April 2009
Contents
Special Announcement
Welcome
The University Honors Program has completed its review of files for the entering class of 2009, and we're eagerly awaiting the replies of students. We expect, once again, to have a full class of 500 students, and are anticipating that this class will be another very strong one. We look forward to showcasing a new 189H in Environmental Studies in the fall, and welcome the challenge of fitting all Honors classes and requirements into the ACE program. Once again, we anticipate a high graduation rate in 2009.
More exciting news from Neihardt: we are currently deep in preparation (or panic mode) for "People and Perspectives of the Plains", the Great Plains Honors Council Conference on April 3-4, 2009, when we'll welcome over 200 Honors students and faculty from all over the Great Plains onto campus. Over 100 presenters, including some of our students, will fill Andrews Hall on Saturday, covering topics from Milton to Camus, from horses to houses, from Denmark to Tanzania, from assessment to curricular issues. Visitors will also explore Lincoln, tour the International Quilt Study Center and the Tractor Test Museum. We anticipate an exciting Friday evening speaker in Sandi Zellmer, UNL Law College faculty member, speaking on water usage and law, and to close the conference (while we're consuming Dairy Store ice cream), a dynamic performance from Pippa White, titled Far As the Eye Can See, about the dust bowl in the late 1800's and early 1900's. We trust students and faculty alike will profit from the experience and return to their campuses having enjoyed UNL and the conference.
Karen Lyons
Associate Director of the University Honors Program
Announcements and Events
Undergraduate Research Conference
Support Student Research: Plan to Attend the Undergraduate Research Conference, April 16, 2009.
A poster session highlighting undergraduate student research and creative activity will be held at the Nebraska Union as part of the 2009 Research Fair. We encourage all students involved in a research project or creative activity - with faculty, for an Honors thesis, or through the UCARE program - to register for the conference.
General Education (ACE)
The list of courses certified for inclusion in the ACE Program continues to grow. Currently there are 381 courses certified for 423 outcomes, all of which can be viewed at: http://ace.unl.edu/certifiedcourses.shtml.
The Interim ACE Committee has met almost weekly for the past year in order to carefully review and certify these courses; however, in a few months this responsibility will shift to its permanent home with a sub-committee of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC). At that time, the standards set by the current list of ACE courses will be maintained, and the UCC sub-committee will follow the same guidelines used by the IACE Committee to assess each submitted course for possible inclusion in the ACE program.
To submit a new or existing course for ACE, go to: http://ace.unl.edu/coursesub.shtml.
Nancy Mitchell, Interim Director of General Education
nmitchell1@unl.edu
Kelly Dick, Undergraduate Curriculum Associate
kdick3@unl.edu
Nebraska Colloquium
"The Silk Road" is Theme for '09-10 Nebraska Colloquium
The Office of Undergraduate Studies announces the theme for the 2009-2010 Nebraska Colloquium - "The Silk Road."
Complementing next year's E. N. Thompson Forum lectures on "Encountering China," the Nebraska Colloquium includes the Honors Forum presentations by UNL faculty that, collectively, will engage the campus and community in timely discussions of this important region from China to the Middle East, linked by the historic Silk Road trade routes. This year's Colloquium, marking its third anniversary, will confirm its value as an integral part of the campus culture.
Dr. Rita Kean and Dr. Patrice Berger are leading the effort to schedule UNL faculty to speak as part of the Colloquium. They are reaching out to all UNL colleges to encourage faculty with related expertise to participate and invite speaker recommendations or other contributions to the project from the entire campus community.
Contact Dr. Berger with ideas at pberger1@unl.edu or 472-5425.
PEARL
Summary of 2007-2008 Assessment Activity
The Office of Undergraduate Studies is pleased to share a report summarizing undergraduate program assessment activity during the 2007-2008 academic year. The report describes how outcomes assessment contributes to improvements, what undergraduate programs are learning from outcomes assessment, what learning outcome are valued by undergraduate programs, how UNL is engaged in assessing undergraduate learning, and how UNL asks students to demonstrate their learning. See the 2007-2008 Summary of Undergraduate Program Assessment Activity at:
http://www.unl.edu/ous/faculty_resources/assessment/page1.shtml
Office of Undergraduate Studies |
(402) 472-1185 |
Dr. Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Textiles, Clothing and Design
Dr. Tim Alvarez, Interim Director of OASIS
Dr. Patrice Berger, Director of NU Honors Program and Professor of History
Dr. Laura Damuth, Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Adviser
Kelly Dick, Undergraduate Curriculum Associate
Dr. Donald Gregory, Director of General Studies and Associate Professor of English
Gail Hackwith, Administrative Assistant
Dr. Jessica Jonson, Director of Institutional Assessment
Sara Mattson, Administrative Technician
Dr. Nancy Mitchell, Interim Director for General Education
JoAnn Moseman, Academic Transfer Coordinator
Dr. Jeremy Penn, Assessment Associate for PEARL
Marcia White, E.N. Thompson Coordinator and Political Science Adviser
AnnMarie Williams, Academic Learning Communities Coordinator
