SMHEC Regional Faculty Development Conference

SMHEC (South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium) is a partnership of several colleges, universities, and community colleges in the South Chicago area – visit the SMHEC website here.  On Oct. 11, 2019, SMHEC held its second annual Regional Faculty Development conference in Joliet, IL.  I served on the planning team for the conference, and I would like to describe a few sessions I attended.

Main Theme

The main focus of the conference was on closing the achievement gap.  The title of the conference was “Closing the Graduation Gap Across Racial and Socio-Economic Groups.”  The topic was inspired by the number of SMHEC institutions that are participating in the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (ILEA).  According to its website, ILEA’s goal is “to eliminate racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps.”  This theme could be seen throughout the conference by the number of sessions that focused on the topics of diversity, inclusion, access, support, and success in higher education.

Keynote:  Anton Lewis

The keynote speaker was Anton Lewis, Accounting Professor at Valparaiso University.  His presentation focused on the need for faculty (and other students) to reach across cultural differences and embrace diversity.

His presentation began with a description of his own inter-cultural experience in the U.S.  This section of his presentation was also the topic of his TED Talk “From Britain With Love.  Dr. Lewis also spoke about the impact stereotypes and perceptions can have on minority students.  One of the most interesting take-away points for me was that admission into a college is not the same as embracing a student’s culture.

Technology Breakout Session

One of the sessions I attended featured two technology platforms.  One of the platforms was Adobe Spark.  Adobe Spark is a web-based presentation platform (similar to Google Sites or Office Sway) that can incorporate text, links, images, and videos on a single page.  The Adobe Spark presentation can be converted to a PDF, or it can be “published” and a link can be shared with students.  The presenter demonstrated how a new document could be created, and she showed a few examples she has used.

The second technology presentation demonstrated Canvas’s in-video quizzing.  This is a new feature in Canvas Studio that allows quiz questions to be in-bedded in a video.  The presenter showed data from the video’s viewing history to show that students watched the whole video when quiz questions were embedded; when the video didn’t have quiz questions, students eventually stopped watching.  The video quiz encourages students to instructional videos, and this makes the online content more valuable.

Supporting Students as Parents

The final session I attended described the challenges of students who have children, and it provided suggestions for supporting these students.

According to the presentation, around 20% of undergraduate students are raising children, and, of these, about 20% are single parents.  Around 66% of students who are parents are also working.  Because of children and work, these students don’t have extra time (and maybe not enough time) for academic work and extra-curricular activities.  These students are also sleep-deprived, and that can heighten their levels of anxiety and stress, which can influence their academic work as well.

Additionally, these students face a number of systemic difficulties they cannot control.  Many schools either don’t offer on-campus childcare, or they are cutting back on services.  Many students also pay high costs for daycare and childcare.  According to the presentation, the average infant care in Illinois is $13,000, and the average childcare is $10,000.  According to the presentation, these costs are higher than in other states, and the cost of childcare accounts for a larger portion of the student’s paycheck.

The presentation suggested a number of ways to support students with children.  The most beneficial way would be to provide on-campus childcare.  Others ways are to provide additional services (such as specialized on-campus counseling or lactation rooms) or specialized information about community services for parents.  Other examples of support include flexible course schedules, family-friendly library rooms, scholarships and financial support for parents, group discounts on childcare services, and an overall family-friendly teaching environment that doesn’t penalize students when they miss class because of emergencies with kids.

 

Lirim Neziroski, Ph.D., MBA is an academic leader at a liberal arts university in the Chicago area.  He is an expert at curriculum development, assessment, academic technology, and strategic planning.  Contact Lirim for additional resources and for speaking, consulting, and writing opportunities.