Updates in Academic Affairs: March 10, 2014
Recruitment presentations available online and in person
Christopher Tremblay, associate provost for enrollment management, recently updated members of the Academic Forum on recruitment yield activities.
Tremblay and his team are happy to meet with any departments or units also interested in scheduling an area-specific presentation on recruitment.
His talk at the Academic Forum focused on enrollment management and emphasized that each member of the WMU community is responsible for playing a role in student success and development.
View slides form the presentation—your Bronco NetID and password are required to access them.
Colleagues from admissions, the Graduate College, international admissions and Extended University Programs provided information on their specific recruitment efforts and pipelines.
If you have feedback, questions about the presentation or would like to schedule a meeting, contact Tremblay at (269) 387-4332 or @email.
Following federal rules on providing textbook information is critical
The Higher Education Opportunity Act, enacted by Congress in 2008, mandates that all colleges and universities include information about required and recommended textbooks in their online course searches to assist students during the registration process.
WMU must comply with HEOA requirements as a condition of receiving student financial aid from the federal government. Thus, adherence to the rules is critically important.
All textbook and course materials must be listed by the first day of course registration, in accordance with the HEOA. To that end, WMU has established textbook requisition deadlines that are typically two weeks prior to the date the schedule opens for viewing.
Textbook information for summer I, summer II and the upcoming fall semester should already have been submitted to the bookstore.
The deadline for spring 2015 textbook information is Sept. 15, 2014. Textbook order due dates through fall 2016 are available on the Registrar’s Office website. Instructions on how to order textbooks through Follett’s online adoption process also are available here.
The instructions provide screen shots of the Follett system and describe in detail how faculty members may set up an account, order books using an ISBN number and how to search for materials.
For assistance with placing textbook orders, contact Charles Hendrix at the WMU bookstore at (269) 387-3935 or (269) 387-3917.
Read HEOA rules regarding textbook information.
Assessment in Action Day set for next week
In keeping with university strategic planning initiatives, goal 2 of the University Strategic Plan provides for “promoting innovative learning, discovery and service” through “aligning effective assessment with campuswide continuous improvement (see strategy 2.1.c).”
Continuous improvement in assessment is the mission of the 5th Annual WMU Assessment in Action Day conference. The campus community is invited to take part in this important event set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 21, at the Fetzer Center.
Dr. Dave Reinhold will lead the plenary session of the conference to address the state of assessment at WMU.
In addition to his presentation, there will be eight breakout sessions focusing on several topics related to the assessment of student learning. A luncheon and poster session highlighting the assessment work of the 2013-14 Assessment Fellows will also be featured at the event.
The conference closes with a town-hall meeting discussion focusing on how we as a university can advance our assessment efforts.
The complete conference schedule is available from the following website: wmich.edu/assessment/assessment/assessment-day-2014.html
The conference is open and free of charge to all faculty, staff and graduate teaching assistants. An R.S.V.P. is required for the conference luncheon.
Nominate your colleagues for their excellent work
Nominating colleagues for formal recognition of their professional accomplishments is an excellent way to acknowledge their contributions to their profession, to their department or unit, and to the University as a whole.
The WMU community is invited to nominate eligible faculty and staff members for the following awards:
- 2014-15 Emerging Scholar Award
- 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award
- 2014 Distinguished Service Award for faculty and staff
Award eligibility, criteria and nomination guidelines are available on the Office of Faculty Development website at wmich.edu/facdev/Awards.html
The nomination deadline is Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Please contact Tonya Dean for assistance at @email or (269) 387-0397.