February 10, 2009

Dear adjunct faculty,

I hope this newsletter finds all of you well! Here are the latest events and reminders as the semester clock ticks its way from Groundhog’s Day into spring:

Professional Development Opportunities:

· There are quite a few opportunities for professional development on the spring schedule. The D2L task force will be offering a series of sessions through the end of April for those interested in using the online LMS, Desire 2 Learn. Our current system, WebCT, will no longer be used starting summer semester 09. Your participation in these professional development sessions is highly encouraged if you use an online component in your courses. More information on the opportunities pertaining to D2L can be found at:

http://distance.msugf.edu/Instructor_Resources/SpringandSummer2009_D2LPDSchedule_Jan6.pdf

 Please contact Karen Vosen at 771-4440 if you are interested in attending.

· You’ve probably received a few e-vites from Courtney Johnsrud, who will be providing professional development opportunities on several topics pertaining to our interactions with students as a part of our Perkins Grant.

A complete list can be found on the adjunct webpage under the newly created “Professional Development Opportunities” heading. Please contact Courtney at 771-4387 to RSVP if you are interested in attending any of those sessions.

http://www.msugf.edu/facultystaff/Adjunct/PD/CJ%20Faculty%20prof%20development%20sp%2009.pdf

· In the upcoming months, be on the lookout for “Class 8 Licensure” information and professional development opportunities. Class 8 licenses will pertain to instructors who will be teaching dual credit students. More information on who will need the license and the process of being licensed will be coming very soon, so please be watching for it.

Several Big Thank You’s!

Dr. Heidi Pasek has asked the Academic Operations group to share with others, the thanks and appreciation for all of your hard work! She attended a regional conference on accreditation over the weekend and was proud and delighted to find that MSU – Great Falls really is on the leading edge in the area of student abilities, outcomes assessment and data-driven action. Thank you all for the part you do in taking our institution to the next level!

Also- thank you to those of you who took the time to complete the anonymous adjunct feedback survey! 106 responses were received and many took the time to jot down comments. The time it took to provide this feedback is greatly appreciated. The results of the survey will be posted on the adjunct webpage shortly, for those of you who are interested in taking a look. (I’m still looking for the best format to post them in).

Course Scheduling

A tentative outline of summer and fall schedules (course assignments) will most-likely be coming sometime in March. For spring semester, Letters of Appointment were mailed out earlier, and the plan is to do the same thing for the summer and fall semesters. The Academic Operations group will be discussing the exact timelines for these so if you have any feedback regarding when you prefer to receive your LOA or in regards to scheduling/cancelling of courses, please contact me or your department chair/division lead/program director. Your feedback on this issue is important.

Student References

A new “release of liability” form is being developed for use by faculty and College personnel when providing student references. The form will be available on the web for your use (including the adjunct webpage) once it reaches a final draft. General directions of its use will also be posted. Anyone with questions about this requirement or process should contact student services for more information. Remember, disclosure of any student information without a release violates FERPA.

Early Alert

If you are teaching a credit-bearing course this semester and have students who are missing class, not completing work, etc… please make an attempt to contact those students as early as possible. If you are teaching an online course, please try to contact the student through methods other than WebCT or D2L (try email or phone) before you make a referral to Courtney Johnsrud. The Early Alert form (which can be found on the adjunct webpage) is for use during the first 6 weeks of class. You can fill out the form electronically or email Courtney with the information. Remember that electronic messages are not confidential, so do not use both the student ID number and student’s full name if sending information electronically.

Copies

Please remember to send your print jobs to the print center for anything that requires more than 10 copies. The copy machines in the divisions and mailroom areas are meant for making small numbers of copies. If you need a print code, please visit your division’s administrative assistant.

I hope this semester is shaping up to be a good one for all of you. If you are on campus, please feel free to stop by and/or use the adjunct offices. If you are not on campus, please call or email at any time with thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc... Thank you for all you do!

Sincerely,

Kim Schrenk
Director of Adjunct Instruction
MSU – Great Falls College of Technology
406-771-4422
kschrenk@msugf.edu