Author: Dustin Grabsch

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Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Reminder to join us at the 2nd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

Once again, we are excited to extend you an invitation to the 2nd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, The Budd Center, Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and the Center for Teaching Excellence.

This two-day event will occur on November 2nd, 4:30pm – 7:00pm at the SMU Indoor Performance Center and November 3rd, 9:00am – 1:00pm at the Dallas College West Dallas Center. 

The theme for this year’s symposium is Listening, Learning and Leading Locally: A Place-Based Approach to Promoting Public Responsibility & Community Engagement in a Covid-Impacted World.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

 

LATOSHA HERRON BRUFF

Latosha Herron Bruff is the Senior Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement at the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC), which in 2023 was recognized as the National Chamber of the Year.

 

BYRON SANDERS

Byron Sanders is a committed advocate for education, economic development and creating equitable communities. As the President and CEO of Big Thought, he explores innovative ways to narrow the opportunity gap and believes it’s our charge to shape society so young people have the chance to live the innate greatness that’s inside of them.

About the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

The Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area. This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts. Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

The SMU Engage Dallas Program

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative. This symposium allows us to share, expand and further develop the work of Engage Dallas, as well as invite other SMU faculty and staff to consider new and innovative ways to support community engagement efforts in Dallas.

RSVP

This event is free and seats are limited, so please register by October 27, 2023. You will be able to opt to register for one or both days.

Register now.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

SAES shows up to support Engage Dallas’ #1Day4Dallas Residential Commons Fall Day of Service event

On Saturday, October 21st, Engage Dallas hosted its third annual #1Day4Dallas event. Student Academic Engagement and Success members showed up to serve with students over the weekend.

The Residential Commons fall service day, known as #1Day4Dallas, serves as an annual tradition where every Residential Commons participates in service around their community-identified need on the same day. This annual event is a student-led initiative supported by the Engage Dallas Student Directors and SMU Service House (SMUSH) liaisons.

Preliminary numbers revealed 151 volunteers attended, including 25 student leaders from Engage Dallas and SMUSH, who helped facilitate the service opportunities. Volunteers were sent to one of 13 service sites with West and South Dallas community partners. Sites included:

  • Greenspace
  • Our Saviour Community Garden
  • Sunny South Community Garden
  • Brother Bill’s Helping Hand
  • Genesis Women’s Shelter
  • Austin Street Center
  • The Bridge
  • Jubilee Park
  • Dallas Furniture Bank
  • After8toEducate
  • Voice of Hope
  • Empowering the Masses
  • Legacy Cares

Why is SAES all in with Engage Dallas? Engage Dallas is the most accessible co-curricular way for Common Curriculum students to receive their Community Engagement (CE) and/or Civics and Individual Ethics (CIE) Proficiency and Experience required for graduation. Students can learn more and get started with the service by following the instructions on the Engage Dallas website.

Special thanks to the University Advising Center (Vivian Fowler, Michelle Gaunt, Jacob Trevino), Student Academic Success Programs (Gracy Herrera, Makenzie Moriarty), and the Office of General Education (Dustin Grabsch) for joining in this annual service offering.

Engage Dallas is a partnership between Residence Life & Student Housing, the Office of General Education, the Office of Social Change & Intercultural Engagement, the Office of Engaged Learning, and the Hegi Family Career Development Center.

Categories
SMU in Four

SMU in Four presented year-two progress and goals for year three

On Thursday, October 12, the SMU in Four team presented their second annual presentation to discuss and showcase SMU’s progress toward completing our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). A total of 141 members of the campus community were in attendance.

This five-year QEP, a key component of SMU’s SACSCOC accreditation process, is constructed to undergird SMU’s goals to increase first-year retention and four- and six-year graduation rates for our undergraduate students.

Sheri Kunovich, Associate Provost for Student Academic Engagement and Success; Paige Ware, Associate Provost for Faculty Success; Dustin Grabsch, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Education and Academic Success; Curt Herridge, Associate Chief Information Officer in the Office of Information Technology (OIT); Molly Ellis, Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Faculty Success; and Josh Beatty, Associate Director for the University Advising Center each spoke about the SMU in Four initiatives currently underway, shared data analyses and reflections on this year’s activities, and previewed plans for next year’s initiatives.

The written SMU in Four Year-Two Progress Report will be made available later this fall, but in the interim, click here for a copy of this week’s presentation.

What can you do to support student success and retention on campus? We invite faculty and staff to support this work by submitting progress reports, Advising Notes, and Retention Alerts.

Learn more about these efforts on the Office of Student Success and Retention website. 

