Week's End Report - Sept. 9th

Tip of the Week

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has a big goal for the state of Indiana: that by 2026, 60% of Hoosiers should have an education extending beyond high school.

Ivy Tech Community College has dedicated itself as an organization to recruiting and retaining students, and many faculty and researchers have posed the question, What ultimately determines whether a student is successful in college?

A lot of research has gone into this subject and in the article The X Factor in College Success, authors Bryan Goodwin and Heather Hein suggest three factors that can help predict student success:

• Can-do attitude- as the old saying goes "if you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right"
• Self-discipline and study habits- studies show that students who apply themselves and practice good habits are more likely to have a higher GPA
• Active learning- students who take an active role in their education by attending and participating in class and developing a relationship with their faculty are more likely to be successful

What can we do as faculty to foster these qualities in our students? Stanford Teaching Commons shares a few ideas for promoting active learning, practices which can simultaneously encourage students to practice better study habits and foster a positive attitude towards their education.

• Use case-based problem solving and debate to encourage students to think creatively and independently
• Incorporate small-group discussion and peer instruction to help students collaborate and build self-esteem
• Allow students to guide classroom activities by brainstorming concept applications that are of particular interest to the class

If you're interested in reading more, information can be found in the following places:

Goodwin, B., & Hein, H. (2016, March). Research Says/ The X Factor in College Success. Educational Leadership, 77-78. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar16/vol73/num06/The-X-Factor-in-College-Success.aspx 

Indiana Commission of Higher Education. (2016). Reaching Higher, Delivering Value Full Report. Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/che/3142.htm

Stanford University. (n.d.). Promoting Active Learning. Retrieved from Stanford Teaching Commons: https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/resources/learning-resources/promoting-active-learning

Systems Information

After the Blackboard maintenance that took place on Sunday, Sept. 4th, the snapshot did not run properly. You may have students in your courses who were dropped for non-payment and not reinstated after having made payment arrangements. Likewise you may have dropped students for non-participation and they may not have been removed from your courses. Please work with those students who were unable to participate in your courses due to this system issue. 

Please note that this maintenance took place after the deadline for students to participate in order to not be dropped for non-participation so this did not effect participation status for the purposes of reporting NWs.

Career Fair in Lafayette

Ivy Tech's Office of Career Development and Olivet Nazarene University are co-sponsoring a career fair on Saturday, October 15th at the Courtyard Marriott in Lafayette from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.  

For the first time the fair is open to the public as well as Ivy Tech students and alumni, and admission is free of charge.

If you know of any employers interested in participating, please contact Career Development at 765-269-5612. Please strongly encourage your students to attend! Even if a student is not nearing graduation, this career fair represents a great opportunity to speak with employers, network, and prepare for future job searches.

For more information about Career Development, visit ivytech.edu/career-development  

Professional Development Opportunity

"Find Your Purpose and Follow Your Passion" featuring Chelsey Roebuck, Executive Director, ELiTE Education.

Chelsey Roebuck will be speaking about the transforming power of communities in education. Learn more about learning communities and the impact not only of the instructors but also of the networks that support instructors and students.

Wednesday, September 21st at 6:00 pm MDT
Register online at: WGU.EDU/SAGETALKS