Ep. 15 - Getting to Graduation

Welcome to Episode 14 of the CSUSB Advising Podcast! Registration is happening now for summer and will be soon for the fall semester! And you may also be thinking why you should meet with your advisor. 

In this episode, we have:

• James Alford - Academic Advisor, Columbia College Chicago
• Veronica Crossley - Senior Program Specialist

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Transcript

Matt Markin  
Welcome to the CSUSB Advising Podcast. Join us as we bring you the latest advising updates at Cal State San Bernardino. Each episode is specifically made for you the CSUSB students and parents. We provide you advising tips interviews with both CSUSB campus resources and those in academic advising. Sit back and enjoy. Go Yotes.

Star Wildes  
Hey, Yoties. My name is Star, and here with me today...

Matt Markin  
Hey, this is Matt. And Star, another episode of the CCB advising podcast, and we're almost done with the spring semester.

Star Wildes  
Yes, we are. And it's crazy, because I feel like it's just flying by. It's going really fast. Please make sure that you do register. Y'all. Registration for summers has already began and also coming up for fall. Matt, can you share some information about that with us?

Matt Markin  
Yeah. So just like you said, summer registration is in full swing, and fall registration is going to be starting very soon. So it will begin on April 26 for the Fall registration and that's for the five mandated groups that get that first priority, or I should say, higher registration appointment date. And then after that, it's done by class level. So please check your mycoity account on your Student Center and look under the enrollment dates. What you will find is that the summer registration date pops up first on your Student Center. But if you click on details, you'll be able to pull up the fall semester registration date and then also see the time that you can register for the fall so make sure you're also checking your Student Center if there's any holds on your account, to make sure you take care of those. So that way you can register on your registration date.

Star Wildes  
And Matt, thank you so much for sharing that we do have our amazing guests, James and Veronica and I soon hear yodi. You will be hearing from them. And Matt, can you tell us about our first guest?

Matt Markin  
So we have James Alford from Columbia College Chicago, an academic advisor from that institution, and we wanted to bring James onto this podcast to talk to you about his previous experience as an undergraduate student, his time seeing an advisor, and then also what it is now to be an academic advisor and mentor to students. And also you can check out his podcast called 79th Street podcast. But let's jump right into his interview. You Hey, yo D's, we have James Alford, who works as an academic advisor at Columbia College Chicago. But not only that, James is also speaker, presenter, mentor, and the host of the 79th Street podcast, which James looks to give advice and share his experiences from being a student and professional in higher education, which is definitely why we wanted to bring James onto the ccsv advising podcast. James attended Northern Illinois University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in Black Studies and a Master of Science in Adult and Higher Education. James was able to study abroad in Beijing, China, where he studied leadership, service and culture. And this experience has shaped his perspective on many things and opened up so many opportunities to him as a student and currently as a professional. James, welcome to the podcast.

James Alford  
Thank you. Thank you. 

Star Wildes  
Yes. Thank you so much for joining us. So James as an academic advisor, what student populations do you work with at Columbia College Chicago?

James Alford  
So I work with our film and television students, so it's our biggest major that we have on campus. So we have a number of advisors, but I work with the film and TV students, and I also work with our editing and post production bachelor of fine arts students. So these are students who specifically apply, and it's kind of like a more geared program towards like, if they want to do like editing or directing or something like that. It's like a curriculum, especially for them to be like an expert in that area, versus the BA, which is kind of kind of general, and there's a lot of flexibility with it.

Matt Markin  
I don't know. We might have some students that might be reaching out to you say, Hey, can I transfer over to your college? Let's start. I want to kind of bring you back to, like, your time as an undergrad student, kind of navigating college or working toward your bachelor's degree. And I know when we were talking offline, you talked about how you didn't really meet with your advisor, and so maybe towards the end of your your time, so maybe, like around your senior year or so. And I think that would be a great story to tell on the podcast, because not only would students possibly relate to that story, but also why it's so important to meet with your advisor. So can you talk to us and tell us about your experience?

