Academic-Update-for-BOT-2017-07-21

Academic Update for Board of Trustees Meeting 07/21/2017 Notification of reaffirmation of Higher Learning Commission accreditation received on March 2, 2017:  Interim Reports: Defn of Credit Hour (2018), Enrollment and Budget (2018 and 2020)  Interim Visit: Program Review and Assessment of Curricular & Co-Curricular Activities (2019)  Program Review—new plan for Program Review vs program review developed  Institutional Learning Outcomes—being developed by General Education Committee CAFÉ Strategic Plan development:  Culture, Academics, Finance, and Enrollment (pillars)  Framework established, clarified strategic focus to evaluate work of planning (not reporting) units and then make institutional recommendations  Received input from across campus (Provost Council, Deans & Chairs Leadership Group, Campus Collegium, Leadership Forum, email, etc.) to see if anything was missed  Review of Mission, Vision, and Values statements to occur in fall per board request  Move forward with planning unit goal setting this fall in alignment with CAFÉ master goals Developing a new LSSU website LSSU is migrating existing (and creating new) web content into Wordpress (open source content management system) Pursuing ‘Badging’ of faculty for online instruction with the first group of faculty taking an initial ION course this summer to ensure equivalent learning outcomes, standards for effective course delivery Implementing the Space Reallocation Plan (Library/CASET) to align with new Academic Organizational Structure (May-August 2016), designed to make the Library the ‘activity hub’ of campus IT Hardware/Network initiatives this summer include: authentication, network/wireless upgrades, residential wireless upgrades, data center upgrades, and new phone system Scribing and training to implement Degree Works in Registrar’s Office (September 2017 launch) Degree Works is a comprehensive academic advising, transfer articulation, and degree audit solution: helping students graduate on time Application for Early Middle College partnership with EUP Intermediate School District was accepted (more detail below) Center for Freshwater Research and Education (CFRE)—working closely with Cloverland Electric to discern optimal design/configuration of facility for all involved Nursing Simulation Center— working closely with War Memorial Hospital (WMH) to identify funding to move this facility downtown, which would include a 10-year lease of a renovated Ganzhorn Building Developing a new Pathways Program to offer admission and provide additional supports (mentoring, counseling, and tutoring) to students who would have otherwise not been accepted to LSSU Eight students have accepted admission into this program The School of Engineering and Technology welcomes recent graduate, Jordan Huff, as he fills the position of mechanical lab engineer Jordan graduated from LSSU with a BS in Mechanical Engineering this past May After many years of service to LSSU, Prof Dave McDonald has announced his retirement from the faculty of LSSU Dave received BS and MS in electrical engineering in 1969 and 1971 respectively He has served with distinction in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for 46 years The School of Engineering and Technology wishes him a well-deserved retirement Congratulations to School of Arts & Letters faculty Julie Brooks Barbour and Jillena Rose for the appearance of their poetry in the upcoming anthology from Michigan State University, AND HERE: 100 YEARS OF UPPER PENINSULA WRITING, 1917–2017 Prof Mary McMyne been offered a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Parent Artists to Vermont Studio Center Math/CS student Brooke Leverton (Junior, Lewiston, MI) participated in a statistics and computer programming workshop in North Carolina The workshop was organized by The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) and focused on a few astronomical fields in mathematics Brooke's group in particular took raw data from light curves and created a program for classification of light curves LSSU’s Title III grant is providing the funding for a group of ten individuals to attend the NCADA Summer Institute on Advising this month Among the faculty participating are: Kimberly, Eric Statt, Russ Searight, Jillena Rose, Joe Susi, and Sara Ouimette The Title III grant has five strategies Strategies and are completely accomplished; STRATEGY - Faculty Center for Teaching STRATEGY - Enhance the Advising program at LSSU and create a peer mentor program STRATEGY - Establish Student Learning Commons STRATEGY - Identify Momentum Points in a student's pathway to degree completion and remove barriers along this route STRATEGY - Changeover LMS from Blackboard to Moodle The Student Learning Commons will be finalized this summer Momentum points have been identified already, and we have initiated activities to remove barriers to accomplishment Eastern Upper Peninsula Early College Program The application to establish an early college program submitted by Lake Superior State University (LSSU) and the constituent districts of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD) has been approved by the Michigan Department of Education Students who are admitted to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Early College Program will complete a sequence of high school and college courses leading to the fulfillment of all Michigan Merit Curriculum requirements, as well as an Associate in General Studies or the Michigan Early Middle College Association approved technical certificate, upon completion of the five-year program The program is designed and delivered through a collaborative partnership of the local