It is always nice to be validated. As many of you know, CT+LE frequently reminds you to constantly take the pulse of your class. That means at the minimum you should do a mid-semester teaching evaluation and then read it and actually make adjustments based on your findings. Typically faculty who adhere to that process receive higher teaching evaluations at the end of the semester. Students appreciate faculty who care enough to listen and revise the course delivery to enhance their learning. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently ran an article saying essentially the same thing. There is still time to register for either of the two sessions planned for November 10 and 11. As you know, Dr. Diane Halpern will be visiting LU as part of the ongoing faculty development series. This past Wednesday and Thursday, LU sent a team that included Edythe Kirk, Charlotte Mizener, Brenda Nichols, Paula Nichols, and Todd Pourciau to the Reinventing Instruction and Learning Conference hosted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin. The team was able to divide and conquer allowing us to attend almost every session. The plan is to meet soon and debrief. The results will be shared in this space so stay tuned. The Active Research and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is holding its first meeting on Monday, November 7 at 3:00 PM. The FLC will meet at Ana's Mexican Bakery on Calder in the newly remodeled patio. If you are planning to get involved with this FLC, this is a can't miss meeting as they are setting the agenda for the remainder of the academic year. Contact Vanessa Villate or Chiung-Fang Chang for more information. In addition, the High School to College Transition FLC will be meeting on Monday, November 14 at 1:30 PM in 621 MJGL. Again, now is the final time to commit to this FLC by attending the meeting or contacting Tanya Goldbeck or Paul Hemenway. One of our readers shared a very interesting story that resonated because of the similarities between the featured institution and LU. The article, which appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, says, "Stretched thin by a mile-wide mission and an equally broad pool of students, Cleveland State is, like many similar institutions, stuck in the mushy middle of higher education. For decades, such universities have been reaching for higher education's brass ring: a bigger share of research grants and accompanying prestige. Now many regional public colleges are trying to balance their aspirations with reality, focusing on the economic and educational needs of their regions rather than striving to compete nationally."