1: Student Success

Provide Students with the Tools to Succeed

Other Information:

Advance an innovative and engaging learning environment for student success. Develop pedagogical models that foster creative learning, encourage student independence, enable inspired teaching, and make the best use of new technologies. Create a University Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence as an outgrowth from the current Center for Learning Technologies (CLT) where pedagogy and content experts will provide faculty with modern tools for enhanced pedagogical effectiveness. Enhance student academic success through targeted initiatives by departments, colleges, and the university, that provide greater attention to effective advising and assistance for students with academic deficiencies. Offer attractive and effective learning environments and expand opportunities for high achieving students. Create a Student Success Center and a Learning Commons as enhancements to the Perry Library that will integrate the library, information technology and University College services, instruction, and assistance to foster student creativity and experimentation and help students develop skills to improve their personal and professional success. Rationale: We continually look for ways to improve the student learning experience, particularly given that we serve many non-traditional student populations, including members of the military and military spouses, returning adults, working students, and learners at a distance. Our faculty has developed award-winning programs in instructional development through our existing CLT that can be of great benefit to the entire teaching faculty and graduate teaching assistants. As we become a more residential campus, we need to offer a stimulating learning environment for students both during and out of class hours. Our high-achieving undergraduate students seek rewarding and relevant academic opportunities that will assist them in their future graduate experiences and professional careers. The availability of creative technologies encourages students to explore and experiment. We can facilitate student success through a modern and attractive Learning Commons that will provide a learning-centered environment with associated technology in support of the pedagogy and research needs of our students. We also seek to strengthen support services for those students needing assistance in meeting the challenges of contemporary higher education. Our planned Student Success Center will consolidate all of the support services that students need, including general academic advising and counseling, testing services, and internship, co-op, and career services, into one central location that has a natural flow-through to the library and the effective workspaces of the Learning Commons. Measures of Success: 1. Targeted workshops and training emphasizing teaching freshmen and other first-time college students developed by Fall 2010. 2. Improved teaching evaluations for Adjuncts, Lecturers, and Graduate Teaching Assistants from baseline 2009-2010 data. 3. Increased faculty participation in existing programs and annual increase in faculty use of technology to enhance teaching effectiveness. Assessment instruments indicate faculty members and students perceive long-term effectiveness of program. 4. Improved overall student satisfaction surveys, by department and College

Stakeholder(s):

• Students at Old Dominion University

Objective(s):

1.A: Teaching Excellence

1.B: Advising and Academic Support

1.C: Learning Environment

1.D: High-Achievement Opportunities

Content