1. ACA Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
8:15-10:00am
SSB Glenn Maloney Room
8:15 Breakfast and Social Time
Sponsored by McCombs School, Master of Science in Finance program
(THANK YOU!!)
8:30 Master of Science in Finance program in the McCombs School
Jay Hartzell and Katie Stephens is the MSF Program Coordinator
http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/MSF.aspx
The new program is currently going through the approval process but they expect it to be
on board soon. It is anew, one-year master’s, program in finance designed to take
students directly from an undergraduate program without any work experience (work
experience is typical for MBA). Students do not need a Business background (it could
hinder their application), but they do need strong quantitative aptitude. Students can come
from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds, but the program prefers their applicants to
have taken statistics and those who have completed the Business Foundations Program are
considered excellent candidates in terms of appropriate knowledge.
How it works: Student will earn 5 hours in the summer (4 weeks) and then 31 hours
spread over subsequent fall and spring semesters. A practicum, connecting “read-world”
experiences will be taken in their final semester. They expect tuition to run about
$43,000.00 but plan to offer merit based financial aid to academically strong students.
Currently holding information sessions, so please refer interested students to these going
on this semester.
http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/MSF/Information-Sessions.aspx
Or refer to students to the MSF program coordinator, Katie Stephens.
8:55 Business Foundations Program
Regina Hughes
BFP is piloting two courses this summer offered online through University Extension: BA
320F and FIN 320F. A flyer with an overview of the courses has been provided to ACA. The
BA 320Fis a course designed to help students get internship credit, and will be offeredon a
pass/fail basis. Students will keep a journal and will need to clock 160 hours or more.
The purpose of the course is to help students gain skills and get a job after graduation.
Regina has contacts, so send interested students to her and she will assist them in finding
an internship. Although it must have some sort of business aspect to be approved, the BA
320F course will not substitute for a listed BFP certificate course.
The Business Foundations Summer Institute is full and has a waitlist. Advisors should soon
be receiving forms, from their students, regarding residency since the courses associated
with the Instituteare considered out of residence. Added two courses to the summer
institute, BA 320F and MAN 337. The MAN 337 course is not counted toward the certificate
but assists students with learning how to job search effectively.

2. http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/BBA/Summer-Courses.aspx
9:00 Bridging Disciplines Program
Lauren Campbell
Students who want to participate in a BDP must be enrolled as a degree-seeker for at least
two semestersafterthe semester in which they apply to theBDP. The BDPs are open to
undergraduate students from every college and school. BDP applications are reviewed each
fall and spring semester. Although there is no minimum GPA requirement, faculty
reviewers look for strong students with genuine intellectual interest in the BDP topic. Note:
The program is no longer accepting applicants for the Film Studies BDP. Students should
be redirected to either Cultural Studies or Digital Arts and Media BDP.
All BDP areas are 19 hours each, students must be seeking a degree, and they may apply
to do more than one. Students may pass/fail only one course and have it count towards
the certificate.Students may also participate in the Business Foundations Program while
pursuing a BDP.
Forum Seminars: Specific BDP 101 forum seminars are typically only offered once a year.
They are intended for first or second year students, those exploring a BDP or those actually
pursuing a BDP. They are not meant to meet 1 single hour for graduation purposes.
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/bdp/courses
The connecting experiences component is considered one of the most valuable portions of
the BDP.This is where students participate in either research or an internship. All must be
preapproved and are overseen by faculty mentors for academic credit.
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/bdp/current/experiences
The office is currently updating the curriculum sheets which will be posted to the website
as well as sent to the advising centers.
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/bdp/current/curriculum-sheets
Application Materials, Coursework, Connecting Experiences, and Certification
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/bdp/quick-links
9:20 Texas Success Initiative
Joseph Schaub
TSI is a state mandated college readiness program where students demonstrate their
readiness for college-level courses through tests is math, reading and writing. For those
students who do not meet these basic skills, then they are required to take developmental
courses.
Changes happening with TSI:
Beginning in the fall 2012, there is a plan to eliminate the ACUUPLACER, COMPASS, or
ASSET tests and only accept scores from the THEA, which UT offers through Student
Testing Services at CTL. In addition, the plan calls for raising the minimum acceptable
scores on the THEA by 20 points in each area. The new minimum acceptable scores will be:
Math – 250/300, Reading – 250/300, and Writing 240/300. The changes could result in
more TSI bars during registration and the number of students needing developmental
courses. For more information about TSI, visit the following link.
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/tsi
9:30 Wayfinder update
Kristin Tommey
Wayfinder was founded in 2009 and funded by a grant from the AT&T Center. The website
houses information for nearly every major at UTand now information about certificate
programs will be included.The Wayfinder website has a new login feature where students

3. can save information, including self-assessments and the majors they are currently
exploring. They are also partnering with UT Admissions with the goal of reaching out early
to prospective and newly admitted students and encouraging them toparticipate in major
exploration. Kristin is also connecting information with social media (via Facebook, Twitter,
and Wayfinder Blog) as another way to reach out to students. She also aims to post the
internal transfer information on Wayfinder for consistentstudent/advisor access.
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/wayfinder/
9:45 Fundraising Committee update
Angie Martinez
Announced she is collecting slips and donations for goodie bags for the “Month of Love”
fundraiser. Jay also mentioned ACA Executive Committee will match the donated amount
to help boost the total and encourage people to give.
Update:
For this ACA Scholarship fundraiser raised $225!
Last semester's fundraiser brought in $247!
Add in the $300 matching donation from the ACA Executive Committee for a grand total
of: $772
9:50 Awards and Recognition Committee update
Rose Mastrangelo
Announcement of Vick Award winners: Congratulations!!
Jay Brown, Psychology
Megan Conner, College of Liberal Arts
Tom Griffith, History
Kristen Boyd Kessel, Social Work
Sarah Kitten, Engineering
9:55 Announcements
Kristen Anton announced the ROAD committee is meeting soon to discuss creating a
professional development event this semester. Expect a notice soon.
JayGuevara reminded Professional Development Day participants to remind their
respective departments to pay for the conference.
Spring Semester Highlights
February 9 ACA/APSA Professional Development Day (8:00-4:00, SAC)
February 15 ACC/UT Marketplace (ACC’s Rio Grande Campus)
Rsvp:https://surveystation.austin.utexas.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=l41Mnm90
March 7 ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10:00am, Glenn Maloney Room)
April 4 ACA Monthly Meeting (8:15-10:00am, Glenn Maloney Room)