Hello Math and Data Science Majors,
I hope the first few days of the fall semester have been going well. Yesterday, Monday, August 28th, was the last day to freely enroll in full semester length classes for the Fall 2023 semester. While it isn't impossible to make changes to your schedule going forward, it is going to require extra permissions and work to make changes happen. If you need to make a change to your schedule, please see me immediately to discuss your options. It is still possible to enroll in mini-session classes for the fall semester that haven't started yet, but the majority of those classes are only going to be 1 credit hour.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 30th, is Volleyball Day in Nebraska, and the University will not be holding in-person classes due to the size of and disruption caused by the event. This is the first time that this has happened as far as I know outside of severe winter weather. No in-person classes does NOT mean that you won't be having class or you won't be expected to engage with your classes in some way. Many professors have expressed concerns about navigating this day without in-person courses, so I anticipate your professors are going to take a variety of approaches to having classes on tomorrow (Wednesday, August 30th). I strongly encourage you to watch for announcements, read your course syllabi, and check your email accounts for information about what is happening in each of your classes. The biggest concern would be missing something very important in one of your classes tomorrow (Wednesday, August 30th), and while I think your professors will accommodate tomorrow well, I strongly recommend that you be cautious with tomorrow (Wednesday, August 30th).
Getting settled into any semester takes work and time, and it is a good goal to have accomplished by the end of the second week of classes. I would recommend that you establish set times for studying for classes during your week, which will make it easier to consistently study each week. This involves learning how to manage your time, and I would recommend using a weeklong calendar (PDF or Excel) to help determine your overall schedule. Once you have determined your overall schedule, you need to try to stick to it on a weekly basis (outside of unplanned or one-time events). If you are having difficulty with establishing and sticking to a weekly schedule, I would be glad to help, and we also have CAST Academic Success Coaches who would be glad help. Time management can be difficult, so getting help can be important.
Fall 2023 Advising
I am taking in-person, Zoom, and phone meetings in 45-minute blocks from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm to 5:00 pm every weekday when I am not taking Zoom drop-in advising meetings. I am also take Zoom drop-in advising meetings on Wednesdays and Fridays at 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Zoom drop-in meetings are being coordinated by the College of Arts and Sciences with a schedule and a link to the Zoom room available at https://cas.unl.edu/drop-in-advising-schedule.
You can schedule a meeting with me by using the Student Success Hub via this link, by calling the College of Arts and Sciences Academic and Career Advising Center at 402-472-4190, by calling me at 402-472-4319, or by emailing me at dpellatz@unl.edu. You can find instructions for how to access and schedule meetings in the Student Success Hub system here.
Best wishes, Doug
Math Department Events
The Math Department has many upcoming events that might be of interest to you along with a weekly (or almost weekly) colloquium series. A listing of all upcoming Math Department events can be found at https://events.unl.edu/math/upcoming/.
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