University of North Florida | Academic Affairs | Undergraduate Studies
www.unf.edu/acadaffairs/undergrad/
The Undergraduate Studies Newsletter
Spring 2009
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HappeningsA Whole New Mind is Chosen as UNF Reads! Book Selection |
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Introducing Dr. Mark Falbo, Director of Center for Community-Based LearningIn February 2009, Dr. Mark Fablo joined the University of North Florida as the Director of the newly-created Center for Community-Based Learning. Prior to coming to UNF he served as an Assistant Professor at the College of Mt. St. Joseph, in Cincinnati, OH. In this position he incorporated community-based learning pedagogies into the courses that he taught in the religious and pastoral studies department. In 1992 he became the founding director of John Carroll University’s Center for Community Service in Cleveland, OH. Most recently he was the Program Director for an association of 14 non-profit social service organizations in Cleveland, OH. He has worked both inside higher education and in the non-profit community, especially in domestic and international neighborhoods struggling to meet basic human needs, and overcome natural and human-made disasters. As the Director for the Center for Community-Based Learning, Dr. Falbo will be intensely involved with bringing to fruition the goals of the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that was recently presented to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The QEP that UNF has adopted is Community-Based Transformational Learning, which promotes engaged learning in authentic community-based settings through faculty/student research projects, internships, fieldwork, co-ops, and service learning. Transformational learning at UNF has been defined as a learning opportunity that potentially enriches or augments student learning and personal development. Recently, the following questions were posed to Dr. Falbo and his responses are listed below… 1. What caused you to become interested in leading the development of UNF’s Center for Community-Based Learning? After reading the QEP, I was impressed with the efforts UNF has undertaken to live its civic mission. I was impressed with the breath of vision, including community-based learning pedagogies included in all the colleges of the university, the inclusion of Student Affairs as an educational co-partner, and the insight that transformational learning happens both locally and internationally. I was also looking forward to the challenge of building on the foundations that have been laid at UNF and focusing these opportunities to make a difference in Jacksonville’s neighborhoods as well as partnering with others to make a difference in rural and urban neighborhoods across international boundaries. 2. What are some reasons that you would give to students as to the importance of becoming engaged with their community? First of all, we need to acknowledge that students already are engaged in “their community” as peers, consumers, employees, taxpayers, voters, veterans, and as the beneficiary and consumers of public support, such as discounted tuition for public education, subsidized student loans, federal work study funds, Pell Grants, etc. Some of our students have demonstrated public support through their prior public service and are now the beneficiaries of the new GI Bill or AmeriCorps education awards. Relative to the importance of being engaged, there are two questions students should ask as well as faculty and other co-educators: first, in what ways ought we act in our communities, our agency in society? How extensive is our appreciation of the communities we are a part of and our understanding of how these communities are linked? A public education should assist students in broadening their appreciation of the local and global communities we all are embedded in, and deepen their understanding of how conditions and realities that shape and limit these communities. The purpose of community engagement pedagogies is to close the distance, so to speak, between the learner and those in the community the learner encounters. Community based learning is not about becoming better dispassionate observers of the struggles of others, nor is it about patronizing others; it is about realizing our connection to others and allowing that discovery and critically reflecting on the knowledge that comes from our studies to transform us as students or faculty members. Second, an education that, in part, intentionally engages students in a variety of communities and neighborhoods which may or may not look like the ones she or he grew up in, is a critical part of higher education, especially an education supported with public funds. In this economy, in the dark shadows of government and corporate elites’ obvious disconnect between their sense of entitlement and the consequences of their actions (or inaction), the public has much higher expectation for their investment in higher education. Through accountability structures like accreditation agencies, the public expects a university will provide its students with intellectually and professional competence, and civic competence, as briefly described above. 3. What are your goals for the Center for Community Based Learning? My goal for the Center for Community Based Learning is to create an center that will promote and support UNF as it fulfills its mission of educating students intellectually, culturally, and as citizens who are prepared and capable of making “significant contributions to their communities in the region and beyond.”
