September 15, 2009

Dear adjunct faculty,

I can’t believe we are in the third week of the semester already! Time seems to fly as usual!

Adjunct Offices: By now, those of you who visit campus and use the adjunct office have probably had a chance to find the new adjunct office which is located right inside the doors of the south parking lot in room B104. If you haven’t been there yet and get a chance, stop in and check it out!

B102, our new Teaching and Learning Center, is also up and running (minus a few decorations). There are 4 computers and a printer, a work table and a bookcase with teaching references all there for your use! If you need a quiet place to work and spread out, this is the place for you! With the addition of these 4 computers, we now have 6 computers available for adjunct who need a computer to work at. B102 also has a keypad on the door and the code is the same as for the adjunct office in B104.

Financial Aid: The financial aid office has requested that certain students contact their instructors regarding their status in their courses and to email the financial aid office with that information. The financial aid office needs to receive confirmation of attendance/participation no later than Sept 21 in order for student checks to be distributed. If you receive a message from a student regarding this, please don’t delay in providing information to the financial aid office by emailing them at finaid@msugf.edu.

D2L: It seems our campus (and all other MSU campuses) has had our share of D2L woes so far this semester. Hang in there! Our distance learning office (as well as others from around the state) is working to make sure we have smooth sailing during the semester. Michelle Rudolph, our instructional designer in the distance learning office, is there to assist you as you learn the new system or run into difficulties.

Classroom Use: Please remember to leave classrooms neat and clean after you hold class. This includes erasing the boards, moving computer carts and TV stands to their spots and putting tables and chairs back how you found them.  Students should also be putting trash in the garbage cans and cleaning up their messes if they have snacks during your class. Unless you have specific permission to do so, please do not leave student work or projects in the room.

Adjunct “Faculty Development” Replaces the Required “Orientation”: The campus adjunct policy states that all adjunct faculty must attend an orientation during each semester they teach (with the exception of summer). That requirement is being replaced this fall with a “faculty development” requirement, to help expand the connections and networking of adjunct faculty to each other, the campus and their divisions and to provide more meaningful and informational experiences about the College. A small stipend is available for those who complete the faculty development requirement by November 2, 2009. Before the semester started, letters were mailed regarding this change, however I have received quite a few questions or may have missed those of you hired close to the start of the semester, and I hope to clarify here:

This semester, 9 faculty development modules will be created and presented. Returning adjunct faculty need to select one hour of these development modules to complete, for a $20 stipend. All modules are offered in the face-to-face setting on campus as well as in the online forum to allow for greater access to the information. All adjunct faculty should have access to the forum in D2L as a resource at any time. Those wishing to attend the face-to-face sessions need to RSVP with me a week prior to the session. These training modules will also be available during the spring semester, however not all will be offered in the face-to-face format (all will be available online however). The schedule of when these modules are offered can be found on the adjunct webpage.

We also have approximately 40 adjuncts and one full-time faculty who are completing the Success Strategies course this semester. The course consists of all 9 development modules (plus an orientation module for new adjuncts) and a syllabus assignment designed to get adjunct faculty involved in the outcomes assessment initiative on campus. The adjuncts who are signed up for and complete the Success Strategies course this semester will receive a $150 stipend. This opportunity will also be available during the spring semester and I am currently keeping a waiting list for those who were interested this semester but were unable to register because of the course cap. If you are interested in taking the course during the spring semester, please let me know and I will add your name to the waiting list. Our campus received special funding to increase the original cap of 15 in this course to the number we currently have enrolled. This is one-time-only money that will be used by the end of the fiscal year and I encourage you to take advantage of this training during the spring semester if you are not already enrolled.

All 9 modules as well as the course will receive CEU’s on an MSU – Great Falls transcript. For those of you who hold MT teaching licenses, these professional development opportunities may count toward your renewal units!

Spring semester faculty development requirements will offer more and different opportunities for adjuncts to stay informed and connected, aside from the development modules. If you have any suggestions about something you’d like to do to meet this requirement, please contact me. I’d love to hear your suggestions!

If you have questions about the faculty development requirement, please let me know. I will be following up in the next few weeks with those I haven’t heard from yet about their plans to meet the requirement this semester.

S.O.S. Replaces Early Alert: A new form and process, called “Save Our Student” has replaced the former “Early Alert” process. Our adjuncts have a wonderful reputation for being on top of their game when it comes to checking in with their students and I hope to see these efforts continue with this new process.  The new form can be found on the adjunct webpage under the Forms link. If you have questions about this process, please contact Courtney Johnsrud at 406-771-4387.

Pics and Blurbs: I am still hoping to collect more pictures and short bios of adjuncts to post in the campus news. I would love to show off your talents to our campus as others get to know who you are and the wonderful things you do for MSU – Great Falls! If you have not yet sent me your picture with a short bio, please do and I’ll make sure you are featured in our campus news! Bios should be about a paragraph long (no resume’s please).

Featured Article: I am also thinking of having a featured article in each monthly newsletter I send and post to the website, written by an adjunct. If you are interested in writing something for next month’s newsletter please let me know. I would be looking for upbeat, positive experiences you’ve had with students, teaching philosophies used in your classes, learning experiences you’ve had related to teaching, or other positive stories related to your experience at MSU – Great Falls.  This is a great opportunity for our adjuncts to share their experiences with other adjuncts! I’ll be looking for a volunteer to share starting in next month’s newsletter!

New Division Directors: During the summer, 4 Division Directors were hired to oversee the 4 Divisions on campus. Each will oversee the faculty and programs in each area:

· Jeff Brown- Business, Trades and Technology

· Greg Paulauskis- Health Sciences

· Bill Krieger- Arts and Sciences

· Ryan Schrenk- Extended Learning (Distance Learning and Outreach)

Thank you!  Thank you to Elfie Neber (Psychology) and Ben Donnelly (History) for their help in this year’s STAR and orientation sessions! I also saw several of our adjuncts at the student orientation day event! It was great to see you there!

I participated in several STAR sessions myself and learned a great deal about the process new students go through to register. It was a great way to get involved, meet students and learn about the College!

Thank you to all of you for the work you do for MSU – Great Falls! I look forward to hearing from you as the semester goes on. Please don’t hesitate to call, email or stop by my office in B105!

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