Advising

Russian Flagship students are encouraged to participate in as many co-curricular activities as possible. These events provide valuable opportunities to build connections with students outside their cohort, meet Russian-speaking scholars and other campus visitors, learn about their research and professional work, expand their cultural knowledge, and practice using Russian in social settings. Participation in co-curricular activities is an important component of the Russian Flagship experience.

During the semester, residents of Russkii dom are also expected to attend regular ILC dinners and sit at the Russkii dom table.

Students who are unable to attend in-person events are encouraged to take advantage of the program’s list of online language-learning resources.

To make satisfactory progress in the Russian Flagship Program, students must:

• Meet proficiency benchmarks and complete course requirements as specified in their individualized study plan;
• Maintain a GPA of 3.5 in Russian courses and a cumulative GPA of 3.0;
• Enroll in at least 3 credits of Russian each semester;
• Participate in 1-4 hours of tutoring per week in accordance with program policies and tutoring guidelines;
• Actively participate in Russian Flagship co-curricular activities and other program-sponsored events;
• Complete Russian Flagship assessments;
• Create and maintain a profile in the National Security Education Program Student Certification System.

Students who are not making satisfactory progress will be notified first orally and, if necessary, in writing. Students who receive written notification may be placed on probation. To remain in the Russian Flagship Program, students on probation must satisfy the terms of their probation.

The Student Certification System (SCS) is a database managed by the National Security Education Program (NSEP) within the U.S. Department of Defense, which funds the Russian Flagship Program at UW-Madison. NSEP uses the SCS to track student enrollments and determine the amount of funding, including funding for Language Flagship Scholarships, to provide for the Russian Flagship Program.

It is extremely important that students keep their profiles in the Student Certification System up-to-date!

For log-in issues or other SCS questions, please contact Jesse Kruschke.

Tutoring is a critical component of the Russian Flagship Program, providing students with additional opportunities for practice and individualized feedback as they progress through the program and work toward their proficiency goals. Russian Flagship advisors identify broad areas of focus for tutoring, such as conversation or academic writing. Within those areas, students work with their tutors to determine how best to organize tutoring sessions based on their individual interests, needs, and goals.

Students meet with their tutors for 1–3 classroom hours (50 minutes each) per week at a mutually convenient time. Depending on a student’s proficiency level, tutoring may take place in small groups with other Russian Flagship students or in a combination of group and individual sessions. Tutoring begins during the second week of classes and continues through the last full week of the semester. There is no tutoring during Thanksgiving recess or Spring Break.

Students are expected to come prepared to tutoring sessions with topics to discuss or language skills they would like to practice. Tutoring sessions should be primarily student-driven and are not intended to function as independent studies or formal courses for which tutors prepare lesson plans.

Students should provide their tutor with at least 24 hours’ written notice if they need to reschedule a tutoring session. If an emergency occurs or a student cannot give 24 hours’ notice, they should contact both their tutor and Dr. Anna Tumarkin, associate director, by email. When possible, missed tutoring sessions should be rescheduled within the same week.

Please direct questions or concerns about tutoring to Dr. Tumarkin.