districts, the ISD, and LSSU Instruction will take place on the various high school campuses and career centers, via blended, online instructional methods, and/or on the university campus The goal of the Early College Program is to support students, parents, citizens and the region by providing innovative and efficient educational programming for accelerated learning including high school completion and earning postsecondary credits, that reduce the time and expense of education beyond high school A particular focus is on extending the outreach to student populations who are currently underrepresented in postsecondary schooling The initial cohort will begin to form in spring 2018, when high school sophomores will have the opportunity to enroll in a University Seminar course through which they will explore college opportunities and expectations Then, as juniors in fall 2018, they will begin the full three-year program leading to high school graduation and an associate's degree It is exciting to know that students from across the EUP, from Newberry to Mackinac Island will be able to access this jumpstart on postsecondary education and career development The planning team includes representatives from area high schools, ISD personnel, and LSSU faculty and staff Geralyn Narkiewicz, who is leading the team, began this new role as Early College and Concurrent Enrollment Coordinator on July 10, and is now housed within the College of Arts and Sciences Office Students from the Department of Chemistry recently swept the top awards for undergraduate posters at the American Chemical Society meeting held at Northern Michigan University on March 25, 2017 The students, Tyler Wall, Danielle Weber, and Christina Magyar presented their research and were recognized by a panel of professional chemists for their work in organic and biochemistry related projects (Note from Marcia: Steve also attached two photos of these students to his email, “BOT Updates – School of Physical Sciences, dated Jul 18.) The installation of the 400 MHz NMR was completed in May, and it is in operation NIH-funded medicinal chemistry research performed by LSSU undergraduate researchers was presented by Dr R Adam Mosey at the 2017 American Chemical Society's National Organic Symposium hosted at the University of California, Davis on June 26, 2017 The presented research included the synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of novel heterocyclic compounds which were characterized using LSSU's new 400 MHz NMR Steve Johnson presented a poster titled "Assessment of Two Methods Aimed at Improving Dissemination of Students’ Results: In Seatro Article Discussion and Video Formative Feedback" at the Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry Education Research & Practice Students at Shaoxing University, guided by Lukenda School of Business professor Dr Ralf Wilhelms, completed the first digital marketing certificate program offered in the Zhejiang Province in China Dr Wilhelms has taught at Shaoxing University the past three summers, exposing these students and others in China to opportunities at LSSU There has been much activity over the summer in the Shouldice Library/Student Learning Commons 1) The new Digital Museum is being prepped for a September unveiling We are digitizing archival photos and publications and making them available in an easy to use platform 2) The Library in conjunction with the FCT is putting the final touches on preparation for the Campus and Community Read The book chosen by campus is Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel We have many events planned in addition to what the faculty will be incorporating into their courses Some of the events include: Pandemic Game Night, Guest Lecturers, Book Art Workshops and contest, Weekly discussion questions in library lobby and public book discussions (among other things) We are supporting faculty on incorporating the book into their curriculum There are over 35 copies available for checkout – including the audio version 3) We are in the process of transitioning the Academic Success Center to be located on the main floor of the library, which will help to reinforce the collaboration we have been working towards in the development of the Library Learning Commons 4) The Fishbowl (Library Lab 211) has been updated to be more comfortable, inviting and flexible as we intend to use this as an additional instruction lab space when needed 5) There is a new Commuter Lounge in the Learning Commons – the former faculty/staff breakroom located in the west corridor entering the library is a space for commuter students to relax and congregate between classes 6) The library is now hosting an academic podcasting platform called LakerCast Faculty are invited to participate in the recording (audio or video) of course materials which will be made accessible through the Site Content in LakerCast benefits four main audiences: 1) Current students; 2) Potential Students; 3) Students needing accommodations (identified or not); and 4) the general public interested in lifelong learning 7) We have received 20 laptops from Testing Services that are being reimaged and made available for students to check out through the Library 8) The Library is in the process of digitizing all of the Board of Trustee meeting minutes to be made available to the campus community 9) The Joint Library Card program with the Bayliss Library has been a success – with 50 patrons participating 10) The Fall 2017 Library outreach schedule has been finalized We are pleased to announce the following events: (All outreach events are podcasted and available through LakerCast) a Palm of the Hand Memoir workshops are held the