The conversation at the Lunch and Learn on retention held this past Monday was very enriching. The room was filled with folks from almost every college and all of the student support folks were there. We were very encouraged with the commitment and passion and know that we will stem our attrition rate over time. If you missed the report by the U.S. Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance entitled The Rising Price of Inequality, you are encouraged to take a look now. We are also looking forward to the retention workshop to be held November 15. This event will be very active as we update or build retention plans for all of the units at LU. Please save the date now and plan to join us. Provost Steve Doblin will be facilitating the next Lunch and Learn about the promotion and tenure policy at LU. This informative event will occur on November 22. It is another save the date for now. Recently rediscovered a gem of an article about Generation Y that might be useful to help explain what motivates them in the classroom. Quoting from the article, "As faculty, we should try to see the world through the eyes of Generation Y, and be willing to learn from our students."

So what would the Southeast Texas economy look like without Lamar University? There would be a $310 million dollar hole to fill and local government would be $8.7 dollars million poorer. That is very significant and solidifies the fact that LU is an economic driver for the region. Seems that Wayne State is experiencing a racial divide on the graduation front. Retention continues to be a top issue around the country. The Lunch and Learn on retention at LU planned for Monday, October 25 is your opportunity to provide leadership in this crucial area. Come with your ideas and a willingness to get involved. Calling all Art faculty who are looking for a short vacation to Massachusetts. The Jay and Deborah Last Fellowships offered by the American Antiquarian Society offer you the opportunity to do research on American graphic material of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or perform projects using visual arts as primary documents for projects in American history and culture through 1876.

Did you know that of the 42,641 students who enrolled in college in Texas in 2004 only 14,864 graduated with a post-secondary credential as of 2009. That is a staggering loss of 27,777 students. Stemming the attrition rate at higher education institutions is consistently ranked in the top five when it comes to issues of concern for colleges and universities. Is there one solution to this complex problem? Of course not and that is why it is so important for everyone to become involved. Retention is everyone's concern here at LU. We will begin the conversation about this topic at a Lunch and Learn on Monday, October 25. You can register for the event now by sending an email to cpmumbach@lamar.edu or by calling the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement at x7553. The session, which will be held in the private dining room of the Dining Hall, will be facilitated by Drs. Oney Fitzpatrick and Sherri Shoefstall. To prepare to participate, we are suggesting the following material: How important are the first weeks of college? The long term effects of initial college experiences; Help Students Achieve; Promoting Student Retention: Lessons Learned from the United States; and, College Student Retention-Defining Student Retention, A Profile of Successful Institutions and Students, Theories of Student Departure. As mentioned above, this Lunch and Learn is a precursor for the retention workshop to be held on November 15. The conversation is richer when we have a diversity of voices.

"Institutions and doctoral candidates are recognizing a need for future faculty who can not only conduct research at top-tier universities, but also be effective in the classroom at a liberal arts or community college. Teaching certificate programs are filling that need at dozens of public and private institutions across the country, and the programs continue to expand. Administrators say the certificates not only give students an edge in the job market, but also teach the skills Ph.D. candidates need to be effective teachers – and faculty need to be lifelong learners." This is according to a story on InsideHigherEd's webpage. If you were not at the faculty development workshop on enhancing your PowerPoint presentation with vodcasts, you missed a terrific session. Presenter Kyle Boudreaux did a superb job and everyone left feeling energized and equipped to turbo-charge their class and conference presentations. We are still programming for the semester and have just added a Lunch and Learn on the promotion and tenure process at LU to be facilitated by Provost Steve Doblin. This is a can't miss event for all of those faculty who are looking to move up the academic ladder. Did you see the news that our online Nusrsing Master's degree was ranked second most affordable in the nation by GetEducated.com?

