Dear Parents & Families,
The Spring Semester is off to a great start and there has been a lot of activity on campus as students settle back into their new routines. As usual, we started the year off with our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Celebration - now in its 20th year - and over 200 community members joined students, faculty and staff in this important commemoration of an American icon. We have much to report for the coming semester, so read on!
The Rising Tide Update
The Rising Tide, the College’s third strategic plan since 2016, entered the implementation stage over the summer. The plan is built around four transformational pillars, integrated across all areas of campus: 1) create a unique honors college identity, 2) empower students for success, 3) build a vibrant multi-cultural institution and 4) become an exemplary community resource on the road to accomplishing our vision as the college of choice. We have transformed the Strategic Plan Website from a planning and informational focus to one where we report on results. You can see summaries of our progress in the fall toward the various key tactics and performance indicators within each of the four pillars. New tactics will come on line in the spring semester as we progress through the three-year plan.
Black History Month
SMCM celebrates Black History Month throughout February, with a kickoff event Friday evening, February 2. Other planned events from the Division of Inclusive Diversity, Equity, Access and Accountability (IDEAA) include Trivia Night at the basketball game February 7, National Black Girl Magic Day on February 15, Step Afrika! 101 performance with an afterparty on February 17 and Black Student Union’s Black History Month Bash on February 28.
FAFSA Update
As you may already be aware, there have been some major changes to the FAFSA form for the 2024-25 academic year. The new form is fully available to students and their families. To keep everyone informed about the changes, the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) has created a dedicated page that will be regularly updated.
Please visit: https://www.smcm.edu/osfa/2024-25-fafsa-changes/ or contact OSFA with questions: osfa@smcm.edu or 240-895-3000.
You can also join SMCM and the director of OSFA to go over the changes to the 2024-25 FAFSA.
Topic: 2024-25 FAFSA Changes
Presenter: Rob Maddox, director of OSFA
Date: Tuesday, 2/6/24
Time: 7-8 PM
https://smcm.zoom.us/j/86289406342
Meeting ID: 862 8940 6342
Passcode: 527595
Mulberry Tree
The latest issue of Mulberry Tree has been mailed and should be arriving soon. You can also view this and past issues online at https://www.smcm.edu/mulberrytree/. The Winter 2024 issue focuses on how the College community connects with our history, particularly as it relates to the enslaved persons who lived and toiled on our lands.
The Current
Also this semester, we launched a new student communication platform, The Current. Based on focus group and individual feedback from students, the College’s web services team designed this custom web-based platform with students in mind. Through the site, students can customize the information they receive from dozens of interests in academics, clubs and activities, athletics, and administrative topics. The site is structured similarly to a social media feed, with which students are intimately familiar, and is mobile- and dark mode-friendly. (Note: full functionality on The Current requires an SMCM login, but you can still take a look around.)
Middle States Reaffirmation of Accreditation
As part of our Middle States Reaffirmation of Accreditation self-study, SMCM is analyzing four institutional priorities. The first - Academic & Professional Excellence - asks how well we foster these qualities for students, faculty and staff. Learn more about the self-study, the four institutional priorities and the Middle States process on our website at https://www.smcm.edu/reaffirmation-of-accreditation/.
Athletics
There are plenty of opportunities to catch an exciting athletic contest, either in person or in many cases via live stream. Winter sports teams wind down their seasons in February as the spring teams resume practice and get their first contests underway. Of note, the Atlantic East Conference Championship meet for men’s and women’s swimming will be hosted at SMCM’s Michael P. O’Brien Athletics & Recreation Center from February 15-18.
Developing a Good Sleep Routine
Office of Student Success Services (OS3)
“To sleep perchance to dream” (Shakespeare in the play, “Hamlet”)
How many hours of sleep should a college student get each night? If you answered 7-9, you are correct. Between classwork, their social life, stress due to family/friends, a job, living on their own for the first time, etc., it is very easy for college students to sleep 6 hours or less. This can be physically, mentally and academically harmful.
Click here to read the full article on potential issues of too little sleep, the benefits of healthy sleep, and how to help your student improve their sleep.
News & Events
President Jordan Leads Discussion at Higher Education Leadership Conference
President Tuajuanda C. Jordan, along with four colleagues in higher education administration presented, “Preserving Inclusion Work in Polarized Environments: A Case Study” and led a group discussion during the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) held this year in Washington, D.C., Jan. 17 - 19. AAC&U is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation and excellence in liberal education.