September 2005

In This Issue

• Budget
• International Initiatives 
• E-portfolios
• Teaching Portfolios
• Summer School Cancellation Deadlines
• UW-L OPID Representative
• 7 Rivers Region Fulbright Association
• UW System Data on Family Income and Socioeconomic Mix 

Budget

The current budget decision-making timeline & process, budget reduction guiding principles, and operational efficiencies and improvements planning documents are all on-line at http://www.uwlax.edu/budget/reductionhome.htm.  

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International Initiatives

The Provost’s Office would like to announce two important follow-ups to the recommendations from last year’s Task Force on Academic Initiatives in International Education*. The task force indicated the need for a “select” committee on internationalization to follow through on the action steps recommended. The Select Committee on Internationalization** has been formed and will be chaired by Lise Graham (Finance).

The Provost’s Office has also created a new webpage that captures the many and varied international activities and opportunities here at UW-L. Please visit http://www.uwlax.edu/provost/pvchome/international.htm.

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E-portfolios

On Thursday, October 6 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Wing 104, Matt Bartel from Digital Measures will be presenting on e-portfolios and responding to questions. All interested faculty and staff are invited to the demonstration. In addition, they can visit the product’s website at http://www.digitalmeasures.com/htmdocs/activity_connect.html.

A task force looking into e-portfolios chaired by Bruce May*** put forward a recommendation for UW-L to initiate e-portfolios with software from Digital Measures. The report is available at http://www.uwlax.edu/provost/pvchome/Committees/eportfolios.pdf. The university will move toward electronic portfolios for annual reports and accreditation reports and hopes to move toward e-portfolios for retention and promotion purposes. Furthermore, individuals interested in developing teaching portfolios may also avail themselves of the software in the future (see below).

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Teaching Portfolios

A group of faculty are holding a follow-up to Peter Seldin’s workshop of teaching portfolios. The UW-L Colloquia on Teaching and Learning Planning Committee (Scott Cooper, Terry Beck, Sandy Grunwald, Deb Hoskins, Lisa Giddings, Boon Murray) group will be holding four meetings throughout the year. Individuals will be nominated for participaton by their department chairs. Please recall that if you are interested, you must contact Scott Cooper by Thursday September 29, 2005. 

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Summer School Cancellation Deadlines

The Deans have agreed that the latest summer school classes should be cancelled is one-week prior to the start of each term.  Instructors should encourage students to enroll in summer school early to help more effective decision making regarding cancellation.  Data suggest that 88% of undergraduates who enroll for Summer Sessions 1, 2, or 3 have enrolled prior to May 15. Students will have to pay $100 for Summer registration just as they do for Fall and Spring registration.

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UW-L OPID Representative

Terry Beck has agreed to serve as UW-L’s Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) Representative. Terry has been a Teaching Scholar and has attended many OPID events throughout his career. One of his goals is to give OPID programs and events more visibility on campus. The UW System website for OPID can be found at http://www.uwsa.edu/opid/.  UW-L instructors should also recall the good resources available at the Advancing Teaching, Learning, & Assessment (ATLAS) page found at http://www.uwlax.edu/atlas/.

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7 Rivers Region Fulbright Association

The inaugural chapter meeting for the 7 Rivers Region Fulbright Association will be held on Thursday, October 13 from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in Port O’ Call, Cartwright Center. Dr. Christopher Squier, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Iowa will address "The Challenges and Opportunities in Global Tobacco Control." The National Office of the Fulbright Association has recently authorized this new chapter that will represent the tri-state region of Western Wisconsin, Southeastern Minnesota, and Northeastern Iowa.  Interested students, faculty, staff, community members, and former Fulbrighters are invited to attend and should contact Gary Gilmore (gilmore.gary@uwlax.edu) with questions.

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UW System Data on Family Income and Socioeconomic Mix

As would be expected, in the last decade the UW System has seen a significant rise in the median family income of UW students. Between 1992 and 2003, median annual incomes in Wisconsin rose from $39,000 to $55,000.  In the UW System, median incomes rose from $38,000 to $57,000, and at UW-L, the numbers were $40,000 to $67,000.  However, the UW System has also seen a shift in the mix of the family incomes of our students. By analyzing the data in quintiles, the researchers are able to indicate the percent of students in the lowest and low-medium categories. In 1992 at UW-L, 36% of our incoming freshmen came from the bottom two quintiles, in 2003, only 22%. 

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*International Taskforce: Ruthann Benson (Chair), Gary Gilmore, Jon Hageseth, Tom Hench, Eric Kraemer, Jay Lokken, Marica Naber, Barbara Rusterholz, Dean Stroud, James Wiener and Dorothy Zeisler-Vralsted.