Learning Community Initiative Request for Proposals (RFP) FOR Learning Communities STARTING IN FALL 2014

Transcription

1 Learning Community Initiative Request for Proposals (RFP) FOR Learning Communities STARTING IN FALL 2014 Vision for WSU Learning Communities To support Wayne State University s commitment to student learning and retention, the Learning Community Initiative seeks to enhance our undergraduates experience by providing all interested students dynamic, focused communities in which students, staff, and faculty learn and grow together. Learning Communities are communities of learners, with clearly delineated common learning goals. Learning Communities provide academic support and social/community building activities that are tied to a course, major, or interest area. Well-conceived and well-executed LCs garner positive results because they focus on creating an environment for students that eases the transition to college and lays a foundation for success. LCs balance academic and social development through activities and events outside of class (planned by involved faculty and staff) that connect students to each other, demonstrate how academic concepts and theories have practical application, and introduce students to campus and community resources and networking opportunities. Known benefits to students include making friends more quickly, pursuing and finding academic assistance more readily, connecting to resources more easily, and experiencing a large university as though it were much smaller. Funding Criteria. In keeping with best practice in Learning Communities, the main criteria for funding will be: Focus on Student Learning Objectives Focus on Fostering Sense of Community: Student feels a sense of belonging, active member of group Alignment with Student Success Goals: (1) First year experience and transition into college, (2) Success of underrepresented, minority, first-generation, or economically-disadvantaged students, (3) transfer students, and/or (4) transition into and/or success in a major or program. Faculty Involvement: Faculty member is the LC coordinator and significant faculty involvement. Curricular Connections: (1) members of the LC are members of the course(s) and/or (2) the LC learning outcomes are consistent with the course(s) learning outcomes. Focus on Student Experience: Building connections, students feels supported, makes use of available resources LC contains 3-6 elements promoting the eight characteristics of High Impact Practices, as outlined by the AAC&U. LC will create an environment where students can be expected to succeed. Support of School or College: (1) matching funding, (2) administrative support, (3) recruiting, (4) promotion and visibility, (5) support for faculty involvement. Peer Mentors: Defined Job Description, plan for On-Going training and support An Assessment plan that addresses LC implementation, learning outcomes, and program goals Proposals for Fall 2014 Learning Communities will be reviewed based on the criteria detailed above, via ranking per the new LC Assessment rubric, by an LC review committee. The LC Assessment rubric may be viewed on our website at; Deadline Date: Please Note: Your Deans Office may have an earlier deadline for proposal review. Completed proposals with all approval signatures are due to the Learning Community Program Office by January 24, The completed proposal is due on that date. One signed, paper copy of your proposal should be submitted to: Dr. Monica Brockmeyer, Associate Provost for Student Success, 4009 Faculty/Administration Building (F/AB) by the deadline. In addition, please one electronic version to Amy Cooper (acooper@wayne.edu) by the deadline. For additional information contact Amy Cooper at

2 1. Name of Learning Community 2. Anticipated number of students 3. Departments involved 4. Schools/colleges involved 5. Primary coordinator (this is the person who represents your LC to us and who serves as the communication person). a. Name b. Address c. Phone d. 6. Other faculty and staff who are directly involved with LC. a. Name b. Position c. Department d. Contact Information. e. Role. (Copy as needed, to include all faculty/staff who will be involved) 7. Who will handle accounting, fund transfer, purchases, hiring of peer mentors, and reimbursements? a. Name b. Title c. Department d. e. Phone 2

3 APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL My signature indicates that I have read and do so approve the Learning Community as proposed: Signature of Coordinator(s): Date: / / Date: / / Signature of Department Chair(s): Date: / / Date: / / Date: / / Signature of Dean(s) of relevant College(s)/School(s): (or Director of those Programs not housed in Schools or Colleges) Date: / / Date: / / Please provide the General Fund account number you intend to use for receiving funding for : (Please include INDEX, FUND AND ORG CODES ) INDEX FUND ORG 3

4 Purpose. Please describe in a few paragraphs what is the purpose of this LC and who the students are that will participate. 4

