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Practical Approaches to Information Literacy for the First-Year Student

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

As research on gaps in college preparedness continues to emerge, fueling debates in both academic and public forums, most postsecondary institutions have taken some measures to assist undergraduates in developing a higher degree of information and digital literacy, and to prepare students better for conducting academic research. To learn where you can see the highest return on these efforts, we turned this week to Anne-Marie Deitering, the Franklin McEdward Professor for Undergraduate Learning Initiatives at Oregon State University. A forward thinker on integrating information literacy into different stages in the student experience, Deitering offers the following tips for her peers at other colleges and universities. Integration Beyond Research-Based Coursework “A truism among our colleagues pursuing information literacy efforts is that the best place to integrate information literacy is in courses with research assignments,” Deitering notes, “and that the best place to embed concepts and content on information literacy throughout the curriculum is to embed it where students are already motivated to do research and access library resources.” In this model, academic libraries often hold an information literacy or library services tutorial for students, or — in the case of a few institutions — embed a librarian within the research course. However, Deitering […]

Encouraging the Success of Online Students

Posted on by Greta Bell

July 28, 2011. The past decade has seen a plethora of research studies attempting to document the impact of online learning on measures of academic success and student persistence. The studies often produce widely divergent results, in part because institutions vary dramatically in the level of support and preparation they offer to both students and faculty. To inquire into best practices for preparing both faculty and students for online courses, we turned to two online learning veterans to learn more: Kristen Betts, director of the Center for Online Learning at Armstrong Atlantic State University, and Mark Parker, interim assistant dean and collegiate associate professor for communication, arts, and humanities at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Betts and Parker suggest that the most critical steps in encouraging the academic success and persistence of your online students involve setting and managing faculty and student expectations around workload and interaction within the online course. Here are some examples. Managing Expectations for Students Betts and Parker advise institutions to be more proactive in setting expectations both: When marketing online programs to students (while promoting the flexibility of an online program, it’s important to also set expectations around the program’s rigor and the quality of student work that is […]

Make Your Threat Assessment Team Effective: Part 2

Posted on by Greta Bell

This is the second of two articles offering practical advice on making behavioral intervention teams effective. You can read the first article here. August 18, 2011. In today’s difficult economic climate, most institutions of higher education are facing significant reductions in counseling and mental health budgets at a time when the mental health needs of students, faculty, and staff are on the rise. In a recent survey by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, 77 percent of counseling center directors indicated that the number of students on campus with severe mental health issues had increased in the past year. And while most available studies focus on student mental health, last year’s shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville offers a tragic reminder that faculty and staff may also face mental health issues. We asked Gene Deisinger, deputy chief of police and director of threat management services at Virginia Tech, for his advice on pitfalls to avoid when establishing early behavioral intervention teams or threat assessment teams. Deisinger is both a police officer and a clinical psychologist, and has been involved with such teams for over 15 years. He notes these five pitfalls that you can avoid with a little careful planning: First Pitfall: Focusing Solely […]

“George”: How RIT is Encouraging Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Institutions seeking to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching are pursuing an array of approaches: hiring faculty into multiple departments based on shared interdisciplinary interests, launching research initiatives that provide additional funding to get interdisciplinary projects off the ground, and providing shared research spaces. One of the challenges that often remains is that faculty often work in a relatively isolated manner, with little awareness of research, faculty work, or even faculty interest outside their own department. “At first, we thought the problem was related to idea sharing. We learned that the problem existed earlier in the collaboration lifecycle − people didn’t really know what other people did across campus.”Deborah Gears, RIT The Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY has struck on a creative and unusual approach to bridging this knowledge and communication gap. RIT’s new project, dubbed “George™,” uses Scholar Trading Cards™ and a searchable faculty database to enhance networking among faculty. It is a deceptively simple idea. Intrigued, we talked with Deborah Gears, RIT associate professor, College of Computing and Information Sciences, to learn more about: George™: Be Inquisitive, Be Inspired RIT’s project begins with Scholar Trading Cards™: physical cards that feature RIT faculty and that can be shared […]

Due Process and the Likely Gap in Your Title IX Investigation

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Series: The Compliance Issues You Need to Know About Welcome to the third in this series. You can read the first two articles here: Daniel Fusch. Bev, thanks for joining me for this conversation. There have been several cases recently in which a judge has ruled against a post-secondary education in a suit brought to court by a student (or former student) accused of assault: the University of Southern California; University of Southern California, San Diego; the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; and George Mason University, to name a few. In these cases, the judge cited the institution for lack of due process. I can’t help thinking that this may be just the crest of an oncoming wave of similar cases. Could you tell us a little about the need for due process in Title IX investigation? Bev Baligad. First and foremost, institutions must understand that the hallmark of due process is fairness: fairness for all parties, whether they be complainants or respondents. This isn’t just a best practice; institutions have to be fair. In fact, this isn’t just about a “need for due process in Title IX Investigation.” There is a need for due process to be embedded throughout an institution’s processes. Period. […]

