As we officially begin the academic year we would like to provide the campus community with brief updates about campus-wide accomplishments of our It’s Time initiatives. In this edition we would like to and briefly share some accomplishments for “Supporting a University of Teachers-Scholars”.
There are three broad goals in this part of the It’s Time framework that support faculty’s research, scholarship, and creative work:
- Develop a culture of innovation to design new approaches to teaching and learning.
- Address the needs of our region through applied research, scholarship and creative work and through the creation of applied research centers and institutes.
- Expand access for our students to high impact learning opportunities and develop new ways in which we can align student experiential learning spaces for learning, research, and community service.
Activities Underway
The St. Cloud State Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is introducing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Scholars Pilot Program where teacher-scholars are breaking new ground as they examine the teaching and learning processes.
Participating faculty scholars will deepen their connection to the scholarship of teaching and learning as they reflect on their teaching practices and connect with colleagues at the leading edge SoTL. This process involves three semesters of workshops and project consultation with nationally recognized SoTL experts, Dr. David Voelker and Dr. Alison Staudinger. The St. Cloud State faculty will serve as ambassadors on campus while sharing their project experiences and findings with faculty on campus and across disciplines. The SoTL Scholars Pilot Program is currently recruiting its first cohort of faculty members, who will begin the program in late October.
The University Library is expanding its Open Educational Resources and Open Access initiative in support It’s Time efforts for faculty teacher-scholars and the success of students.
Building on the Libraries Minnesota State Grant in 2019-20 on “Open Educational Resources – Faculty Cohorts and Campus Support”, the Library is expanding this program to new cohorts of teacher-scholars. In this program, faculty will explore how to incorporate Open Educational Resources and Open Access resources (OER-OA) into their classroom. Library faculty will offer advice regarding what to look for with creative commons licenses and maintaining OER-OA rights when submitting faculty research to publications. In addition, Opendora, Minnesota State’s repository of open access materials is now available, along with the addition of 197,000 eBooks to the university’s resources in 2019-20 for faculty and students to access.
The Establishment of Academic Centers and Institutes policy has been completed the review and approval process. The policy provides the opportunity for faculty to propose an applied research center or institute that will address the needs of our region, strategically advance the university’s academic reputation and its disciplinary focus. The policy is located via our policy hub.
Finally, the Huskies Advance program is fully launched in support of expanding our students’ experiential learning opportunities for learning, research, and community service. Working closely with a mentor, students choose one of the six different tracks and build courses and co-curricular experiences to gain value-added skills and experiences. Students earn a digital credential showcasing what they achieve when they have completed the program.
