Welcome Back!  We hope that you had a relaxing summer vacation.  The Fall semester is quickly approaching and Colorado MESA has been hard at work this summer preparing for 2008/09 academic year.  As many advisors gear up for the upcoming fall semester, we would like to note a few items to keep in mind for the first few weeks of school:

• Student Recruitment
  
  Recruitment and retention of students is crucial to the success of the MESA program.  It is important for MESA advisors to understand that many underrepresented students respond differently to outreach and recruitment.  Simply announcing the MESA meeting time and location is not a sufficient recruitment effort.  Successful minority recruitment means that additional forms of outreach must be undertaken. 

• MESA Forms and Documents Submission Deadlines
  
  MESA Advisor Information Sheet            Friday, September 19, 2008
  Parent Permission Forms                      Friday, October 10, 2008
  Student Enrollment Forms                     Friday, October 10, 2008
  
  
• REVISED Student Enrollment Form
  
  In an effort to streamline our data collection, we have revised our MESA Student Enrollment Form (SEF) for the 2008-09 academic year.  Please make sure to use the updated form!  You can download the form at www.cmesa.org/advisor/forms.html. 
  

University Mentor Program

Our university mentor program provides an opportunity for MESA students and advisors to interact with mentors (university students, retired engineers and engineering professionals) in the field of mathematics, engineering, science and technology. Mentors provide leadership skills and serve as a role model for students, assist you with administering activities and developing projects for the local/statewide/national competitions.

Over the summer, we have made several improvements to our University Mentor program.  One significant change from last year, but similar to years prior, we are requesting that each school/building requesting a University mentor split to cost 50/50 with Colorado MESA.  Given a limited number of resources, both financial and human, this allows us to maximize the number of MESA programs using a university mentor.  

Please note that university mentors are currently available in the Denver Metro area.  For areas outside the Denver Metro, please contact the MESA statewide office for more information.  To request a mentor, please complete the online request form at http://www.cmesa.org/mentors.html.