Oct 27, 2025

News/Notes for Undergraduate Academic Advisors: Majors in Minutes | New Spring 26 Course: Introduction to Data Science | Drop-In Hours for Advising Centers | Registration TIQs | Kim Bock Accepts New Role at Wartburg College

Majors in Minutes
  • Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. | Maucker Union Ballrooms
  • Encourage students to attend Majors in Minutes to explore options if 1) Exploring their major; 2) Declared a major but considering a change; 3) Looking for a second major: or 4) Considering adding a minor or certificate.
  • Students can hear from seniors representing each of UNI's 90+ majors.  In ten minute group rotations they can learn about classes, research, and internship/career opportunities as well as have the opportunity to ask their own questions. When the time is up, a student can choose to either stay at the table or move on to learn about a different major. Students can visit as many or as few majors as they would like!
  • This event is hosted during the fall semester by the Office of Academic Advising. 
New Spring 26 Course: Introduction to Data Science
  • STAT 1780 Introduction to Data Science (3 hours | Class# 72465 | 10:00 MWF) will be offered for the first time in the Spring 2026 semester!
  • Prerequisite: ALEKS score of 50% or higher
  • Course content will focus on data acquisition, management, and visualization; selected methodologies of machine learning; applications and model evaluation; implementation in R; and ethical issues in data science.
  • This course will satisfy UNIFI | General Education Engage: Quantitative Reasoning (QR) learning area and in the Data Science UNIFI Certificate satisfies the Applications Tools requirement.
Drop-In Hours for Advising Centers Note: Days of operation for each center is Monday - Friday
  • Wilson College of Business
    • The Office for Professional Distinction (OPD)  will provide walk-in appointments for students during priority registration during the following times:
    • Non-business majors, business minors, or any other student wanting to take a business course (UNIFI/general interest) who cannot register on their own for the class should come to our office for a walk-in appointment starting Wednesday, November 19th for assistance.
    • If a student or an advisor outside of Wilson receives an error message when trying to enroll, please do not override/add them in the class. Send them our way and we will assist them at the appointed time. We do maintain a process every semester to remove students who should not be added to business classes, and we want to avoid removing folks when at all possible.
    • Students can also email our office, OPD, directly with questions anytime at opd@uni.edu. This message will be routed to an advisor for a response as quickly as possible.
  • College of Education Advising & Teacher Education Success (CATS) Office
    • With the teaching education curriculum change, the CATS Office wants to ensure that every student has a chance to meet with an advisor, walk through the process, and ask any questions that they may have. Therefore, the CATS Office will not be holding drop-in advising appointments. Instead, advisors will meet with students through scheduled appointments for questions about Spring 2026 class schedules.
    • To schedule an appointment with an academic advisor in the CATS Office, select an advisor's name below (note that due to time constraints, you may need to look at more than one advisor's schedule to make an appointment)
  • Office of Academic Advising
    • The Office of Academic Advising will provide drop-in appointments for students at the following times:
    • Thursday, November 13 - Wednesday, November 19, 2025 either in person (Bartlett Hall 0089) or via Zoom
      • 1:00-4:00pm
Registration TIQs (Tips, Information and Questions)
  • How to find UNIFI Classes by Learning Area in the Search for Classes (see image screenshot below for additional guidance)\
    • To search by Learning Area instead of by each course subject, in the Search for Classes:
      • Select the appropriate term (i.e. Spring 2026)
      • To search for UNIFI classes by Learning Area, leave the subject line blank.
      • From the Course Attribute drop down, select "UNIFI Foundational Inquiry"
      • From the Course Attribute Value drop down, select the appropriate Learning Area
        • UNIFI Connect | UNIFI Disc: Hum Cnd (Domestic) | UNIFI Disc: Hum Cnd (Global) | UNIFI Disc: Human Expression | UNIFI Disc: Responsibility | UNIFI Disc: Sci Reasoning | UNIFI Engage: Oral Comm | UNIFI Engage: Quant Reasoning | UNIFI Engage: Written Comm
      • Click the Search button
      • View this 1 min video on Searching for UNIFI Classes for a walkthrough (audibly and visually) on how to conduct his search.
  • How to find Winter Classes in the Search for Classes (see image screenshot below for additional guidance)
    • In the Search for Classes:
      • Select the appropriate term (i.e. Spring 2026)
      • To search for all Winter classes, leave the subject line blank.
      • From the Course Attribute drop down, select "Winter Class" or from the Session drop down, select "Winter"
      • You do not need to enter information on both of these drop downs to complete the search
      • Click the Search button
    • Winter classes will be identified by sections "40DJ-LEC Winter" or "6D-LEC Winter" (for study abroad/international travel courses)
  • Remember these special sections:
    • 8X (e.g. 80, 81 or 82) - First half semester (8 week) courses
      • How to find first half semester classes in the Search for Classes:  From the Session drop down, select "First Half-Semester"
    • 9X (e.g. 90, 91, or 92) - Second half semester (8 week) courses
      • How to find second half semester classes in the Search for Classes:  From the Session drop down, select "Second Half-Semester"
    • SPOC - Self-paced online course
  • Semester Registration Resources
Kim Bock Accepts New Role at Wartburg College
  • Kim Bock, Associate Director in the Office of Academic Advising, has accepted the position of Director of First Year Experience & Retention at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.  Kim’s last day will be Friday, October 31, 2025.
  • Kim extends her gratitude for the collaborative relationships and the supportive community that UNI has been over the past seven years. Working alongside both faculty and staff in service of our students has been an incredibly meaningful experience.
  • Please join us in congratulating Kim and wishing her all the best in this new role!
Is Your Student Questioning their Current Major?
  • Help them Pivot with Purpose by referring them to the Office of Academic Advising. Advisors offer personalized support to help students explore:
    • Major, minor, and certificate options | Reasons for changing majors (e.g., lack of interest, career goals, academic challenges) | Self-assessments like FOCUS 2 or Strong Inventory | Goal-setting and decision-making strategies
  • Encourage students to schedule an appointment or complete the Academic Discuss Your Major Options Request Form.
  • As a faculty or staff member, you can complete this referral form to start the outreach to a student considering changing their major.
Institutional Academic Advising Vision & Mission Statement (revised Spring 2016) [See Academic Advising Mission, Vision, Goals & Outcomes webpage]
  • Vision Statement: UNI aspires to create the best possible advising experience for each student.
  • Mission Statement: Academic Advising is a critical component of the teaching and learning environment at UNI. Advising is a personalized educational experience, empowering students to explore, articulate and achieve their academic, career and life goals.