eNews: A Newsletter from Academic and Student Affairs
Preparing Students for Careers and Citizenship
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A Progress Report on the Work of the UNK Enrollment Management Council
When the Enrollment Management Council was formed in October 2008 by Chancellor Kristensen it marked a major change in course for the UNK campus in our efforts to improve enrollments. Previously, UNK had been seeking to address recruitment, retention and marketing as separate endeavors. However, with advice from Noel-Levitz, the Chancellor determined that the best plan going forward was to integrate these areas and to collaboratively develop a comprehensive enrollment management plan.
The Enrollment Management Council has worked diligently with Noel-Levitz consultant Dan Garcia to develop a Strategic Enrollment Plan for UNK. The plan when approved and put into operation will provide a data driven series of strategies and detailed “Action Plans” that will improve UNK enrollments through improved marketing, recruitment and retention practices. The council is on track to deliver the “draft” SEP document for the Chancellor’s review in June.
Along with an overall comprehensive enrollment plan individual members of the council have been working to develop annual plans for Marketing (Renee Ballenger), Recruitment (Dusty Newton) and Retention (Gail Zeller). The leaders of these sub committees of the EMC are working closely with consultants from Noel-Levitz to ensure that they are following “best practice” in designing plans that will lead to our future success. These plans which are closely tied to the Strategic Enrollment Plan will be used to guide efforts beginning in August 2009.
It has been a fast and furious academic year for the members of the EMC. A quick review of our full council meeting dates and times reveals that the full council has met fifteen times since October for a total of 75 hours. In addition, sub committees on Retention, Recruitment and Marketing have also met regularly since October and have been actively engaged in dialogue with Noel-Levitz and colleagues from across campus. Mountains of data on recruitment yields, retention variables and scholarship costs have been reviewed. Analysis of future budget allocations and the impact of implementing possible future tuition variance plans have also been considered as we are learning about the importance of understanding “ROI”…Return on Investment. We know we must grow our enrollments without sacrificing quality or our future budgets.
This summer the EMC will continue to work toward completing both future planning and current practices. Members of the EMC are: Dusty Newton, Ed Scantling, Gail Zeller, Renee Ballenger, Gary Davis, Mary Sommers, Mary Daake, Kathy Livingston, Juan Guzman, Bruce Elder, Linda Johnson, Kim Schipporeit, Gloria Vavricka, Diane Longo and John Lakey.
- Dr. Ed Scantling, Chair of the UNK Enrollment Management Council
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Spring Commencement Friday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m.
The 2009 Spring Commencement will feature Dr. Clifford M. Trump, Chancellor Emeritus of the State College System of West Virginia. Dr. Trump is a UNK alumnus, graduating in 1959 with a B.A. in English. Dr. Trump taught in the public schools in Nebraska and Arizona and after obtaining his M.A.Ed. and Ph.D., taught at Idaho State University and Black Hills State University as a member of the Education faculty. He has also served in several administrative capacities, including the Interim President at Idaho State, the President at Black Hills State, and the Chancellor of the State College System of West Virginia.
Amanda Calleroz will be the student speaker at the commencement ceremony; she will graduate with a Biology Comprehensive Major with emphasis in Health Sciences. Michelle May has been selected as the Honors Convocation student speaker; she will graduate with an endorsement in Elementary Education K-6 with a supporting endorsement in Interscholastic Coaching.
Spring Commencement will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 8, 2009, in the Health and Sports Center (HSC).
Two Programs Reactivated for Fall 2009
In April, two programs that had been on inactivate status were reactivated to be offered to students beginning in the Fall of 2009.
The Bachelor of General Studies was inactivated in the spring of 2007 because of a lack of clear goals and objectives, as well as a lack of an effective administrative structure. Since the inactivation of the program, several individuals have been collaborating to revise and restructure the degree and program. The group developed a mission statement, clear student outcomes, and added a capstone requirement to evaluate the students’ learning experience within the program. The program will now be housed in the College of Natural and Social Sciences with the Associate NSS Dean serving as Program Director. Mary Daake, the director of Academic Advising is the Program Advisor.
The Military Science minor was inactivated in the late 1990s due to the suspension of Army ROTC and the Military Science program at UNK. Both have been reinstated, and over the last three years, Major Will Prusia has been working to reactivate MLSC courses and reestablish the Military Science program. The reactivation of the minor was an important stage of the process, and according to the program rationale, “The minor prepares students, while pursuing degrees in a major discipline of their choice, for positions of leadership within the national defense structure of the United States. The minor also provides ROTC cadets with an understanding of the fundamental concepts and principles of military science and the requirements for national security.” At the end of the semester, Major Prusia will pass the leadership of the Military Science Program and the reactivated minor to a new director, as he has accepted a new position within the Army. Major Robert Mendez, Assistant Professor of Military Science will be the new Military Science Program Director.