5 Students. We need more detail about the students you hope to participate. Are members of the learning community: Entering first year students in ? Yes, no, doesn t matter. Transfer students new to the university in ? Yes, no, doesn t matter. Transfer students, regardless of when they joined WSU? Yes, no, doesn t matter. New graduate students? Yes, no, doesn t matter. All in the same class or classes in Fall 2014? what class All in the same class or classes in Winter 2015? What class All in the same school, program, or major? Does your learning community target the needs of under-represented groups? (Please note: the University's Non-Discrimination / Affirmative Action policies, procedures and practices to ensure that no person is discriminated against in employment, educational programs and activities on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or veteran status. However, programs may promote the success of such individuals.) If so, please describe 5

6 Learning. What do you expect that students will learn as a result of participation in this learning community? 6

7 Learning Outcomes. Choose up to three learning outcomes that will be the focus of your assessment of the LC. (Choose from the list below or provide learning outcomes that are specific to your LC. ) Integrative Learning (Integrative learning is an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and cocurriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.) Critical Thinking (Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.) Civic Engagement (Civic engagement is "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes." i In addition, civic engagement encompasses actions wherein individuals participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community.) Creative Thinking (Creative thinking is both the capacity to combine or synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways and the experience of thinking, reacting, and working in an imaginative way characterized by a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking.) Ethical Reasoning (Ethical Reasoning is reasoning about right and wrong human conduct. It requires students to be able to assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas and consider the ramifications of alternative actions. Students ethical self-identity evolves as they practice ethical decision-making skills and learn how to describe and analyze positions on ethical issues.) Foundations and Skills for Lifelong Learning (Lifelong learning is all purposeful learning activity, undertaken on an ongoing basis with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competence. An endeavor of higher education is to prepare students to be this type of learner by developing specific dispositions and skills described in this rubric while in school. ii ) Information Literacy (Information Literacy is the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use and share that information for the problem at hand. - Adopted from the National Forum on Information Literacy. iii ) Inquiry and Analysis (Inquiry is the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use and share that information for the problem at hand. iv Analysis is the ability to organize and synthesize evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to focus.) Oral Communication (Oral communication is a prepared, purposeful oral presentation designed to increase knowledge, to foster understanding, or to promote change in the listeners' attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.) Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (Intercultural Knowledge and Competence is "a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts. v ) Problem solving (Problem solving is the process of designing, evaluating and implementing a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.) Quantitative Reasoning (Quantitative Reasoning is a "habit of mind," competency, and comfort in working with numerical data. Individuals with strong QL skills possess the ability to reason and solve quantitative problems from a wide array of authentic contexts and everyday life situations. They understand and can create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence and they can clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc., as appropriate.) Reading (Reading is "the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language" vi ) Teamwork (Teamwork is behaviors under the control of individual team members that contribute to the success of a shared activity -- effort they put into team tasks, their manner of interacting with others on team, and the quantity and quality of contributions they make to team discussions.) Written Communication (Written communication is the development and expression of ideas in writing. Written communication involves learning to work in many genres and styles. It can involve working with many different writing technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images. Written communication abilities develop through iterative experiences across the curriculum. 7

8 _1. _2. _3. Excerpted from Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000, Preface, page vi. 1 From The European Commission Commission staff working paper: A memorandum on lifelong learning. Retrieved September 3, 2003, 1 Adopted from the National Forum on Information Literacy 1 The National Forum on Information Literacy 1 Bennett, J. M Transformative training: Designing programs for culture learning. In Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence: Understanding and utilizing cultural diversity to build successful organizations, ed. M. A. Moodian, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 1 Snow et al., From 8

9 Student Experiences and Program Activities. Please describe in a few paragraphs what the program activities are, and how they will support the learning outcomes you described. How will these experiences and activities create a community of learners that engage together over time to promote student success? 9

