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IN THE APRIL EDITION
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Connecting to MASON-SECURE
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Check out the newest OneTeam Connection feature!
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Corona-Virtual Word Search
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CONGRATS!
Associate Director of WSP
Team: WSP/K-12
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Transfer Articulation
Team: Operations
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WELCOME!
COMING IN MAY
Event Coordinator
Team: WSP/K-12
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Virtual Town Hall Meeting
with President Holton
Hear an update on the university's response
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Friday, April 17
10:30 am - 11:30 am
View Live on
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Thursday, April 23
VIRTUAL SPRING PREVIEW
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Kaiser Permanente announced a series of free classes designed to help you combat stress and gain resiliency while navigating these unprecedented times. Classes are available to all employees regardless of insurance plan.
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April 20, from noon to 12:30 p.m., explore the union of mind and body as you learn meditation techniques in order to reduce stress and gain equilibrium.
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Transformational Thinking
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April 27, from noon to 12:30 p.m., increase whole-body awareness and manage stress as you learn meditation and breathing techniques to expand your awareness and refine your mind.
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ALL STAFF MEETINGS
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Apr. 17, Relationship Mgmt
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Jun. 12, Prof. Development
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Nov. 6, Prof. Development
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Amanda Waldo
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Team: Relationship Management
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Q: What does your usual
workday look like?
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I have been answering all kinds of emails and text messages from students in terms of completing their application and other admissions requests. I also read applications daily. Being COD either here or at the MTVC and in OTS, I meet with families and students to answer questions or concerns.
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Q. What are 3 words you would use to describe Mason?
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Inclusive, Educational,
Fun-filled
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Q. Top 3 life highlights.
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Traveling to Guatemala for school, officially having my sister-in-law joining the family, graduating from Lycoming.
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Q. You are happiest when…
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Whenever I see or am petting a dog.
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Q. If you were stuck on an island, what 3 things would you bring?
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My dog, a book and sunscreen.
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Jaqui Casallas
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INTO Mason International Transcript Evaluator
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Born in Guatemala City, GT; Raised in Arlington, VA
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Q: What does your usual
workday look like?
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Most of the time it's evaluating foreign credentials for admission into the Graduate Pathway program at INTO Mason; so, I'm pretty much bound to my desk. However, on the occasions that I do leave my office, it's usually for meetings, trainings, and (what has now become my second job) search committee duties. There's also one day a week that I'm stationed at the Global Center to maintain the collaborative relationship with our JV partners.
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Q. What are 3 words you would use to describe Mason?
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Diverse, Entertaining,
Welcoming
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Q. What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?
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Getting to see the new student arrivals during INTO Mason Orientation Week as they navigate not only a new educational environment, but - for some - a whole new cultural experience.
Also - getting to work with such great colleagues!
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Q. Where would you like to travel to?
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Sooo many places!
Bogotá, Colombia. Rome, Italy. Athens, Greece. Nice, France. Reykjavik, Iceland. Ireland, Malta, Maldives, Bahamas.... so, basically, everywhere.
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Attached Files:
Internal Phone Directory
Admissions Org Chart
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Wow! What a difference a month makes. It’s hard to believe in just five short weeks we have all transitioned to a fully remote world, while continuing to take care of our families, friends and community-either in person or virtually. I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well.
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I fully recognize that this transition does not come without a fair amount of stress and anxiety about the unknown. We have had to quickly think about the way we do business, support students and families, all while trying to navigate our own version of a “new normal”. I am immensely proud of each and every one of you. You have jumped in, come up with creative solutions and been willing to help your colleagues in new and different ways. You have all embodied the true definition of #OneTeam.
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As each week passes and we hopefully get closer to coming out of all of this, I hope we will see that we are stronger because of it and I hope you will see reminders everyday of the ways you are helping others.
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Please take lots of opportunities to get outside and take a walk or connect virtually with people. I love hearing the stories of how you all are continuing to keep up your virtual lunch time walks, happy hours, and fun activities alive.
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We’ll get through this together.
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I miss you all…but don’t forget-we are Mason Strong!
