September 2009
Contents
- Welcome
- New transfer student welcome reception
- Star Center
- PEARL
- New Developments for the ACE Program
Special Announcement
Welcome
Over the summer, there have been many personnel changes in the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
- Of course, Don Gregory’s death caused us all to take a moment and realize how fortunate all of us in OUS have been to work with a faculty colleague of Don’s integrity and intelligence. He will be missed.
- Jennifer Nelson graciously agreed to serve as Interim Director of the Division of General Studies. Jennifer has done an outstanding job leading General Studies since March.
- Carrie Petr resigned her position as an advisor in DGS to assume a position with broader responsibilities as the Director of the Hansen Leadership Program at Doane College in Crete, NE.
- In July, Jeremy Penn left his role as Assistant Assessment Coordinator for the position of Director of Institutional Assessment at Oklahoma State University.
- Kelly Dick, who worked diligently with the I-ACE committee this past 18 months was promoted to Program Assessment Coordinator. She will work closely with Jessica Jonson, the University Wide Assessment Committee and with the ACE Program assessment process.
- Sara Mattson will continue to work with UCARE, but has been assigned additional responsibilities. She will work closely with IS staff on the Creq on-line course approval system, provide support to the UCC and to OUS personnel.
- As of September 1, Mr. Andre Fortune will assume the position of Director of the Jackie Gaughan Mulitcultural Center. We were very fortunate to have Dr. Timothy Alvarez serve as Interim Director this past year. Tim did an outstanding job as Interim and we are all excited about working with Andre Fortune. Andre has served as the Director of Recruitment and Retention for the UNL College of Engineering.
- Marcia White will leave her position as the Coordinator of the EN Thompson Forum (.5 FTE) and as Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Political Science (.5 FTE) as of September 21 to assume a brand new position with the Nebraska Community Foundation. Marcia contributed a great deal the EN Thompson Forum, the NU Honors Program and the EN Thompson Scholars Learning Community in her Coordinator’s role.
-- Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Announcements and Events
New transfer student welcome reception
The Office of Undergraduate Studies and Tau Sigma, national honor society for transfer students, will host an ice cream social for new transfer students on Thursday, September 10 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Library Instruction Room (110 Love Library South). Academic units and other staff members are invited to welcome these new students and share some ice cream and conversation. There will be no formal program, but faculty and staff will be introduced. RSVP to JoAnn Moseman, Academic Transfer Coordinator at jmoseman2@unl.edu or 472-9455.
Star Center
The STAR Center (Satellite Tutoring and Advising Resources Center) is a joint effort between the Office of Undergraduate Studies and University Housing to provide walk-in academic advising and tutoring to students in the residence hall. The STAR Center is located in the heart of the newly constructed Abel/Sandoz Welcome Center located north of Vine street on 17th street. Services available to students at the STAR Center include: academic advising by General Studies, Career Services, assistance with BSAD 101 by the Director of First Year Programs for the College of Business Administration, math tutoring for any 100-level course, and assistance from the Writing Center. To learn more about the hours, days, and services available at the STAR Center visit our website at http://www.unl.edu/ous/star.shtml.
PEARL
Due dates for PEARL programs
The “Summary of Assessment Evidence / Results” and “Use of Assessment Evidence / Results” components are due in the PEARL software (http://pearl.unl.edu) by September 18th for PEARL programs.
The 2009 – 20010 PEARL plans are due on October 2. Please note that the 2009 – 2010 timeline will not be available until the 2008 – 2009 “Programs Report Results” step has been completed. It is important to meet these deadlines for a timely peer review process and to allow for identification of your PEARL plans as a “PEARL best practice.”
If you would like assistance with your assessment plans, or with using the PEARL software, please contact Kelly Dick, Program Assessment Coordinator, at 472-1905 or kdick3@unl.edu.
New Developments for the ACE Program
TRANSITION TO ACE
This fall for the first time, new students are enrolling in Achievement-Centered Education, UNL’s new general education program. This program is the result of several years of collaborative work involving faculty, staff and students. Many thanks to faculty for submitting course proposals, staff for helping administrate and advise the program and especially to the Interim ACE team, representatives from each of the eight undergraduate colleges, for their dedication to making ACE a program that helps students achieve those skills and develop capacities they’ll need as graduates of UNL in the 21st century.
Members of the IACE team include: Tiffany Heng-Moss, Kathy Ankerson, Greg Snow, Scott Fuess, Linda Young, John Ballard, Peter Lefferts, and Frauke Hachtmann. According to the ACE governing documents, a subcommittee of the University Curriculum Committee assumes ACE responsibilities. Members of the UCC ACE committee include are: Kathy Ankerson (ARCH), Charles Berryman (ENGR), Fayrene Hamouz (E&HS). Leon Higley (CASNR), Glenn Ledder (A&S), Brian Moore (F&PA), Terrance Sebora (CBA) and Larry Walklin (J&MC).
NEW ACE RESOURCES FOR FACULTY
Recognizing that ACE is a new program, several resources are offered for faculty and departments as they develop their assessment plans.
Series of Information Sessions Offered in September
These sessions provide faculty with useful ways to think about the outcomes they’re teaching and opportunities to exchange ideas for effective assessment. For complete information on these sessions, go to: http://ace.unl.edu/ACEassessmentsessionsflyer.pdf
Translating Outcomes to Assessment.
Wed., Sept. 16, 1:30-3:00 East Campus Union
Thurs., Sept. 24, 1:30-3:00 Nebraska Union
Managing ACE Course Assessment
Wed., Sept. 30, 1:30-3:00 Nebraska Union
Blackboard Organization for Faculty Teaching ACE Courses
Assuming that not all instructors and faculty members understand what the new general education program is about, we've prepared a Blackboard organization to provide instructors with some basic information and assistance.
- Log into Blackboard (http://blackboard.unl.edu/) and look for “ACE Instructors” under My Organizations.
- If you cannot locate the organization you may have to enroll. Do this by locating “ACE Instructors” under the Community tab and clicking on the Enroll button to the far right.
- If you do not yet have a Blackboard username and password, contact your program/department chair and visit the ACE web site for information regarding ACE (http://ace.unl.edu)
What you'll find on the ACE Instructors organization is a reminder about requirements for those teaching ACE courses along with some links to resources and contact information. The information is intended to supplement the ACE web site and the information provided to you by your college and departments or programs. Additional information may be added to the organization from time-to-time, so check back occasionally.
ACE Assessment
The University-wide Assessment Committee (UWAC) in cooperation with the UCC ACE subcommittee will oversee the institutional assessment of the ACE program. A member of the UCC ACE subcommittee has been named to serve as a liaison to the University-wide Assessment Committee sits on that Committee as a full member.
To learn more about UWAC’s role in ACE assessment, and for additional information and resources on ACE assessment, including timelines, templates, and guidelines, visit: http://ace.unl.edu/assessmentplanning.shtml.
Office of Undergraduate Studies |
(402) 472-1185 |
Dr. Rita Kean, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Textiles, Clothing and Design
Andre Fortune, 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, Program Assessment Coordinator
Jennifer Nelson, Interim Director of General Studies
Gail Hackwith, Administrative Assistant
Dr. Jessica Jonson, Director of Institutional Assessment
Sara Mattson, Administrative Technician
Dr. Nancy Mitchell, Director for General Education
JoAnn Moseman, Academic Transfer Coordinator
AnnMarie Williams, Academic Learning Communities Coordinator
