Provost/Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs' Report To
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DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Academic Advisement The Office of Academic Advisement continues to advise and assist Undecided students. Presently, there are 515 students coded as Undecided for Fall 2013. Michelle Green, Director, has conducted two Wednesday Workshops. “Getting Back on Track” was the first workshop on September 4 and the second Workshop, “Registration Information” was September 25. There has been an increased amount of students attending the fall series of Workshops. Ms. Green collaborated with Stephanie Miller to present a PowerPoint presentation to the Psychology department faculty and staff on September 13. The presentation was also given to the department heads in the College of Education on September 16. Ms. Green spoke about “Good Practices of Academic Advisement” and Ms. Miller delivered crucial information related to student financial aid. Ms. Green also attended the Alabama Academic Advisors Conference at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She served as a Moderator for one of the Concurrent Sessions. Academic Enhancement As part of our campus wide efforts to increase student academic success and retention, the Department of Academic Enhancement & Tutoring Services is now offering a variety of academic support modules for students. For the fall 2013 semester, sixteen courses are being supported by Supplemental Instruction (SI), peer-led study sessions. These sessions are unlike traditional tutoring in that sessions are designed around highly collaborative peer learning activities. SI leaders attend the course, meet with the faculty member teaching the supported course, plan activities around course content under the direction of the faculty member, and encourage students to attend sessions. SI leaders must have already completed the course with an “A” and maintain a cumulative 3.25 GPA. Courses selected for SI have been identified as gateway and/or high attrition courses that are typically difficult for students. To date, 194 students have attended supplemental instruction sessions. Many students cannot attend regularly scheduled tutoring sessions; therefore, we are offering a drop-in math lab at ACE on Mondays from 5-9pm, Wednesdays from 5-9pm and on Sundays from 6-9pm. We have a very experienced math tutor who provides assistance for students who may just need occasional assistance or need help with online components of math courses. Over 30 students have come to receive assistance in the math lab this semester with most of those students attending on a regular basis. Additionally, the science department has graciously allowed our department to create a satellite tutoring center in Martin Hall. The Martin Hall tutoring center is home to SI sessions including chemistry I & II, physics, organic chemistry, and health microbiology. Students may also schedule individual or small group tutoring for gateway science courses or drop-in for additional assistance for these courses. Many thanks to Tracy Casey and the faculty in the science department for helping our tutors offer academic support services to students in this area at such a convenient location for students. Initial data for scheduled tutoring appointments at the Academic Center for Excellence show another increase in the demand for individual and small group tutoring for core courses. At the current rate, the ACE Tutoring Center will have scheduled over 16,000 appointments for students to receive academic assistance for the Fall 2013 semester. This number does not reflect tutoring at the Martin Hall satellite tutoring center, nor does it account for students attending SI or drop-in tutoring services at Martin Hall and the ACE Math Lab. Campus-wide implementation of GradesFirst, a web-based student retention and advising program, has been successful in many respects. Career Services, Counseling and Disability Support Services, Learning Services, and academic support services provided through the English department and the math and computer science department are now tracking student usage of these services through GradesFirst. Many departments are using GradesFirst for advising purposes, while other departments are using the system simply to monitor student visits to their offices. The student body has been introduced to GradesFirst through the help of different departments, as well as, through STU 101 courses. Students are using the system to request tutoring directly from their own personal profiles. There has definitely been a surge in tutor requests through GradesFirst because these requests can now be made with one click on a link beside the course in which the student wishes to receive tutoring. Student requests for tutoring are automatically sent to the ACE Tutor Coordinator. Advising appointment campaigns allow advisors to reach out to students early to inform them of available times for advising. Advisors send out requests and students can schedule their appointments directly through GradesFirst. Professors can record attendance in GradesFirst and the student will automatically receive an email indicating that he or she has been marked absent from the class. This feature also allows professors to view absence patterns that are indicative of student failure. Additionally, professors can mark student “at-risk” of failing a course. These “at-risk” notifications are automatically sent to the student’s advisor. The Department of Academic Enhancement & Tutoring provides on-going support to faculty, staff, students, and administrators in the use of GradesFirst. The Department of Academic Enhancement in cooperation with the Student Government Association and Dr. King, Associate VP of Student Affairs, is now offering extended hours for study hall at the Academic Center for Excellence, as well as, monitored study hall on the 9th floor of the library. Students can now study and use the academic resources available at ACE Tutoring Center Mondays-Thursdays 8:00am – 2:00 am and Sundays from 6:00pm – midnight. The monitored study hall on the 9th floor of the library is open from 7-10:45 pm Sundays - Thursdays. Continuing Education As of September 30, 2013 the Office of Continuing Education has provided the following courses: Continuing Education conducted 286 courses beginning October 1, 2012. Service was provided to 3,419 participants and 22,240 contact hours were generated. The Office of Continuing Education assisted in offering 13.6 CEUs for a total of 136 contact hours to the Jacksonville State University Community Policing Training that was offered July 16, 2013 and July 19, 2013 with 17 participants from the JSU Campus Police Department. The National Counseling Examination (NCE) Preparation Course was provided for thirteen students. Continuing Education provided training for 298 police chiefs and other law enforcement personnel at the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police Conference held July 29-31, 2013 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Forty-three nursing students enrolled and were certified in the American Heart Association Basic Life Support classes held August 5, 8 & 13, 2013. Continuing Education had four participants to pass their 60 hour Pre-license Real Estate Examination. Three classes were provided (July 17, 2013 – Crime Scene Equipment, August 14, 2013 – Indoor Crime Scene Practical, and September 11, 2013 – Outdoor Crime Scene Practical) in the Continuing Education program for the Crime Scene Investigation Certification class for 24 law enforcement personnel. There were eight law enforcement personnel that received their certification in the Crime Scene Investigation Certification class on September 11, 2013. Continuing Education hosted a workshop for the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission for forty area business professionals on “Showcasing Your Footprint: A Grant Writing and Outcome Measurement Workshop” held on August 28, 2013 at the Anniston City Meeting Center in Anniston. Five computer classes were held with thirty-three participants attending. Two students completed the “Risk Management” class as part of their Human Resource Certification certificate. College of Graduate Studies Effective October 1, 2013, Dr. Joe Delap will serve as Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. This is a reclassification from his former position as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Jean Pugliese will assume the chair's position for the Alabama Council of Graduate Deans on October 1, 2014. Effective fall 2014 student records can be accessed electronically abandoning the need for paper files resulting in increased efficiency and streaming of the application process in that office. Staff from the Graduate Office conducted training sessions in June and July for staff and faculty across campus regarding the use of Application Extender. This training will enable staff and faculty in the academic colleges to electronically access student information. Department of Military Science Effective immediately, MAJ Paul J. Thiessen will serve as Professor of Military Science / MS IV Instructor. We commissioned four new Second Lieutenants into the United States Army. Twenty JSU Cadets graduated from the Leadership Development Assessment Course at Fort Lewis Washington. Five received Excellent Overall Ratings. These twenty cadets had the best overall performance from JSU out of the last 12 years. We now have an exceptionally high enrollment of 125 Cadets. This is the highest enrollment for our department since 1973. Five of our Cadre