10 High Impact Practices (HIPs). Certain kinds of college experiences provide superior learning opportunities for students. These experiences are called High Impact Practices. They include Learning Communities, but other forms of learning such as Undergraduate Research, Service Learning, and many more. Success in college is much more than a grade point average or a degree it is about learning. In fact, success is about achieving the level of preparation in terms of knowledge, capabilities, and personal qualities that will enable students to both thrive and contribute in a fast-changing economy and in turbulent, highly demanding global, societal, and often personal contexts. Learning Communities are especially effective at achieving these goals because we learn more when we learn together. What makes these learning environments so effective? They deepen students connection to the subject matter. Because they provide students with both independence and support, they are often deeply motivating for students. And they provide opportunities for students, faculty, and peer mentors to interact together. Choose which of these HIP characteristics will support learning in your LC: Performance expectations are at appropriately high levels. Challenge is good for students it interests and engages them as long as the challenge is within reach. Significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time. Perhaps the LC might have a supplemental project that students work together on during the semester. Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters. How can you as a peer mentor help your students interact with faculty? Are you open to deeper discussion about the subject matter? About being in college? Experiences with diversity, wherein students are exposed to and must contend with people and circumstances that differ from those with which students are familiar. A peer mentor might use icebreakers to help students get to know each other and the rich array of experiences and backgrounds among Learning Community members. Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback. Often LC peer mentors can provide feedback about students learning more quickly than the instructor can. Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning. Reflecting on your own learning may make it easier to help students do so. Opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real-world applications. Field trips, speakers, and many other LC activities can help make learning real. Public demonstration of competence. LC sessions can be a great place for students to practice their class presentations, or to present and share learning even if they aren t asked to do so in class. 10

11 High Impact Practices (HIPs) continued. Please describe how these characteristics will be included in your learning community. 11

12 Faculty Involvement. Successful Learning Communities include significant faculty involvement. Faculty members can serve as LC coordinators, or they can collaborate to develop curriculum that connects with intended learning outcomes. Please describe how faculty will participate in your LC. What specific plans do you have to further enhance direct faculty involvement with the learning community? School/College/Department Support. WSU Schools/Colleges/Departments are expected to show growing commitment to Learning Communities through increasing funding allocations. Please provide detail about your progress in developing a sustainable learning community within your S/C/D, and its long-term sustainability. 12

13 Courses. Successful Learning Communities are incorporated into either General Education courses or major-required courses. Many are stand-alone courses, while others are linked courses (curricula of two or more classes are intertwined; content of courses is coordinated between faculty) or clustered courses(students take courses together as a cohort group, but the curricula of those courses are not integrated). List all courses that are part of your Learning Community and indicate if they are linked or clustered. Please confirm if all students registered for the class will be members of the Learning Community. Fall 2014 Winter 2015 Linked Clustered Would you like your course(s) to be designated as an LC course in the class schedule? If so, please provide course number/crn/section number assigned for this designation: Briefly explain the curricular connections that currently exist and how are you working to further develop curricular connections: 13

14 Non Academic Collaborations. List the specific partnerships with non-academic units (Residence Halls, Dean of Students, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Academic Success Center (ASC), etc.), service-learning partners, professional partners, etc. with whom you plan to work. Briefly describe each of the collaborations. Assessment. Each LC must have an Assessment plan. List your specific learning outcomes, what experiences you have designed to meet the outcomes, and how you will assess the intended outcomes; add additional rows as necessary. Copy the three outcomes you selected on pages 7-8 of this RFP. Copy the characteristics you selected on page 10 of this RFP. List anything else you plan to assess OUTCOME EXPERIENCES ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGIES Create a community of learners * *Ideally, students have a strong sense of membership in a community, whose purpose they understand and value, and with which they engage. 14

15 Peer Mentors. Peer Mentors are high-achieving current students who provide guidance to Learning Community peers. Each mentor will serve as an academic role model and will help his or her assigned students in making the transition to college life and/or achieving academic success. Guidelines: Peer Mentors must be hired as Student Assistants within the Department; they must entered into WSU Payroll system in time to attend training at the end of August Peer Mentors must complete timesheets every two weeks to enable tracking of hours worked. Peer Mentor funds are to be used to pay peer mentors. If additional programming funds are needed they should be requested separately as program budget items (see budget section of this form, page 17). Please request only funds you need so that mentor support can be offered as broadly as possible. The maximum funding for peer mentors is $1400 per 15 learning community students, per semester. This is intended to be a general guideline rather than a formula. It is not a guarantee. All funds must be used during the fiscal year. THERE IS NO CARRY FORWARD. Assessment of your peer mentor program is essential for future funding. In your annual report, you will need to provide a section that includes an assessment of the effectiveness of your peer mentor program. Funding request: Complete the following table. Please be specific. Add additional rows as necessary Peer Mentor Budget: Number and type of mentors Role Funds requested Total Requested TOTAL PEER MENTOR BUDGET Peer Mentor job description must be attached to this proposal. Please include job qualifications, responsibilities, time commitment and clear expectations. 15