James Alford  
Yeah, so I remember being a freshman, and, you know, I'm a first generation student, I'm a trio alum, and so you really don't know what you're getting yourself into. And I remember starting to college, and I was excited because I was a political science major, and I just want to take political science classes like I would take these classes. And. And I remember I had when I was in orientation. I was like, Hey, can I take both of these classes? It's like, yeah, you can take both of them. And so I'm like, Cool. So I'm like, I got these two political science classes, and I'm thinking, I'm on it. And I remember, like, fast forward, I'm at the Center for black studies on one campus and a grad, another grad student, senior, just start having a conversation like, Hey man, you know what's up? You know, what's your major? And I'm like, Oh, I'm political science major. And he was like, Oh, I was a political science major, good too. He's like, What classes are you in? And so when I started telling him what class I was in, he was like, hold on, you shouldn't be in both of those classes at the same time, he was like, for granted, we all know it would account as an elective, but he was like, as a first year student, you know, it's kind of like one or the other. Got both. And so I end up like, you know, a couple weeks in, withdrawn from a class, like as a first semester student, and then, you know, you hear from people like, Oh, you don't want to withdraw from so many classes, because the school, you know, they didn't come after you withdraw from too many classes. And and then from that point, I started seeking mentorship from the s plan mentoring program, and I learned how to read my gen eds on what Gen Eds I should be taking and what area they fill in. And then with my major, it was a number of African American students that I came into contact with that were political science majors. And so they would just tell me, like, hey, take this class. Stay away from this teacher. And I just kind of took on that advice. And then I got to the point where I had joined trio. So I joined trio late, like, some people are so surprised, because I wear like a, like a, like a name tag, you know? But when I joined trio, it was kind of like I had all these things I went through, and then at this point, it was like, I maybe I should go see an advisor, because I had took a lot of classes, and my mate, especially my major, where they weren't in the catalog I came in, they were new classes and another catalog. And as soon as I was advisor, was like, Well, hey, you've been taking classes. You got this many credits. Let's update your catalog year so we don't have to put in all of these substitutions for like, 10 classes, and I wouldn't have known that, or if I would have waited, you know, another year, I probably got, like, a no grad letter, because it wouldn't have filled into my, you know, my degree audit without if I wouldn't took that initiative to go say, like, Hey, I'm trying to graduate. Let me see what I can do for myself. To see is that possible to graduate is what I was thinking.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that experience. Because I know students, you know, we here at Cal State summer. Do you know we use the pause setting for the program advising work chief of students? And, yeah, I could totally relate, you know. And, and maybe say, thinking like, oh, you know, I think I got this. I'm reading it right, you know. But again, you mentioned trio, and that is, you know, Matt and I have been in the Education Opportunity Program, EOP. And also, shout out, so shout out to EOP. Shout out to sales, Student Assistance and learning program that really helped a lot of our students, you know, keep on track. But also, shout out to all advisors. As you know, we're all advisors here trying to help students guide them in their academic journey. Again, the experience some students may go through that some may not, but again, that experience is very important, being that know that you can get help from a mentor, from an advisor. So thank you, James for sharing that. So James, during your during your undergrad, did you? Did you? Did study abroad and had the opportunity to travel to China. So can you tell us a little bit about that?

