Re-visioning: Re-visioning: The current Committee on Student Learning Mission : “The primary purpose of the Committee on Student Learning is to promote the integrated use of University resources for the holistic development of students. The Committee will coordinate programs and make recommendations to senior administration, designed to create a “seamless” learning environment at Western Carolina University.”

Charge: Mission & Identity  Continue to facilitate integrated and interdisciplinary collaborations across academic and student affairs among students, faculty, staff, and administrators.  Create a model that is action oriented and grounded in research and best practice.  Ground the mission, objectives, strategies, and assessments to promote and foster successful student learning outcomes.

Mission: Partners in Student Learning The Partners in Student Learning Committee aims to foster the integration of WCU resources and personnel to enhance student success with learning outcomes and their overall educational experiences through holistic and purposeful approaches that address challenges, goals, and opportunities, as informed by research and best practice.

Steering Committee  Oversight Carol Burton Jane Dunford  Committee co-chairs Glenda Hensley Shawna Young  Task Group 2-6 member core: to be determined based on projects identified – will determine additional needs and directions Research and project development Implementation and assessment

Steering Committee WCU Leadership WCU Community Working Group - ResearchWorking Group - Implementation Co-Chairs Sustainability

Goals  Promote integrated and engaged learning across the campus community, as advocated by the QEP.  Facilitate opportunities to enhance student learning outcomes and educational experiences with significance, relevance, and enrichment.  Promote integrated use of university resources.  Strengthen the collaborative relationship between Academic and Student Affairs through communication and engagement with students in and out of the classroom.

Goal 1 Promote integrated and engaged learning across the campus community, as advocated by the QEP. ObjectivesStrategiesAssessmentBenchmarks Identify problem statements or theoretical frameworks to foster a climate of continuous improvement. Other university committee & council reports. Joint meeting to disseminate results/progress. General perceptions are that the work is successful and useful. Public perception supports and is supported by data. Student focus groups Post discussions Faculty focus groups Post discussions SurveysPost-surveys Assessment Office recommendations Comparative reports

Goal 2 Facilitate opportunities to enhance student learning outcomes and educational experiences with significance, relevance, and enrichment. ObjectivesStrategiesAssessmentBenchmarks Problem/theory statements will be driven by student learning outcomes and will specify how they intend to address student success. Establish research task groups. Pilot the solution.Identified student learning & experiential outcomes are successfully met with verifiable data results. Establish implementation task force. Participant surveys, pre/ post tests. Document existing institutional practice. Disseminate outcomes via workshops & presentations. Review literature of best practice. Document data.

Goal 3 Promote integrated use of university resources. ObjectivesStrategiesAssessmentBenchmarks Streamline processes and eliminate redundancies Review targeted unit organizational charts to assess overlaps & intersects Assessments will evolve from Goals 1 & 2 Outcomes are sustainable within WCU resources.

Goal 4 Strengthen the collaborative relationship between Academic and Student Affairs through communication and engagement with students in and out of the classroom. ObjectivesStrategiesAssessmentBenchmarks Promote diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise to foster holistic solutions and opportunities for students. Promote projects publicly & timely to encourage wide participation. Assessments will evolve from Goals 1 & 2 - Diverse participation of administrators, faculty, and staff. - Students demonstrate collaborative behaviors. - Students demonstrate synthesis Steering committee represented by Academic and Student Affairs. Project & data analysis review to document formative and summative reports.

Projects for  Academic Learning Communities [piloting re-introduction] Coordinator: Glenda Hensley Pilot cohorts in place for fall semester [2] Task groups collaborate with the cohorts  Transfer Student Success Coordinator: Shawna Young Transfer Advisory Group (TAG)

FAQ’s: Academic Learning Communities An Academic Learning Community (ALC) ---  implements the Student Sense of Place and Integration of Knowledge Fundamental Principles.  fosters integrated learning environments.  provides a significant impact on learning outcomes.  consists of cohorts of students and instructors in a selection of grouped courses.  provides students the opportunity to develop friendships and experience learning as a dynamic exchange of ideas and perspectives. Students who choose to participate in a Learning Community must enroll in each defined linked course. For example, it is not an option to take only one course of a community pair or trio.

Goals: Academic Learning Communities  Encourage students to discover and appreciate relationships of disciplines and knowledge.  Provide a sense of place within the university community.  Encourage integrated and interdisciplinary teaching and learning designs, allowing connections through a holistic approach.  Provide a framework through which to participate in service learning, civic engagement, and creative scholarship opportunities.  Empower a successful transition into college life by creating strong connections to the new college environment.  Strengthen collaborative practice between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs.

Learning Community Cohorts: F 2010  LC01: Career Exploration and the Law This learning community will provide students with an overview and foundational understanding of the legal profession, law in the private and public sectors, and related government, corporate and nonprofit careers.  LC02: How Real is Race?: Race as a Psychological and Cultural Concept in Contemporary (post-racial?) America This learning community draws on resources in psychology and contemporary literature and film to construct responses to questions about the psychological and cultural concept of race.

ALC & FLC (Faculty Learning Community)  Summer 2010: Teams from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs participated in a retreat in preparation to launch the ALC pilot and to discuss future strategies.  : Established a Faculty Learning Community, hosted by the Coulter Faculty Commons, for this pilot. Those interested, may sign up in the CFC.  The FLC will provide a formal framework in which to build a sustainable program and to document the resulting scholarship.  Fall 2010: With two cohorts in place, we move forward with the commitment of many support units and programs.

History - Transfer Advisory Group  In November 2009, the Retention Steering Committee invited representatives from Admission, Advising, Orientation, Registrar’s Office, and Education Outreach, to share their perspectives on the current status of transfer students  A key recommendation was to create a committee of offices involved with transfer student issues to specifically address the needs of transfer students

Goals – Transfer Advisory Group  Engage stakeholders.  Investigate the state of the transfer student experience at WCU from a wide variety of perspectives.  Investigate best practices in higher education.  Create and implement an action plan to enhance the transfer student experience from admission to graduation.

Representative Action Item – Transfer Advisory Group  The November 2009 meeting found that transfer students, community college counselors, and faculty find the Transfer Students Web site challenging to navigate.  A subgroup of the Transfer Advisory Group will create a site more specific to transfer students’ needs. The redesign will begin only after the appropriate information and resources are available. The redesign will be aided by the fall 2010 redesign of the Admission and Student Life websites.

Action Model Student Learning Outcomes and Experience Assessment Best Practice Research

Re-visioned…. AcademicAffairs StudentAffairs WCUCommunity PSL Research BestPractice Assessment P artners In In S tudent L earning