16 Following is an EXAMPLE of the Peer Mentor Job Description for your reference. SAMPLE PEER MENTOR JOB DESCRIPTION Peer Mentors are high-achieving current students who provide guidance to Learning Community peers. Each mentor will serve as an academic role model and will help his or her assigned students in making the transition to college life and achieving academic success. SUGGESTED QUALIFICATIONS (The goal is to identify highly motivated and responsible peer mentors who can serve as role models for the students in the learning community and assist the faculty advisor in carrying out the program.) Minimum grade point average of 3.0 Junior or senior class standing preferred, but other highly-qualified students could be considered Strong interpersonal skills Knowledge and completion of the course(s) with which they will be assisting (if courses are including in the learning community program design) Positive attitude, self-motivated, and highly responsible Must be able to attend Peer Mentor training prior to the beginning of Fall 2014 SAMPLE LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES (This list includes some duties related to administrative aspects of the learning community. However, the primary job of the peer mentors must involve student interaction. Peer mentors are not intended to be program assistants whose job it is to make arrangements and do clerical functions. As a guideline, at least 75% of their time should be spent in direct service to their students.) Develop on-going mentor relationships with students in the learning team individually and as a group. Establish communication channels with assigned students using , Blackboard, or other means. Act as a role model in terms of behavior in the classroom, socially, academically. Attend classes with learning team students regularly and facilitate on-going study groups, as assigned. Meet individually with assigned students at least once a month. Assist the faculty coordinator in planning, organizing, and facilitating social activities, team-building activities, field trips, service learning projects, and the like. Maintain and submit records as assigned. Communicate with the faculty advisor to keep him/her updated about student progress and concerns. Other duties as assigned. COMPENSATION The maximum subsidy provided is based on the guideline of $1400 per 15 students in your Learning Community. You can add to this from department/unit funds at your discretion. This would allow you to create reasonablesized student teams, each having a peer mentor. Various schemes could be used to compensate peer mentors, including a flat stipend or hourly pay. Please make clear in the job description how the mentors will be compensated and their weekly time commitment. 16

17 Program Budget and Funding Guidelines: Funding is available to help support the program budget for each Learning Community. The department/school/college contributions will be a consideration in awarding support from the Learning Community Initiative funds. Types of requests that may be funded include: food and other costs for social events, admissions to museums, special events, curriculum and materials costs, etc. Types of requests that WILL NOT be funded include: computers, furniture, travel, web upkeep, gifts/awards, staff salaries, graduate assistants to teach a course and faculty buy-out during the academic year. Partial funding may be available for assessment and summer curriculum development. All funds must be used during the fiscal year. There is no carry forward. In-kind staffing contributions are NOT considered Department matching funds. Funding request: Complete the following table. Please be specific. Add additional rows as necessary. Item (be specific): LC PROGRAM BUDGET Total $ Requested from Learning Community Initiative Funds Dept/College $ Contribution Amount funded (office use only) Dean s Approval of S/C/D contribution as indicated by Initial of each line item TOTAL PROGRAM BUDGET (NOT including Peer Mentors) LC BUDGET SUMMARY (Transfer totals from above) Total Peer Mentor Budget (from page 15 of this RFP) Total Program Budget(NOT including peer mentors) TOTAL Total $ Requested from Learning Community Initiative Funds Dept./College $ Contribution Amount funded (Office use only) 17

18 i Excerpted from Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000, Preface, page vi. ii From The European Commission Commission staff working paper: A memorandum on lifelong learning. Retrieved September 3, 2003, iii Adopted from the National Forum on Information Literacy iv The National Forum on Information Literacy v Bennett, J. M Transformative training: Designing programs for culture learning. In Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence: Understanding and utilizing cultural diversity to build successful organizations, ed. M. A. Moodian, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. vi Snow et al., From 18