James Alford  
Yeah, so that kind of people are surprised when I mentioned this in conversation, but it makes for a great conversation, because we have a lot of students from China, like, especially at our at our school, and so it's a great talking piece when, you know, say, hey, you know, I'm from China. I was like, I studied right in China. And so they just instantly, it's an automatic conversation piece. But how that trip came about was one of I call it like my second mother, but she's been like a mentor, Regina curry. She worked at the Center for Black Studies, and I want to say I was like her shadow, but I was up under her from day one up into I graduated with my masters. And when the opportunity came, they said, Hey, we're going to let you chaperone this study abroad trip. And the first thing she said, she said, Hey, I'm going, you going to and she just did whatever her power, you know, to make sure I was able, you know, to go from, you know, raising funds on the side to so I could be able to pay for a passport, air, you know, airfare. But it was a great opportunity. Me where I'm glad I didn't go along. You know, I know a lot of people would be uncomfortable. I think I would be uncomfortable being in another country by myself, but it was great to go. It was six students, including me, and it was three staff from our school, and I was our group. One of the instructors had visited, I think has family there, but was there like a year prior, and had made a friend, and that friend came and was like our personal tour guide for a good majority of the trip. So we kind of created, like our own, our own, like, family, right, where most of those people I'm still pretty cool with, like, I said, Miss curry. I'm still like, say that's like the second mother and hallica, she was the assistant director of the Latino Research Center, and we still communicate. Michelle. Bring us. I know she was the director of the Asian American Research Center, and we still have communication. But like, with my peers, I think, like, say some of those are, like, like, my family, like, where one of my friends, we still talk pretty regularly. And it was like, yeah, that's my that's my China buddy, because we kind of, like, we knew each other before then. But I think that trip, just, you know, brought us closer. Like you're in this country and you're doing whatever you can, because, like, you're in another country, like we have these, like we have roommates, right? And so, like, you know, my one friend, her roommate, was kind of like, you know, they had some tension at times. So just like we always end up just hanging out together. So it was great to see it. And I tell anybody, if you can afford it, you know, study abroad. And this is not to not study abroad. But I felt like those were, like some of the easiest classes I ever took studying abroad. And one of my favorite motivational speakers, Eric Thomas, I listen to him a lot. He's a trio alum as well. And so he just talks about how, you know, he was like, man. He was like, study abroad. It's not that the class are difficult. It's just, can you afford it? And that's how I feel where, like, you know, if you can afford I recommend anybody doing it, because, like, say, it was three weeks, it was kind of like a glorified vacation, right, where we did work, but it didn't feel like work like and we got to see all of these monuments and shows, because we was learning this culture, and, like, doing service learning projects with students from other schools. Like, to me, that's just, you know, another, you know, date and apart, you know, but you know, if you can afford it, I recommend anybody doing it, if you're thinking about it, study abroad, because to this day, that comes up in every interview I have, and I feel like the last few interviews is always the first question that people ask, because they're like, Well, hey, China. Tell us about this. And it's like nobody can tell me about China, because, you know, they haven't been there. And I had one buddy who I took some classes with a while ago. I ran into him out and he was like, bro, you went to China. He said, Man, I only know two black people that went to China, he was like, You, and Stephon Marbury, he said, and I don't really know him. I know you. And so it is a pretty like, you know, good talking point, but it was a great experience, you know, just to experience that, like, say, and I got a passport out of it, and I've used that passport, you know. And so my passport actually expires next year, and so I'm kind of sad about that, but I got my passport in 2012 to study abroad in China.

Matt Markin  
Great story there with that. And I, and I'm hoping that yodiza, you listening to the podcast right now, that you really consider doing study abroad. I mean, especially once we're post pandemic, you know, definitely take advantage of that. And then we had that study abroad office, you know, you're able to get in contact with the coordinator and go over the whole process. And a lot of times, your financial aid can also help to cover some of those fees as well. So if you listen to James story, great experience out of it. We'll see if your classes are easy if you take them, but you definitely can take some classes and have it transfer back, you know, get the credit for it, but you also just get that experience of traveling somewhere else and getting a whole different cultural experience. So thank you, James for that. Now, one of the things too is, you know, you're you're seen as a mentor right now. You've also had many mentors growing up and sometimes with students, the question comes up is, like, why do I need to have a mentor? But also, if I want to have a mentor, how do I find a mentor? Do you have any advice for students?