“No One Ever Told Me”: How Advisors Can Maximize Service and Minimize Risk through Effective Documentation

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Electronic documentation has become an integral part of an academic advisor’s daily life. Student records and notes are often maintained electronically, and email has been established as a preferred method of communication among students, faculty, and staff. No longer are advisor records locked securely in a file cabinet within the department; our records and communications are more transparent and accessible to a broader audience than ever before — as colleagues within the department rely on accurate, timely notes for consistency in service, and departments throughout the institution may access these records to develop an historical perspective on a student. “No one ever told me”: five words that are sure to make an academic advisor cringe, yet are uttered all too frequently in higher education. The implications behind those words may range from mild frustration on the part of the student to the basis for a lawsuit. It is crucial for academic advisors, as well as all university personnel, to maintain accurate, timely student records and documentation. By ensuring that your documentation is clear, concise, and accurate, you can maximize the delivery […]

Campaigns: Meaningful Ways to Engage the Board

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Too often, board involvement in the campaign is limited to what are essentially tactical assignments — making the ask to their contacts, raising certain quantities. What’s missed in these cases are opportunities to engage the board in what board members do best — big-picture thinking, advocacy, and getting key messages out to the community. Jim Langley, founder and president of Langley Innovations, and past vice president of advancement at Georgetown University, offers suggestions for how to approach the board from the outset in a way that will contribute more to the success of your campaign. Starting with a Cognitive Map Langley recommends involving board members early in framing the campaign and the “big ideas” driving it. In an unproductive relationship between the board and the campaign planning committee, board members are shown a gift pyramid, told that the institution has X number of prospects at each level, and then given assignments. “In too many cases,” Langley warns, “we assume that a gift pyramid is enough; we present the pyramid, then march through and orchestrate the ask. If you present the campaign that way to the board, they will assume it is a tactical exercise.” Langley warns that there are two risks in this: […]

Empowering Higher Education Leaders Through Coaching in Challenging Times 

Posted on by Enya Svoboda

When I served in a cabinet-level leadership role, my leadership style was rooted in my belief that success was determined by strategy, collaboration, and execution alone. I had a clear vision and a strong sense of responsibility, but what I did not realize at the time was that there was a powerful tool – leadership coaching – that could amplify my effectiveness in ways I could not anticipate.   Looking back, I can’t help but wonder how much smoother some challenges would have been, how much more I could have developed as a leader, and how much stronger my team could have become, if I had embraced coaching earlier. With the benefit of hindsight, rooted in my growing knowledge of coaching, I am confident that leadership coaching would have been an invaluable asset – both for my own growth and the success of my team. This is the power of coaching: the ability to unlock untapped potential, overcome obstacles with greater ease, and evolve as a leader in ways that go beyond what I can do on my own.   Higher education is facing profound challenges. Our students, institutions, and communities are grappling with uncertainty, burnout, and ongoing crises. The world is […]

Speaking with Applicants and Admits About Financial Aid

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

The 2010 Student Poll published by the College Board and Art & Science Group, LLC confirms that most college applicants are dismissing colleges from their list on the basis of sticker price, without considering net price. The study also finds that applicants are nonetheless willing to attend a higher-priced school for: In this article, W. Kent Barnds, vice president of enrollment and communication at Augustana College and Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, share their tips for smaller, liberal arts institutions on how to approach the conversation about net price and financial aid with applicants. No Silver Bullet There are standard ways to help educate the public about the sticker price/net price difference: But Barnds and Massa warn that these methods do not address the real issue, and they share concern that polls and media (as well as federal) attention to the problem of communicating net price to the public actually focuses attention on a “red herring.” “Providing a net price calculator is not enough,” Massa warns. “Because you will package students differently, there may be so many packaging options that would change the cost to families — and a student’s total college expense is affected also by personal and […]

Spotlight on Innovation: A New Take on Developmental Education at Gateway Community and Technical College

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. There has been no shortage of research documenting the extent to which developmental education courses under-serve academically under-prepared students; traditional dev-ed curriculums typically award no college credit yet cost students time and money, while showing dismal persistence rates. In the past couple of years, we have seen a number of colleges and universities undertake innovative and impactful reforms of their developmental education. Gateway Community and Technical College in Florence, KY, is currently engaging in such a reform through its Flexible Learning and Exploration space (FLEXspace) project, which is funded by a $3.4 million First in the World grant. We reached out to Kristen Smitherman, project director; Kerri McKenna, division chair of developmental education and orientation and assistant professor of developmental writing; and Doug Penix, director of learning […]

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