Key Conversations

When meeting with students for the first time, you should ask the following questions.  Please note that with yes/no questions, the answer dictates the appropriate next step for the student or your answer to the student. Links, rather than print-outs, are provided for your reference in this section as appropriate. 

What is your motivation in attending college?
What kind of job/profession do you want to prepare for?
Have you already picked a major or do you have a pretty good idea of what your major will be?
Have you completed the admissions process?
Are you an in-state or out-of-state student?
Have you applied for financial aid?
Will you attend this fall as full-time or part-time student?
How comfortable are you with different formats for courses (on-ground, online, hybrid)?
At which campus do you want to attend classes?
How many credit hours do you want to take?
What are your ACT, COMPASS, or other test scores?
Do you have SAILS credit for math?
What’s your work schedule? What other aspects of your life will have an impact on when you can attend classes?
Are you an ESL student?

What is your motivation in attending college?
Knowing what’s motivating the student to attend NSCC and how motivated the student is will help you know how directive you can expect to be in the conversation.  

What kind of job/profession do you want to prepare for?
Many students will come with pre-conceived notions about how to prepare for certain jobs or careers that need to be gently redirected.  Don’t hesitate to direct students to our Career Services Office which has resources for students from the very beginning of their studies at NSCC.

Have you already picked a major or do you have a pretty good idea of what your major will be?
This is a great time to show students the “Degrees and Certificates” page on our website http://www.nscc.edu/academics/degrees-and-certificates/.  Clicking on the options and going over them with students is a good way to work with students who have no idea about what they want to study.

Have you completed the admissions process?
Whatever they say, advise all students to check myNSCC or to go to the Admissions Office to see if everything, including shot records, is in order.

Are you an in-state or out-of-state student?
Regardless of the answer, it’s probably a good idea to go over the fee schedule with students http://www.nscc.edu/content/resources/F15tuitionfees.pdf.

Have you applied for financial aid?
"NO" – Refer them to the Financial Aid Office.
"YES" – Then ask “Have you checked your status?” or “Have you gotten word back from the Financial Aid office that you’ve fully completed the process?”  Many students apply for financial aid but then don’t do the necessary follow-up work to make sure that financial aid has been applied to their student account.  Refer all questions about financial aid to the Financial Aid Office http://www.nscc.edu/admissions/financial-aid/.  

Will you attend this fall as full-time or part-time student?
Full-time status starts at 12 hours.  Make sure students know this and help them understand the challenges of juggling work and family expectations with full-time status.  Students do not have to enroll at full-time status to receive financial aid, but their awards will be adjusted according to the number of hours in which they are enrolled.  

Part-time students who need to meet Learning Support competencies can no longer register for a three-hour stand-alone course.  Only students enrolled in a limited number of certificate programs may take ENGL 0810, READ 0810, and/or MATH 0810.  

Part-time students who need to meet competencies in all three Learning Support competencies should begin with READ 0815 + the co-requisite college level course if they can take only 6 hours.  If they can take 9, they should take READ 0815 + ENGL 0815 + ENGL 1010. See below for links for more information about advising Learning Support students.

How comfortable are you with different formats for courses (on-ground, online, hybrid)?
**Tennessee Promise does not pay for RODP courses and strongly discourages online classes. In addition, online class fees are not covered by Tennessee Promise.**

However when you ask this question, this is a great time to let students know that they may have a choice between on-ground courses and online or hybrid courses.  From your experience, explain the differences among these types of classes, emphasizing particularly what’s necessary to be successful in an online course.  This includes: having easy access to a computer that has the required capabilities to participate in all features of an online course; being comfortable with not seeing the instructor face to face, hearing his/her voice, and interacting in a classroom with other students; being self-motivated and organized enough to keep up with assignments and submit work on time.  It will be very helpful if you let them know that:
 ·        there are deadlines for submission of work;
 ·        assignments are typically not open all semester, but have a window during which they must be completed; and
 ·        instructors are not available 24 hours per day and will take a reasonable time to respond to questions.

Students are required to read the orientation to online courses before beginning a course http://www.nscc.edu/academics/online-learning/ and are encouraged to attend online learning workshops offered at the beginning of the semester.

At which campus do you want to attend classes?
Students will most likely attend classes at the campus or site at which you are meeting with them.  Still, it may be helpful for them to know we have multiple campuses for these reasons:
1) They should be careful to enroll in classes at the campus they wish to attend. 
2) If they move, even temporarily, in our service area, they may continue to work on their degree at any campus of NSCC.
***Guide students through the process of registering on myNSCC and to schedule their courses. They may need some help in deciphering ‘R’ as ‘Thursday’, noticing the campus information for courses and sections, and figuring out the technical aspects of enrolling.

How many credit hours do you want to take?
If students are unsure, talk with them about their family and work commitments, their motivation for being in college, and how prepared they feel for succeeding in college.  You may be able to help them determine the number of hours they feel comfortable with.  Students enrolled in fewer than 12 hours will still receive financial aid, but their award will be based on the number of hours they are carrying.

What are your ACT, COMPASS, or other test scores?
For students who’ve taken only the ACT and whose scores place them in co-requisite Learning Support, suggest that they take the ACT COMPASS test.  Explain that scoring high enough will place them directly into college-level courses.  The Testing Center http://www.nscc.edu/student-resources/testing-center/ takes walk-ins for the COMPASS test during normal business hours.

Do you have SAILS credit for math?
"NO" – You will refer to students’ ACT, COMPASS, or other scores for placement.
"YES" – Refer to the section in this handbook on Learning Support for placement in Math.  

SAILS stands for Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support.  Students at many high schools in our service area have had the opportunity to take the same or similar learning support math courses as those at community colleges while still in high school. If successful, they can go straight to college-level math classes at NSCC.   https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/high-school/sails  

Students who have been successful in the SAILS program should have a certificate that verifies they’ve earned the necessary competencies in math.  Ask students who say that they’ve participated in SAILS if they have this certificate; if they do, let them know that they should take the certificate to Admissions for uploading to their Banner record.  
For more information about SAILS at NSCC, contact Dean Sarah Roberts, Math and Natural Sciences.          

What’s your work schedule? What other aspects of your life will have an impact on when you can attend classes?
The heart of your advising conversation with the student may take place while discussing these questions.  With your experience as an instructor at NSCC, you can help new students understand how other students have managed multiple demands on their time and commitments and been successful in doing so.

Are you an ESL student?
"YES" – Refer student to ESOL Program Coordinator and the ESL website. Print off the ESL New Student Checklist linked there and give it to the student.  Be aware that some ESL students have refused ESL support by signing a waiver of ESL assistance.  You can identify such students by looking for ESOL-N under “View Student Test Scores” on myNSCC.  Such students are no longer eligible for ESOL assistance and may not ask for the accommodations (e.g., time and a half on tests) that are afforded ESOL students.