James Alford  
Yeah, so I think the first thing there's always peer mentoring going on at, you know, on the collegiate level, and so, like, as I mentioned, I came into. Plan that was a mentoring program specifically for incoming freshmen African American students. So that's what it was for. Well, first year, first year, because they took transfer students and they paired you with a upperclassman based on they tried to do interest. I was fortunate enough where I kind of got two mentors for the price of one, and it was only because I had the one mentor I was paired with in the program. And then I acquired another mentor who just, he just seemed me around. It was like, No, I need to be mentoring him. And so I got two mentors for the price of one. But I think what you should do is like, you want to look for somebody that's where you want to go, or in the same field that you want to do, and you want to build that relationship. And I think, you know, it's okay to be picky, because, you know, the one thing I learned in college, like a lot of people would like to make claim to you because you're doing great things, and they and they haven't influenced you in any way. So I'm very selective on what I say as my mentor, like, I'll say, like, hey, that you know, that person is cool. I learned a lot from them. But like, I do hold that mentor title, like, to my heart, because I think you do have to be very selective. But you can find it in different places, from organizations to if there's a staff person or instructor that you're always in contact with, they could be a possible mentor. Because I'm going to tell you, like people students don't think to do this, like, build relationships with their advisor or their instructors, but you need that. Like, the one thing is, I want to always be of a resource to students. And just like last week, and I think it's relevant, right? I had a student reach out and say, Hey, can I use you for a reference? And I unfortunately say, like, Hey, I don't think that's a good idea. I really don't know you, and I think you should use somebody that know you. You know, better than I do, because I really, I couldn't point the student out of a group of 20 people, and so I think that would be fair. And so that's another instance where you might want to consider mentors, because you're going to need those people as references for jobs and other things. And so if you build that relationship early, like, like I was grateful enough to do, where I built these relationships, and so like those people I can still call upon till this day, where, you know, it's a it's a give and take, I definitely believe it's a give and take, where it wasn't them just always giving, but I was at stuff of, like my mentors that time, and some, you know, sometimes It was like, especially if it was like, another staff or instructor, like, hey, I need we got a group of students come, you know, coming up. Can you come speak to them? And it's just like, I will be a fool tonight. You know, do that when this person is like, say, I'm calling this person my mentor. And so it's definitely give and take, but you can seek mentorship. There's a lot of mentoring programs, I think, like within the school settings, but also you can see somebody like, Hey, I like that person. I think they're doing a great thing on campus, you know, approach them and just, and just see like, I think that's a part of the college experience where, like, you know, I have approached people too, is like, Hey, I don't know what you're doing, but I see you moving and shaking. How can I get like you and, you know, and it works out sometimes, sometimes it don't work out. But I will say it's their loss. Because, you know, I feel like with any students, you have a lot to give to, um, you know, people. And if somebody doesn't want to, like, train, because I think that's all students want, right, where they just want somebody to listen and they want somebody to point them in direction of good advice. And if a student feel like that, like, say, people call me crazy because, like, say, I am I do mentor and, you know, but I think as as the time goes on, you don't have to manage those relationships as much like, it's just like, a quick check in here, right where? Like, personally, I have a mentee that is graduating with her masters in counseling this year. But like, the past two years we've had minimal communication, and that's just because, you know, she did the undergrad. We got it through the first year, and now it's just like she kind of know where she's going. So I think over time, you being a mentor the, you know, the workload lessons, but I do think it's a it's good to give back to impact that next generation of students and of citizens. 

Star Wildes  
James and you brought up some great points, being that you know, check if you're looking for a mentor. We have peer mentors as well, especially here at CSUSB, we have the student mentoring program. We have that's our first time freshman incoming transfers. We also have the student mentoring program called link for continuing and transfer students. But also we have our Pan African collegiate. Scholars so packs. And again, if you're interested mentoring@csusb.edu and again, you've covered so many amazing topics in that. You know, I encourage students, don't wait. You know, if you find that a professor, you're interested in the research that they're doing, reach out to them. Don't be afraid. You know, an advisor, you know, ask questions. Don't be afraid to and thank you so much for for mentioning that, because these are all all amazing information. And at one point in time, Matt James and I had mentors as well. So you know, in the careers that we're at, if we could not have gone gotten to where we're at today without the mentors, without the support, family, of course, peers, but again, very important. And thank you so much for sharing that story. James, now you have a quote in your email signature, and the quote goes, every thing you need to accomplish your goals is already in you. Why is that quote important to you?

