Happy Holidays from the Academy
The Academy team wants to thank you for a great year! We wish you a successful finals week and semester wrap-up, a happy holiday season, and a restful winter break.
We look forward to connecting more with you in 2024!
|
|
|
Spring Resources: Blackboard Course Template & More
Spring 2024 course shells are available in Blackboard. The Academy team has developed some resources to help you as you prepare for the semester, including Blackboard course templates.
|
|
Register Now for Spring GECs
Register now for a Spring 2024 Graduate Equivalency Course (GEC). All Harper College faculty (full-time and adjunct) can register for GECs at no cost.
|
|
Linking to the New SOI System in Blackboard
This fall the College is implementing a new software solution, SmartEvals, for the administration of Student Opinionnaires of Instruction (SOIs). In addition to completing the SOIs via a direct email link, students can access their surveys via Blackboard as they could with the previous platform.
Looking for more tips on Blackboard tools? Visit the Faculty Blackboard Support page on the Academy website and find the heading "Blackboard Tips, Tools, & Resources for Faculty". Click the toggle to view a list of topics with a quick write-up and/or short video for each topic.
|
|
New Faculty Reads Display: Recommendations from the Provost
Shared by Jennifer Lau-Bond, Coordinator of Library Instruction
The Library’s newest Faculty Reads display features equity-related book suggestions from Dr. Ruth Williams, Provost. We hope you will check out her recommendations, whether you are at the start of your equity journey or further along. Some of the books on the display include...
We also have a virtual version of the display, where you can get the complete list of titles and links to ebooks and e-audiobooks you can access right from your computer or device! We hope you will visit our display online or on the 3rd floor of the Library right outside the Academy (Building F, Room F317).
|
|
Academy & Blackboard Support for Faculty: How to Get Help
The Academy team is available on campus for drop-in support in Building F, Room F317, as well as available for remote support.
Not sure what to ask or where to start? We’re here for you! Just fill out the Academy Request Form, and an Academy team member will follow-up with you.
|
|
Calling all proud parents of children born or adopted in the past year! Submit your photos for the annual end-of-year photo montage of the newest members of the Harper family. Email a photo of your child to the Marketing Communications team (communications@harpercollege.edu) by December 8. Please include your child's name and date of birth.
Enjoy food and fun with your Harper colleagues at the annual Winterfest Holiday Party on December 11 from 2-4 p.m. in the Wojcik Conference Center Dining Room. Learn more and RSVP using the link above.
Don't forget to complete the Annual Security Awareness Training Session that was emailed to all employees on October 4. Use the link above to complete the training. Questions? Contact Harper IT Security and Business Operations: ITHarperSecurity@harpercollege.edu.
Do you have questions or want to learn more about Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Windows 11, or Webex? Drop in (virtually or in person) to ask one question or stay the whole hour. Use the link above to view upcoming dates and times.
Spring 2024 Opening Week will take place January 8 - January 12. Please watch the Harper Intranet Portal (HIP) and InsideHarper for more details and the schedule.
The Job Placement Resource Center and the Office of the Apprenticeship are making a move to better serve Harper students. Beginning December 11, they will be at home in Building I, Room I117. The new location helps meet students where they’re at. According to Darice Trout, Senior Director of Workforce Solutions and Job Placement, moving to Building I from Wojcik offers advantages including increased visibility and accessibility to students. The move also directly supports Harper’s goal of increasing services in the areas of job placement and workplace connectedness. The new space features a small classroom where faculty can bring students for presentations on a variety of topics including writing resumes and cover letters, interview skills, job search strategies, apprenticeships, and more. View the complete list of topics and request a presentation.
Use the link above to view important dates and deadlines from the Registrar's Office.
|
|
General Education Assessments - Coming Spring 2024
Shared by the Learning Assessment Committee
Our General Education Learning Outcomes state that students should be able to effectively “Communicate information and concepts in oral and written formats” at the time they graduate from Harper.
This spring, the Learning Assessment Committee and its Communication Work Group will lead an assessment of the Communication learning outcome. Those of you who teach a course that maps to this outcome may be asked to participate in the assessment. Courses are selected at random and faculty members will be notified by their dean beginning January 2024. Be on the lookout for more information about this assessment in early spring.
Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcome Update
A large-scale assessment of the Quantitative Reasoning outcome was conducted in 2020-2021. A follow-up assessment will be conducted this spring. Courses that are mapped to this outcome may be asked to participate.
For more information or to get involved in a Work Group, please contact Deann Surdo at dsurdo@harpercollege.edu, 847.925.6356.
|
|
Teaching Africa Today: Faculty's International Field Experience Elevates Student Learning
While traveling to Kenya and Uganda earlier this year, Mukila Maitha was thinking about the big picture.
“Human history in East Africa spans the entire length of hominid evolution,” explained the associate professor of geography. “It’s a unique place with a rich history, because it’s where humans first evolved and it’s been continuously inhabited until the present time.”
That’s part of the reason Maitha and English Professor Richard Johnson led a diverse group of 12 educators to Kenya and Uganda this summer for an enlightening field experience, Teaching Africa Today: Environmental and Sustainability Issues in Kenya and Uganda Through a Social Justice Lens, funded through the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program.
“Africa is poorly understood in the United States,” said Maitha, who is originally from Kenya. “The historical state of people of African descent in the U.S., which includes slavery and its aftermath, has contributed to misperceptions of the continent.”
|
|
Ideas for the Last Day of Class
As we approach the end of the semester, you may wonder how to end your online course in a memorable way.
Here is a list of ideas, gathered from Berkeley faculty members, on ways to make the last day of your course count. You may choose to integrate one of these ideas into a final announcement or video, a survey, a discussion, a fast and fun Flip prompt, or anything else you wish!
|
|
Upcoming Professional Development Credit Opportunities |
|
January 29 - February 11 (GECs: 1) register by January 15
February 5 - May 10 (GECs: 3) register by January 22
February 6, 12 p.m. (CEUs: n/a)
February 9, 11 a.m. (CEUs: 0.2)
|
|
What's Happening @ Harper? |
|
Academy for Teaching Excellence | 847.925.6174 | Building F, Room F317
Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
|
|
The mission of the Academy for Teaching Excellence is to create a vibrant teaching and learning culture for full-time and adjunct faculty that cultivates professional development in support of student success. |
|
Accessibility: Individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation or who have questions about physical access may contact the event host or Access and Disability Services at ads@harpercollege.edu, 847.925.6266, at least two weeks in advance of the event date.
|
|
Harper College enriches its diverse communities by providing quality, affordable, and accessible education. Harper College, in collaboration with its partners, inspires the transformation of individual lives, the workforce, and society. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
