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The Buzz Around Student Affairs
Newsletter of Today
News for the Month of April 2020
Unlike our previous Buzz, we will be taking on more of an update and information-based standpoint, rather than our usual highlights and feature stories for the time being. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding through this transition.
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In light of current circumstances, Ed Talks will now be replaced with Ed Updates for the time being. These videos highlight any changes occurring throughout the University through the effect of the Coronavirus. Please stay tuned for any updates regarding University or department operations, as they may continue to alter throughout the course of this transition.
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Intent to Enroll (ITE) Has Been Pushed BackDue to ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 virus, Sacramento State leadership has decided to extend the deadline for students to confirm their intent to enroll from the traditional May 1 to June 1 for the Fall
2020 term.
This decision was made with the recognition that our current climate has introduced a great deal of uncertainty for our prospective students and their families. Students who would like to submit their Intent to Enroll before June 1 may certainly still do so.
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Out of the Darkness Walk 2020On Thursday, April 9th, hundreds of students, parents, alumni, and community members attended the virtual 2020 Out of the Darkness Walk to support suicide awareness and prevention.
Typically, this event starts outside of the Well and is known as a community event. However, due to mandatory precautions caused by the novel Coronavirus, the Out of the Darkness walk took place virtually as participants walked their chosen nearby path to support the cause.
Even in light of the current circumstances at hand, participants and supporters were able to come together through the use of modern technology and even shared their support on social media. As many participants held signs while walking through their paths and spreading awareness, the Out of the Darkness Walk brought together a community separated by the pandemic.
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Student Feature: Gardenia GarciaAdministrative Support Student Assistant, Gardenia Garcia, describes how the outbreak has affected her workplace and personal life. Currently, she is a student employee at the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) assisting students in providing academic support, advising, and creating learning communities since Fall 2019.
Though for the well-being of the public, Garcia and many other Sacramento State students are no longer able to fully live the college experience. It has truly impacted her personally and academically as she can no longer utilize campus resources such as the WELL. “Personally, this pandemic has created a stressful environment because I am unsure of what tomorrow holds or the day after that,” quoted Garcia.
Before the sudden rise of the pandemic, Garcia’s responsibilities consisted of managing the front desk. At the front desk, she not only welcomed students into the EOP space, but she also helped with scheduling advising appointments and guided them to the proper department according to their needs. Aside from interacting with students, she would also collaborate with the EOP staff for upcoming projects they needed help with. Garcia says, “The best part of my position was being able to interact with students on a daily basis and help them in any way possible, but because of COVID-19 I am now engaging with students online instead. I find it hard to have that one-on-one interaction."
Even though Garcia doesn’t have the opportunity to meet with students in-person, she noticed that the engagement of students has increased on their social media presence after the outbreak of COVID-19. Students now rely on the program even more for updates, communication, and a platform that provides a positive virtual environment.
Someone who made Garcia’s transition easier from working at the office to working at home was her trusted supervisor, Alejandra Franco. She tells Garcia how she has been very flexible and quick to adjust to her environment. Franco has also commented on her admirable ability to balance work obligations and school academics all while being at home.
New strategies that EOP intends to incorporate into their program are providing counselors via zoom for students. There will also be revised drop-in hours for each counselor and last-minute scheduling. EOP commits to assisting the Sacramento State population whether it is in person or online. They are here to help students thrive and adjust to our new normal.
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Admitted Student Week: Say Yes to
Sac State, Virtual Edition!In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our unfortunate inability to invite our incoming students to campus at this time, the Office of Admissions and Outreach is planning to launch Admitted Student Week, coming this April 27- May 1!
This event will include 3 set sessions each day, as well as links to specific department info/contacts/videos/etc.
If your office or department has anything that would like to be shared with our incoming students on this virtual platform, please have your previously designated department representative forward the material to admittedstudentday@csus.edu.
Currently, we are working to create a separate webpage for this week-long set of virtual events in order to provide a centralized hub for students to explore, so be on the lookout for correspondence from the event planning committee.
Thank you for your continued support!
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Student Emergency WebsiteBecoming a virtual University was a challenging and stressful time for all members of the Sac State Community. This was a tough transition for all students, especially those who rely on the university for critical services such as housing, financial aid, and equity programs.
In an effort to enhance student communication and alleviate undue stress related to disparate information, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications, SA-IT and many partners throughout the Division built the Coronavirus Information for Students Webpage.
This page was established to be a hub for information, providing answers to commonly asked questions and providing details regarding how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts life as a student at Sacramento State. Since launching on March 18, the page has received more than 11,000-page views. Student visitors can get up-to-date information on Housing, Student Services, SHCS, Registration, and more.
Also included is a Trending Now page, featuring questions that are sourced from various campus social media accounts. Additionally, the webpage includes regular video updates from Student Affairs Vice President, Dr. Ed Mills. To date, there have been 9 videos made, featuring campus updates from Student Affairs and various campus partners including Resident Nelsen, Provost Steve Perez, the Bursars Office, ASI, and more.
The videos in total have received nearly 60,000 views across all platforms, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
For complete details on the performance of Coronavirus Information for Students webpage see our Infographic.
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Census 2020Sacramento State’s elaborate plans to assist in the 2020 Census collapsed under the weight of coronavirus concerns that forced the University to cancel campus gatherings and send students, faculty and staff home indefinitely.
