February 2023 Update

Happy 2023! Welcome to our first newsletter of the new year, in which you will find the latest developments and initiatives within our division.

First, there are a few updates on the staff. I'm pleased to welcome Catherine (Kate) Buckhorn to join our Office of Accessibility and Inclusion as the new OAI Assistant. Her knowledge and skills in the field make her a great asset to the college. Cassie Dows, Assistant to the Dean of Instructional Innovation, recently left NPC to pursue a career in K-12 education. She has graciously agreed to work on a temporary, part-time basis to assist in the transition to a new DII Assistant. I’d like to thank Cassie for her service. It was a great pleasure working with her and she will be greatly missed! Luann Crosby, Interim Director of Library Services has accepted the offer to become Director of Library Services starting February 15. She will continue to lead the library team to provide quality services for our learning communities.

Second, our division continues to provide academic support and partnerships in collaboration with our internal and external stakeholders. These initiatives include OER grant, HyFlex pilot, AGEC redesign, ERP selection, LinkedIn Learning, Testing Services Task Force, library databases for 4-year programs, Perkins funding for new CTE programs, student success and course scheduling tools funded by FIPSE, High School Partners’ Convocation, potential partnership with AAECHS, and Innovation of the Year Award. Continue to read the newsletter for more details about these projects.

One of the important tasks each spring is the development of the Academic Calendar. This is a complex, collaborative project that requires thoughtful consideration of various needs to support students, instruction and different programs. The first draft of the 2025-2026 Academic Calendar will be ready this month for the shared governance groups and our high school partners to review. For more information about the development process, see IC Guidelines for Academic Calendars.

Last but not least, a recent discussion (and a very hot topic) I had with our colleagues is ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool launched by OpenAI in November 2022. Because of its “superhuman” ability to imitate human writing and solve math and coding problems using large language models, the AI-powered chatbot has raised concerns about academic integrity in higher education. The advancement in AI and other disruptive technology has prompted us to think about responsible and ethical use of technology, new ways of assessing learning outcomes, and most importantly, our ability to respond to and prepare for a fast-changing workforce. As Temple University President Jason Wingard (2022) writes, “The key to retaining the value of a degree from your own institution is ensuring your graduates have the skills to change with any market. This means that we must tweak and adapt our curriculum at least every single year.” This may be some food for thought as we discuss AGEC redesign and other changes along the way.

Wei Ma, PhD
Dean of Instructional Innovation
Read other Messages from the Dean

Reference

Wingard, J. (2022, August 16). Higher ed must change or die. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/08/16/higher-ed-must-change-or-die-opinion