LAS Lineup student newsletter
LAS Lineup provides information about events, opportunities, and deadlines to help you plan your week. It's published by the college's Student Academic Affairs Office each Monday morning during the fall and spring semester. It's sent to all LAS undergraduates.
It includes:
- What's happening in LAS
- What's happening across campus
- Important dates and deadlines
Week of May 3
Spring 2021 tips
Every week, you'll find in LAS Lineup a collection of tips on academics, wellness, career readiness, and more. View this semester's tips by expanding the categories below.
- Syllabi are important learning/planning tools: Read each one from start to finish as soon as you receive it. Ask questions right away if you don't understand something or if you need options for exam conflicts. Post all major assignments to your personal calendar to identify workloads early, and consult your academic advisor if you need to change your schedule.
- Develop your academic grit: Attending an Academic Success Workshop is a great way to learn strategies for getting through difficult subject material and tests. Check out Dean Steltman's video about these workshops. Find a list of workshops this semester here.
- Make a goal to use your instructor's office hours to increase your learning and engagement this semester. Read your syllabi to get office hours information, then prepare before you attend one so that you have specific questions for the instructor based on what you've learned in the course so far. Remember that the meeting should be to develop your understanding, not depend on theirs.
- Meaningful academic success requires you to learn how to apply your knowledge and skills beyond the classroom through internships, research, or study abroad experiences. Meet with your departmental advisor or with a peer in the Life + Career Design Lab to discuss your academic interests and how best to test your knowledge and skills in the real world.
- Time and balance are vital components of academic success. Balance includes mental downtime since relaxation is a necessary part of the learning process: Shifting gears and focusing on something mentally relaxing (or on nothing at all) gives you time and distance to absorb new material and evaluate the quality of your understanding. Always remember: Take a break!
- If you wish to change from one LAS major to any LAS major other than the CS + X options, you have until Friday, March 26, to do so. You can find our online curriculum change form here and your new advisor’s contact information here. And the LAS Student Academic Affairs Office is always happy to help, too!
- To truly master the material you are studying, try not to study in your head exclusively. The best way to test yourself is to communicate or explain your take on the material on paper without consulting your notes or textbooks, in discussions with study partners, or even out loud to yourself.
- Second eight-week courses begin Monday, March 22. These POT B courses offer valuable learning experiences at a time when you may need to change your schedule, but they also move at twice the pace of full semester courses, so please check with an advisor to make absolutely sure adding one is your best option.
- Be mindful of academic integrity policies. Please remember, putting your name on assignments and exams indicates you are submitting work you did on your own. Whenever you are unsure about a practice or policy, err on the side of caution: cite sources and ask for clarification of group work guidelines or test-taking rules.
- Prepare for Summer 2021 and Fall 2021 registration now. You can generate a degree audit here and search course options via Self-Service and Class Schedule. Departmental and college advisors are ready to help, as are our admissions and records officers, if you are planning to graduate this summer or fall.
- If you are planning to change majors for Fall 2021 or later, please note that Spring 2021 courses used to satisfy Curricular Declaration Criteria must be taken for a letter grade, not Pass COVID/No Pass COVID (PZ/NZ). Contact a college advisor if you have questions. Also, the class schedule for Fall 2021 opens this week. If a course says "location pending" it means the classroom will be assigned at a later date.
- Fall ‘21 and Summer ‘21 priority registration starts Monday, April 19. Check your time ticket and scout possible course options via Self-Service and meet with a departmental or college advisor or Admissions and Records officer before you register to make sure your choices do what you need and fit together well!
- Recognize that there are different ways to take a “break.” Full-stop breaks are wonderful and necessary, but you can also benefit enormously by adopting mini-breaks in your daily study routines. Avoid long-term immersion: set up consistent daily study blocks, but switch subjects every 30 minutes or so, and you’ll come back to each topic refreshed and ready to go.
- Avoid feeling overwhelmed by switching from long-term to short-term thinking. We started the semester by urging you to use syllabi to craft a long-range plan. Now, as due dates and assignments stack up, organize your time and effort to address one specific task at a time. Set deadlines within deadlines to keep track of the total workload but focus primarily on completing what's directly in front of you first.