But the count goes on, with Sac State’s census leaders pivoting to online efforts to ensure that as many people as possible participate in the critical project.
“Across California and the country, the census is more important than ever,” said Viridiana Diaz, Assistant Vice President for Strategic Diversity Initiatives at Sac State. “The last thing we need is for people to be under-counted. The need for resources is going to be greater than ever before” because of the toll that the virus continues to take on society and the economy.”
For months before the COVID-19 outbreak, Sac State’s 2020 Census Collaboration Team had been coordinating efforts to ensure a successful count. Planned was a campus-wide event touting the importance of census participation, Census 101 workshops to give members of the campus community tools for achieving an accurate count, and the much-anticipated appearance of civil rights icon Dolores Huerta to deliver a lecture about the census and its impact.
“We had a great calendar of events and activities to engage the entire population,” said Diaz. “All of them were canceled. As a result, we had to get very creative about how to deliver our message and accomplish our goals.”
The Collaboration Team has launched several online Social Media Challenges, including an art contest, a challenge to student organizations and clubs to boost the census count, and virtual workshops. Sac State also has assembled “census ambassadors” who are reaching out to members of campus populations that have traditionally been difficult to count, including the LBGTQ community, homeless students and undocumented people.
Despite the dramatic change in plans, enthusiasm for the census project remains high, said Noel Mora, Sac State’s Serna Center Coordinator and a member of the collaboration team.
“Our students no longer are in front of our face-to-face, but they are still there,” Mora said. “They are ready to make sure that members of their communities are counted. The engagement hasn’t stopped.”
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Career Center Offers Virtual Services and
EventsThe Career Center strives to implement innovative solutions to accommodate the needs of students during these unprecedented times. Their commitment and drive to assist students in their career journeys remains as strong as ever.
On Tuesday, April 7, the Career Center successfully held its first virtual career fair. The Education and Social Impact Career Fair took place utilizing the mentorship platform, Sac State Career Network and provided virtual audio and video chats between employers and students. More than 100 completed conversations were held on Tuesday with more expected to take place in the coming days. Throughout the fair, more than 400 students were active on the platform and 72 employers were available for conversations.
One school district representative shared, “I had phenomenal conversations with students”. A student participant also disclosed that they have an interview with a principal, stemming from their conversations at the virtual fair. This event was made possible through the Sac State Career Network, a partnership of the Alumni Association and Career Center.
The Career Center will utilize the Sac State Career Network again for the Fun in the Sun Internship & Job Fair on Friday, April 24. The Career Center is still hosting a variety of virtual services and events in the coming weeks.
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Financial Wellness Offers Virtual Services and Online Resources Many students are struggling with making ends meet with limited or reduced income, coupled with the uncertainty of how long the Coronavirus Pandemic is going to last.
To support students, Financial Wellness has gone virtual and continues to provide free, confidential, individual coaching sessions for students during this uncertain time. Students have the option of virtual financial coaching appointments on topics such as budgeting, maintaining good credit, loan repayment and more.
Financial Wellness has also expanded its social media presence. They are providing regular updates such as Money Mondays with an Instagram Story featuring Financial Questions and Answers, as well as Financial Fridays where they answer student’s financial questions in real-time. Their followers have increased by 71% in the last three weeks. Follow Financial Wellness on Instagram @SacStateFinancialWellness. For anyone who is teaching or regularly interfacing with students, the Financial Wellness office provides online financial resources.
They also offer iGrad, a personal finance tool for students, faculty and staff. iGrad has articles, videos and courses on topics such as budgeting, using credit responsibly and borrowing wisely. iGrad is available to anyone with a SacLink account and can be accessed through the Financial Wellness website.
Financial Wellness has also created the attached brochure to address financial concerns and uncertainty related to the Coronavirus. It is being distributed to students at the ASI food pantry, but available for download and distribution to departments and students.
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Starting Smart: Salary Negotiation for the Win-Win
The Career Center and Financial Wellness are partnering for a virtual workshop on salary negotiation.
Starting Smart: Salary Negotiation for the Win-Win
April 20th, 12:00pm-1:00pm
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Student Emergency Contact CampaignOn Monday, March 16 the Registrar’s Office launched a campaign called “Help Us Be Prepared – Encourage Students to Register an Emergency Contact” to increase the number of students with emergency contacts registered in their student record.
As of Spring 2019, only 5% of enrolled students had an emergency contact registered. Since launching the campaign, the number of students with emergency contacts has risen significantly, with approximately 67% of students registering their information.
The process for registering Emergency Contacts is easy. Students logging in to their SacLink account were prompted to complete an activity guide before being able to access their Student Center.
With registration for summer courses beginning next week, this may slow down registration for some students. It is important that we reassure any students that the process of registering contacts is simple and only takes a few minutes. Once they complete the activity guide, students can register for classes as usual. This activity guide will be reassigned to students at the beginning of each Fall and Spring semesters as a reminder to update their emergency contact information. For more information on registering contacts contact the Office of the Registrar at Registrar@csus.edu. For a video tutorial of how to register Emergency Contacts, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-cYIKEV3UU&feature=youtu.be
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With shelter in place, SA-IT Team is virtually assisting the Student Affairs division. You can find us using the following available resources:
- Email sa-it@csus.edu
- Phone (916) 278-2745
- Microsoft Teams, Skype4Business or Zoom chat as
sa-it or stdaf-01 - FaceTime, Google DUO or WhatsApp at 916-984-5354
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