Undergraduate Bulletin > Undergraduate Studies
Undergraduate Studies
Steven H. Roberson, Dean of Undergraduate Studies
John R. Sopper, Executive Director of Undergraduate Studies
Gabriel O. Bermea, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Mission
Created in 2009, Undergraduate Studies works collaboratively and interdependently, both internally and externally, to foster a learner-centered experience for student success by
- committing to an inclusive, responsible, and transparent learning environment of high creative energy, impactful academic support and great personal expectations, with unwavering mutual respect for all to develop into life-long learners;
- offering complementary colleague development and support to sustain high impact undergraduate pedagogy and developmental advising, implement innovative technological practices, and explore meaningful intersections between scholarship and interdisciplinary learning;
- combining efforts with UNCG faculty and staff to provide rich, holistic, and transformational learning experiences emphasizing collaborative inquiry, integrative thinking, and competent communication for the 21st century learner; and
- pledging to function organically, constantly seeking and manifesting realignments and new approaches in order to most ably respond to evolving responsibilities, opportunities, and necessities.
Vision
As a flagship division, Undergraduate Studies will become a national and international innovator in vitalizing the academic experience for all undergraduates. Undergraduate Studies will take the lead to address the holistic academic needs of the twenty-first century learner through a collaborative approach. Undergraduate Studies will use data to inform divisional content, articulate collaborative strategic initiatives, and implement choice tactical approaches that complement and integrate academic and non-academic units in the interest of learner success. To assure currency with best practices and emerging opportunities for excellence, Undergraduate Studies will employ imagination and creativity in a tireless quest for discovery and innovation. As a learning and learner-centered organization, everyone in Undergraduate Studies is encouraged and expected to dream big, seek and propose new ways and means, continuously evaluate, and work across borders of every sort, and—above all—to seek direct relationships with students. Undergraduate Studies will do all of this, and more, with maximum zeal and optimum efficiency, constantly seeking ways to refocus resources of time, talent, and treasure to foster a learner-centered experience for undergraduate success.
About Undergraduate Studies
Ashby Residential College
Ashby Residential College, founded in 1970, is the oldest residential college in North Carolina. We foster a living-learning, holistic academic community grounded in liberal education. Peace, which includes sustainability, wellness, and global human rights, is our primary intellectual and social commitment. Our experimental, multidisciplinary curriculum, and self-governing activities encourage students to integrate and apply knowledge to societal challenges, implement projects that foster personal development, innovation, leadership, and civic engagement; and develop a strong, diverse community.
Communication Across the Curriculum
Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC) promotes and facilitates a campus-wide focus on writing and speaking skills by implementing the writing- and speaking-intensive general education and College additional requirements; assisting faculty in developing, proposing, and exploring methods for teaching writing- and speaking-intensive courses; advising students in planning and executing writing and speaking projects, chiefly through the Speaking and Writing Centers; and promoting the value of communication and communication skills to the broader University and Piedmont Triad communities.
The University Speaking Center
The University Speaking Center supports speakers in their ongoing process of becoming more confident and competent communicators. We provide one-on-one tutoring and instructional workshop services for UNCG students, faculty, employees, and members of the Greensboro community. Services are designed to help speakers further develop their oral communication confidence and competence. Assistance is offered in the preparation and delivery of speeches, development of knowledge and skill in interpersonal communication, and group or team communication.
The University Writing Center
The University Writing Center (UWC) aims to connect writers with readers, to make good writers better writers, and to help people develop awareness about themselves as writers that will assist them after leaving the center. Our practice includes a collaborative approach, where writers and consultants engage in one-on-one conversations about writing. As a place privileging collaboration and shared knowledge, the UWC encourages people to be in control of their writing and to participate actively in sessions.
Cornelia Strong College
Strong College is a residential community in which students participate in learner-centered co-curricular activities such as attendance at performances and lectures, and in which they develop strong interpersonal relationships with faculty and with fellow students that will contribute to their educational, social, and emotional growth.
Faculty Teaching and Learning Commons
The Faculty Teaching and Learning Commons (The Commons) guides UNCG faculty towards the adoption of exceptional 21st Century pedagogical practices, invigorating the imagination of a talented faculty to find the optimal fusion of technology, research, and passion for cultivating integrative and collaborative undergraduate learning. The Commons is committed to providing high impact practices designed to enhance learning for undergraduate and graduate students at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The Commons accomplishes this through several programs and initiatives designed to increase student engagement, provide creative curricular innovations, and revise academic courses. Through its efforts to assist faculty, staff, and students, The Commons supports active, collaborative, and integrated teaching, advising, and learning. Finally, The Commons promotes faculty-student interactions across campus in order to facilitate the learning process and make students feel more
connected to the University and their majors.
Ione Grogan College
Grogan Residential College fosters a learner-centered experience for undergraduate student success emphasizing planned and intentional opportunities for collaborative and integrated learning, transitional support, connections between the curriculum and the co-curriculum, and supportive community relationships among faculty, staff, and students. Grogan College is composed of a variety of curricular Learning Communities (LCs), each focused on a specific theme and headed by a Faculty Fellow. Some of the LCs are designed for students who have already selected a major; others are for students from any major who share an interest in the topic. The Faculty Fellow teaches at least one of the LC courses, serves as a mentor to students, and meets with them for co-curricular community building and enrichment activities. Live-in peer mentors are associated with each LC, and they work with a designated Faculty Fellow to provide additional support and to organize programs and outings for their LC.
