Semester Requirements

Semester requirements are established from the beginning of the semester. These requirements must be met by the requirements deadline to achieve and maintain active membership. Active membership is required to be invited to our FISA End of Semester Celebration, to be invited to our FISA graduation, to be eligible for scholarship opportunities, and to continue to enjoy FISA benefits. Semester requirements are determined by your assigned tier level.

Semester Requirements:

Tier Requirements
Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
7 meetings with your mentor 5 social events 5 community service events	5 meetings with your mentor 5 social events 5 hours of community service	3 meetings with your mentor 3 social events 5 supplemental events

Please read about each type of requirement using the tabs below.

These requirements are only in place during the long semesters (Fall and Spring) as FISA does not provide the entire scope of services in the summer and winter breaks. Please visit our Policies and Procedures page for additional details or reach out to casa.FISA@tamucc.edu with any questions or concerns. Students looking for resources or support during the summer break can contact casa.FISA@tamucc.edu.

Meetings occur during mentors’ office hours and typically occur one-on-one. Mentors are available both in person at the lounge in GSSC 108 or virtually via Zoom. During these meetings, mentors may cover specific topics that are relevant to members depending on their academic timeline. For example, mentors will discuss registration issues prior to registration opening and FAFSA prior to the priority deadline. Members can also request that specific topics are covered when scheduling their appointments. Members are encouraged to come to meetings with questions or concerns that mentors can help manage. Although members are only required to complete 7 meetings, they are encouraged to attend more meetings within the semester. Additional meetings completed will be taken into consideration if students decide to apply for FISA scholarships.

Members that complete meetings with other groups (such as SSS-STEM, SSS-Teacher Prep, GTF Island Scholars Program, McNair Scholars, Island Harbor, and select others) may be counted towards their FISA meeting requirements for a maximum of three outside meeting credits. To submit outside meeting credits, please complete THIS FORM. Attendance will be verified with the appropriate group. Additionally, meetings that members complete with FISA mentors may count towards requirements in these other groups. To see if this is applicable for you, please speak to your mentor.

Find your mentor’s office hours on the Meet the FISA Mentors page.

FIRST MEETING REQUIREMENT

All members are required to complete their first meeting within the first five weeks of the semester. Members are encouraged to set up this appointment as soon as possible or use posted mentor office hours to attend a walk-in meeting. This will allow members to get any updates for the semester and ensure that members start off strong on their requirements. Members who have not completed this requirement by the end of the fourth week of classes will receive a notification from their mentors. Members who have not completed the first meeting by the end of the fifth week will be dropped from the FISA roster and will not receive the benefits of a FISA membership for the rest of the semester. They may reapply to be a part of FISA in the following semester.

FISA will host social events throughout the entire semester. During our recruitment period (approximately the first four weeks of the semester), we will host at least one per week. After the recruitment period, we will host them approximately every other week. These events allow you to connect with other first-generation students and build a network of support here on campus. All our events are come and go and you are NOT expected to stay for the entire time listed on the events. Please be sure to sign in to each event to ensure that you receive credit.

Check back here for a list of our events for Fall 2023. You can also join our i-Engage page where we will list all our events.

Event List
Date	Event Name	Time	Location
	TBA

To connect our members to the TAMU-CC and Corpus Christi community, we require that our Tier 1 and Tier 2 students complete at least 5 hours of community service. While students only need to complete 5 hours per semester, they are encouraged to complete more. Additional hours completed will be taken into consideration if students decide to apply for FISA scholarships. To find ways to gather hours, students should use GivePulse and i-Engage to find events happening on campus or around Corpus Christi. FISA will also create service events that are only for FISA members throughout the semester. These events will be listed here and on our i-Engage page. These opportunities will also be shared with members via email and Remind.

Members should complete this form to provide proof of community service hours that are done outside of the FISA events. Members are asked to submit a photo that shows them at the community service event. They can also submit signed community service logs. Members are allowed to count any service hours they completed for other groups or organizations (such as for an honor society or for sorority/fraternity requirements).

Members in Tier 3 will be asked to attend at least three supplemental events per semester. Supplemental events allow members to learn about professional roles and explore a variety of careers. These events are created to meet the needs of individual students. Members will be asked about their professional goals or interests and supplemental events will be created around member feedback. These events may be in a group or one-on-one setting depending on the needs described by members. Examples of these events could be a presentation given by a professional in the Corpus Christi area or a lunch/sit down meeting with a professional.

Other events that may be accepted as supplemental events include Career Fairs, Resume Workshops, and other workshops put on by the Office of Career and Professional Development. A maximum of two events can be counted towards this requirement. Attendance at these events will be verified with sign in sheets used at the events. Please complete THIS FORM to receive outside credit for your supplemental events.

Mentors oversee the tracking of requirements for their assigned students. Members will be asked to sign-in to all social events and mentors will track meetings through Starfish. All members will get at least three updates regarding their progress towards their requirements per semester. These updates will come from the mentors via email and Remind. Members are welcome to request updates outside of the scheduled ones by emailing their mentor or by emailing casa.FISA@tamucc.edu. Members should stay aware of their requirements. If members feel there is a discrepancy between the events they’ve attended and the recorded requirement progress, please reach out to us at casa.FISA@tamucc.edu.

Semester Requirements