first Tuesday of each month at noon in the Learning Commons b Library Art Gallery will be hosting Station Eleven Book Art Entries, Emile Weddige, Native American Art and an LSSU Alumni Art exhibit c Scholar Series – Mike Boucher will be presenting “Strategies for Staying Relevant and Thriving in a Technical Career” d Scholar Series – Gail Essmaker – Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Literature e Documentary Film Series – Frontline’s “Outbreak” followed by a discussion f Scholar Series – Panel Discussion on Infectious Diseases including Professor Moody, Professor Oliver among others g Sustainability Series – MSU Extension Educator, Michelle Walk, will discuss locally grown food and survival techniques h Poetry Series – Marc Dunn from Sault College, Ontario Grant Activity Summary: May 1, 2017-July 14, 2017 New Grant Awards Funder: Amount: Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) $13,883 Summary: Awarded funds will support the Chippewa County Inland Lakes Clean Beaches project Inland lakes located across Chippewa County are regularly used for recreation purposes A majority of these beaches have historically had water quality problems including elevated bacterial counts The Chippewa County Inland Lakes Clean Beaches project will continue monitoring efforts in identified lakes previously performed by the Chippewa County Health Department Bacterial monitoring in these inland lakes will provide valuable data concerning the suitability of the lakes for recreation purposes and the effectiveness of surface water improvement projects Project staff will routinely communicate with local township officials concerning the results of the beach monitoring, and data will be posted into the Michigan BeachGuard System, a public resource provided by the Michigan DEQ that includes information on Michigan beach water quality sampling results, as well as, beach advisories and closures Through this project, LSSU will provide the Chippewa County Health Department with timely data to allow the Department to issue public notice when the sample collection results exceed the legal limit according to water quality standards set in the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act U.S Fish and Wildlife Service $65,671 ($19,356 match from LSSU) Summary: The Upper Peninsula Piping Plover Monitoring project is aimed to increase the viability of the Great Lakes population of piping plovers using both private and public lands within Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula Activities associated with this project are a part of an ongoing, multi-agency partnership The Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers was listed as federally endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1986 Despite ongoing conservation efforts, the population remains extremely vulnerable to extinction due to various threats Student workers surveyed approximately 60 miles of Piping Plover nesting habitat to identify nesting pairs and provide ongoing nest monitoring throughout the summer months Monitoring of the nesting sites includes identifying active nesting sites, conducting nest protection strategies, and documenting general piping plover activity Superior Watershed Partnership $17,630 Summary: Under a subaward from Superior Watershed Partnership, LSSU will survey up to 20 sites in the Ontonagon River Watershed for freshwater mussels (live and dead) to determine the presence or absence of freshwater mussels within the surveyed system throughout the summer and early fall Project members will measure and record stream habitat data at each site surveyed for freshwater mussels, following protocols that align with previous surveys conducted in the Upper Peninsula A complete written analysis and summary of data collected will be completed by December 31, 2017, with a final report by February 28, 2018 Grant Proposals Submitted Funder: Amount: Status: MI King-Chavez-Parks (KCP) Select Student Support $150,000/yr Pending Service (4S) Initiative 6-year funding cycle Summary: The proposed Laker Success Coaches program will train LSSU staff to provide mentoring services, organize workshops and trainings and engage in one-on-one interaction to support students in their transition to campus life and throughout their higher education journey The Laker Success Coach program will target new academically and/or economically disadvantaged students to help overcome barriers to increase retention and completion rates MI King-Chavez-Parks (KCP) Michigan College University $130,000/yr Pending Partnership (MICUP) Initiative 6-year funding cycle Summary: The LSSU Steps to Success Program will expand collaborations with three community college partners in northern Michigan, implementing activities that are designed to support the KCP core outcomes, working specifically to increase retention and ultimately graduation Project activities designed around the established retention indicators will not only increase student transfer rates, but also retention efforts Student success strategies incorporated into the LSSU Steps to Success Program include virtual peer mentoring, tutoring, academic coaching and career workshops dedicated to support academically and economically disadvantaged students Walmart Foundation Community Grant Program $2,500 Pending Summary: Requested funds will support the LSSU Campus & Community Read project The LSSU Campus & Community Read project will engage the LSSU campus and greater community through a series events including book discussions, a book art contest, and a capstone event featuring a question and answer panel discussion with the author, Emily St John Mandel, of the selected book, STATION ELEVEN