Academic Affairs Newsletter
|
|
|
|
NIU will release its 10-day headcount Thursday, an annual announcement that provides a snapshot of our enrollment while examining the data from multiple angles.
In the days that follow, NIU Today will post “big picture” stories to take a deeper look at how we arrived at this point, what the numbers mean and where we go next.
As this begins, I ask you to think about the critical roles each of us plays in this process.
All of us in the Division of Academic Affairs contribute greatly to the university’s work to recruit and retain our students, a mission that not only empowers Huskies to successfully pursue their goals but also financially sustains our continued viability in helping to change lives.
You might have heard me speak about this during your fall kick-off meetings.
During my remarks, I discussed how retention is founded on access, opportunity and equity. Retention is our commitment to ensuring that our students can develop the powerful sense of belonging that yields positive outcomes. Retention and student success are why we’re in higher education.
We are teachers. We are advisors. We are mentors. We nurture students’ curiosities, ambitions, talents and abilities while we challenge them to push harder, reach further and dream bigger.
Meanwhile, I hope that these discussions we are having across Academic Affairs inspire you to dream bigger yourself about what you do and what you can do to support students and their success.
Here are just a few fun ideas that support student belonging, retention and success beyond academic innovation: Participate in our vibrant campus life! Wear your red-and-black NIU gear! Talk positively about NIU as a great place to live, learn and work! Smile and greet students as you encounter them around campus!
Believe me, your Huskie Pride is contagious!
Laurie Elish-Piper, Ph.D. Interim Executive Vice President and Provost
|
|
|
Faculty Welcome Event and Upcoming Mentoring Event
The Division of Academic Affairs welcomed our new faculty at its annual event during Welcome Week. New faculty learned about the graduate and undergraduate student experience at NIU; the mentoring program; innovative teaching and learning resources; student engagement and experiential learning; research and innovative partnerships and university libraries. A special treat was a faculty panel sharing their NIU experiences with their new colleagues.
From 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, we will host Laura Lunsford, expert in mentoring and leadership development from Campbell University, who will facilitate an Effective Mentorship workshop in the Heritage Room in the Holmes Student Center.
|
|
|
Faculty Leadership Programs Underway
|
- The Emerging Faculty Leaders Program (EFLP) is an intensive professional development experience for faculty who are ready to expand their capacity for leadership in higher education and who are committed to enhancing their contribution to the university.
- The Mid-American Conference Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) is intended to help faculty from MAC member institutions develop and advance as academic leaders.
- The Department Leaders Initiative (DLI) is a new program launching this fall, aimed at enhancing the leadership capabilities and effectiveness of department heads, directors and chairs at NIU.
|
For more information, visit https://www.niu.edu/provost/faculty-leadership/index.shtml.
Search Underway for Director of Academic Employee and Labor Relations
With the pending Dec. 31 retirement of Kevin Reynolds, we plan to hire a new director of Academic Employee and Labor Relations to start Jan. 16, 2024. This position reports directly to the vice provost for Faculty Affairs and is primarily responsible for the administration of the academic employee and labor relations program.
The search committee consists of: Simón Weffer-Elizondo, committee chair and diversity advocate; Gregory Brady; Marlene Bryant; Wayne Finley; Rachel Gordon; Liz Guess; Jessica Labatte; David Serowka; and Ursula Sullivan. On-campus interviews and open forums will be scheduled sometime between Dec. 4 and Dec. 15; be on the lookout for announcements to participate!
|
|
|
New Leadership Announcements
We have several new leaders in Academic Affairs to start the new academic year.
|
-
Antoinette Jones, associate director of the Office for Educator Licensure and Preparation, served as the interim director after Jenny Parker retired in January 2023. Antoinette was selected to serve as the director as of Sept. 1.
-
Brian Pillsbury served as the interim director of Career Services and was recently selected to serve as the director as of Sept. 1.
-
Amy Buhrow has returned to NIU to serve as the assistant vice provost of Assessment and Accreditation as of Aug. 1.
|
New Name: Huskie Academic Success Center
To clearly focus on student success, the Huskie Academic Support Center was recently renamed the Huskie Academic Success Center.
Located in the Learning Commons on the first floor of the Founders Memorial Library, the center provides comprehensive academic services including tutoring, supplemental instruction, writing assistance and academic coaching. Students can make appointments through Navigate or by walking in; they can also sign up for special workshops. Peer academic coaches are ready to help their fellow undergraduates in a variety of areas such as study tips, time management and goal setting.
Email Director Matt Mattox at mmattox@niu.edu to discuss your students’ needs.
|
|
|
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
|
|
|
Economics Department Graduate Colloquium
Joel Kaiyuan Han, assistant professor of economics at Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago, will present “The Lasting Impact of Historical Redlining Maps on Experienced Segregation” from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in DuSable 474.
Faculty Academy on Cultural Competence and Equity
NIU’s Faculty Academy on Cultural Competence and Equity is open to anyone who teaches a class. Those who participate in six of nine events across the fall and spring semesters will earn certificates of completion and digital badges.
Fall 2023 Schedule
Oct. 13: Culture, Intersections, and Pedagogy in the Classroom with Drs. Simon Weffer and Joseph Flynn
|
- Participants will define and differentiate intersectionality and intersecting identities. Furthermore, participants will be exposed to the fundamentals of culture-based pedagogies (culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, etc.) and connect them to the importance of understanding intersectional identities.