James Alford  
Oh, I think, and I think that goes back to my time being a student, right where I think so much you look for validation from elsewhere, and you look in all these other places. But to be transparent, I was on academic probation after my first semester of college. I got dismissed technically after the second semester, and then I was given another chance. And so it wasn't a matter of like me looking like for help elsewhere. I just, I just had to, like, go to the next level, and I had to pull that outside of me to become a better student. And so I think, you know, as a as as people in general, like as staff. You know, sometimes, you know, so that old a job, or, Hey, the School of this, but sometimes it's really in us to to make a better situation for ourselves. And you know, if that's created a new opportunity, you know, starting a new organization, I think we all have those powers and capabilities inside of us to to make it happen. Because, you know, somebody could tell you know, but you know, if you come with the right paperwork, they got to tell you yes, at some point.

Matt Markin  
And as we wind down with with the interview, you also host your own podcast, the 79th Street podcast. Talk to us about that.

James Alford  
Yes, so I'm pretty sure a lot of people were looking for ways to, I want to say, stay connected to people when the pandemic first started. And so I was blogging, and then one of my my former colleagues was like, James, you need to do a podcast. And then I started with some research and and then one of my former students was telling me about, like, Oh, hey, you can use this app and you can make a podcast for your phone. So I started playing with the app, and then, and it's like, well, what do you talk about? It's like, well, I could talk about, you know, the college experience, and it's been really useful, because I've been able to utilize a lot of my former students from my previous role when I worked in trio, and so a lot of those students have made appearances, and we talk about the college experience, you know, different aspects of it, from, you know, involvement to, you know, like, the last episode we just did was just about, like, transitioning to the real world and, like job searching, because, you know, that's important things that I don't think nobody was prepared for it and like, so just Try to bring that aspect of it and utilize, like, my wealth of knowledge from being an over involved student to even work in higher ed as professional. To reiterate, some of these things were like, hey, students should meet with their advisor. Like that was definitely an episode where it's like, Hey, I get it. I didn't do it. But I'm telling you I'm an advisor now, and it's easier if you just keep that relationship over the years, then you meet with the advisor every two or three years and so, but it just kind of came from, I think, the like, say, the pandemic. And I was like, Hey, let me put something out there. And I got a lot of like, say, good feedback from my former students. And it's been fun, like I've learned a lot of new skills, and which I'm pretty sure you all can can agree that you know you learn a lot in the midst of trying to run a podcast. 

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that I know that you know listeners are here, and if they would like to reach out to you, what's the best way, or even check out your podcast. How can they find you and your podcast? 

James Alford  
So they can look me up on Facebook or Instagram. The 79th Street podcast, I think on Instagram is 79th Street underscore podcast, to be exact. And then also they can go to James Alford llc.com, and and you can get the link to the podcast. It's available on, you know, Apple podcast Spotify. So if you got a favorite podcast website, it's on quite a few, but those, those probably the easiest ways to reach out and connect with myself or the podcast.

Matt Markin  
Yeah, and if the last episode is a topic that you want to listen to. Yodes, I think once you graduate, what are you doing afterwards? Career advice. Go check it out. Definitely. James, thank you so much for being with us today. No problem. Thank you. 

