SHPE - Fall 2007 - (Page 54) ADVISOR CORNER T By Leilani Rangel valuable, than the impact SHPE has on the community,” Cordero said. In effect, Aroz’s support of the GPA Rewards Program has helped it reach a balanced sense of community and retention. “GPA Rewards is a good challenge to raise their GPAs, and if we get it up, we get rewarded,” he said. “Kids like to compete, so it’s a competition with other chapters but between members too. In my opinion, the retention of these students is really the big success. Now their GPAs are really solid and the leadership is really solid, so I think that will be passed on.” In order to participate, students sign a contract to provide their advisor with their GPA’s at the beginning of the semester. After confirming the GPA’s, the advisor calculates the chapter’s average and submits it to SHPE National. The process is repeated at the end of the semester, and the chapters with the greatest margin of improvement win special recognition (see sidebar). The program also requires each chapter to develop a strategic plan to improve performance, a key factor often missing with regard to academics. Whereas in the past, meeting requirements for an academic activity was a matter of designating a random or occasional “study night” that would entail quiet hours in the SHPE office, now officers have to coordinate each academic activity into a larger plan that outlines how the event will draw participants, facilitate them working together and ultimately help them achieve the goals of preparing for tests and improving their grades. ASU responded to the competition by forming an academic committee. It organized study sessions every month that included free food during breaks, a feature Balancing the Equation ASU’s Aroz Uses GPA Rewards to Evaluate Outreach and Academic Results W hen the Society of Hispanic Engineers announced a new program for academic improvement last fall, Arizona State University was among the first chapters to sign up, and its advisor, Manuel Aroz, director of student achievement at the Fulton School of Engineering, was eager to participate. To Aroz, the GPA Rewards Program embodied the simple philosophy for success he has preached throughout his 30year career at ASU. Given his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and his master’s degree in education, both earned at ASU, it’s no wonder that he expresses it as a balanced equation – one that includes time for class, study, work and play. Aroz, who has served as advisor since the chapter’s inception in 1982, views SHPE as a means to retain students so that they graduate in engineering. As an advisor he urges students to limit volunteer work to between 15 and 20 hours a week (or if they carry a heavy course load, between 12 and 15 hours). In addition to carving out additional study time from social activities, he also advocates simple strategies of going to class, taking notes, working in groups, tutoring and seeking motivational mentors. Aroz values the sense of community that SHPE brings to ASU’s students, many of whom are far from home. “Being a part of and participating in an organization gives students a sense of belonging and, in my opinion, provides motivation,” he said. Through its outreach, SHPE-ASU extends that sense of community throughout campus and into the local area. As an example, during MESA Day, SHPE members mentor local middle and high school students as they tackle hands-on STEM activities. Members also are active in constructing a playhouse and organizing robotic competitions at local elementary schools; and during a recent cancer run, they cheered on participants with encouraging words and signs. Despite its benefits, community outreach can become a slippery slope. According to Barry Cordero, past Region II student representative, chapters focus on Manuel Aroz outreach because it makes an immediate and positive impact. Yet as these programs get bigger and stronger, they can start taking away from the students’ school work; and, as a result, some of the most active members begin to see their grades decline. GPA Rewards was developed to improve academic performance, thus making it a higher priority for student chapters. “The whole point of this program is to focus on their chapter’s academic performance and show how that is as valuable, if not more GPA Rewards This program challenges a chapter to work as a team to improve its average GPA within one year. Each member of the top three chapters whose average GPA increased by the most significant margin will receive discounts of 30 percent, 15 percent and 10 percent off the cost of registration for the 2007 SHPE Conference. Easily recognized at the conference by their lapel badges, winners will be sought after for their teamwork skills and academic performance. By focusing attention on academics, the program will provide more opportunities for top academic performers, produce proven strategies for improving academic performance and enhance the quality of SHPE student membership thereby contributing to SHPE’s mission as The Source for Quality Hispanic Engineers and Technical Talent. In addition to adhering to SHPE’s code of conduct, participating chapters must be officially recognized by SHPE National by October 31 of the program year and have an active SHPE advisor, also approved and recognized by SHPE. The chapter must adhere to all deadlines and not exclude any member from participation nor coerce the public disclosure of any member’s GPA. Each participating member must be a current, paid member, verifiable through OneSHPE. For more information, contact your RSR or RVP. SHPE R Fall 2007 54
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