TRUMBULL COLLEGE DEAN’S NOTES: September 11, 2023
I hope you all had a nice weekend! Now that we’ve settled in for the term, I want to draw your attention to the Academic Strategies Program – please make use of their workshops! I have heard from students from all years that these workshops are incredibly helpful. Make use of them! Every week, we include a list of the upcoming workshops – most of them are held right around the corner in the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning.
Please also look at the Tutoring section. I want to draw your attention to our Trumbull Writing Tutor: Adam Sexton. He’s awesome. Please scroll down for a blurb about him with instructions for making an appointment. In addition to course-based tutors, who are hired by specific introductory level courses, another resource is Drop-In: Residential College Math/Science Tutors and those hours start today. You can find more info by clicking here. Please remember that all of these workshops and tutoring services are free of charge.
TC’27: Save the Date – Academic Integrity Workshop (required) on Monday, September 18th at 8:30pm in the Trumbull College Dining Hall.
Finally, please take a moment to scroll through this whole newsletter each week – at the end, under “Other”, we always have a bunch of random blurbs that are sent to us from various offices/organizations. We don’t want you to miss out – you might get some great swag along the way! Have a great week!!
Meeting with me
To make an appointment, please use the Calendly scheduling tool, https://calendly.com/dean_c. Please reach out to Alice with any scheduling issues. For in-person meetings, please come to the office. We’re right here in Trumbull G104, which you can access across from Entryway A or through Entryway G. Zoom meetings (including open Zoom office hours) will be through my Zoom page: https://yale.zoom.us/my/skchandhoke.
My OPEN ZOOM office hours for each week are listed on the top of my Calendly page. When you click on the Zoom link, you will be placed into a waiting room. I will speak to students (one-on-one) in the order they “arrive”. My upcoming open hours are on FRIDAY Sept 15th (10am-noon).
Please note that I teach on Wednesday mornings during the fall term.
ACADEMICS
Please double check your Course Schedule and Yale Degree Audit (via YaleHub) to make sure you are officially registered for your courses. If your class list is not exactly what you thought it was, please %20alice.kustenbauder@yale.edu?subject=Issues%20with%20my%20schedule">let us know immediately. Many problems that students have with the registration system can be remedied, but being prompt in informing us is essential.
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A schedule with a course in a professional school requires an additional form for each course. If you have not already done so, submit the Request to Enroll in a Professional School Course (Blue Form) no later than 5pm on Wednesday, September 20th. Zero (0) course credits are recorded for the course until the Registrar’s Office acts on your Blue Form to determine the course credits. Some courses earn 1 course credit in Yale College and some earn 0.5 course credits (most commonly in SOM and EPH). Some do not earn any credit.
Remember: only 4 professional school credits can be offered toward the 36 credit requirement.
Remember: Courses at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and at a professional school cannot elect the CR/D/Fail option.
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If you are interested in petitioning to earn double credit in a single-credit course, please read the relevant section in the YCPS, and then consult with me. The deadline to submit this petition is Midterm, but I recommend that you do so well before that date.
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Yale Degree Audit: Yale Degree Audit (YDA) is a tool that tracks your progress toward the bachelor’s degree. You can access Degree Audit through Yale Hub. Degree Audit displays the Yale College degree requirements that you have already completed and those that are still pending. A “Look Ahead” feature shows you how future course enrollment might apply toward your degree. If you believe that academic information in your degree audit is incorrect, contact our office.
September 13 Final deadline to apply for fall-term Leave of Absence
September 13 Withdrawal from Yale College on or before this date entitles a student to a full rebate of fall-term tuition. See Undergraduate Regulations
September 20 Deadline to Request to Enroll in a Professional School Course (Blue Form)
September 21 Last day to withdraw from a course offered in the first half of the fall term without the course appearing on the transcript.
September 23 Withdrawal from Yale College on or before this date entitles a student to a rebate of one-half of fall-term tuition. See Undergraduate Regulations.
TUTORING
Advising Resources: http://advising.yalecollege.yale.edu
Sc/QR Tutoring: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/stem-tutoring-programs/small-group-and-1-1-tutoring
Language Tutoring: http://cls.yale.edu/foreign-language-tutoring
Writing Center/Tutors/Partners: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/undergraduate-writing-and-tutoring; https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/writing-center
Trumbull Writing Tutor: Adam Reid Sexton is the Trumbull College Writing Tutor. Adam teaches three courses in the English department (The Craft of Fiction, Reading and Writing the Modern Essay, and Writing About Music) and is a Critic in the graduate School of Art. During summer 2022 he taught Writing About Music for Yale in London. Adam is also a writer; his next book, Difficult Listening, is due to be published soon.
To meet with Adam, please reserve a half-hour by logging on to https://www.yalewco.com/index.php, and be sure to email him the document you want help with by 7:00 a.m. on the day of your appointment. Include the instructor’s prompt, your focus for the meeting, and when the paper is due. Adam looks forward to working with you!