- Pay attention to these and other important dates and contact a departmental or college advisor if you have questions. Saturday, May 22: Spring 21 grades will be accessible in Self-Service, and May 22-27: you can declare the PZ/NZ option for Spring 21 courses. Good luck on finals!and contact a departmental or college advisor if you have questions. Saturday, May 22: Spring 21 grades will be accessible in Self-Service, and May 22-27: you can declare the PZ/NZ option for Spring 21 courses. Good luck on finals!
- Knowing yourself and your strengths, inclinations, and motivations is a critical part of effective leadership. Check out the Illinois Leadership Center's self-assessments to uncover more of who you are.
- "Grit" is your effort and perseverance to work towards your goals and requires intentional strategies to get you successfully through difficult subject matter and learning conditions. Take some time today to write down specific semester goals and micro-goals that help you get there. Grit matters and you can build it a little every single day with your actions.
- Check out Saundra Dalton-Smith's work on "the rest revolution": her case for the different types of rest our body needs to avoid burnout. Learn about sensory overload, creative energy renewal, and authenticity's role in emotional rest, and then build the multiple types of rest into your schedule starting today.
- Take a break! Unplug and go outside. Go sledding, skiing, hiking locally or beyond. Or simply bundle up, walk around the block a couple of times, then write a letter of gratitude with a pen and snail mail it. Restore your mental and physical energy by taking a health break!
- Did you know that volunteering can boost your mental health? Some research suggests that well-being improves when you volunteer to help make a difference in the lives of others. Is social isolation bringing you down? Check out We CU for virtual opportunities today. Volunteering could give you a spark of energy that will spread to your classes and beyond.
- Intellectual wellness is about pursuing activities that are mentally stimulating, expand knowledge or skill, engage curiosity, and lead to a sense of accomplishment. This is important for creativity and problem-solving skills when facing challenges in college and in the workforce. Develop your intellectual wellness by choosing courses and programs you find mentally stimulating.
- Imagination is a powerful tool for our well-being and success. Build your imagination today by taking time to daydream about your life and where you want to take it. Or embark on an eight-day imagination expanding adventure.
- Build your social support network for your and others' well-being. Social support networks are close, healthy relationships with friends and family, that you both benefit from and give to. They are energy-building relationships, so the stronger your social support network, the more strength and resilience you can have.
- The power of nature on our cognitive and emotional function is real. Illinois Professor Frances Kuo's research also supports the power of nature on human behaviors and resilience.
- Things are heating up: fall course registration, summer jobs, career fairs, semester projects, and exams. Now is the time to breathe for mind-calming and stress reduction. Take a few minutes every day for mindful breathing to improve your attention and energy while you get through challenging times.
- Take time to care for your mind, to give it a break. Learn how and why to calm your mind through mindfulness and meditation, how to make stress your friend, and other tips for when you feel totally burned out.
- The Power of Play: play can improve our social, physical, and emotional well-being, all at once through movement, interacting with other players, and laughing. Tuesday is your final non-instructional day of this semester, so make the best of it with activities to decompress and contribute to your overall wellness.
- Hone your curiosity while reducing stress hormones. Take a nature walk or an awe walk. These walks can be especially helpful during this difficult time of the semester by allowing your brain time to rest and recuperate. Send us a photo of your favorite place to walk on campus, so we might share your image with our community.
- We believe in you! Stay strong and reframe: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” ― William James
- One of the biggest contributors to our happiness can be learning to control the noise inside our own head. Learn how to calm a distressed mind by controlling your physical environment. Getting out into nature, looking for moments of awe, and decluttering our surroundings can all have a positive effect.
- Leadership is a career readiness competency, and being an LAS orientation course intern helps you gain leadership experience, hone your skill, and tell your story about your leadership competencies. For more information, see the Illinois Model of Leadership.
- One micro goal you might set this semester is to attend a career fair simply to get experience meeting with employers. Set your account up in Handshake and join a Life + Career Design Community to join like-minded students in reaching that goal!
- Know how to manage your career development in preparation for the upcoming career fairs and summer internship search. The Career Center offers drop in advising to support your resume-writing and other career management activities. Not certain of your career direction? Meet with a Life + Career Design intern or Career Coach and get oriented in a career direction that's right for you.
- Global and intercultural fluency are critical for Career Readiness. Our diverse, globally expansive workplaces and communities require openness and sensitivity toward people who are different than you. Our workplaces and communities thrive with inclusive interactions and healthy collaboration. Advance your global and intercultural fluency this summer through a Virtual Global Experience.
