October is a busier month than normal at CSU!
Faculty and Staff are putting the finishing touches on our preparations for the 2012 Open House and Commencement Ceremonies to be held on Oct. 18 and 19 here in Orange Beach, Ala. We are so excited to have more than 500 graduates and their families and friends joining us for this special event; traveling from near and far, from over 40 states and several countries. We are honored that our graduates have chosen CSU to be a part of their educational journey.
CSU will be holding our Open House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. It’s always wonderful to see so many faces, talk with students, and hear their stories. Students will tour our great facility and place we call home. After the Open House, there will be a CSU Alumni Association reception at the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion at 5:30 p.m. A little Southern hospitality awaits our visiting graduates.
On Friday, the graduation ceremony promises to be memorable and will feature many distinguished guests. We look forward to the company of our adjunct faculty from various states, the CSU Board of Trustees, Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, Alabama State Rep. Steve McMillian and State Senator Tripp Pittman. Our keynote speaker will be Andy Andrews, a New York Times best-selling author, who will bring an inspirational message.
David Dickey
On a related note, I am very pleased to share with you that Dr. David Dickey, one of our esteemed professors from the College of Business, was recently presented the Robert G. Mayes Sr. Distinguished Faculty of the Year Award. This is a great honor as the winner is selected by our student body as the faculty member who best exemplifies the mission of the university. You can learn more about Dr. Dickey in next month’s Communicator.
We enjoy having our adjunct faculty on-campus for quarterly visits and we recently had an outstanding group of faculty members from the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences on-campus on Oct. 10 and 11 for training. It’s always a delight to connect with our faculty who we don’t see day to day.
The university continues to move forward with our mission to change and improve lives through higher education. There are several initiatives in the works now that will have a positive impact on you in the near future and I will highlight just a few significant strides in technology. We are piloting a new Per Course Model that offers improved interaction between and among students and the course professor while discussing real-life issues related to each course. The model also includes a progressive release feature that will guide students through the learning process while continuing to create a positive learning environment through quality faculty support and feedback.
In addition, there will soon be more proctoring options to include Remote Proctor Now (RP Now), an on-demand, third-party, virtual proctor which allows students to sit for an examination anytime, anywhere through use of video technology. Our student portal features are being extensively expanded with more self-service options, to include additional automation within the Registrar’s Office, Office of Financial Aid as well as Faculty Services.
We are piloting social media technology that integrates Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and text messaging within the Blackboard course to increase communication and engagement between faculty and students. We are also in the developmental phase of adding Communities within Blackboard to enhance collaboration among groups.
There are many exciting advancements being made that will enrich the learning experience. We are so glad you are a part of it!
See you there!
Having attended the CSU graduation process in 2010, I can only image the excitement that others are going to have. I’m now attending the MBA program, I can’t wait to attend a second time!