2nd Reminder – The Senior Packet

Please review this document and the other materials in the online senior packet and contact Dean Thornton (217 North College, 860.685.2764, rjohnson01@wesleyan.edu) if there is anything that you do not understand or if you foresee anything that could prevent your graduation in May.

Graduation does not happen by accident; it requires your time and attention to a number of details. You must fulfill all graduation requirements to participate in the May commencement ceremony. If you do not intend to graduate in May 2018, contact Dean Thornton immediately to clarify your class standing.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

As you review your academic history and credit analysis and finalize your course selections for the semester, you should keep Wesleyan’s graduation requirements in mind:

  1. Concentration. Satisfactory completion of a major is required for graduation. Consult with your major advisor about specific departmental or program requirements and use the Major Concentration form to list all courses required for your major, including completed courses, courses in progress, and courses that still need to be taken.
  2. Credit. A minimum of 32.00 credits (without oversubscription) is required for graduation. At least 16.00 of these credits must be earned at Wesleyan or in Wesleyan-sponsored programs. (More information on oversubscription is provided below.)
  3. GPA. A cumulative average of at least 74.00 percent is required.
  4. Residency. At least six semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student for students entering in their first year is required. (For students entering as sophomore transfers, at least five semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student; for students entering as midyear sophomores or junior transfers, at least four semesters in residency at Wesleyan as a full-time student is required.) A semester in residence is defined as any semester in which a student attends classes on the Wesleyan campus, has attempted at least three credits and received at least one grade.

MAJOR CERTIFICATION

To satisfy the concentration requirement, a student must complete a departmental major, an interdepartmental major, or a collegiate program. It is your responsibility to know the requirements for your major. As a senior expecting to graduate in May 2018, you are required to formalize your progress toward completion of the concentration requirement with your major advisor by completing the Major Certification Form.

  1. The Major Certification Form functions as your “contract” with your department, so you need to list all those courses that you have completed or will be completing to fulfill major requirements. Other courses taken but not required for completion of the major need not be listed.
  2. The Major Certification Form can be accessed through the “Student Tools—Academics” bucket in your WesPortal.
  3. A Major Concentration Form must be completed for each major you intend to complete.

Click here for detailed information about how to submit the Major Certification Form

Click here for the Major Certification process FAQ.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Senior Packet and Graduation Requirements.

CREDIT ANALYSIS

The credit analysis is a review of your academic record that shows your progress towards meeting graduation requirements with regard to credits and other academic regulations. It monitors oversubscription and flags potential problems that may affect completion of graduation requirements. It does not address major requirements. The credit analysis is comprised of two parts, the summary (first page) and the credit detail (remaining pages).

The summary page is divided into three sections:

  1. Total semesters at Wesleyan and total semesters in residence, as well as total credits earned and potential credits at the end of the semester.
  2. “Categories with Credit Limits,” which monitors oversubscription in credit limits within categories.
  3. “Credit Limits within Departments,” which indicates oversubscription within a subject.

The credit detail in the remaining pages lists credits by department and program. If a given course appears in more than one department or program–i.e., is cross-listed–it will be counted for purposes of oversubscription in all departments in which it is listed.

Courses for which you are pre-registered are included in the credit analysis. However, if you studied abroad last semester, your credits may not yet be posted, even though the semester has been counted in the semester totals. As you review your credit analysis, keep a copy of your academic history on hand and be ready to consult Wesleyan’s academic regulations. Your credit analysis is available through your e-portfolio and is updated every night.

OVERSUBSCRIPTION

The oversubscription rule is designed to prevent a student from building a program of study that is too narrow. Any credit in excess of the department or category limits will not count towards the 32.00 credits required to graduate (although the credits will be recorded on the transcript and will be factored into the grade point average calculations). More specifically, the oversubscription rule stipulates:

  • Of the total 32.00 credits required for graduation, a student can count no more than 16.00 course credits in any one subject.
  • If a course is cross-listed, it counts towards oversubscription in every subject in which it is listed, regardless of the cross-listing that the student chose during course registration.
  • The oversubscription rule applies to all credit that is part of a student’s academic history, including pre-matriculant credit, Advanced Placement, and other test credit, and transfer credit.
  • The following interdisciplinary programs are exempt from oversubscription: African American Studies, Archaeological Studies, Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies, Russian and East European Studies, and Science in Society.