Star Wildes  
James, you have been so amazing, and thank you so much for sharing that information. We are so happy that you joined us. And next up, we have Veronica from summer session. Enjoy yodes And listen up. You. Foreign Hi everyone. Thank you so much for joining. We have our special guest Veronica Crossley from the College of Extended and Global Education. Veronica has been with the college since April 2018 and came from CSU San Marcos, where she managed summer and winter for 10 years. She enjoys winter and summer because they're unique, and every year is different with a new challenge. She's excited to see students meet their educational goals, and takes pride in the fact that she's able to assist them with this. She loves her job, and again, here with us today is Veronica Crossley, thank you so much, Veronica, for joining us.

Veronica Crossley  
Welcome. Thank you for having me. 

Star Wildes  
So Veronica, we're going to ask you a couple questions, and some of these questions are coming directly from our students, and also you have been on our live Instagram events. So some of these questions may be some of the questions that were asked during those live sessions. So Summer Enrollment is happening now, and students have had questions about fees and financial aid. Can you share the fees students can accept, expect to pay, as well as mandatory fees for specifically undergraduate students?

Veronica Crossley  
So the student fees. They are for undergraduates, it is $325 per unit. Credential students will pay $345 per unit. And post bac graduate fees will be $365 the mandatory campus fees for all levels are $235.64.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that information. Ronica, so again, please make sure that you do check the fees and mandatory fees and Veronica, as far as financial aid, students have asked us questions regarding summer aid and applying for summer aid. Can you please share the type of financial aid that is available for students. And for those of you who are just tuning in via this podcast, be sure that you check out our previous podcast about financial aid information as well as summer aid. But Veronica, can you please share with us as far as the type of summer aid that students can expect?

Veronica Crossley  
Yes, there's several types of aid that is available. First, there's always aid that you have left over from Fall and Spring. If you have not spent it, or you don't, you haven't used it, or you haven't accepted all your loans, you're able to use that for summer. Also, you can use your Federal Pell Grants, if there's anything left over, and then the Federal Pell Grant two. There's also two grants that we're offering this year, which we have offered in the past, and we're still offering them this year, the summer Assistance Grant, or what we call the sag, is for students who are regularly admitted to a CSUSB eligible degree program. They meet the satisfactory academic progress or SAP, and you have to have a 2020, 2021, FAFSA or DREAM Act on file. You can register up to eight units and a minimum of six units. So it will you have to be in six units in order to be eligible for this grant. And it will only, we only pay out, it maxes out at eight units. So if someone is enrolled in eight units, and they're enrolled in 10 years, someone else is in 10 units, they'll receive if they qualify that same funding would be the same for eight or 10 units, there is no application fee for that. Students just need to enroll, and then financial aid determines their eligibility. We also have what's called the Graduation Initiative Grant, and that is the gig. We call it the gig that's for seniors who are graduating this summer. So you have. Have your file, your grad check on file for summer or you need to refile it, but it's for seniors who will graduate in this summer. It's not the fall, but this summer, you will have to complete an online application. It's on our website, and you can find that@csusb.edu at csusb.edu, forward slash summer, you will have 100% of your tuition only paid for, and it will only pay for those classes that go towards your graduation. So if you take a class that is not you just want to take it because it will help you get into a credential program, or it'll help you get into a grad program, something like that, but you don't need it for your graduation, then it will not cover the gig. Will not cover that class, but it will cover your other classes that program. You can contact Tiffany Bookman, and she'll have more details on it and the status of your application once you have submitted for it. Sorry. You also one more thing, you can take up to a maximum of 14 units.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that. Veronica, I know this has come up many of times, and we just want to make sure that you know, we confirm it here on our podcast, will summer be virtual, in person or hybrid? Can you share a little information about that with us?