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HR/Finance
You know how people always say "be careful what you wish for"? I feel like we are in that situation currently - the Governor has issued a hiring freeze so we do not have any active searches at the moment. We do not know how long this freeze will last, but we do know that it affects both classified and wage positions. We will have to be creative in our work moving forward, but I know that we will be able to manage this change well.
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As updates are announced we will be sure to keep you all posted.
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On a personal note, I have spent my time at home reflecting on how thankful I am to work with such an amazing team. Everyone one has done an incredible job with this transition. I have seen kindness and patience in abundance and I am so grateful for it. Thank you!
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Relationship Management
by Melissa Bevacqua
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I hope you and your loved ones are remaining healthy and well in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. There is so much unknown and uncertainty, but you can be sure that we continue to work together as #Oneteam to recruit the next group of Patriots.
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We have pivoted our undergraduate recruitment strategy so that it almost everything can be done virtually given that all on campus events are canceled through the end of June. We are offering: an extended deadline for FR admits to pay enrollment and housing deposits by June 1st; no application fees for new apps from all populations of students applying for Fall 2020; flexibility on submitting official transcripts, and flexibility on new grading scales; reviewing and responding to all requests for further funding from out-of-state students quickly; virtual 1:1s and virtual OTS and ADVANCE appointments; a new virtual experience website found at www2.gmu.edu/virtual-experience; special social media engagement opportunities; an Honors College pen pal program; virtual tour; a virtual college fair; virtual information sessions for FR and TR, remote telecounseling and so much more!
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We are planning to host our first ever Virtual Spring Preview Day on Thursday, April 23 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. EST. We look forward to your assistance with this important event.
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Operations
by Andrew E. Bunting
Hello from my new office … my kitchen table. On behalf of the entire Operations Team, I hope you are all doing well, staying healthy, and staying sane. Despite the change in scenery, our work continues and doesn’t it feel like you are busier now than before! How does that work!?
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Here are some important updates from Operations:
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The Transfer, Non-Degree, and Domicile Teams continue to process Fall 2020 transfer applications. As a reminder, the Fall 2020 transfer application priority deadline was March 1 (for GAA), and we extended the material submission deadline from March 10 to March 31. We will, of course, continue to accept applications throughout the term and summer for standard transfer. The summer non-degree application opened on April 1, permitting summer application. We have an open position as the part-time Domicile Assistant.
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The Transfer Credit Evaluation Team has been busy evaluating all of our recently admitted students for Fall 2020 and cross-training (especially on international) and updating the equivalencies via the online tool. Please note that automated notifications are still going out to students, regardless of IE status, once an evaluation is complete (which is occurring same-day). The search for the Assistant Director of Transfer Articulation is ongoing, but nearing a final decision.
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For health and safety reasons, the Document Center has reduced the number of hours that staff are physically in the office (the last staffed office in Admissions). As noted in an all-staff e-mail on 2 April 2020, a small team will be going in on Mondays (10am-2pm) to open, sort, code, and scan the mail from the previous week. We have worked closely with Mail Services to ensure delivery. Many thanks to Julio and his team for their hard work and flexibility. Indexing documents to files continues to run smoothly.
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The Graduate Operations Team continues to process applications for Fall 2020 intake. We are currently working with units to extend deadlines in order to better serve our applicants. The team is working to continue to process applications, and maintaining our 3-5 day window. The Spring 2020 audit is wrapping up, and most files have been completed. The Summer 2020 term launched with only one program (Athletic Training) and applications are coming in for that. The Graduate Operations team will be saying goodbye to Natalie Hoak, Assistant Director of Graduate Operations, at the end of May as she moves to her next adventure in Texas.
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The INTO Mason Team is fully staffed and remains flexible, given the current health situation. We are working closely with INTO and other university partners to ensure we stay competitive in the market.
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Please let us know if you have any questions, and don’t forget to wash your hands!
