Greetings,

There is no doubt in my mind that this has been a “semester in the trenches.” From cost-cutting actions to the progression of many new projects, Kent State faculty, administrators and staff have been working diligently to further several new and ongoing initiatives. As we begin the last week of classes, this is an ideal time to take stock in the progress that Academic Affairs has made in the last several months.

Mid-Term Grades

The University’s success lies within the success of our students. Faculty and staff across the university have stepped up to the plate, devoting extra time and effort to ensure the success of our freshman class. And I am pleased to inform you that the increased focus on incoming freshmen is paying off. The midterm GPA of first-time freshmen at the Kent Campus have improved significantly over previous years. In fact, the number of freshmen with a mid-term GPA of less than 2.0 dropped nearly 5% this semester to 31.7%, its lowest level since 2005. That’s the second lowest percent in 10 years. I extend my sincere gratitude for your commitment to student success, now and for years to come.

Use of Student Response and Poling Systems in Learning

As we work to serve learning and learners more effectively and efficiently, our faculty colleagues contribute in a variety of ways. For several years, individual faculty have engaged students with electronic polling devices, often called “clickers.” From this experience and recent changes in technology, the university is moving ahead to standardize a student response and poling system to provide our students with various tools to use in class at a lower overall cost and to participate in several courses that utilize the same technology. Additionally, faculty will have a tool that is simple, can be used on the fly or mined over time for research on student performance in your classes.

Over the last several years, clickers have gained popularity on campuses for uses ranging from “just in time” learning and other formative assessments of learning to developing contextual small group discussions. Administratively, clickers allow simple measurement of classroom attendance in large lecture halls and individual follow-up outside of class time.

During the 2005-2006 academic year, a faculty pilot study at Kent State recommended the adoption of a wireless classroom response system (CRS) using wireless connectively for classroom enhancement. Since the original study in 2006, significant advances in technology have provided new opportunities for engagement, while making some previous technological considerations obsolete. Critically, before moving forward on the original recommendations, it has been necessary to re-examine the pedagogical needs of faculty in relation to the use of the “clicker” technology. (You can access pedagogical research on the clicker technology on the fpdc website at http://fpdc.kent.edu/resources/a_stories/clickers.html.)

A process designed and facilitated by the fpdc was adopted to address the issues above:

· Current and potential users were invited to campus conversations throughout the
month of October to communicate ideas and issues of classroom response systems
directly from the Provost, deans and unit heads
· Three leading vendors were invited to campus for a presentation with the original
pilot study members (and users of the technology), Information Services and the
fpdc
· Recommendations were presented to the University Teaching Council for vetting
· A vetted recommendation was presented to me.

The recommendation was to standardize the use of TurningTechnologies XR and ResponseWare Web at Kent State, a recommendation I fully support. In the coming months, the fpdc and Information Services will communicate an implementation plan for the use of the clickers, so that faculty may begin using this technology as early as Spring 2009.

Regional Campus Think Tank

In my October update, I stressed the importance of a “Regional Campus – Kent Campus System” that strengthens Regional Campus autonomy, enables Regional Campuses to offer more baccalaureate degrees, and better uses Regional Campus resources and integrates faculty and programs throughout the Kent State University system. A successful and thriving Regional Campus system is vital to the success of Kent State University.

The Regional Campus Think Tank developed recommendations to begin a university-wide conversation on the subject. The first two town hall meetings to discuss the recommendations have taken place. The third and final meeting will take place this Friday, Dec. 5, from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. in the Kent Campus Kiva. It will be telecast to all Regional Campuses. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to read the proposal and provide your input on Friday. You can find the proposal online at http://cms.kent.edu/Administration/provost/Initiatives-and-Announcements.cfm.

Public Health Efforts

The University System of Ohio’s strategic plan asks universities to leverage existing areas of excellence in accordance with the vision for higher education in the State of Ohio. Concurrently, in his State of the University Address, President Lefton set forth a nine-point roadmap for the future of Kent State which establishes a new College of Public Health to provide Ohio with a second College of Public Health. (Read more about the nine-point roadmap at http://www.kent.edu/Administration/President/Speeches/upload/State08THURS.pdf )

Public health is a multi-disciplinary field, and public health programs serve as a catalyst for research among numerous disciplines. By creating a College of Public Health, Kent State University has an opportunity to facilitate a unique regional strength in health services while building upon the considerable expertise of Kent State faculty in public health issues.

The intensive efforts to bring forth a proposal for a new college have been progressing steadily over the past several months. I am pleased to inform you that the proposal for a College of Public Health at Kent State was approved by Faculty Senate on Nov. 10. The next step is the presentation of the proposal to the Board of Trustees. We are hard at work on the materials for the curriculum. I look forward to keeping you apprised of the progress of this vital initiative in the coming weeks and months.

Banner Associated Projects

Your support of the continued Banner transition over the last several months has been critical to increased productivity post-conversion, and has resulted in some real progress to support Academic Affairs. Some of the many accomplishments that have been achieved include:

· Creation of an automated contact to students who withdraw during weeks 3-10 of
the semester, with a weekly report provided to college office contacts
· Enhancement of the on-line admissions application
· Addition of meaningful course comments to transcripts
· Addition of a First-Year tab to Flashline for the dissemination of first-year student
information
· Upgrade of the DARWIN System in preparation for the launch of the graduation
planning system (GPS)
· Creation of a channel in the Flashline Faculty Tab for the verification of the posting
of mid-term and final grades.

These are just a few of the improvements and enhancements that have been made over the last several months. Thank you for your continued support and expertise as we move forward on Banner related initiatives.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Dec. 11 and 13^th at Kent State’s 231^st commencement ceremonies, as we celebrate the accomplishments of Kent State’s newest graduates.

With Warmest Regards,

Robert G. Frank
Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Provost