Veronica Crossley  
Summer is, is mostly virtual. There may be, there's a couple classes that are meeting on campus, but you would know if it's yours, so you can just count on all of them being online. Some do meet at certain times. So you do have synchronous and asynchronous, which asynchronous is when you just do your work, whenever you do and get it in by the deadlines. And synchronous is when you will meet me to meet with your class at certain times. And that will be on the class schedule. It will note the days and the days and times that you'll need to meet online. But almost everyone will not meet on campus. You'll all be online.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that. And again, just a reminder, if your course were hybrid. Now, this may be courses, maybe, for example, with a lab, you will be notified via email again, most of the courses, majority of the courses for summer, is online and virtual, as Veronica mentioned. So this is another questions that student has been have been reaching out and asking us about how many sessions are offered in summer. I know you had mentioned the max units. I'm just going to repeat it just in case. So Max overall units that you can take during the summer sessions will be 14 with each session. In each session, seven max units. Can you let us know how many sessions are available during the summer?

Veronica Crossley  
I'm really happy about this, but now that we've converted to semesters, we're able to go back to the three sessions. As some may be aware, if you took it last year, there was only one session because it was a short summer, and so we weren't able to offer as many classes, and so it was harder for students to take the classes or to get the classes because they weren't offered. But this year, we're back to the three sessions. It is a shorter term, just because we're on the semesters, and there's only 10 weeks, so we have there's five weeks. So the first five weeks is June 2 through July 7, that includes finals. And the second five weeks is July 8 through August 11, and the full 10 weeks is June 2 through August 9. And so we're very happy you should be able to find a class at your name. We're very happy to be back to the three sessions and this waste and give students an opportunity to find what they need more you know, there's just more selection for them.

Star Wildes  
Absolutely, and don't forget to check out the schedule. It is available online and or through your My coyote and Veronica, let's say a student plans to enroll here at CSUSB for Fall term now fall is after this coming summer, so the student been accepted to our campus at CSUSB as a transfer student or first time freshman, and would like to attend a summer session with us. Can a student attend and is there a process that the student need to follow or complete if they were going to join us, if they're already scheduled to join us in fall, but would like to come during the summer?

Veronica Crossley  
Yes. So there's a form on admissions website, and it's called the early start, early summer start form, or they call it an application, but it's just a form. But what you have to do. You need to complete it and submit it to admissions, and they will approve if you can start classes in summer or not. However, they will not review it unless you have all of your paperwork in, transcripts, test scores, whatever you need to have in they will not process it. It does take some time, so most likely, you'll only be able to take classes in the second five weeks.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much. And I know we had a couple questions regarding that, so thank you so much for clarifying and letting us know about that. So Veronica, let's say a student registers and the student does not receive financial aid and or they're not able or capable to pay the fees and or mandatory fees, overall fees for the summer, as they were expecting. You know, financially, what would you suggest the student would do in this case?

Veronica Crossley  
Well, you could contact Student Financial Services. I don't know if they offer payment plans or not for summer, but you can check with them and see if there's an option or a payment plan. You can also, unfortunately, if you, if you can't pay for them, you're going to have to drop them, because there is, I mean, if you're enrolled in them and you don't pay for them, and for some reason, it's your responsibility to drop the class, and if for some reason, just because the drop date comes and you may not be dropped, because it's all technology, who knows something could happen, you should, you should always check your account anyways, to make sure that your financial card is right, that your financial aid is there if you need it. And so you should, you should always check your account, but especially when it's something where you may need to drop, don't expect the system to drop you, just because it may be out there that it's going to on that date. So if you are, if you are unable to pay, and you can't get loans then or financial aid, then I unfortunately, you would need to drop your classes. You want to make sure that you do drop the classes because you don't want to receive an F and the if you do receive that summer, summer does count towards your academic progress. So you want to make sure that you don't, you don't hurt that don't don't hurt yourself. If you can't pay for a class, you need to make sure you drop it. Don't and don't assume that someone else is dropping it for you.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that. Yes, that is very important. So if you are registered for courses, maybe you were expecting to receive financial aid and or you just don't have the means to pay, and you've looked at all your resources, and you just are not able to, you know, get this for this summer. Please, as Veronica mentioned, make sure that you check your My Coyote, that you check your academics. And unfortunately, of course, as she had mentioned, drop the courses because you don't want those to count against you, because that could affect future aid as well as your progress in your education. So great information and again. Thank you so much, Veronica, I know that you've been doing this work here with us, and we've collaborated with you, Matt and I, our team, our advisors, but what are some reasons why you would encourage students to enroll in a summer session and or winter intersession? Because I know you oversee that as well. But why would you encourage students to take advantage of these sessions?