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success Student Success & Retention

Undergraduate student marketing campaign to clear enrollment holds begins

Students study before Spring Finals at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Tuesday, May 6, 2021 on the SMU Campus.

Student Academic Engagement and Success (SAES) began a multi-modal marketing campaign on October 13 to encourage undergraduate students to clear enrollment holds.

An enrollment hold is an administrative action that prevents a student from enrolling in classes or changing enrollment. Enrollment holds may be related to tuition or miscellaneous account balances, advising holds, missing paperwork or documentation, or incomplete orientation modules, to name a few.

With spring enrollment appointments beginning October 31 for undergraduates, SAES has already started an email, text message, digital signage, and newsletter campaign to raise awareness of holds that may impede enrollment and class selection.

On the first day of the campaign, 2,021 undergraduate students received a tailored email informing them they had one or more enrollment holds. The email contained details as to the type of hold and how to access their my.SMU Student Dashboard to clear or address the hold with the appropriate administrative office.

Over the next two weeks, students can expect reminders in the SMU Connected Wednesday newsletter, on various yard signs and digital signage across the Hilltop, via text message, and more.

Please encourage students to address any enrollment holds as soon as possible so they have a clear path to enrollment and graduation. Questions about the campaign can be directed to academicsuccess@smu.edu.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

Registration open: 2nd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

Hosted by Engage Dallas, in collaboration with Residence Life & Student Housing, The Budd Center, The Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and The Center for Teaching Excellence, this two-day event will take place on November 2nd and 3rd.

About the Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium

The Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium is a gathering of thought leaders, academics, community leaders, and nonprofit professionals from SMU and the DFW area.

This event is designed to explore the transformative potential of community engagement within specific geographic contexts.

Our goal is to delve into the strategies and innovations that have the power to catalyze positive change within communities, with emphasis on campus and community collaboration and sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

RSVP

Seats are limited, so please RSVP by October 20, 2023. You will be able to opt to register for one or both days.

Categories
Office of General Education Student Academic Engagement & Success

New External Breadth Swap Petition now available for Common Curriculum students on the Fall 2023 Catalog or later

The Office of General Education made a new External Breadth Swap Petition available on Tuesday, September 19. The new petition is public at smu.edu/petitions and on the Registrar’s Form Library

SMU Common Curriculum (CC) students may satisfy up to three Breadth requirements using external credit. External credit is test, dual, concurrent, or transfer credit.

Suppose a student possesses pre-matriculation external credit for more than three Breadth requirements. In that case, a student may want to substitute one of the three satisfied Breadth requirements that were applied during Fall 2023 admission processing for a different Breadth requirement.

Based on recommendations from the University Advising Center, the Registrar’s Office configured the Fall 2023 catalog to satisfy external Beadth credits in the following order during the admission process:

  1. Literary Analysis and Interpretation (LAI),
  2. Creativity & Aestetics (CA),
  3. Historical Context (HC),
  4. Philosophical, Religious, and Ethical Inquiry (PREI),
  5. Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS),
  6. Exploring Science (ES), and then
  7. Technological Advances and Society (TAS).

The advising community felt this order would benefit the high-hour majors in Lyle School of Engineering and other sciences and Pre-Health track students who will fulfill ES and TAS through SMU courses.

Questions or concerns about the new petition can be directed to the Office of General Education via theccmail@smu.edu.

Categories
Student Academic Engagement & Success

SMU360 training videos now available

The Office of Information Technology recently hosted two separate online trainings for SMU360, led by a representative from CampusGroups, the vendor for SMU360. Recordings for both trainings are now available on the SMU360 Resource webpage, smu.edu/smue360resources. Please share this webpage with your student organization leaders so they know the resources available to help manage their group page.

Below are topics that were covered during each session.

Student Leaders

  • Basic User Navigation
  • Group Page and Feed
  • Communicating with Members
  • Event Management
  • Building Surveys and Forms
  • Mobile App
  • Gamification (Badges and Points, CCT)

Staff and Student Org Advisors

  • Home Page Overview
  • Group Pages & Feed
  • Communicating with Members
  • Event Management (RSVP, reviewing, approving, assessment, and reporting events)
  • Attendance Check-In
  • Mobile App
Categories
Office of General Education Peer Academic Leaders SMU in Four

Find your PAL and complete your Degree Planner in my.SMU student communication sent

SMU in Four would like to share efforts being made to encourage undergraduate students to complete their my.SMU Degree Planner. 

The following message was shared on Sunday, September 17.