Yale Academic Strategies Program/Office of Educational Opportunity
https://yaleconnect.yale.edu/PoorvuAcademicStrategies/club_signup
https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/academic-strategies-program
Our mission is to help all Yale undergraduate be active, empowered learners at Yale. Though peer academic mentoring, interactive workshops, and connections to resources, we hope to provide you with the tools that can propel you towards your goals.
Essentials for First Years 2. This 5-week series showcases the 5 workshops that students find most impactful for getting a good start to academic work at Yale. Four workshop times available each week! Students can register for 1 or for all 5.
Click on the links below to register for one of this week’s Optimize Your Reading workshop for time management and creating a weekly schedule:
Tuesday, September 12, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL 120C
Wednesday, September 13, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL 120C
Thursday, September 14, 2:30-3:30pm, Poorvu CTL 120A
Friday, September 15, 1-2pm, Poorvu CTL 120B
STEM Navigators. Want to learn the best practices for succeeding in introductory STEM Courses? Join STEM Navigators, a mentoring network that provides you with information, events, and support to guide you through these crucial first courses. Sign up via this link: STEM Navigators sign up
Disability Peer Mentorship Program. This program matches students with disabilities with peer mentors who have similar experiences navigating academic life at Yale for individual mentoring. Students can request a mentor via this form: Disability Peer Mentor Request. First-year students can also request mentorship and guidance about Student Accessibility Resources through the SAS Peer Liaison Program.
Meet with our Learning Specialist. Have a learning difference or other condition that affects how you accomplish your academic work? We can talk with you about new approaches for meeting Yale’s academic challenges. Contact Karin Gosselink (karin.gosselink@yale.edu) for an appointment.
For First Years: College Transition Videos. Did you know that diving into your syllabi can help you succeed in your classes? What to learn the keys to performing well on p-sets? Learn about these topics and more through our college transition videos: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/academic-strategies/first-years-workshops-videos-events.
Individual Mentoring. Get organized for the semester by meeting with an Academic Strategies Mentor. Mentors will help you develop a weekly study routine, offer strategies for approaching complicated readings and p-sets, and help you develop a plan for prepping for those first exams. Our online mentoring schedule goes live Monday, September 18. If you’d like to schedule a meeting before then, please email us at academicstrategies@yale.edu.
Workshops. Our famous workshop sessions are available in person and online! Register via the YaleConnect links below. FYI: Poorvu CTL M104A is upstairs from the York Street Entrance to Sterling Memorial Library. Poorvu CTL 120 A, B, C, and 121 are the classrooms on the first floor. Questions? Contact us at academicstrategies@yale.edu.
Reading Analytically for Social Science. This workshop provides an overview of deep reading to generate effective contributions to class discussion, develop essay topics, and identify strong evidence for essays. Participants will get practice with these strategies in our interactive session.
Monday, September 11, 7-8pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
Reading Effectively for STEM. Learn strategies for reading purposefully and efficiently for STEM courses. Topics of discussion include how to effectively read textbook chapters and scientific articles, how to navigate jargon, data, and figures, and how to use readings to prep for problem sets and exams.
Monday, September 11, 8-9pm, Zoom
Strategic Planning for Your Senior Thesis. This workshop offers you foundational strategies for researching, working with resources, and writing your senior thesis. This workshop is a good complement to the Academic Strategies Senior Thesis Power Hours.
Tuesday, September 12, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
STEM Navigators: Crash Course in Python. Are you taking a statistics/CS course that requires Python? Do you need a refresher, or perhaps you’ve never encountered coding before? This is the workshop for you - come learn the basics of Python, and how it might be useful in both your course and real life applications! In collaboration with CSSSI and StatLab.
Tuesday, September 12, 5-6pm, Poorvu CTL 121
Getting the Most Out of Your Language Classes. Learn the daily habits and mindsets that can help you succeed in learning a language at Yale. This workshop offers suggestions for study strategies and approaches that support this process.
Tuesday, September 12, 7-8pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
Optimize Your Reading. Learn how to preview a text, effectively interact with the text while reading, and review your reading for class, essay, or exam preparation
Tuesday, September 12, 8-9pm, Zoom
Returning From Your Leave of Absence. This interactive workshop helps you assess your current interests, strengths, and needs, and helps you develop a transition plan to help you get reconnected to your academic life at Yale.
Weds, September 13, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
STEM Navigators: How to Talk to STEM Professors. How do I even approach professors and make the connections I need? Come to this interactive workshop where you’ll learn to email, talk to, and meet with your professors and other Yale faculty!
Wednesday, September 13, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL 120B
Managing a Heavy Reading Load. Feeling overwhelmed by piles of reading? Learn some essential strategies to make the most of your limited reading time. Have less stress and create more free time!
