The College of Arts and Humanities Student Advising (CAHSA) office is the primary undergraduate advising office for students majoring in the College of Arts and Humanities.
Throughout the past year, the CAHSA team has closely collaborated with students to ensure their progress through academic programs and ongoing enrollment at the university. The four-year graduation rate of the CAH 2019-2020 SFFT FTIC cohort saw a substantial increase to 62.1%, marking a 9.3% improvement from the previous year. Furthermore, the first-year retention rate for CAH’s 2022-2023 SFFT FTIC cohort reached 91.1%. In addition to offering continuous support to students, the CAHSA team facilitated 40 in-person student orientation sessions for new FTIC and transfer admits for the 2023-2024 academic year. These sessions provided valuable insights into the college, department and strategies for achieving success at UCF. Additionally, students had the opportunity to meet with the CAHSA team to register for courses for their first semesters at UCF.
In the fall semester, the university announced a new advising model, transitioning academic advisors into academic success coaches in the spring semester. In light of this change, CAHSA welcomed four new academic success coaches: Melanie Boligan, Jillian Ecle, Josh Villa and Yumi Wolfgang, who officially joined CAHSA in January 2024 and have contributed significantly to the team’s success this year. The new academic success coaches join Jessica Dorfman, Stephanie Livigni and Gerardo Otero Soto, who now hold the role of senior academic success coaches, as well as Nyree Brown, Gianna Cifredo, Elizabeth Tammaro and Angelica Wilson, who transitioned to the role of academic success coach. All academic success coaches in CAHSA have completed the 40-hour coaching training through the UCF Coaching Academy to become certified academic success coaches. Each coach supports their respective cohort of CAH students, ensuring they graduate on time and achieve overall success at the university.
— Kendra Gilbertson, director