The Director works with all Faculty Fellows and students to provide program-wide activities and opportunities for leadership and service.
Office of Learning Communities
The Office of Learning Communities was established in 2011 to foster and support learning community programs and partnerships throughout the University. The office coordinates day-to-day logistics and provides administrative oversight and support for UNCG’s Learning Communities and Residential College programs, works across campus to develop new learning community opportunities, and researches and promotes best practices for ongoing quality enhancement. The program is coordinated with a high level of collaboration among academic and student affairs units, with the main goal of providing UNCG students with a rich, holistic, and integrated learning experience emphasizing collaboration, critical inquiry, integrative thinking, and effective communication for responsible leadership in a sustainable global society.
Office of Transfer and Adult Student Academic Success
In partnership with faculty, staff, and students across the University, the Office of Transfer and Adult Student Academic Success was established in 2011 to foster collaborative learning, personal development, and growth for transfer students and adult learners. The office strives to be a leader in the UNC system, providing learner-centered experiences for students who enter the University as transfer students or adult learners. The office serves three core purposes: 1) Academic coaching, support and advocacy for transfer and adult students, 2) Developing partnerships with community colleges in and around the Piedmont Triad, advancing academic success for community college students before they arrive on campus, and 3) Promoting and supporting students in UNCG in 3 (http://uncgin3.uncg.edu), an accelerated degree completion program for motivated students who know their career destination.
Office of Undergraduate Research
The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at UNCG is dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, creative expression and other scholarly experiences for our undergraduate students. Using a combination of internal and external funding, OUR provides stipends to students to work with faculty mentors on independent research projects during the summer and academic year. It sponsors an annual Undergraduate Research Expo and a variety of student and faculty development workshops. OUR also ensures UNCG’s students and mentors are recognized locally, regionally, and at the national level.
Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Home to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Office of Undergraduate Studies works collaboratively and interdependently, both internally and externally, to offer comprehensive academic support, sustain high impact undergraduate pedagogy, create complementary faculty/staff development and engagement, implement innovative technological practices, and explore meaningful intersections between scholarship and interdisciplinary learning. Furthermore, the Office oversees the academic appeals process, course withdrawal requests, and academic policy related to Undergraduate Studies and its respective departments.
Student Success Center (McIver 110)
The Student Success Center supports the individual needs of students as they persist towards an undergraduate degree and develop into lifelong learners. Complementing the efforts of the teaching faculty, students are served through a personalized and structured approach that includes tutoring, counseling, peer assisted study groups, academic skill development, and workshops and computer instruction. The Student Success Center partners with faculty, staff, and administrators in upholding the mission, standards, and requirements of the University. We offer a diverse environment that is respectful, nurturing, and challenging. The Student Success Center comprises four (4) academic support programs.
Learning Assistance Center provides individual and small group tutoring services in most 100- and 200-level courses for UNCG undergraduate students. Some tutoring is also available at the 300 and 400 levels for Nursing majors. Additional support services include: academic skill assessment, one-to-one instruction to enhance academic skills, academically focused workshops, and learning assistance handouts.
Special Support Services is an educational support program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro for first-generation and low-income college students. Support services available to students include: individualized tutoring in most courses (100–400 levels); skills assessment and instruction; writing and research skills assistance; personal, academic, and career counseling; graduate/professional school guidance; financial literacy instruction/information; a skills lab for academic skills improvement; and a study skill handout resource area.
Student Study Program offers undergraduate students with the opportunity to form collaborative study groups of up to 4 students. Also, the Program will provide students with the ability to study and retain information through a group format, as well as helping them to build positive relationships with other peers.
Supplemental Instruction Program is an academic support program that targets historically difficult courses. Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a non-remedial approach to learning enrichment that increases student performance and retention. Students enrolled in SI-identified courses attend regularly scheduled, out-of-class discussion/review sessions. SI discussion/review sessions are informal seminars in which students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools, and prepare for examinations.
Undergraduate Student Excellence
Undergraduate Student Excellence (USE) coordinates programmatic initiatives that empower students to achieve their greatest academic potential as engaged members of the UNCG community. In collaboration with partners across the university, USE programs provide first-year students, students at potential, and those returning to the university after academic difficulty with the individual opportunity, access, and support necessary for collegiate success. Specific initiatives coordinated within the office include Exploratory Studies, Foundations for Learning, the Academic Contract of Excellence Program, and UNCG Guarantee.
Students First (SF) serves as one of the first lines of response in helping UNCG students address any number of academic issues they may experience at the University. SF coordinates intervention processes across different academic and administrative units in order to determine the best possible success strategies for students facing academic, social, or financial setbacks. In collaboration with other support services across campus, the office serves as an academic information station for assisting students with academic advising, academic appeals, course overload requests, and graduation plan completion. Beginning summer 2012, SF advisors are also responsible for the advisement of all exploratory (undecided) students at UNCG.