Wednesday, September 13, 7-8pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
Strategies for Intro Physics. Come to this workshop to talk about how to approach physics at Yale! We will address everything from tackling p-sets, to thinking like a physicist, to organizing and planning your work for these classes.
Wednesday, September 13, 8-9pm, Zoom
Organize Your Time. When was the last time you asked yourself “How am I going to get all of this done??” You are not alone! This interactive workshop offers evidence-based strategies and the opportunity to start figuring out what will work best for YOU: you will not only learn about ways to make the most out of your time, but also do some actual work toward your own scheduling and planning needs.
Thursday, September 14, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
STEM Navigators: Crash Course in Excel for Data. Are you taking a statistics/lab course? This workshop’s for you: find out what you need to know to use Excel and generate great visuals for your data!
Thursday, September 14, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL 120B
Strategies for Intro Math. Learn strategies for efficiently working on intro math problem sets and key strategies for studying for exams.
Thursday, September 14, 7-8pm, Poorvu CTL M104A
Cultivating Faculty Mentors/Recommendations. Initiate conversations, ask for assistance, request recommendations, and build mentoring relationships with Yale faculty, teaching fellows and staff.
Thursday, September 14, 8-9pm, Zoom
STEM Navigators: How to Succeed in the Bio Sequence. Are you taking BIOL 101-104? Want to know how to do well in the biology sequence at Yale? Come hear from students who have taken & succeeded in the course! They will share their insights on how you can tackle the course when it comes to studying, exams, and more.
Friday, September 15, 4-5pm, Poorvu CTL 120A
OTHER
Introduction to Mindfulness: Tuesday September 12th 1pm-2pm, at the Good Life Center in Schwarzman.
Have you ever tried mindfulness meditation? Would you like to cultivate your practice over the course of 4 weeks? The Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults MIEA (previously Koru) is an evidence-based four-session course designed to help you build the habit of meditation. Research shows that MIEA reduces stress, improves sleep, and boosts self-compassion with 10 minutes of daily practice.
*Class meets once weekly for 1 hour. You must be able to attend all four classes to enroll.* Please click here to register 4-week Mindfulness course.
Mindful Photography: Wednesday September 13th 12pm- 1pm, the Good Life Center in Schwarzman:
Interested in learning how mindfulness can be used when taking pictures? This workshop will teach you how to utilize this medium as a means to engage mindfully with the world around you. All levels are welcome! Please click to register for Mindful Photography
Coffee and Connections: Friday September 15th 1p-2pm at The Beanjamin in Ben Franklin College
Speed friending will give you one-on-one time with another Yale College student every 5 minutes, which means more connections can be made! This event is co-hosted by YC3 and Ben Franklin College. Please sign up via Yale Connect as space is limited. Food Provided (Your beverage of choice from the Benjamin on us!) Please click to register for Coffee & Connections
CUPA Presentation: Interested in studying abroad in Paris? Learn more about CUPA, which offers both a summer and a semester study abroad experience for students with advanced French language skills
Thursday, September 14th, 1-2pm at 55 Whitney Ave, 3rd floor, room 305
Sleep Science: How can sleep help me get better grades: Monday September 18th 1pm-2pm at the Good Life Center in Schwarzman.
Interested in learning about how sleep can help improve your personal and academic life? Join this workshop to learn the science behind sleep and why it is so important for our overall well-being. Please click to register for Sleep Science
Apply to YMUN Taiwan! We organize a beginner-focused Model UN conference for high school students in Taipei. (You get a free trip to Taiwan over spring break!). Applications are due September 20th and can be accessed at bit.ly/applyymunt. Please contact secgen@ymunt.org if you have any questions!
From the Yale Library
Let’s Find Books for Class | Online Learn how to optimize Quicksearch to find books (including e-books and audiobooks). Bring your course syllabus and save a trip to the bookstore!
Tuesday, September 12, 5pm | Register: https://schedule.yale.edu/event/11253697
Boost Your Google Image Searches | Online In this 30-minute virtual session, learn tips and tricks on how to get better image results from Google Images. We will also cover basics of copyright and using image citations for your work.
Tuesday, September 12, 2pm | Register: https://schedule.yale.edu/event/11030232
First Steps with Zotero | Online Join us for 30 minutes to learn about Zotero, free software to help you manage your research, take notes, and create a bibliography.
Tuesday, September 12, noon | Register: https://schedule.yale.edu/event/11154498
Wednesday, September 13, 7:30pm | Register: https://schedule.yale.edu/event/11253799
Heidi The Therapy Dog At Marx Library Take a break with Heidi the Therapy Dog!
Tuesday, September 12, 3 – 4 pm | Details: https://schedule.yale.edu/event/10983478
Students who attend 3 library workshops this semester will receive a FREE Yale Library tote bag! Learn more: https://guides.library.yale.edu/WorkshopIncentiveProgram