Abstract
With the continuously changing demographics of students, UC Academic Advisors are seeing the needs of first-year students vary in different and dramatics ways. As the rate of admittance for specialized populations increase and the number of advisors remain the same, advisors are finding the need to widely disseminate information while providing individualized attention for each student. University Studies 1: The Freshman Experience, offered at UC Irvine, provides a way for Undecided/Undeclared Academic Advisors to positively intervene with special populations of first-year students, ranging from first-generation to international, while acting as an advising tool to teach campus policies and student development theories. By strategically creating course assignments, such as weekly ethnographies and office hours, advisors are able to connect with special student populations during critically sensitive times and prevent institutional departure.
Speaker Biography
Brittany Betancourt
Brittany works as an academic advisor and a senior lecturer for the Division of Undergraduate Education at the University of California, Irvine in addition to pursing a Master’s degree in Counseling with a specialization in Student Development in Higher Education at California State University, Long Beach. She coordinates a freshman experience course, University Studies 1, which introduces students to campus policies, majors and minors, and life skills necessary for citizenship in a diverse community.
Gisela Verduzco
Gisela Verduzco has worked in higher education for over fifteen years and is currently working as an academic counselor for the Division of Undergraduate Education at the University of California, Irvine. Gisela earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a minor in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine and holds a Master’s Degree from California State University, Long Beach in Counseling with a specialization in Student Development in Higher Education. In her current role as an academic counselor, she works with Undecided/Undeclared students and develops programs for First Generation college students."
