News, Updates, and Progress from the Undergraduate Advising Center
Welcoming New Team Members:
- Stephanie Hamilton, Advising Communications Specialist
- Tiffany Low, Staff Associate, FLI Student Advising and Success
- Kurt-Michael Bobis Songcog, Staff Associate, Peer Advising and Transfer Student Success
Two open positions have been posted.
UAC Advising is Underway
This Fall, we launched UAC Advising for members of the Class of 2027. These advising appointments are designed to complement the advising received in the student’s academic department. The initiative aims to bring consistency and enhanced support to the undergraduate advising experience.
Throughout the year, UAC Advisors will reach out to their advisees at key, pre-designated points. These touchpoints are designed to ensure that students receive timely and relevant support.
Additionally, UAC Advisors worked with the Class of 2028 as First-Year Advisors, assisting them with class registration, providing consistent advising information, and establishing a solid foundation for the rest of their time at MIT. This engagement ensures that students develop familiarity with the UAC as a trusted resource, empowering them to seek guidance and support whenever needed.
This fall was also the launch of our new drop-in advising hours. Actively meeting students where they are, we have advisors ready to assist students with any questions they may have every weekday from 12-2pm in-person (7-104) or on Zoom.
Student Success Toolkit
Our Student Success Toolkit is designed to help students make the most of their time at MIT, ensuring academic, extra-curricular, career, and personal wellbeing success. Broken down by class year, our resource contains recommendations of the most important items to keep on students’ radar. Launched this fall, this Canvas course includes a vast repository of tips, tricks, and resources to help students hack their way through their MIT journey.
FLI Programming
Our First-Generation and/or Low-Income (FLI) students benefit from an array of programming and events designed to foster both personal and community growth. Through weekly workshops, drop-in advising sessions, a dedicated first-year FLI seminar, and monthly community gatherings, students have abundant opportunities to connect and gain valuable insights. Seasonal special events, like the FLI Welcome Dinner and an upcoming apple orchard outing, provide meaningful spaces for building community and shared experiences.As a newly inducted member of the FirstGen Forward Network, MIT FLI is now a nationally recognized program committed to employing strategies to foster an environment of success for this student population.
UAC Events
The UAC hosted several events throughout the first few weeks of the semester to engage students and build interest including our monthly “Sip with Diep” conversations and our Add Date “Addition Competition” where students were challenged with timed addition problems.
We partnered with CAPD for a sophomore-focused Fall Career Fair prep event, offering them an opportunity to receive personalized feedback and guidance on creating their resumes, writing cover letters, building their LinkedIn profiles, and engaging effectively with employers. We also partnered with ELO to host the ELO+ Fair for students to explore experiential learning opportunities. We were the final stop on the Infinite Halloween trick-or-treat trail where we had craft activities, treats (no tricks!), and a spot for students to submit their punch cards that show all the offices they visited.
A successful launch of OFY fall events is underway with weekly hubs co-hosted with campus partners TSR^2, SFS, DAS, and S3. First-years were treated to rally towels and snacks at two MIT athletic events to cheer on their fellow Engineers!
Project Connect: Facilitated by Laura Harvey, Staff Associate, Advising and New Student Orientation
Project Connect is a casual way for first year students to learn how to make new friends, create connections, engage in conversation to discover common interests or challenges, develop social skills, and build familiarity and trust on campus. The five-week program which starts at the end of October has seen immediate interest and will be a trial run for larger implementation.
Faculty lunches have also had impressive turnouts with Prof Adam Martin and Chancellor Melissa Nobles as our first two guest speakers.
— Stephanie Hamilton, UAC