Margaret Delaney. They are enthusiastic and dedicated to providing excellent customer service.

In addition, many processes that used to be completed by hand are now done using up-to-date publishing software. For example, publication of the quarterly Schedule of Classes has become more sophisticated since Computer Services sends electronic files of class listings as opposed to a paper-printed report.

To improve efficiency and offer faster services, Ad Astra, new scheduling software, will be implemented in the coming year. This software interfaces with SIS and will allow departments to better manage their course offerings, as well as reduce the amount of time spent on data entry.

Office Welcomes Service Windows Employee, Brandon Elliott

The Office of the University Registrar welcomes Brandon Elliott to the office. Elliott began on March 28, 2005, as Records Management Assistant.

Working at the Registrar Services Window 3, Elliott processes registrations and gives advice and direction to students about Ohio University's campus and colleges.

Elliott graduated with a degree in business from Hocking College in 2000. He also earned a Bachelor of Specialized Studies degree from Ohio University in 2002.

Office Bids Farewell to Student Employees

The Office of the University Registrar congratulates the following student employees on their Spring Quarter graduation.

	Rachel Bowen graduated cum laude in June with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Psychology. Bowen worked at the Office of the University Registrar for two years at the reception area. After graduation Bowen would like to participate for a year in the Americorps program. Bowen would then like to go to graduate school. Bowen says she will miss Ohio University and working at the office. "I will miss my everyday conversations with Tina," Bowen stated.
	Megan Fiore graduated cum laude in June with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English and a minor in History. Fiore worked at the Registrar Services Windows for two and a half years. After graduation, she plans to move to New York City where she will be teaching English and earning her master's degree through the New York City Teaching Fellows Program. Fiore says she is sad to leave the Registrar's Office and the University. "It has been a great place to work and the University has been a great place to learn. However, I am very excited to move to NYC and see what the future holds for me."
	Kelsey Raybuck graduated cum laude in June with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree with a major in Early Childhood Education. Raybuck worked at the Office of the University Registrar for three years in the service windows area. After graduation she plans to move to Columbus and look for a job. She says she will miss everyone at the office and that it has been a great place to work, though she is definitely excited to graduate.
	Jenn Donovan graduated in June with a Bachelor of Science in Communication degree with a major in Organizational Communication and a specialization in human resource management. Donovan worked at the Office of the University Registrar for two years in the grades area. After graduation Donovan plans to move to Ireland for five months with four of her friends. She intends to travel Europe while staying with relatives in Ireland. Donovan says she doesn't want to leave Ohio University, but is excited about her trip to Ireland.
	Sandra Whitta graduated magna cum laude in June with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree, specializing in magazines. She also has a History minor. She worked at the Office of the University Registrar for two years as the editor and newsletter coordinator for The Inside OUt. After graduation, Whitta plans to travel to England and Scotland with her father to visit relatives and travel. When she returns, she plans to pursue a career in journalism. Whitta says she will miss her coworkers at the Registrar's Office and living with her closest friends.

News Blurbs

• Students who have a prior quarter Incomplete (I) grade will receive an e-mail reminding them of the policy for Incomplete grades, the deadline, and class information. Instructors are also notified by e-mail of Incomplete grades with term, class, and student information.
• The office congratulates Teresa Schleter on her new baby girl, Allison Rae, born May 4.
• Jane Pidcock is doing well after her surgery last year, but she will not be returning to work. Jane was a valued employee and will be missed!
• Congratulations to Andy Flinn on his new position at Florida State University.
• Please remind students that they can access registration and advising information online from the Registrar's Web page or the "students" link from www.ohio.edu.