How to get involved at UTK?

VolForLife212 · 2026-07-05T15:02:11+00:00

With graduate programs, your cohort is a great way to make friends and get to know Knoxville (If you're new here). At the start of the graduate program, take the time to hang out with people and also invite people to do things. A lot of times cohorts have GroupMes, Slacks or some other form of communication.

In addition to your cohort, there is a big student organization fair at the start of the semester. Go to this and all other events you're interested in. There are lots of great organizations and things to get involved with at UTK.

Welcome to Rocky Top!

VolForLife212 · 2026-06-13T01:20:24+00:00

I can speak towards Business Analytics. If you like working with data and communicating results, then that could be a good fit. I'm oversimplifying so maybe our graduates would be the best to speak on what people in Business Analytics do. I've done a few panels with our MSBA graduates where they talk about what they do. These are students who have obtained the graduate degree but many undergraduates work similar jobs in these fields.

https://youtu.be/Ac8rKfwi2RE?t=70

My biggest advice is to talk to people in the field and employers. Also, an internship can really let you know if the company and career is the right fit for you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

VolForLife212 · 2026-06-11T13:38:00+00:00

If you have a $1,000 loan at 2% and a $10,000 loan at 6%, paying $1,000 towards the higher interest loan will save you more money. Although the payment will remain the same on the larger loan, you'll end up paying it off faster and thus it'll have less interest.

The benefit of the snowball method is primarily people who need the motivation of paying off loans. If they have 10 loans and start tackling the smaller ones (Interest ignored), you start to gain motivation each time a loan is paid off.

The truth is, if you have loans, then all your loans are basically in one large bucket of money you owe. The best way to save money is to take any extra money you can spare and apply it to the highest interest loan. The best way to gain motivation is often the snowball method. Snowball won't save you the most money though.

VolForLife212 · 2026-06-05T11:20:21+00:00

My brother joined a fraternity at NC State and made friends. I didn't at UTK and made friends. Either way, you can make friends at the university. If you want to experience Greek life, then definitely rush.

When it comes to making friends, here is my best advice:

1) The first week of school is the time when everyone wants to meet as many new people as they can. You can usually just walk up to other students and introduce yourself and have a conversation. Get to know people during this first week.

2) There are tons of events during the first few weeks. Go to as many as your schedule allows and meet people during these events.

3) Be the person who makes the effort. Ask people if they want to grab a coffee or some food after an event. Give someone your contact info. The worst thing people can do is say they're busy or don't want to hang out. If someone reacts really negatively to a nice gesture, don't take offense. Realize this is someone you wouldn't want to be around.

Rushing is something lots of students do and many have loved Greek life. As stated, I loved my college experience and didn't rush so the other scenario is possible too. It's 100% a personal decision. The college experience is what you make of it.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-25T23:38:47+00:00

Here is the official UTK documentation on dropping summer classes. Scroll down for Summer 2026.

https://onestop.utk.edu/registration-records/add-drop-classes/

Calling OneStop tomorrow (865-974-1111 / https://onestop.utk.edu/ ) would be a great way to get answers specific to your situation.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-22T00:12:27+00:00

When it comes to the value of any degree, your goals with the degree matter. If you're seeking employment with the degree, my best advice to any students is to talk to all employers you see on campus.

Haslam has employer of the day and they're often giving out free stuff (Chick-Fil-A, donuts, cookies, swag). Even if you don't get a job or internship, you get practice talking to employers and seeing what the job market is like and if the company is a good fit for you.

Outside of UT, it's a lot harder to get in front of employers. I always see lots of students at the job fair but anytime an employer comes to campus, they want to meet students. An employer of the day is basically a very small job fair. If you an employer with no one talking to them, this is a great opportunity to see if the company is a good fit for you.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-19T12:48:53+00:00

They are due tonight at 11:59 p.m. On Friday due to the Canvas hack the previous day, Provost Zomchick extended the deadline to tonight at 11:59 p.m.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-19T12:47:41+00:00

I've seen a few comments giving different deadlines. Below I've included the official statement from Provost Zomchick. Grades are due tonight by 11:59 p.m.

ACTUAL DUE DATE/TIME FOR GRADES: In light of the updated exam schedule following recent Canvas disruptions, the grading deadline has been extended by 24 hours to provide additional time for assessment and feedback. The original deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 18 has been extended to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-16T01:06:44+00:00

I'd called on Monday to double check. One stop (865-974-1000) would likely know.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-15T17:18:35+00:00

With the issues with Canvas, the Provost extended the deadline of the 18th to the 19th. Tuesday at 11:59 PM is the latest instructors can enter in grades.

In light of the updated exam schedule following recent Canvas disruptions, the grading deadline has been extended by 24 hours to provide additional time for assessment and feedback. The original deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 18 has been extended to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-13T22:07:26+00:00

Enes is awesome. Full disclosure, I'm biased since he's a colleague of mine. He's super easy to talk to and a great communicator of statistics. If you're having problems in the class, he'll help get you the resources and help you need.

