<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal">Hello, All:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hope October was a smooth month in the semester for each of you and your units!
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Given we are in the halfway point of the semester, some of my meetings with students have revolved around their
<a href="http://advising.ucmerced.edu/mid_semester_grades">mid-semester grades</a>. During these conversations we will generally discuss
<a href="http://advising.ucmerced.edu/resources/academic-success">academic success resources</a> available to them to support them personally and academically. A resource I always refer students to are office hours. However, an all too familiar trend arises
regarding this resource: office hours are scary! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For many of our students, office hours are not initially viewed as a resource they have access to that will help them learn and better understand the course material. Rather, office hours can be perceived to be a setting in which they will
have to <i>prove</i> they know, or at bare minimum, understand what has been covered in class thus far. Hearing students express their thoughts and feelings about office hours reminded me of a NPR article I read earlier this month:
<i><a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/05/678815966/college-students-how-to-make-office-hours-less-scary">College Students: Hot To Make Office Hours Less Scary</a></i>. The article speaks to what many of our student population may go through when it comes
to office hours, that is, they do not know what office hours are, and thus do not see the experience for what it can really be for them. As the article states, office hours can be “a valuable part of the college experience; a time when your professor can transform
into an adviser and ultimately a mentor. For students who don't know this – or are too nervous to take part – they may be missing a crucial component of what they're paying for by enrolling in college.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This leads me to ask of ourselves: what are we doing to educate our students on the importance and value of attending office hours? How can we improve it? And, lastly, what are we not doing that could help change their misperception and
eliminate their fear?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best Regards, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Brenda Maldonado-Rosas<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" width="450" style="width:337.5pt">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="150" style="width:112.5pt;border:none;border-right:solid #DAAC00 1.0pt;padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext"><img border="0" width="135" height="90" style="width:1.4083in;height:.9333in" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image001.png@01D59003.AB1B91B0" alt="https://emailsignature.ucmerced.edu.672elmp01.blackmesh.com/ucm_seal.png"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td width="300" style="width:225.0pt;padding:.75pt .75pt .75pt 3.75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-transform:uppercase">Brenda Maldonado-Rosas, M.S.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#092F44;text-transform:uppercase">Pronouns: she/her/hers</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222A35"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#092F44;text-transform:uppercase">Manager of Student Services</span><i><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222A35"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#092F44;text-transform:uppercase">Lead Academic Advisor</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-transform:uppercase">School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#999999">5200 Lake Road </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#DAAC00">|</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#999999"> Merced,
California 95343<br>
http://ssha-advising.ucmerced.edu/ </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#DAAC00">|</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#999999"> 209.228.2366
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext"><a href="https://ssha-advising.ucmerced.edu/meet-your-advisor/advisor-appointments"><span style="color:#0563C1">Schedule an appointment with me</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#999999"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:windowtext"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ssha.advising"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1">Facebook</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#2F5496">
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#FFC000">|</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#2F5496">
</span><span style="color:windowtext"><a href="http://www.instagram.com/ssha.advising"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1">Instagram</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#2F5496">
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#FFC000">|</span><span style="color:windowtext"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/sshaadvising"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#0563C1">Twitter</span></a></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#2F5496"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Cambria",serif;color:windowtext"><img border="0" width="224" height="10" style="width:2.3333in;height:.1083in" id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D59003.AB1B91B0" alt="signature_1395077227"></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#999999"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="padding:7.5pt .75pt .75pt .75pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#EEEEEE;letter-spacing:1.9pt;background:#092F44">BUILDING THE FUTURE IN THE HEART OF CALIFORNIA
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:windowtext"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>