- Volunteering is a great way to build desirable skills, a professional network, leadership experience, and more. Volunteering also lets you explore your interests in the real world and develop your time management skills. Make time for a volunteer experience this semester. It will advance your career readiness!
- Your major doesn't necessarily limit your career choices. Career development experts promote career readiness as a pathway for identifying and preparing for a career you love. Pursue activities and courses that bring you positive energy and a sense of accomplishment to lead you toward a career you love.
- Prepare for the Illini Career and Internship Fair by checking out The Career Center's site with videos and tips on what to expect and how to navigate the career fair. If you think you're not ready for a career fair, check-in with one of your peers at the Life + Career Design Lab for some inspiration.
- Teamwork/collaboration is a career readiness competence that relies on relationship-building skills. A great place to start is developing relationships with your instructors who can support you in your college career and sometimes even beyond.
- Join a Life + Career Design Community with four to five like-minded peers, a coach to keep the group together, and an LAS alumni advocate for perspective and encouragement. Or, attend an LAS Career Panel this week or prep for the April 2 Illini Career & Internship Fair.
- Try out the Virtual Illini Career Fair or LAS Alumni Career Panel regardless of where you are in your career planning. The time commitment is small, yet the experience could bring a life-changing opportunity.
- Check out the fascinating stories of LAS alumni at the Spring 2021 Alumni Career Panels. This week's focus is science and medicine careers, and you can view previous recordings on not-for-profit careers or careers in law and government. Reach out to one of the alums to learn more and build your professional network.
- Career Readiness includes demonstrating professionalism and a good work ethic, something you can work on every day as a college student. Employers want to meet students who demonstrate integrity, ethical behaviors and who take responsibility for their actions and for the larger community. Spend some time this week thinking about how you demonstrate your integrity and follow through on what you say you're going to do.
- For our non-graduating students: remember that career readiness is a process and sometimes you need to think outside the box. Check out organizations whose work you care about or believe in, like maybe the National Park System. For our graduating seniors who are still searching: Don't despair! A job is waiting for you. Keep searching and keep trying, regardless of an unsuccessful attempt. Work with The Career Center for special tips.
- Of all the career competencies, collaboration and teamwork skills are among the most valued by employers. Spend time thinking about your own teamwork and collaboration skills and how you will demonstrate them to a potential employer.
- Spend some time this summer thinking about what kind of life and career you want. Try the Flower Exercise from the best selling job search book titled “What Color is Your Parachute?”.
- Did you know that students can download a variety of software, including Microsoft Office 365 (including PowerPoint, Excel and Word), Adobe Creative Cloud (including Photoshop, InDesign and Adobe Premiere Pro) and more for free through the University of Illinois? Browse the webstore now to download excellent software at no cost to you.
- Struggling to keep track of information for a group project? Does your RSO have events to plan? Are conversations getting lost in emails or texts or group messages? Take a look at Microsoft Teams! Teams is a website that can be a central location for storing documents, having conversations, and tracking tasks. And it's free for everyone at Illinois! Check out the overview materials. Login using your Illinois login.
- Are you feeling overwhelmed? This semester is tough, and it can be easy to get lost in work, but remember to give yourself a break. Check out these apps to help keep your mind and body healthy. SmilingMind is an app that provides meditation programs. Use Plant Nanny to track your water intake. And if you’re having trouble sleeping, try Portal. These wellness apps are worth having in your pocket.
- Need help organizing your academic life and assignments? Due Date Catalog is a new beta calendar application. The app shows due dates from Compass and Moodle in one place. Due Date Catalog is still in beta testing stages and students are encouraged to submit questions or suggestions in the app.
- Internet access comes with great power and great risks. Review this security training for practical tips to protect yourself and your information.
- Be sure you are frequently saving your work somewhere other than just your local computer. Services like Office 365, Google, and Box provide safe storage off of your computer. This habit is an easy safety net for when your local computer fails.
- If you are looking to purchase new technology, check out the Tech Zone to compare prices and specs before you buy.
- Technology skills are one of the seven competencies identified as indicators for career readiness. Consider taking the free ATLAS Skills Track Courses to help boost your technology skills this summer. No prior experience is needed.
Information for faculty and staff
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