Just as LU gears up for renewed focus on slowing the attrition rate, the national media brings the item to the forefront again. Looking at the economic issues associated with dropout rates is alarming but it still doesn't override the imperative that our business is about educating and preparing students for the future. Education provides the best platform for people to live productive and happy lives. In addition, society as a whole benefits. Please hold the following two dates: October 25 at noon and November 15 at 2:00 p.m. The first is a Lunch and Learn on retention that will be held in the Dining Hall. The second is a workshop that will allow you to develop a retention plan for your unit. More to follow on both. The Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching and Learning Circle meeting held last Friday was terrific. Not only was the discussion lively but new ideas that should enhance the effectiveness of our writing curriculum emerged. The Circle is off to a strong start. Watch this space and the CTLE website for the next meeting date. If you are looking for a way to turbocharge your PowerPoint presentation, you must attend this Thursday's workshop "Creating Exciting Custom Vodcasts Using PowerPoint." There is still time to RSVP to cpmumbach@lamar.edu.

ACES Fellow Melissa Hudler is facilitating the first gathering of the Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching and Learning Circle on Friday, October 8 at 1:30 p.m. in Maes Hall. If you are interested in participating, contact us. Fellowship and food wrapped up in spirited discussion, isn't that what university life is all about? Participated in a webinar on teaching, learning and technology in the 21st Century. The engaging panel discussion focused on how emerging technology and other trends are shaping the future of higher education, the development of increasingly dynamic roles taken on by Chief Information Officers and Chief Academic Officers, and ideas on how to improve collaboration between IT and Academic departments on campus. It is definitely worth a look. Steele and Kilic-Bahi have written an interesting article about their attempt to improve student's quantitative literacy (QL) skills at Colby-Sawyer College. They suggest that we include more opportunities to practice quantitative skills in the curriculum. Research indicates that skills need to be practiced repeatedly in order to have a lasting effect on student abilities. Raising awareness, providing support, and presenting workshops in which faculty in many disciplines developed activities for their classes increased the amount of QL included in the curriculum.

If you have not discovered MERLOT yet, you are missing out on a great resource. MERLOT is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their learning materials and pedagogy. If you are teaching an on-line or blended course and would like to plan a virtual field-trip for your students, I encourage you to view Rodica Neamtu's podcast (about 51 minutes long) Crossroads of the Digital and Real Worlds: Virtual Field Trips for Online and Blended Courses. One of the foundational theories used in the scholarship of teaching and learning is Bloom's Taxonomy. A committee of colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom in 1956, identified three domains of educational activities: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. The cognitive domain involves knowledge and the development of intellectual skills. This includes the recall or recognition of specific facts, procedural patterns, and concepts that serve in the development of intellectual abilities and skills. The affective domain (Krathwohl, Bloom, Masia, 1973) includes the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. The psychomotor domain (Simpson, 1972) includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in execution. The application of this information provides a very solid foundation for those of us who are involved in the academic world, especially at a teaching-oriented institution like LU.

ACES Fellow Dr. Jeremy Shelton recommends a chapter entitled "Taking Stock of What Faculty Know About Student Learning" written by Maryellen Weimer, professor emeritus at Penn St. It is from the book Taking Stock: Research on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Are you being overwhelmed with requests on your time? Blogger Kerry Ann Rockquemore recommends you create a No Committee. When you are faced with making a decision on a request, tell the person you need to check your schedule and then bring it to your No Committee to discuss the pros and cons of accepting an additional service commitment. Some are predicting that the next U.S. News "Tsunami" will be the inclusion of net-price calculators on university Web sites which will allow families to compare the net prices of colleges. Experts suggest that universities develop net price calculators sophisticated enough to incorporate all institutional grant aid in addition to state and federal sources of aid, thereby lowering the net price that families will see online. Did you know that the best place to start when writing your teaching philosophy is at the end. You need to identify what it is you want your students to know and be able to do when they have completed your class. This decision should be shaped by your own ideas and philosophy and should naturally include developing critical thinking abilities, facilitating the acquisition of life-long learning skills, preparing students to function effectively in a world that is increasingly dependent on electronic resources, and developing problem-solving strategies both within a team and as a leader. Once you have written your teaching philosophy, be sure and share it with a colleague or two for feedback and then continue to revise it as you develop your teaching skills.