Veronica Crossley  
Well, first, I would talk to seniors who only have a few classes left, and say your tuition is going to be 100% paid for. You know, you can't get a better a better deal than that. So if you have two three classes, up to 14 units, your tuition is going to be paid for tuition only. We don't pay any of the mandatory campus fees. It doesn't pay if there's a class fee attached, or books or anything, but it does pay your tuition. So I'd reach out to seniors. That's a huge benefit, right there. That's a huge opportunity. Also, there is additional financial aid, like the summer assistant grant that is not available during fall and spring. So you want to make sure that you can take care, take participate in that. And if you're eligible, you know, all you have to do is enroll. There's no application. There's nothing financial aid will determine your eligibility. I'd also say, if you take these classes, you can get out of school a little earlier, and maybe you can get yourself out one semester early or two semesters early. But even if it's one semester early, that's financial aid you don't have to take out for another semester. Or if you're paying for it, that's another fee you don't have to pay for. It's just and you're out in the workforce earlier than your other classmates, which allows you a step ahead of them, because now you have the experience, because you're a step ahead, especially if you can get out two semesters, your whole year, ahead of everyone, also due to covid. Unfortunately, a lot of us may have, you know, a lot of you may have fallen behind, and it's a way to get back on track so that you can stay on track towards your educational goals, to make sure that, you know, we, everyone has the fatigue, Everyone's tired, and it's been, you know, it's easier sometimes to just not do it, so we understand, but this is a great way for you to get back on track. It's an opportunity to do it, and as long as there's all that aid available for you, you might as well, you know, get back on track with that.

Star Wildes  
Absolutely. Getting back on track and staying on track. Thank you, Veronica for sharing that. So if a student would like to reach out to your office, or may have some summer session questions. What's the best way that students will be able to get a hold of you in your in or your office?

Veronica Crossley  
So we answer our email. We reply daily throughout the day, so we try to have our inbox empty every day, and we answer our calls. If you call and leave a message, we will return your call. If you call and you don't leave a message, sometimes, we return your call anyway, and if you do, if we do get you, we will help you. The The email address is summer@csusb.edu and our phone is 909-537-3978. Again, we do respond, even if the question isn't about summary, you need help. We'll try and figure out where you need to go. If you just can't give you answers. Financial aid will help you. Get the financial aid, but we cannot give you detailed information, but anything you need, we will do our best to help you, and we won't just pass you around. We'll try and get the answers for you.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that Monica and I know you also are on social media. Can you please share the social media handles that way students will be able to check out the amazing posts and information that you have for them?

Veronica Crossley  
Yes, so we are on Instagram, and our Instagram is the hashtag CSUSB summer, and we post three times a week. It has all the information you need. There's a Cody Coyote video up there, and we it's just, if you need additional information, I also put the our contact information every time there's a post. And it's just a great way, if you just are looking for a quick image or quick information to go through and look for that. If there's anything that you want to see, or any comments, we do check up so you can leave a comment or question, and we do check them, and we'll follow up with you. So it's just another way to reach out to us again.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much. Veronica, well, those are our questions, and we are truly appreciative that you are here to share the summer session information with us, not only with us, but our students that are listening. Again, if you have any questions, please don't be afraid to reach out. We are here to help and guide you. And thank you again, Veronica, for being here with us.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much, Veronica for sharing all of the information about summer session, or should I say, sessions, because there are three sessions. Please make sure you check us out on our social media outlets, CSUSB, advising on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, Tiktok as well. And of course, thank you so much for listening to our podcast.