Title III Activity Two

Director: Monica Joslin, Dean of Academic Affairs

Activity Two focuses on providing three separate but overlapping and related strands of faculty and curricular development. The first involves preparing faculty to expertly use the technology acquired under Activity One. The Academic Technology Center, which is located in Murdock Hall, is the focal point of this training. The Director of Academic Technology is working with the Academic Technology Advisory Group to form AT related programs, workshops, and ongoing support systems. A second, equally important strand provides support for program and course expansion, including facilities enhancement, faculty release-time for course development, and acquisition of needed library collections and subscription databases.  The third strand provides support for pedagogy and the development of assessment strategies. 

Faculty Professional Development

The Activity Two Project Director, the Academic Technology Director, and the Coordinator of Professional Development work together to develop a professional development program that has included AT and non-AT related faculty professional development, including work on core-curriculum assessment.  In addition, thirty-thousand dollars in grant funds has been budgeted, over the course of five years, for guest speakers and consultant services related to faculty development. 

Academic Technology Center

The biggest impact of the grant has been the establishment of an AT Center and the funding of an Acting Academic Technology (AT) Director, who, during the 2008-2009 academic year, has provided 392 instances of technical support to 96 faculty members, consisting mostly of Blackboard course design assistance and First Class, Microsoft Office, and e-Portfolio training.  Thirty-seven faculty members received Blackboard training for the first time, mostly via mentoring, which involved Blackboard-proficient faculty members working one-on-one with other faculty, who learned how to design and manage online course content; create learning modules; use assignment and assessment tools; establish online grade books; and communicate with students via announcements and discussion groups. In addition to one-on-one and drop-in support, the AT Center has provided workshops such as "Designing Course Support Areas" and "Best Practices for Online Teaching" and offered training on Digication, the college's new e-Portfolio platform.

As a result of this training, 80 full and part-time faculty members, or approximately 43%, have adopted a learning management system (LMS).  Most are using Blackboard, and the number using this LMS has increased by 48% in the past year. Two-hundred and seventy LMS course sections were established at the start of the fall 09 semester, 46 more than in fall 08.  These online courses would not be possible without Blackboard, which is leased using T3 and non-federal funds.

Faculty Tech Fest

The second annual Faculty Tech Fest was held on May 15th, 2009, and over 50 people attended.  The event was a huge success and included workshops on topics such as "Learning Portfolios" and "Cool Tools for Teaching."  The grant provided stipends for faculty presenters and incentive door prizes; Session evaluations indicated that 82% of attendees left the Tech Fest believing they could apply in the classroom what they learned in one or more workshops. 

Professional Development Stipends & Support for Course Development

All of these AT-related activities have been supported by T3 Activity Two professional development funds. In addition, funds are budgeted for release time, honoraria, or summer stipends for faculty members interested in working on course development and program expansion, including Tier Three Capstone Courses, accelerated courses, fully or partially online courses, and courses incorporating a service learning component. During the 2008-2009 academic year, $38,450 was used for faculty stipends, which includes $5,850 for course development and $32,600 for training, counting $28,000 for Blackboard, $1,600 for e-Portfolio, and $3,000 for Tech Fest presenters.  Seventeen faculty members worked on adding curricular components to the college's First Year Experience program, and one worked on developing a course with a service learning component. 

Conference Travel

T3-funded conference attendance has enabled faculty to network with others who are doing similar work, share what they've learned, and bring new ideas back to the community. T3-funded travel has included NorthEast Regional Computing Program workshops on Publishing Open Course Curricula and on Evaluating Learning Management Systems; a New England Regional Campus Compact conference on service learning; and an AAC&U General Education Conference, where MCLA's Professional Development Coordinator presented his work on core curriculum assessment.

Library Acquisitions

The grant has budgeted $120,000 over five years for library acquisitions, and additional funds have been used to maintain continuous subscriptions to four online database services--Lexis/Nexis, Communications and Mass Media Complete, MLA International Bibliography, and PsycArticles.

Fine & Performing Arts Program Facilities Upgrade

Laboratory facilities for the visual arts, music, and theater programs have been upgraded and expanded in order to support the new Fine and Performing Arts major. Such facilities will provide for more advanced art and art history coursework, greater options for upper-level electives and lab courses, and more opportunities for students to be active in the region's rich cultural community.

• Visual Arts Lab: The Fine and Performing Arts Department used $35,000 in Title III funds to renovate the Visual Arts Lab and assure its conformance to new safety and hazardous materials handling protocols. Upgrades to two rooms include space expansion, fresh paint, additional electrical outlets, PCs, projection and multimedia equipment, and eighteen work stations with new easels and professional color correcting studio lighting.
• Music Lab: Approximately $35,000 in Title III funds was used to purchase new lab equipment and technology, including recording equipment, amplifiers, sound boards, mixers, and microphones and the redesign of the Church Street Center stage in order to accommodate larger ensembles.
• Venable Theater: During the final grant year, $35,000 in Title III funds is being used to redesign and upgrade the stage lighting system.