University Spotlight
Purdue Global to Celebrate Graduates During Feb. 17 Commencement
Nearly 1,200 Purdue Global graduates will celebrate their accomplishments Saturday, Feb. 17, during Purdue Global’s Winter 2024 Commencement. In-person ceremonies are scheduled for 10 am and 1 pm CT (11 am and 2 pm ET) at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, followed by a virtual ceremony at 4 pm CT (5 pm ET). More than 5,500 graduates, guests and staff are expected to attend.
The graduates represent 49 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands and include 44 Indiana residents and 247 residents from Texas. Eleven countries are represented, including Aruba, the Bahamas, Canada, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain and Turkey. There are 250 graduates affiliated with the military, including active-duty personnel, veterans and family members. Nine Purdue University systemwide employees will participate in the ceremony. Currently, 208 Purdue employees are working on their degree or certificate via the Purdue Global education benefit. Read more about commencement weekend.
PG News and Updates
Recapping Purdue Global Learning Assistant’s First Week
The Purdue Global Learning Assistant (PGLA) is a first-of-its-kind conversational AI embedded within Brightspace, designed (to date) to help students navigate their courses and understand course policies.
Since its official launch on January 31, 2024, the PGLA has engaged in conversations with 32 different students, or about five percent of the 659 students enrolled in classes equipped with the PGLA. This student engagement resulted in 101 distinct conversations in which the PGLA responded to student prompts. As expected, the level of engagement so far is low, however, with continued communication and encouragement from faculty and word of mouth, we anticipate greater levels of student participation in the coming weeks.
While introductory engagement has been low, we have faculty already reporting benefits where the PGLA is reducing the burden on faculty for common start-of-term student questions. At a recent CTL Live event, faculty members Jonathan Cardew and Melissa Bahle, who are instructors in PGLA pilot sections, commented that they have seen a noticeable reduction in emails for the first week of the course. This is encouraging feedback and the reason why Version 1.0 was focused on course navigation and policy knowledge.
In one notable early conversation, a student asked the PGLA for help with spelling. The student wrote, “I have always struggled with spelling and grammar. I don’t feel confident about my spelling since a young age. I took many extra classes that my school offered, but it never helped much. I would get pulled out of class to work on practicing writing and reading. I struggle trying to find the right words as well. I never know what to write and sometimes I feel like it takes me days to write a simple paragraph. My friend loves story making and she invited me to write with some of her friends. I was intimidated by this because in high school they were in honors and ACP English. They made me feel a bit more confident with my writing over time, but I still struggle with sharing what I’ve written. I feel embarrassed about my grammar and spelling. Can you check my spelling?”
The Project Team was inspired by this question as the PGLA is intended to provide a stigma-free experience that improves the student's self-efficacy, feelings of recognition, and learning motivation. Research has informed our work and examples like this provide fact-based proof that we are on the right track with the PGLA. We are excited for our next versions of the application where the PGLA could offer a link to Grammarly or, more simply, offer a spell check to this student at exactly the right time and place in their learning journey.
Finally, please stay tuned! As we learn more about student engagement with the PGLA, we will post periodic updates in future Monday Minutes.
Virginia Gay Hospital Joins Educational Alliance with Purdue Global
Purdue Global has signed an educational alliance agreement with Virginia Gay Hospital, bringing broad-based educational opportunities with tuition reduction to staff and their family members.
“The Purdue Global School of Nursing is excited to begin our partnership with Virginia Gay Hospital,” said Melissa Burdi, Purdue Global Vice President and Dean of the School of Nursing. “We are eager to provide our programs and resources to their staff and their families to build life-long learning opportunities for the hospital and community.” Learn more about this newest partnership.
February: Love Your Data, Protect Your Privacy
Purdue Global (PG) IT wants to remind everyone to stay alert and strive to protect their accounts and personal information. Email security is a top priority for our organization, and all faculty and staff must be well-informed about the threats of spam and phishing emails. Phishing emails are deceptive messages designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information. These emails often impersonate trusted entities to gain your trust. The attacks are intentionally sneaky and seemingly trustworthy, often appearing to be sent by someone affiliated with PG, possibly in your contacts. PG routinely conducts phishing campaigns to test users and enhance awareness.
Here are a few signs that this email is a hoax:
The email has a generic greeting. like "Dear User" instead of your name.
It claims that your account is suspended due to a billing issue, aiming to create urgency and prompt you to act hastily without scrutinizing the content—phishing emails commonly exhibit misspellings, grammar mistakes, or peculiar language.
The email invites you to click a link to update your payment details.