In addition, the oversubscription rule limits the number of credits that can count toward the 32.00 required for graduation in the following categories:

  1. Physical Education and Student Forum:
    • no more than 1.00 Physical Education credits
    • no more than 2.00 Student Forum (419, 420) credits
    • no more than 2.00 credits in Physical Education and Student Forums combined
  2. Teaching Apprenticeships (491, 492): no more than 2.00 credits.
  3. Individual (401, 402, 403, 404, 421, 422) and Group Tutorials (411, 412): no more than 4.00 credits combined
    • some LANG courses are considered individual tutorials
    • honors thesis tutorial credits (409, 410) are not considered individual or group tutorials
  4. Independent Study (467, 468, 470) and Education-in-the-Field (465, 466, 469): no more than 4.00 credits combined
  5. Summer credits: no more than 2.00 credits during any given summer
  6. Pre-matriculant credits (including AP, IB and other test and transfer credit): no more than 2.00 credits

Oversubscription will not jeopardize graduation as long as you have enough useable credit to meet the 32.00 credits required for graduation. If you have any concerns about oversubscription, contact Dean Thornton immediately.

DECEMBER COMPLETION

Some members of the Class of 2018 who have taken a semester’s leave of absence or who transferred to Wesleyan as second-semester sophomores may complete graduation requirements at the end of the Fall 2017 semester. All students who will have completed their eight Wesleyan semesters at the end of the Fall semester, or who are expecting to complete their degrees in December, should contact Dean Thornton as soon as possible if they have questions about their graduation status.

While one may complete one’s degree in December, no one graduates in December. Graduation takes place only once a year, in May.

HONORS

Click here, if you plan to be a candidate for Honors. Also, a few points to remember: If you are enrolled on a per credit basis in your last semester (either fall or spring) for only the second half of your honors thesis in order to complete your thesis, then that semester does not count as a Wesleyan semester for residency purposes, since you would not be a full-time student. This may result in problems with the residency requirement.

SENIORS ON FINANCIAL AID

Banks and schools are experiencing difficulties in the follow-up and collection of student loans used to pay educational costs. Since most difficulties result from students not understanding their responsibilities after the completion of their educational program, schools are required to conduct exit interviews with any student completing the undergraduate degree.

Exit interviews are required by the federal government, and failure to conduct them could cause the loss of Wesleyan’s eligibility for federal student aid funding. Therefore, we will withhold the diploma of any student who fails to appear for an interview. Please contact the Financial Aid Office directly to arrange for an exit interview.

OTHER THINGS TO DO

Make sure that all outstanding transfer credit, test credit, or any other academic credit you expect to apply toward your record is processed immediately. Remember that only 2.00 pre-matriculant credits may count toward your degree. A delay in posting additional credits toward your record will result in an incomplete and inaccurate review of your graduation record that could leave you with potentially serious complications.

A FINAL WORD

Do not hesitate to contact Dean Thornton (217 North College, 860.685.2764; (rjohnson01@wesleyan.edu) at any time if you have any questions regarding the graduation process. While we will do everything we can to facilitate the process, each student is responsible for his or her own graduation and for making sure that there are no surprises in May 2018.

Employment Opportunity during Homecoming/Family Weekend. Apply Now!

Hey Seniors!
This year’s Homecoming/Family Weekend (Nov. 3-5) is fast approaching, and we need student employees!
Aside from getting paid, you’ll also have the unique opportunity to help out with one of Wesleyan’s most important events, make lasting connections with alumni, and to represent the student body to hundreds of visitors and guests. Potential jobs include working at the registration site, escorting guests around campus in shuttle vans, and much more!
To apply for a position, please fill out and submit the student worker application.
Applications will be accepted until Friday, October 6th at 12:00 PM, and we will notify you of your employment status no later than Wednesday, October 11th.
There will be a mandatory student employee meeting on Wednesday, November 1st at 5:00 PM (location TBD). If you are hired, you must attend this meeting to receive your work schedules, event staff T-shirt, and other important event information.
If you have any questions, please contact us at aprinterns@wesleyan.edu.
Best,
Interns

Amanda Yeoh ’19, Maxine Gibb ’19, and Jejomar-Erln Ysit ’19​
Homecoming/Family Weekend 2017 Interns
Office of Alumni & Parent Relations
330 High Street
aprinterns@wesleyan.edu
(860) 685-2802

Senior Thesis and Essay Writers: Library Workshops

Senior Thesis and Essay Writers:
The library is offering workshops on research sources and interlibrary loan and other services for seniors writing a thesis or an essay. Sessions will be offered on Monday 9/25, Tuesday 9/26, Wednesday 9/27, and Thursday 9/28 at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00 each day. No need to sign up ahead of time. Choose a date and time convenient for you and join a group for a 45 minute info session in Olin Library in the Develin Room, beside the Art Library space on the second floor by the big stairs in the front of the building. Attendees will be granted expanded interlibrary loan privileges.

