September 2019
Dear Friends,
One of the comments I heard when I interviewed for this position was a desire for enhanced communication about happenings within Academic Affairs. This summer I introduced myself to all of you through a set of emails offering a window into my activities, values, and transition to New Jersey from Indiana, including on the home front. Many of you relayed your appreciation of that and shared your own stories of people that are making a difference at WP, what motivates you about working here, a favorite restaurant or watering hole, or a love of the outdoors as I do. In that spirit, I envisioned a monthly message that would continue in that way, but also practical information, some with insights on important processes/procedures, others providing a perspective on important decisions, and still others seeking input on particular topics. The message would be modest in length, with embedded links at times to more information within specific sub-header areas (see below) following my intro. To that end, I begin with sample notables for me in recent weeks:
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- Meeting anxious but excited parents and students during move in and their eagerness to accept my gift of a WP car magnet.
- The Fantasticks performance in the Black Box Theater.
- Our athletes and their dedication on and off the field. Go Pioneers!
- Our super Admissions crew at the WP-hosted Passaic County College Fair.
- Hearing exciting news about the first few weeks of Will. Power. 101 and unsolicited positive feedback from students.
- Attendance at all-college meetings so they can get to know me and I them. I look forward to coming to department meetings this year and am determined to get to all despite the challenge of so many during Common Hour.
- Finally, on a personal note, climbing in the rain to the top of Bear Mountain with a college buddy, and dinner at the Culinary Institute of America with my daughter.
Josh Powers
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Academic News
Here we will list information of particular note related to the Division of Academic Affairs.
- Sabbatical and ART applications are now available on their respective websites. Each also has key summary information about last year’s recipients and sample final reports.
- Some faculty have asked about their academic department travel funds. Each department has funds with guidance from Academic Affairs on suggested criteria and ways to deploy it. If you have any questions, see your chair and/or your dean. Principled guidance on how departments might allocate can be found here.
- Stop by the Provost’s Office on Friday, October 4, take a selfie by our Homecoming display, fill out the card that asks you to answer this question, “Pioneer Pride is…,” and be entered in a drawing for $50 to have a lunch with your favorite WP friends in the Campus Restaurant (2nd Floor, UC).
- Academic Affairs is in the process of building a website for information on the Academic Partnerships project. Plans are underway for convening departments involved with this graduate level distance learning initiative. We are pleased to announce that Gamin Bartle, PhD, and Director of Instruction, Research and Technology, will be providing coordinating leadership for the project. Dr. Bartle brings extensive expertise to this initiative and has deep experience with the development and deployment of distance education courses and curriculum. She and her team in IRT are also Quality Matters certified.
Important Dates
- ART applications due: October 28, 2019
- Sabbatical applications due to the Provost's Office: October 31, 2019
- Promotions in Rank applications due to department committee: November 1, 2019
- Faculty Range Adjustment applications due to department faculty range adjustment committee: February 3, 2020
- Professional Staff Performance Based Promotions due to unit supervisor who notifies Provost's Office of the submission: February 3, 2020
Facts & Figures
Here we will provide data and/or charts that in some way tell a WP story.
A missed M-W-F class for an undergraduate student from New Jersey enrolled in 15 credit hours equates to approximately $30. A missed T-Th class equates to approximately $45. Class attendance is a critical factor in course performance and retention. Here is another way you can remind students to attend class; it reflects the loss of an actual financial investment they have made.
The percentage of faculty who completed their student enrollment verification by the deadline on Friday, Sept. 20: 88 percent. The percentage who did so last year at the same time: 58 percent. Pleased to see the positive movement but any late reporting hurts students. We need to be at 100 percent.
Sample Kudos Shared in Starfish
Within the Starfish Early Alert System is the ability for a faculty or staff member to send a student “kudo," a way to acknowledge something notable and positive that the student did. These can be very motivational for students. We will feature a few real examples here in each monthly message from Academic Affairs. Here’s a first set:
- Yayyyyy go me! Thank you so much for the recognition. I will do my best to maintain this pattern!
- Thank you for the encouragement. I'll do my best to keep up the good work.
- Thank you so much. I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to congratulate me. I will keep it up with doing my best. I am willing to receive any available help regarding math class. I would be really happy if you could tell me or send me the schedules for math tutoring hours.
- Thanks for the kind words of supporting my ambition.
- Thank you. I'm delighted to have a great professor. I'm looking forward to learning more in class and end the semester on a great note!
Resources You Can Use
Here we will feature a few WP or external resources that you might find helpful in your work, or your life.
Angela Duckworth, MacArthur Genius winner and author of the acclaimed book,
GRIT
, puts out a Thought of the Week that offer rich insights in working with students and others. Have a look and consider subscribing:
The Provost’s Office is in Raubinger 100; stop by and visit us.
Meg, Lissette, Claudia T., Claudia C., Jonathan, Sandy, and Josh
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