——————-

From: SMU in Four (smuinfour@smu.edu)

To: Undergraduate Students

Subject Line: Find your PAL and complete your Degree Planner in my.SMU

Dear Mustangs,

We’re officially in week 4! Is this semester flying by, or is it just us? SMU in Four hopes you’re getting into the swing of things, but if not, have you considered finding a Peer Academic Leader (PAL)? PALs are a diverse group of undergraduate students at SMU who have been dedicating their time to help their peers navigate academics.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to meet them, have no fear! They have plenty of upcoming events on the books to help you succeed.

All students are expected to use Degre Planner, so visit one of the PAL workshops this month to start, update, and complete your plan! Degree Planner workshops are on the following dates. RSVP’s are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome:

If you can’t make it to any of these, book a one-on-one appointment with a PAL during their office hours, and they’re happy to help! Whether it’s at Laura Lee Blanton Building, Suite 100, or anywhere else on campus, they’re excited to PAL around!

Melina Padron

Sr. Advisor for General Education

she/her/hers

O: 214-768-6559

melinap@smu.edu

Office of General Education; Student Academic Engagement & Success

Office of the Provost

SMU

6185 Airline Road

Dallas, TX 75205

Categories
Office of General Education

Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

The Office of General Education and Engage Dallas requests your assistance amplifying the following community engagement opportunities with students.

On Wednesday, September 13, from the Office of General Education email, the following message was sent to all undergraduate students. Students can satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements via service with this pre-approved opportunity.

——— [ Begin Message ] ———-

From: Office of General Education (gened@smu.edu)

Subject: Think big, do good with Engage Dallas, and satisfy two Common Curriculum requirements

Engage Dallas is a place-based community engagement initiative via SMU’s Residential Commons to address community needs focusing on South and West Dallas. The initiative is a long-term, university-wide commitment led by students to partner with local residents, organizations, and other leaders to positively impact the community. There is equal emphasis on campus and community impact stemming from the initiative.

2-in-2 Campaign

Engage Dallas is a free and easy way for students to earn two of their required proficiencies for graduation, the Community Engagement Proficiency and Experience (CEPE) and Civics & Individual Ethics proficiency (CIE) through sustained engagement with Engage Dallas. Below is a suggested path for completion of your proficiencies:

Monthly Service

To earn service hours and get connected to the Dallas community, connect with your Commons to participate in Engage Dallas monthly service events. All Engage Dallas upcoming events can be found on the Engage Dallas SMU360 page and your Residential Commons SMU360 page.

Solo Service

Engage Dallas offers solo service as a way for students to serve independently with our community partners. There are over 20 solo service opportunities ranging from art class volunteer to kennel companion to reading tutor for kids. All solo service opportunities can be found on the “Find Opportunities” page in the Engage Dallas Canvas Course under “Individual Service.” All students have a Residential Commons affiliation—Commuter students are affiliated with Boaz Commons, and Transfer Students are affiliated with Ware Commons.

#1Day4Dallas

Engage Dallas will host the 3rd annual #1Day4Dallas service event on Saturday, October 21. Breakfast, lunch, and 4 hours of direct service are included—spots are limited, so students are encouraged to register today!

Please direct any questions about Engage Dallas to engagedallas@smu.edu.

Categories
Office of General Education

Council on General Education approved updates to the Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning rubric

On Friday, September 1st, operating within its scope of authority, the Council on General Education approved an update to the Common Curriculum Critical Reasoning rubric.

Critical Reasoning was assessed for the first time in Summer 2021 by the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness. Following that round of assessment, raters recommended reviewing and revising the rubric, which they found difficult to apply in many cases. A faculty-led committee was charged to review and revise the rubric over the summer.

Further review of the rubric found that although the learning outcome for Critical Reasoning is appropriate to the components (Students will demonstrate university-level critical reasoning proficiencies through written expression), the supporting skills emphasize writing and are nearly identical to the supporting skills for Academic Writing requirement, which has a different learning outcome (Students will develop competency, clarity, coherence, and organization in their writing). Plus, writing is assessed separately under the Academic Writing, Writing, and within the academic evaluation process.

The current design of the Critical Reasoning rubric has functioned as a barrier to the development of courses outside of the Writing and Reasoning Program (WRTR), mainly because of the primary focus on academic writing in the current iteration of the rubric. Therefore, efforts to revise the Critical Reasoning rubric have been joined with this effort to expand offerings in Critical Reasoning beyond WRTR 1313, WRTR 2304, and WRTR 2306.

Common Curriculum course proposal forms and the online rubrics were updated with the newly-approved rubric.