New half-credit course being offered this fall: CGST 201: Crossing Identities and Borders: Processing Study Abroad

Students who have studied abroad over the past academic should consider a new half-credit course being offered this fall: 

CGST 201: Crossing Identities and Borders: Processing Study Abroad

https://iasext.wesleyan.edu/regprod/!wesmaps_page.html?stuid=&facid=NONE&crse=014894&term=1179 . 

Research has shown that students make the most of their experiential learning abroad when they are given the opportunity to reflect upon it mindfully.  This student-centered seminar will offer returnees from abroad (fall 2016 or spring 2017) the opportunity to do just that: reflect on their personal experience through regular interactions with others who have shared similar experiences. We will meet once a week as a group to discuss readings of general interest, related to identity, borders, culture, and intercultural sensitivity and growth.  The goal of this half-credit course is to provide you with the support needed for gaining a deeper understanding of your experience, and for representing this understanding in the way that makes most sense for you (e.g., through an essay, a digital narrative, a work of art).

Inquiries may be sent to Prof. Bernardo Antonio González at agonzalez@wesleyan.edu

PLEASE NOTE:

1.     this class meets on Thursday mornings only

2.     the readings are intended to generate discussion

3.     success in this course equates to their commitment and participation, to their efforts at processing their own experience in a personally meaningful way; it does NOT equate to conventional notions of mastery

4.     this course is really an ideal “capstone” for our majors.

5.     this is an ideal way of picking up an extra half credit, stress-free

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) welcomes you to campus

Jennifer T. D’Andrea, Ph.D.

Director, Counseling and Psychological Services

Wesleyan University

327 High St.

Middletown, CT.  06459

860.685.3196 

Hey Wesleyan!

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) welcomes you to campus for the 2017-2018 year.   We are happy to share with you that, with support from Student Affairs and the President’s Office, we begin this year with additional staff to help meet your needs.  We also want to make sure you know what services CAPS provides to the Wesleyan community.  Our team of psychotherapists and doctoral level externs provide individual counseling as well as a variety of groups for students who experience personal difficulties such as grief, anxiety, depression, trauma, adjustment or relationship struggles, or any other issues with which they need support and assistance.  Students in crisis or with urgent needs will be able to see someone from our team quickly through daily crisis hours, while those with less urgent issues can typically see a provider within 7-10 days.  We also have on-call clinicians available after-hours during the academic year for students who need immediate assistance when our office is closed. 

In addition to our diverse team of therapists, we have a number of externs and fellows who are here to work with you.   We also have a full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner, Katie Scheinberg, who believes in a client-centered approach that focuses on psychopharmacologic treatment in partnership with therapy.

Information about our all of our staff is available on our website www.wesleyan.edu/caps, but we are happy to introduce three new clinicians on our team (bios below).

To schedule an appointment, call us at 860.685.2910 M-F from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM.  Students can also email us their weekly availability at counseling@wesleyan.edu.  Check our webpage for upcoming groups – fall offerings will include WESupport, Self-Care for Activists, Mindful Action, Addressing Insomnia workshop series, Understanding Self and Others for Female-Identified Students, and more.

We hope to see you at CAPS!

Dr. D’Andrea

Neal Sardana, our new full-time therapist, joins us after two years as a diversity fellow at Williams College.  Neal has a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in College Student Development.  His professional interests include identity development, impact of culture, social justice, marginalization and privilege, and toxic masculinity.  He has a background in career counseling and will partner with the Career Center to develop new programming this fall.  Neal is also the CAPS liaison to the graduate student community. 

Jennie Setaro is our new part-time therapist.  Jennie has an MA in mental health counseling, and her passion lies in working with college students who struggle with adjustment, anxiety, addiction, and sexuality.  Jennie is also a former college athlete who is looking forward to expanding the CAPS liaison program with the athletics department. 

Dr. Jessica Naecker is our postdoctoral fellow for the 2017-2018 academic year.  Dr. Naecker is trained as a generalist, but specializes in working with students experiencing anxiety and students who have experienced trauma.   She will also serve as the CAPS liaison to Academic Affairs, with the goal of assisting faculty in providing support to students.

Jennifer T. D’Andrea, Ph.D.

Director, Counseling and Psychological Services

Wesleyan University

327 High St.

Middletown, CT.  06459

860.685.3196