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WSP/K-12
by Elena Johnson
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Washington Scholars Program (WSP)
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Due to the ongoing pandemic, we have decided to cancel all summer conferences hosted by the Office of Admissions. You can see the messages the families received on our websites - wjmc.gmu.edu and wyse.gmu.edu. Those registered received an email last week asking if they would like a full refund or if they would like to transfer their tuition paid to 2021. We processed all of WYSE and 25% of students decided to transfer tuition to 2021. The remaining chose a refund. As of Monday this week, we are still working on WJMC. The WSP team is working through a virtual experience for students and what that might look like this summer.
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As you can imagine, we are disappointed we had to make this decision, but know it's in the best interest of all involved. It motivates us to work hard to create even better programming for 2021. Big THANK YOU to my team for their flexibility and can-do attitude in a tough time.
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K12 Partnerships
We have rolled out virtual information sessions to middle schools who had previously signed up for campus tours this spring. We are also working with all dual enrollment partners as they transition to virtual learning.
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Envision programs are still in flux and waiting for final updates from campus partners. Any inquiries regarding this summer can be sent to me at [email protected]. The team is working closely with Envision, the Registrar, academic units, and others to ensure the best decisions are made.
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Events Team
The Events Team has transitioned to planning a virtual Spring Preview. It is scheduled for next Thursday, 4/23 at 6pm. You will receive many more details in the days ahead. We are also finalizing calendars through 2021 and thinking creatively about future events.
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International
by Meghan Walter
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I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy, at this time. Things have changed so much over the past couple of weeks, but I know we are all able to get through this together. Just continue to social distance and wash your hands! I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in the office when this is all done.
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I am sure no one is surprised, but we had to cancel our international recruitment for the spring. We also canceled our are international training sessions that were scheduled over the next couple of weeks. We are trying to see if some of the topics would work for virtual training, but we are not sure. Once that is decided we will let everyone know the new dates. If not, this may need to wait until we are back in the office for a face-to-face training session. We will keep everyone posted.
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We are still accepting the Duolingo English Test from our international students so they can take an English proficiency exam at home. his has worked out very well for our international students to complete their files. Recently, TOEFL announced that they are offering an at-home exam. This option is open to students in most countries worldwide and gives yet another opportunity for students to take an English test. The TOEFL scoring will remain the same and we will accept this test as a regular TOEFL exam.
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Another recent change is around receiving official documents. Due to so many school closures around the world, student are having trouble contacting their school to send official documents. For both freshman and transfers, we have started to accept unofficial high school transcripts, college transcripts, and international transcript evaluations from Fall 2020 applicants. Most teams have been notified of these changes, but if you have any questions about a specific situation, please forward them to the international team or direct them to [email protected].
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I appreciates the hard work everyone put in to update these policies to help international students get through the process!
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Military Services
The Office of Military Services held a Continual Process Improvement event (CPI) in collaboration with the multiple offices on campus late in the Fall term. Our goal was to find efficiencies and we are so glad to announce....IT WORKED! We now have a fully web-based process from beginning to end for those students using VA benefits.
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Approximately 1200 students use benefits each semester. We anticipate this servcie model will be vitally important as we continue to grow fully online programs. So far so good as we progress through the Spring semester.
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Please ensure during your conversations with military-related applicants that you highlight the Office of Military Services as a important resource for students and families. I wish there was a way to generalize information. But, unfortunately, benefits are individualized and one size doesn't fit all. The best way for applicants to get accurate information is to contact our office.
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Admissions Tech Corner
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Connecting to MASON-SECURE on your Mobile Devices
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(Initially or After a Password Change)
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The Admissions Technology Team knows that you might think that we are the only one's that are using Android phones, but we are not. We know there are folks on other ADM teams that use an Android because we get questions about them.
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Here is a Pro Tip for connecting to MASON-SECURE on your Android mobile device:
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https://its.gmu.edu/knowledge-base/how-to-set-up-mason-secure-on-android/
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Since we don't want anyone to feel left out, here is the link for iOS devices:
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https://its.gmu.edu/knowledge-base/how-to-set-up-mason-secure-on-apple-ios/
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ATT is always here to assist if you run into issues!
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