January 2023 | Issue 7

2023 Merger Milestones

Upcoming Merger Changes & News

Change can be good, and we're excited about some of the positive changes on the horizon as we merge with the University of New Hampshire this summer. Here are just a few benefits to look toward in the year ahead:

Expanded Library Services: The integrated College of Professional Studies library will offer students access to the online and physical resources that currently comprise UNH Libraries and databases, as well as access to staff in multiple modalities. Stay tuned for more details!

Streamlined Grading: Beginning with summer term, final grades in Canvas will "push" to the online student grading system - no more manual entry in WebROCK!

More Time: Once summer term gets under way, our new Academic Calendar will include more breaks in between some terms, including an entire month off at the end of the calendar year!

Learn more at our website.

GSC Faculty Professional Learning Community Happenings!

Join us for our next session on January 25, 2023 for Engaging with Students who Have Disengaged with the College's own Tiffany Doherty, Tina Underwood, and Lindsay Atoro.

We have our own Microsoft Team and webpage on the O-TLC site? Did you want to learn more about our PLC?

Learn more here!

GSC Faculty News

As we celebrate the beginning of a new year and the winter term, I wanted to share how excited we are about the year ahead for our College!

As has been communicated, we are in the process of merging as part of a new college within the University of New Hampshire (UNH). This new college will combine Granite State College and UNH Manchester and beginning this summer will be called the University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies (UNH CPS).

Although there are many positive changes on the horizon (check out the new "Merger Milestones" segment in this newsletter), a few things that won't change include our commitment to our students as well as our dedication to our faculty.

This winter we're excited to roll out new communications, faculty development opportunities, and additional information about how the merger will support our teaching efforts. Thanks to your feedback in our summer Annual Reflective Teaching Analysis Survey, we'll be launching Tips for 8-Week Courses resources as well as opportunities to engage with fellow faculty.

We're also proud of the successes highlighted in this edition, such as a recent Davis Foundation Grant that will fund an innovative program to provide peer support to learners in select courses that can be challenging for our students.

And all of this work is generated by the insights we gain from your hard work and the efforts of our student success initiatives. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months, and until then, here's to a bright 2023 and thank you for all you do to help our students succeed!

Tamara Von George

Acting Dean of Academic Affairs and Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Academic Affairs

News & Updates

Celebrating Our Successes

Recently Tara Lynn Fulton, Dean of the University Library at the University of New Hampshire nominated Granite State College Librarian Lia Horton for a pilot leadership development program.

Over the next year or so, Lia will focus on re-conceptualizations of information literacy instruction in the online environment.

She plans to engage with colleagues about the role of the library in designing digital strategies to promote learning, research, and information literacy.

Any faculty who are interested in this work are encouraged to contact Lia at lia.horton@granite.edu

Congratulations, Lia!

Explore the GSC Discovery Service

The Granite State College Library supports students and faculty in their efforts to find, use, and evaluate information as part of the educational process.

Faculty Services

Student Services

Research Guides

Contact the Library

Email: gsc.library@granite.edu

Phone: (603)822-LIBR (5427)

In December 2022, the College was awarded a Davis Foundation grant to implement a new Online Peer Academic Leader initiative. The Davis Educational Foundation was established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis’s retirement as chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc.

The initiative—led by Dr. Rita Kondrath and Tina Underwood— will embed student Peer Academic Leaders in select courses in an effort to increase student engagement, ideally resulting in increased rates of student retention and graduation.

Peer Academic Leaders will be nominated by faculty members and will help current students work through any challenges they experience while enrolled in the course. They are not tutors; instead, they are akin to mentors, who can connect with students as peers and provide insights that may not be readily available through faculty or other support services.

The model is based on a long-running face-to face program at Middlesex Community College that has proven to be very successful and popular with students. As far as we know, Granite State’s fully online model is unique. It will begin as a pilot program in Fall 2023 and—if all goes according to plan—will expand in subsequent terms.

We're Rocking Our Course Conversion Efforts!

As part of the upcoming merger this summer with the University of New Hampshire-Manchester, the College will be moving to an 8-week term format.

This move will align our course terms with the University of New Hampshire beginning with summer 2023 term.

A tremendous amount of work is required to take existing 12- and 6-week formats and thoughtfully, strategically convert them to 8-week formats. This work began with Graduate courses and the School of Education and Undergraduate courses began phase I this fall. This work is on track for a successful launch, as noted by Instructional Designer Erin Ruckman:

"The TLC Project is well underway! Directors, Subject Matter Experts, and the ID team are all diligently working to convert courses to the new term length. With 159 courses in Phase I alone, we are moving right along and continue to remain on schedule. Great job to everyone involved!"

Our Newest Micro-Credential Launches as a Pilot

Continuing our tradition of co-creating professional development offerings alongside our dedicated faculty, the College just launched its latest micro-credential focused on integrating writing instruction into your teaching efforts. A small group of faculty will engage with the offering as a pilot this winter and spring.

The micro-credential features short videos recorded by fellow faculty featuring quick tips on providing writing feedback to students effectively and efficiently. One of our Instructional Designers shares simple Canvas tools that can save you time and make it easier for students to review your feedback. It also includes an interactive data dashboard that allows you to see some of the data the College has gathered through our Institutional Outcomes Assessment initiative. There’s also an opportunity to connect with other faculty and strategically design assignments and forum prompts to ensure your students demonstrate what they really know and produce their very best writing.

Insights and feedback from the pilot will be integrated into the final offering, which will be formally launched in Fall 2023. Stay tuned for more information, and a huge thank-you to our pilot testers!

Granite State College Academic Affairs

https://faculty.granite.edu/