Undergraduate Academic Enrichment Program Merges with Honors Program |
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TLO Spotlights
Students Conduct Poll of America's YouthIn Fall 2009, students across the university had the opportunity to participate in Dr. Paul Harwood's TLO "Campaign 2008: The Political Engagement of America's Youth." The goal of this TLO was to teach students the importance of political and civic engagement. First, students enrolled in the course Political
and Civic This TLO provided 4 key aspects of transformational learning: leadership experience, undergraduate research experience, direct field experience, and learning communities to shape student development. As a result of this TLO, many doors have opened for students to be further enriched. John Zogby reviewed the work of the students and noted that this TLO project was an excellent opportunity for University of North Florida students. He has also agreed to set up an internship with the University of North Florida and one student from the project will receive the first internship. Also, two students will present their research paper at the Florida Political Science Association Conference this spring. Additionally, the TLO project and the class received local and national media coverage. Finally, this TLO project has encouraged some of the students to pursue data collection as a career. TLO Grants Assist Students Traveling to ConferencesThis year, several outstanding students have been invited to present their research, participate in, or be recognized at various conferences. The Office of Undergraduate Studies has awarded TLO grants to several of them in order to assist them in taking advantage of these transformational learning opportunities. Some of the students who have been supported by the Office of Undergraduate Studies include: Neil Vaughan-- 14th Annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Conference
Derrick Robinson-- Eastern Economic Association Annual Meeting
Emmanuel Rodriguez-- Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting
Samantha Neff, Karlie Stoner, Sara Coker, Leann Ferguson-- Florida Campus Compact Service Learning Conference Chalaine Baker--Presidential Inaugural Conference Rachel McCandless--Clinton Global Initiative Gary Greenstein--2009 National Collegiate Wind Ensemble Sarah Thiele--Global Engagement Summit To view the abstracts associated with the student research projects please visit the Undergraduate Studies website. |
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American Democracy Project Spring EventsUpcoming Spring events:
Past Spring events:
Additional events that the ADP Steering Committee have encouraged students, faculty, and staff to attend:
For more information about the American Democracy Project at UNF please visit our website at http://www.unf.edu/acadaffairs/undergrad/adp/ADP_home.html.
Children Read Across the UNF Green for Read Across America Day The morning began with a reading of The Cat in the Hat given by the cat in the hat himself! Thing One and Thing Two also made special guest appearances. About 40 student-volunteers read "Green Eggs and Ham" to the children in small groups. The Swoop Squad was on hand to teach the children how to "swoop" and to give tours of the campus from the UNF Green. The children were given goodie bags with a free book, which was made possible through the Heart of America Foundation and the Honors Student Union. This event was sponsored by the Honors Program, the Volunteer Center (which is an agency of Student Government) and the American Democracy Project. In addition to its goals of raising student awareness about public and international affairs, and promoting student political participation, the ADP seeks to encourage civic and community engagement among students. |
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Undergraduate Studies Council UpdateThe mission of the Undergraduate Studies Council is to advance the goals of the university as they pertain to excellence in undergraduate education, undergraduate student learning, and undergraduate student development and academic services. The Council has three working sub-committees: Faculty Advising, Retention, and the First-Year Experience. Retention Sub-Committee Report Results of Retention Focus GroupsThe retention sub-committee put forth a recommendation for the development of courses that facilitate retention, such as healthy living, crisis management, maintaining a personal budget, or individual health issues. This sub-commitee would like to see the proposed courses count toward a general education requirement. First Year Experience Sub-Committee Revitalizes FIG ProgramFirst Year Experience sub-committee spent time in the Fall looking at ways to make the FIG (freshman interest group) program sustainable and scalable. The new configuration for FIGs will include: sections of ENC 1101 that are connected to one section of various large (100+ students) lecture courses such as Sex, Race, and Social Class. The faculty members in both the ENC1101 class and the large lecture course will be aware that there are groups of students who are in these linked courses and will use their discretion in how to best take advantage of these linkages. The sub-committee is also gearing up for the 2nd year of the UNF Reads! Program. This year the program has shifted from being a “freshman” reading program to a “common” reading program to encompass the sophomores and other members of the campus community who will also be encouraged to participate in reading and discussing the text. The book that has been selected for the program is A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink. The sub-committee also put forth a proposal to expand Week of Welcome to include academic programming. The Undergraduate Studies Council gave their endorsement of the proposal that Week of Welcome include more academic programming and begin earlier. This proposal and endorsement were communicated to the President and Provost. Faculty Advising Sub-Committee Reviews Undergraduate Coordinator ProgramThis Fall the Faculty Advising sub-committee discussed the pilot program for undergraduate coordinators, including how to assess the program and what should be expected from the coordinators at the end of the year. They are seeking to gather information on which programs are fulfilling some of the capacities of the undergraduate coordinator in an unofficial way. The sub-committee is going to explore compensation options for individuals who participate in the program in order to increase the program’s viability and attract more faculty members to participate. They also plan to obtain data from Institutional Research to help with planning the program.
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Archive
OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIESwww.unf.edu/acadaffairs/undergrad/index.htm1 UNF DriveJacksonville, Florida 32246Building 1, Suite 1220(904) 620-2994undergrad.studies@unf.edu |
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The Transformational Learning Opportunities (TLO) Program, impacts students' intellectual and professional development, while giving them a potentially life-changing experience. Below are a few spotlights from the TLO Program. Each Fall semester, faculty and staff are invited to apply for funds to support creative and potentially transformative experiences for students. For more information about the program please visit the 
Engagement: Polling the Public solicited questions from the UNF student body, which became the basis for the survey that the students developed. The data were
collected at the Public Opinion Research Laboratory by students from a variety of classes across campus, making this TLO a campus wide learning experience. The analysis of the data was done in the Polling the Public class and several of the
courses which helped to collect the data. Also, each student completed an individual research paper on civic engagement. 
On March 2, 2009 UNF held it's first Read Across America event on the UNF Green. The National Education Association's Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss. At UNF students had the opportunity to volunteer to read to children who came to campus from local schools and early learning centers.