3-Minute Thesis Competition

Why Participate?

Session will be held both in-person and Google Meet. Register here. 

We all use the Google Suite in the form of our emails, docs, spreadsheets, and presentations on the daily. While these tools are awesome on their own, there are a ton of advanced features and hidden gems in the suite that you might not be taking full advantage of (or maybe haven't even heard about). Here's a quick look at some of these under-the-radar tools, features, and applications that could seriously boost your productivity, whether you're working or studying.

Applications

Google Tasks 

'Find a Time'  in Google Calendar

Struggling with busy schedules not lining up? Calendar can automatically find a time where all participants are available for an event with guests. 

Under 'more options', the Find a Time menu shows all guest schedules side-by-side. 

For additional help with Calendar, please consult the Calendar Help Center 

Gmail Tasks Integration

Gmail has a useful integration with the previously mentioned Tasks application, allowing you to turn an email into a task. 

After opening an important email, simply click on the checkmark in the top bar. The email will automatically be marked on your tasks To-Do lists. 

For more help with Gmail, please consult the Gmail Help Center

Google Drive's PDF to Doc Conversion

With only a few clicks, you can instantly open a PDF file in Google Docs for editing. 

Within Google Drive, left click on a PDF file, select 'open with', and choose Google Docs. The 'open with' feature is also available at the top of your screen when directly viewing a PDF through drive. 

Google Calendar Daily Email Brief

Google Calendar offers the useful feature of delivering your tasks for the day as a daily email brief, and enabling it is quite simple. 

Through the settings menu on Google Calendar, under 'settings for my calendars', the option can be found in the 'other notifications' category.

For additional help with Calendar, please consult the Calendar Help Center 

3-Minute Thesis Competition

Why Participate?

3-Minute Thesis Competition

Why Participate?

Calling all graduate students! Get ready for an evening of fun, food, and friendly competition! 

Date: Thursday, October 30th
Venue: UC-310
Time: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Plus, we've got you covered with free pizza and drinks to keep the energy high!

Behind every student is an educator wielding technology tools that can help make success happen! The Academic Success Center (ASC) and the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) have collaborated on a comprehensive initiative to streamline academic support services, making it easier for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff to connect, refer, and track student success. This effort, which involves new software integrations and custom-built systems, aims to enhance academic advocacy, academic support appointment scheduling, and early academic alert notifications.

How do we streamline student academic support at UMBC? We listen to the students and understand what they need to thrive in an academic environment like UMBC. From tutoring to tailored advice from a trusted Academic Advocate, the Academic Success Center has become the center of academic support for undergraduate students, staff, and faculty. With the ASC's centralized and highly visible hub on the 1st floor of the AOK Library, students know where to look for support, and staff and faculty staff are easily able to refer a student for assistance. Since its opening in 2019, the Academic Success Center staff and peer educators have played a role in over 16,000 individual students' experiences at UMBC. 

The Division of Information Technology worked with the ASC team behind the scenes to establish three support systems:  

1. TracCloud Integration for Easy Scheduling of Academic Support
2. Early Academic Alerts
3. Custom System Powers Academic Advocacy

1. TracCloud Integration for Easy Scheduling of Academic Support

Together, the ASC and DoIT have integrated an outside vendor's web application, TracCloud, to simplify appointment scheduling for academic support. All of the ASC's academic peer support options are scheduled through TracCloud, including course tutoring, SI PASS, Writing Center, and Academic Skills Meetings. Students can easily search for support and manage their appointments online. 

The new system is integrated directly with the university's PeopleSoft SA (Student Administration), a Student Information System, ensuring that students are easily connected to relevant academic support resources for the specific courses they are currently enrolled in. Furthermore, the use of single sign-on (SSO) through myUMBC provides a convenient and secure user experience. 

2. Early Academic Alerts

Early Academic Alerts are proactive notifications that instructors send directly to students through myUMBC. Academic Alerts are intended as an early intervention to notify students who are at risk of earning a D or F grade in a currently enrolled course, to provide them with the necessary support and resources to succeed.

By alerting students early in the semester, students have the ability to utilize the various supports available, make the necessary changes to improve their grade before the end of the term, and achieve their highest potential.

This alert system is integrated with PeopleSoft SA, the software suite managing student records and course information. This integration provides a platform for instructors to efficiently access class rosters and provide timely notifications to students and their advisors when concerns arise regarding student academic progress. Formerly the First-Year Intervention Program, UMBC rebranded the alerts system in 2020, from focusing solely on students in their first year to include all undergraduate students, with approximately 65% of faculty sections reporting over 4,000 alerts each semester.

3. Custom System Powers Academic Advocacy 

A third key component is the launch of a unique and custom-built system dedicated to Academic Advocacy. This platform provides Academic Advocates with critical information about student success metrics. Academic Advocates are dedicated to serving undergraduate degree-seeking students to assist them in resolving academic and institutional challenges that may adversely affect persistence, progression, and timely completion of degree.

Undergraduate students identified, or those referred, who may be experiencing barriers to graduation will receive direct outreach from an Academic Advocate to address issues in a timely manner. No matter how complex the concerns (i.e., personal, academic, or financial), Academic Advocates will work together with students to review their progress, present options toward graduation, map out a plan for success, and facilitate communication and connections with the appropriate resources.

Crucially, the system allows any member of the campus community—faculty, staff, or students—to easily refer a student to an Academic Advocate. Once a referral is made, the Academic Advocate will connect with the student to provide timely and necessary support, seamlessly coordinating resources across various campus departments to address the student's needs. Students can easily identify who their assigned Academic Advocate is starting on the first day of class, as the information is front and center on each student's myUMBC profile, another DoIT provided platform. 

"By streamlining these three student support systems, students, faculty, and staff can easily access resources. Additionally, UMBC can track and assess the usage and impact of these initiatives, allowing for data-informed decision-making." 
~ Delana Gregg, Assistant Vice Provost, UG Academic Affairs

Successes by the Numbers

In 2024-2025, the ASC recorded significant engagement from students. The total number of visits to the center was 26,303, with 12,002 of those being tutoring visits. There were also 12,441 Supplemental Instruction/Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (SI PASS) visits. In total, the center supported 4,150 individual students. The ASC also noted a positive trend, with 915 more visits to its services in Fall 2024 compared to Fall 2023. The center connected with 1,689 students through Academic Advocates and worked on 872 student petitions.

For more detailed information, please check out the Academic Success Center's Annual Report.

The success of these initiatives is due in part to the collaborations between the Academic Success Center and the Division of Information Technology, but most importantly, the work of these two groups has facilitated all UMBC community members' contributions to student success! The Academic Success Center and DoIT's clear alignment with UMBC's strategic plan and campus collaborations helps each student achieve their academic goals!