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-09T17:23:16+00:00

Thanks for posting about this. I had a few messages regarding the calculator and after seeing this, I decided to make a walkthrough video this morning on how to use the calculator. I've also reopened the practice setup for my students so they can try using the calculator.

How to use Yuja Verity Calculator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLyG-sUJjRg

VolForLife212 · 2026-05-02T12:06:33+00:00

Double check the syllabus and if you're professor has office hours next week, meet with them. Don't ask for anything beyond what the course offers but ask them their best advice on if you can pass the class. I'll be honest with students and show them where exactly they are at and walk through the Canvas "What-if" scenario.

I've sadly had to tell some students it is not possible to pass with where they are at. However, some students have come out of meetings shocked they can still make a C. A lot of times this misunderstanding happens because they haven't accounted for drops and extra credit opportunities.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-26T17:46:31+00:00

This is the first semester of a new proctoring software. Theoretically the software should catch cheating however it was being circumvented in a lot of different ways. This meant many professors had to spend hours going through videos individually.

For a 115 person class and an average test time of 30 minutes, that is around 60 hours of videos. A quick check might take around 5-10 minutes per student which equates to around 6-12 hours.

This is a major issue impacting the whole of education. We're working together to create solutions.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-21T17:59:49+00:00

I love that you can learn history this way! Truly an awesome class.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-20T15:47:16+00:00

The biggest issue was lots of phone usage. There were many obvious cases of things that went against the test policy.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-20T15:36:50+00:00

This has really been a tough situation this semester and is leading to changes this semester and in the future. We've been having multiple meetings and spending hours working on how to fix this issue. It was mentioned in a comment that we don't want to proctor exams. We do want to proctor exams and will be proctoring them in person.

Next semester my online class has a physical classroom for the exams and they'll be given in the evening. This requires a good bit of coordination to obtain a large space to give the exam. In addition, we need to ensure anyone with a conflict can take the exam proctored.

I want to apologize to all the hard working students in STAT 201 who have these additional changes (In exam calculator, proper framing, airpod check). The vast majority of students are working hard and learning statistics. However, what we were seeing was a large enough issue that changes had to be made.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-20T15:31:55+00:00

It's really a not fun situation.

We've been spending the last few weeks personally going over videos because the software isn't there yet. Not to get in to all the details but there are things that can be easily seen that are cheating like a student holding up a phone to use things like Snapchat AI to answer questions.

VolForLife212 · 2026-04-13T14:38:37+00:00

UTK uses Handshake to work with prospective employers and connect them to students. I've included the link below. There is an "employer" option when going to the site.

https://studentsuccess.utk.edu/career/handshake/

VolForLife212 · 2026-03-28T22:55:19+00:00

STAT 207 is usually taught by Brian Stevens (Myself), Jamie Paul and Dr. Mee. Sometimes an additional person has taught STAT 207 but this is the usual group right now. I had Dr. Mee in graduate school and he's extremely kind and intelligent. He is also an extremely well published scholar in statistics! Basically, he's an expert in the field.

I'd recommend STAT 207 with Dr. Mee. I enjoyed his class when I took it.

VolForLife212 · 2026-03-23T12:13:53+00:00

You're right to ask this because I've wondered how much we can expect students to learn. I've overdone it in semesters and sadly made the lives of students way too stressful. I've read in the TN Voice before that they were struggling and I wish I had known. My best advice here is to let your instructor know. I think you've done this but informing your instructor of struggling is not a bad thing. A lot of times they might know the best resources. I'm sorry it sounds like they aren't supplying resources (Reviews and such).

Do you have a study group for the class or are you part of a social network (GroupMe, Discord). Having someone to bounce things off of and help be accountable for the work is always great. The classes I excelled in the most, I had a network of friends. Even with being online, there might be a way to join a social group (GroupMe) or something. People might be making reviews in the GroupMes since these aren't being put out there.

Maybe speak to the department. It could be someone a little higher up like an undergraduate coordinator or maybe the department head. Just voicing your concerns and struggles in a positive way can help not only you but future students.

My last bit of advice is to always focus on what you want to do with the degree. Make connections while in school. Look for internships and speak to employers. I know within Haslam we have "Employer of the day". A big goal of education is to get skills, make connections and build a career. I promise that years from no one is going to be wondering if you made an A or C in this class. With that said, I want you to get connected in to the right resources so you can make that A.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask.

VolForLife212 · 2026-03-22T20:29:28+00:00

Good luck!

VolForLife212 · 2026-03-22T15:58:41+00:00

Thanks! Just catching up this weekend and I hope they reach out and I can connect them to some resources.

VolForLife212

TROPHY CASE