- Register now! Location provided upon registration; space is limited!
|
Nov. 10: Mental Health, Neurodiversity and Trauma-Informed Practice in the Classroom with Drs. Melissa Clucas Walter and Tammy Wynard
Dec. 8: Deficit to Growth Mindset and Equity Based Assessment Practice with Ms. Stephanie Richter
For more information, call 815-753-8399 or email equity@niu.edu.
|
|
|
Microcredential: Fostering a Culture of Belonging through Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning
As educators, we can work to create inclusive environments with equitable learning opportunities to ensure that every student has the opportunities necessary to succeed.
The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) microcredential course “Fostering a Culture of Belonging through Inclusive Teaching for Equitable Learning” provides faculty with proven strategies to create a more equitable and just learning environment.
This online course is organized around five competencies and takes approximately eight weeks to complete. You will learn within a facilitated online cohort of your peers, with whom you will share insights and ideas. The course begins Monday, Sept. 25, and includes two synchronous sessions at the start and end of the course; the rest is asynchronous. Learn more and register.
Resources and Support for Making the Transition to Blackboard Ultra
NIU has been slowly transitioning Blackboard courses from the Original Course View to the Ultra Course View. Many NIU faculty have already made the transition and are teaching in the Ultra Course View, with 76% of fall 2023 Blackboard courses being taught in Blackboard Ultra.
As all Spring 2024 Blackboard courses will be taught in the Ultra Course View, extensive support is available from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning leading into and throughout the fall semester. View available resources and support.
Online Course Quality Self-Review Tool Available
This fall is a great time to review your online course for quality.
In October, CITL will be incorporating the Quality Matters (QM), Seventh Edition, online course design standards into this course review process. The Quality Essentials (QE) Course Review process enables faculty to conduct a detailed self-review of their own courses, then submit that review for additional review and feedback by a CITL staff member.
Courses that meet all the Quality Essentials will be recognized as NIU quality online courses and then qualify for an official QM review. Learn more and submit your course for review!
|
|
|
Huskie Study Zones
Over the past two summers, underutilized classrooms have been transformed into Huskie Study Zone spaces.
Huskie Study Zone spaces are an excellent place for students to study individually or in groups. These spaces have been strategically created across campus to provide areas for students to study individually or in groups without leaving the building. They also can be great places for faculty to provide additional help to one or more students.
|
|
|
CLAS Project Starting Line positively impacts students, advances university goals of student success, retention
Improved student success, persistence and graduation constitute Goal Three of NIU’s Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) 2.0 plan, which supports the university’s overarching purpose to attract, retain and graduate students representing the diversity of the region, nation and world.
In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the innovative Project Starting Line is working toward those objectives.
|
- Because math courses are often gateway courses that hold students back, math faculty completely revised those courses to improve student success. DFW rates dropped significantly across all general education math courses (well over 10% in most cases) and plummeted from 37% in Fall 2021 to 18% in Fall 2022 for college algebra. The college also worked with the Provost’s Office to add supplemental instruction while also hiring coordinators for the Math Assistance Center and the Calculus sequence.
- Some students encounter challenges or make mistakes during their first few weeks of classes that hurt their grades and often prompts their withdrawal from those courses. That decision could jeopardize the minimum number of credit hours necessary to maintain financial aid, however. CLAS opened 20 courses in the second eight weeks of the Fall 2021 semester – each was carefully selected as appropriate for concentrated study – and worked with advisors to get students dropping other courses into these courses, resulting in an impressive 67% completion rate.
- Often, students don’t fail a full course. They fail a piece of it. In the high-enrollment PSYC 102: Introduction to Psychology, for example, the college identified those students who failed one section or unit of the courses and invited them to demonstrate competency using a mastery-based approach for reading, taking notes and taking quizzes. They also could practice test-taking with the material and try for grade forgiveness via online modules that the college funded a faculty member to develop. Of the 74 students who participated in the free program (saving them time and money and keeping them on track to graduate), and with the help of an advanced graduate student who facilitated progress and evaluated their work, 53 (72%) raised their initial grades by at least one letter.
|
|
|
- Total enrollment in the University Honors Program is 1,073 this fall, which is 14% higher than this time last year. The number of new transfers rose from 71 in fall 2022 to 106 in fall 2023, a 41% increase. The freshman incoming class matched last year’s: 282 this fall as compared to 283 last fall (as compared to 188 in fall 2021).
- Taking to the skies, 189 NIU students participated in Study Abroad programs during Academic Year 2022-23.
- Despite the heat during Week of Welcome, the 48 individual events and seven passive or multi-day engagement opportunities drew healthy participation. Although not all required registration, those events that did track attendance included Welcome Holmes (1,362 students), CAB Block Party (1,135), Speak About It (291), Huskie Kick Back Concert (229), Late-Night Movie (220) and Color Run (107). And what was the most well-attended event? Jewel Jamboree, which drew an estimated more than 2,000 Huskies who started lining up two hours before the 10 p.m. event. The line eventually wrapped around the grocery store building and stretched another two city blocks, and students continued to join the queue as late as 11:30 p.m. The event featured games, a live DJ, airbrush tattoos, freebies, snacks, deals only available to NIU students and the chance to win a $50 Jewel-Osco gift card.
|
|
|
To submit an item for possible inclusion in the monthly Provost’s Newsletter, please email mmcgowan@niu.edu.
|
|
|
This message has been approved for distribution by the appropriate NIU party and is distributed by the Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications. NIU Mass Email Policy.
|
Northern Illinois University's vision is to be an engine for innovation to advance social mobility; promote personal, professional and intellectual growth; and transform the world through research, artistry, teaching and outreach. Learn more about NIU’s vision, mission and values.
|
|
|
|