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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
In order to support our students and faculty, we are refining our process for class coverage when faculty are going to be absent or late. Our goal is to provide the best learning environment and continuity for students. Here is a preview of the process that will take effect on October 1. Please review the form this week.
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3 Institutional Affiliations to Take Advantage Of!
College Unbound belongs to EDUCAUSE, NERCOMP, and NEFDC – each of these organizations provide amazing resources, workshops, webinars, publications, and much more around the areas of teaching and learning, educational technology, faculty development and many other elements connected to the classroom.
We encourage you to check out these organizations and sign up for their newsletters, check out their upcoming events, or just get involved to find additional communities and opportunities to engage in deep thinking about education! If you need more information or have questions about these organizations, contact Lance Eaton, Director of Faculty Development and Innovation, at lance.eaton@collegeunbound.edu.
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Dear Lab Faculty,
Happy September/Autumn/Fall Equinox/Harvest season/New Year/Chag Sameach & wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur for those who celebrate any of those.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our students as we have gotten through the first half of the first session of the semester and many of the growing pains of understanding attendance, technology, College Unbound culture and cohort relationships and flow. We want to continue the growth and educational sharing by having our first all Lab Faculty Professional Development session of the year focused on Trauma-Informed Practices in Higher Education with our own CU Alumni and Instructional Faculty member Sokeo Ros on Thursday, October 5th from 6-7:30 pm. You all have been invited via a calender invitation and can join the Zoom session here.
Just a friendly reminder that we are starting all of our classes on-time and have to stay the entire three hours for lab classes for the entire sixteen week semester (per your contracts) so if you start at 5:30 p.m. (online and in-person) then you should be there by 5:30 p.m. and not be getting out before 8:30 p.m. and that the "Community Time" gatherings are part of the CU pedagogy and curriculum and are officially the start of class. Please be on time to your classes or let me and your lab faculty mentor know ASAP if you have an emergency, are sick, or are going to be late. If you need any further guidance please refer to our Q & A sheet. We do not pay Alumni Mentors to cover or teach classes but rather to be an additional support and mentor for your classes, so it is not appropriate or fair for them to be without an instructor. We are starting more pathway programs for Alumni Mentors to grow into other roles at College Unbound and check-in meetings with both our lab faculty members and alumni mentors together are forthcoming. Another note that has been emerging lately is that we are encouraging our students to be on-camera as much as possible when they are online so that we can fully see their engagement. I know this may be a slight shift in culture for some students however it is good to have this stated clearly across the board in both our Instructional and Lab classes for consistency.
In exciting news, we have created a year round calendar and Community Time schedule for the rest of the year and we will rotate between Announcements, Story Circle, and Affinity Groups (which will all take place online and the only times when there will be no community time to start off the lab sessions).This week we are going to start our Story Circle process. Thanks for those who came to our pop-up optional workshops on the Story Circle process the other week. I am happy to share the video of those workshops with those who would like it as well. Please make sure that each group has a timekeeper (Alumni Mentors are great in this role) in it so that each person has 2-minutes to tell their stories. We have created 1-pagers for how to best lead Story Circle (we also have a guide created by our faculty member & alum Anjel Newmann if you would like a copy of it please let me know) and Announcements.
Lastly, please continue to spread the word about our upcoming Lab Faculty Open House on Thursday, September 28, 6-7 P.M. (EDT) as we are in the process of recruiting more fabulous Lab Faculty members like yourselves. Please spread the word and encourage respected colleagues to apply and register here: https://bit.ly/CUFallOpenHouse.
Thank you again. I hope you also take some time to enjoy the cooler breezes, the changing leaves and something that brings you joy in this transition time.
With gratitude and appreciation,
Sage
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It has been such a JOY visiting cohorts so far this semester and seeing our students engaged and growing! It has been especially inspiring to see so many of our new students who are just embarking on this journey so full of excitement and passion.
Lab Faculty, if I haven’t had a chance to come visit your cohort yet, I’d love to soon! If there is a particular activity, discussion or presentation you’d like me to observe and/ or if there is a specific way that I can be of help to your students, please let me know. (That includes you too PA!)
There is so much deep, meaningful and transformative learning happening across our program. I look forward to sharing out resources & ideas with you in the coming weeks. Shine bright, y’all! ✨
Aubrey
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Photo - El Centro in person cohort with Erin Bernand - 9/19/23 | |
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Hello Amazing PA/NJ Team,
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It is Week 6 already! Exhibitions are right around the corner in Week 8, here is a guide to help guide your Exhibitions (A & B-Z) and Critical Response Process.
- In Person Gatherings for PHA @ Vaux HS on 9/26; SDP @ 440 on 9/27; Camden @ Mastery on 9/27! So happy to see everyone in person!
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Lab Faculty Open House for those interested in joining our PA/NJ Lab Faculty Team!
- Fall Break is October 16 - 20!
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Imagining America hosted by CU in Providence is October 20 - 22.
- Our Fall Family Gathering in PA/NJ at Belmont Grove: games, food, music, bouncy castles, students, staff, and families - see below to RSVP!
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Reach out with any questions or Schedule time with me here!
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Thank you for everything you do,
Melina
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ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS | The Inauguration of Dr. Adam Bush as President of College Unbound! | Join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by helping us spotlight the incredible individuals in our CU CommUnity who embody Big 10 Intercultural Engagement. | |
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Sincerely,
All of Us at College Unbound, including:
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