Academic Affairs

In recent years, colleges and universities have been increasing the number of traditional publications they deliver electronically (online or on CD/DVD). The reasons for this shift are varied:

• Reduced publication/postage costs
• Sustainability and environmental friendliness
• Searchability of electronic publications
• Student preferences
• Access
• Longer preparation periods/Shorter production periods

As the technology landscape shifts, President Giles-Gee has encouraged College Relations, the Budget and Resource Council, the Sustainability Council and the Vice Presidents to consider opportunities to reduce printing costs. To this end, I have been asked to solicit feedback on the potential move of four publications to electronic formats only. The publications are: the College Catalog, the Student Handbook, the Faculty Handbook and the Adjunct Faculty Handbook.

These four publications cost about $20,000 annually and generate nearly 4 million pages. Moving to electronic versions of these documents would potentially give departments, faculty and staff longer times to assemble information. Moving to an electronic version of the catalog, specifically, would increase flexibility for the curriculum process, as well.

That being said, not everyone is comfortable using these publications at their computers. Whether on CD or the Web, faculty and staff would need to be at computers to use the publications. Additionally, for some students having a printed copy of their catalog or handbook gives them the security of knowing which version applies to them.

So, we are soliciting feedback to gauge the campus’s response to moving some of our print publications to the Web. We are capturing this information on the Academic Affairs Blog (www.keeneweb.org/academicaffairs). Specifically, we’d like to know:

• How do you feel about moving any or all of these publications to electronic formats?
• If you support moving our publications to electronic formats, which format works better for you: online Web page, online PDF, CD?
• If you don’t support moving publications to the Web, what are your reasons? Could anything be done to make the move more attractive?
• How do you feel about electronic versions accompanied by a small run of printed versions that would be available to departments, but not widely distributed?

Please click on the “add comment” link directly below and give us your thoughts. You can also see others’ comments.

Tags: Uncategorized by enetzhammer // 31 Comments »

Tomorrow I will meet with the deans to convene a group to look at policies regarding plagiarism and academic dishonesty. The will be the second group I’ve worked with on this topic in the year I’ve been at Keene State. The most recent policies were approved by the College Senate only last spring.

The new group will mostly be looking at procedures in light of some administrative changes we’ve made recently. That is, what will the roles of the assistant deans and department chairs be in handling plagiarism cases that now begin with the dean of the school?

But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how our students create. This is a generation that creates content. Look all over the web. Keene State students are creating serial videos and posting them on YouTube. Other students are blogging their little hearts out. Still others are making music or sending tweets or…wait for it…even writing papers.

One big thing about the content that the millennials are creating is that often the freshest, most original creation is a mashup. Don’t know what a mashup is? First, consult Wikipedia:

• Mashup (web application hybrid), a web application that combines data and/or functionality from more than one source
• Mashup (music), a musical genre of songs that consist entirely of parts of other songs
• Mashup (video), a video that is edited from more than one source to appear as one

Mashups take content from more than one source and brings it together in a uniform whole, often–usually–without attribution. The new work is, well, new so there’s no need for attribution or recognition that the work is different than the sum of its parts. Those in the know will recognize the parts. For those not in the know, it doesn’t really matter.

In this context, academic dishonesty and plagiarism take on new meaning. Actually, they don’t really exist. If I take 10 sources and craft them together into something new, my paper, then the work is mine and not someone else’s. The act of bringing these disparate things together is an act of creation that makes the work that of its author. The new work might be considered commentary on the source material. It might be something completely different. In any case, it’s relation to the source material is irrelevent.

So how do we teach about citing sources and academic integrity in this environment? I don’t think it’s enough simply to publish policies that say, “Your work must be your own, and when it isn’t cite your sources.” For students, their work that brings together other sources IS their own.

We need to draw distinctions. We need to be clearer about the academic pursuit. We also have to realize that we’re still bringing students into a different universe. We need to ground them in ethics and yet not stamp out their creativity.

And for those of you who’ve made it this far, one of my favorite mashups. For most people reading this, the music will be the familiar piece. For the 40 million or so kids who are part of the High School Musical generation, they’ll have no clue who Gloria Gaynor is. But this is something new: Zac Efron Will Survive

Tags: plagiarism, students, teaching by enetzhammer // 13 Comments »

I’m just back from my presentation on blogging at the Citizenship Symposium. I’ll write more about the symposium next week. Today, I just want to take a moment to give you a link to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement’s ne study on students and civic engagement: Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Student Political Engagement.

I’m still digesting the research, but I am struck by the idea that our students want the world to be a better place and that they see their role in that. I think we see that during admissions tours and orientation, when students and their parents ask pointed questions about volunteer opportunities on the campus. They have the expectation that we will provide service opportunities.

Does this translate into the political realm. Yes and no. Students believe in grassroots activism, but they also believe the current political system fails them.

 If you’re interested in knowing more about how our student percieve politics and civic engagement, you should take a look at the report.

Tags: civic engagement, students by enetzhammer // 1 Comment »

We’re in the final days before the kickoff of the Keene State College Symposium on Citizenship. For those of you who haven’t seen the ads or the posters or the brochures or the web sites, the symposium begins next Tuesday with a noon session and continues through Friday evening. During those four days, nearly a hundred people will present at over 40 presentations. The presenters include nationally known journalists, scholars and artists, as well as some of Keene State’s best faculty and staff. It’s going to be amazing.

 This is my first symposium at Keene State, so I’m doubly amazed. The effort from all corners of our campus that has gone into making this event so significant has, at times, boggled my mind. The passion. The commitment. The understanding. When we approved the proposal just a year ago, I don’t think anyone expected that we would be putting together an event on such a grand scale.

But this is a topic that resonates. It’s very New Hampshire. It’s very current. Most of all, it goes to the core of what we mean when we talk about a liberal arts education for our students. What does it mean to be a responsible citizen in 2007? How do we prepare our students for a lifetime of civic engagement?

Thanks to everyone who has gotten us this far. Marianne Salcetti and Nigel Malcolm, supported by Advancement, College Relations, Pat Hitchner and so many others have put together an extraordinary array of sessions. It’s up to the rest of us to get the campus the rest of the way. Participate! Bring your classes, your workstudy students, your colleagues to the sessions. Ask questions and challenge yourself.

Although this is my first symposium, I’ve learned well that the biannual symposium is a key event on our campus. I can’t wait to see what next week brings. 

Tags: academic excellence, symposium by enetzhammer // No Comments »