Update from State of the Organization

This Thursday, Dr. Cureton shared important campus and financial updates with the community. A clear theme is that we have many reasons to thank God for his provision as we have responded to the challenges that COVID-19 has presented. If you were not able to watch the State of the Organization address on Thursday, you can watch a recording of his address here. As Dr. Cureton mentioned, we are celebrating historic retention levels this spring while also anticipating future potential enrollment and revenue challenges. Each member of Senior Leadership Team will be working within their area on ideas and opportunities to address these challenges. Please join me in praying for wisdom as we move through the process of finalizing the budget for next fiscal year.

Campus Update and Protocol Reminders

Campus resurgence level

The P5 time is thankful to hear reports from various service departments that our start of semester has gone smoothly. As you can see by our COVID dashboards, our current numbers are in a relatively low position. However, we remain cautious and prepared for a potential increase. Because we want a strong start to the semester, and because the capacity of area health care systems continues to be stretched, the campus will remain at an Orange status through the month of January. This will be monitored and potentially adjusted as internal and external conditions warrant.

Vaccines 

There have been many questions about the plan for vaccines at UNW. Dr. Cureton mentioned in his State of the Organization address that we are pursuing authorization to be approved by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to distribute vaccines. We are still early in this process and do not have a timeline identified. We are also waiting for clarification from MDH about the prioritization of higher education employees and students. As information becomes available, we will share that with the community.

Virtual instruction for students

Any student approved for virtual instruction this spring will appear on your Accommodations Dashboard accessible on the Faculty & Advisor tab on theROCK. As a reminder, you must be logged on to a computer on the campus network or VPN to access this dashboard.

Classroom photos

Now that Facilities has set classroom furniture to 6 feet distancing it will be important that they remain configured that way. To help with this, photos have been taken and placed in all classrooms that show the correct layout. If you happen to change the arrangement please ensure it is reset before your class ends.

Promoting Active Learning

As we continue to engage students in multiple ways this spring it is important that we leverage principles of active learning. eCampus News recently posted an article entitled, "What makes students more likely to return to school in spring 2021?" with findings from a fall 2020 survey that showed the impact that you as faculty have. It was clear that "instructors who promote active learning help drive student retention."

The following are some highlights from the article with options for incorporating active learning into your courses, that are applicable to all modalities:

1. Equip students to stay in touch with you. Provide opportunities for your students to connect with you beyond email.
2. Get to know your students. Ask students what their academic goals are. Create a sense of community in your course.
3. Promote discussion and collaboration.
4. Consolidate the number of tools used for your class to reduce tech problems.
5. If you are teaching virtually, make live video a part of your course.

Feedback About Returning to Campus

If you have any feedback that you'd like to share about the return to campus this spring you are invited to share that through this anonymous form. Feedback will go directly to Dr. Sommers.