District seeks to ensure students are on the right path for graduation.
By Austin P. Taylor
ataylor160@student.alamo.edu
Students who have reached a certain amount of college credit hours will be unable to register for spring classes until they speak with an adviser.
Advisers will provide students with a personal identification number, or PIN, to override the hold on the students’ accounts.
Spring registration opens Nov. 13.
PIN holds are meant to get students into advising offices.
The holds were set up as part of the Alamo ADVISE initiative during the 2016 academic year.
PIN holds affect students across the Alamo Colleges.
Christina Horton, the director of the advising department at this college said there are probably 5,500 students with PINs issued to them.
The holds activate when the student has completed 15, 30 and 45 credit hours.
“It’s a part of good case management, making sure that there are times where students come so we can help and make sure they’re on track,” Horton said.
These specific credit hour benchmarks were chosen because the average full-time student will complete 15 hours in the first semester, while most part-time students will complete 15 hours in their first year, Horton said.
“It seemed like a good rotation. At the end of your first or second year, you’d come in and meet with someone just to make sure you are on track (for graduation),” Horton said.
She said guaranteeing students come in to see their adviser is important, but she doesn’t think the advising department should create busy work for either itself or students.
“If the transaction that’s occurring is you come in and say, ‘Hey, I need a PIN’ and the adviser says ‘here’s your PIN,’ we haven’t done anything,” she said.“The point is to create an opportunity for a conversation to take place between you and the adviser.”
PIN holds will go into effect when registration for the spring 2018 semester opens.
PIN holds can be taken care of before holds go into effect. Students just need to meet with their advisers.
Students will receive an email with information on PIN holds when registration for the next semester goes into effect.
The main page of this college’s website will feature information on PIN holds and how students can contact the advising department.
Students also can find the information for their adviser on the “My Page” section of the ACES website.