Information regarding both programs will be published in the 2009-2010 undergraduate catalog, available online after May 25.
Center for Teaching Excellence Under New Leadership in the Fall
Beginning in the Fall of 2009, Mark Nuss of the Communication department will assume the responsibilities of Interim Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). Dr. Nuss works in the field of Organizational Communication and has taught at Fort Hays State University, the University of Kansas, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of International Business and Economics (China), and SIAS University (China). A search will take place during the fall with a permanent director in place for the spring 2010 semester. The current director, Jeanne Butler, has been half-time CTE director and half-time assessment director. In the fall, she will become the full-time Director of Assessment in order to focus on accreditation requirements related to assessment. See the CTE spring newsletter for more information.
First Year of Undergraduate Research Fellows Program Successful
The initial year of the Undergraduate Research Fellows (URF) program has been an overwhelming success. Nearly 80 students have taken advantage of the URF program. The program will continue to reach talented and intellectually curious students in the years to follow. The URF program underscores UNK's tradition of undergraduate research excellence.
- Dr. Peter Longo, URF Program Director
Recognition
Publications, Presentations, and Honors
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Julie Campbell
(Criminal Justice) |
"An Evaluation of the Workplace Response to the Stalking Victimization of Employees" presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in March
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| Joe Carlson (Criminal Justice) |
"Prison Nurseries: A Pathway to the Future" presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in March |
| John Hastings (Computer Science) |
CARMA Expansion to Colorado, Oregon and New Mexico presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Grasshopper Management Board in Denver, Colorado in January |
| Dusty Newton (Admissions) |
named to EducationQuest Advisory Council who "who advise EducationQuest on programs and services that support its mission of improving access to higher education in Nebraska," according to an article in the Lincoln Journal-Star |
| Janet Steele (Biology) |
named "CNSS Professor of the Year" by the UNK Student Government |
| Barton Willis (Math) |
with the software engineers at Clozure Associates: identified and repaired software defects in Clozure CL that prevented CVS Maxima from running under Clozure Common Lisp |
Grant Recipients
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| Allison Hedge Coke (English) |
$1,050 grant from Nebraska Humanities Council for "Honoring the Sandhill Crane Migration Tribute Retreat & Festival II" |
| Liubov Kreminska (Physics and Physical Science) |
$8,379 grant from NASA Nebraska Research Mini-Grant for "Test of New Approaches to Align the Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals (LCLC) |
Michael Larsen (Physics and Physical Science) and
Aaron Clark (Mathematics and Statistics)
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$10,000 grant from NASA Nebraska Space Grant - NASA EPSCoR for "Development of Precipitation Monitoring Systems for a Distributed Rain-Sensing Network" |
| Geraldine Stirtz (Office for Service-Learning) |
$5,500 grant from Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education for "Service-Learning Beyond the Boundaries in Central Nebraska" |
Geraldine Stirtz (Office for Service-Learning)
and David Hof (CSP)
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$9,697 grant from Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education for "Intercultural Service-Learning Immersion at the Pine Ridge" |
Calendar of Events within the Academic and Student Affairs Division
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| April 13 - May 8 |
Walker Art Gallery Exhibition: Senior Show, Visual Communication and Design classes - Gallery Hours Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - contact John Fronczak at 308-865-8084 |
| May 1 |
UNL Office of Technology Development meeting to explain intellectual property services available - 1:00 p.m. in the Ockinga Conference Room - contact John Falconer at 308-865-8496
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UNK String Project Concert directed by Noah Rogoff - 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Recital Hall |
| May 2 |
Preservation Celebration: Antique and Preservation Road Show - 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Frank House - ticketed event with proceeds to support UNK’s Frank House, seating limited and reservations requested ($15) - contact KrisAnn Sullivan at 308-865-8284 or sullivankw@unk.edu |
| May 4 |
Concerts-on-the-Platte Series presents: UNK Piano Trio - 7:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts Recital Hall - contact Nathan Buckner at 308-865-8608 or bucknern@unk.edu |
| May 19 |
First day of Summer Advising and Enrollment (SAE) - 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. - contact Michael Pelster at pelsterml@unk.edu |
| May 22 |
Transfer and New Student Orientation - 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.contact Michael Pelster at pelsterml@unk.edu |
| May 25 |
Memorial Day |
A Publication of the
Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
University of Nebraska at Kearney
905 West 25th Street
Kearney, NE 68849
Phone: (308)865-8209
For questions or submissions,
contact the Coordinator of Academic Publications at 8935 or academicpublications@unk.edu.