While actual companies might communicate with you by email, legitimate companies won’t email or text with a link to update your payment information. Always verify the sender's email address against the organization's official domain. Legitimate entities refrain from using generic addresses like @gmail.com for official correspondence. If you suspect that your account has been compromised, promptly report it.
Across the University
Purdue Global Couple Celebrates Their Love for Their Work and Each Other
For four decades, David and Miranda Brand have followed each other across multiple countries and states, adding chapters to their continuing love story.
But what makes their story even more special is the opportunity to work together each day, teaching and leading adult learners at Purdue Global.
Working remotely from their home in Houston, David and Miranda consider their time together — nearly 20 years at Purdue Global — as a privilege and something they shouldn’t take for granted.
“The key to our successful marriage has been mutual respect and being true partners in the relationship — from ordinary day-to-day decisions to child-rearing and long-term goal setting,” David says. Read more about the Brands.
Faculty Senate Meeting Recap
The Faculty Senate met on January 3, 2024, and the following items were discussed:
Forbes Article discussion with Chancellor Frank Dooley
University Updates with Provost Jon Harbor
Senate Acknowledgement of Provost
OnRamp Initiative
Adjunct Workload and Compensation
Vote on Rank and Promotion
Statement regarding FT Faculty Workload
The meeting minutes and more information about the senate can be found on the Faculty Senate Website.
Be a Sweetheart and Sign up for The Challenge 5K!
This Valentine’s Day, be a sweetheart and sign up for The Challenge 5K!
Run/walk on your own or with a colleague and loved ones. Dedicate a donation or give a 5K entry as a Valentine’s Day gift! Make a copy and personalize this Valentine’s Day Note. The Challenge 5K T-shirts will be scheduled to arrive in April.
The Purdue University Office of Special Events invites us to take our next giant leap by participating in The Challenge 5K to support the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. The Purdue Global Ambassadors have created a virtual team, so Purdue Global employees can participate from anywhere and support the cause together. This activity will continue now and throughout the month of April.
How to participate:
Each participant can register and join the Purdue Global Ambassadors Team; the cost is $35
Complete the 5K and this form
Post a picture on the 5K Padlet
Registration includes a 2024 Challenge 5K T-shirt. Cancer survivors may receive a 'SURVIVOR' T-shirt by selecting the corresponding option upon registration. In order to be sent a T-shirt, you must register by April 1, 2024.
More details about joining the Purdue Global Ambassadors’ 5K team can be found on the Purdue Global Ambassadors site. Information about the 2024 Challenge 5K on April 13 event can be found here. Send questions to pgambassadors@purdueglobal.edu.
Student Cheyenne Hirt-Lee Traces Ancestry on PBS Documentary
A few years ago, Professional Studies student Cheyenne Hirt-Lee took an ancestry DNA test, and months later, was connected to many distant relatives. She had the chance to meet award-winning Film Producer Byron Hurt, who was filming a documentary about an ancestor the two had in common. In November 2023, PBS aired a documentary on their series PBS NOVA about genealogy, science, and family roots. Cheyenne appears at the 24:30 mark.
The Gauge - Last Call for Submissions
The Gauge is happy to announce that the call for submissions for the 2024 Winter Issues is open until February 16, 2024.
For this issue, the theme is "Changing Climates" and can focus on weather/earth, mental, societal, unconventional climates, and more. Let your imagination and inspiration take the wheel and submit to one or more of the following genres:
Fiction
Microfiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Photography
The Gauge editors look forward to seeing your submission. If you have questions or would like to set up a brainstorming chat with our Creativity Coach, please email the Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Green, at BGreen@purdueglobal.edu.
Pride@ Purdue Global Ally Coffee Talk
Please join the Pride@ Purdue Global Ally Coffee Talk on Friday, February 16 at 12:00 pm ET. This month the group will be discussing ways to help parents of children struggling with gender identity. Articles to help start the conversation are included below. Hope to see you there!
How to Support a Child on the Transgender Spectrum
How to Support Your Child Exploring Their Gender Identity
Starting Conversations with Your Kids about Gender Identity and Sexuality
A Note From GetSet
Check out this week's post from GetSet, a student-facing virtual community where our students can network, interact, and support one another. This is a great example of our students' hopes, dreams, and a reminder of why we do what we do.
Upcoming Events
Check out more information about upcoming events on the Purdue Global Calendar.
Monday, February 12
11:00 am ET
Join this Purdue Global-wide meditation session to help foster self-care to better serve your family, students, and colleagues. Meditation sessions are open to all at Purdue Global; experience is not required. Students may access the link to enter via announcements in PG411 Help! Student Success Connection.
2:00 pm ET
Verse & Vision: Nurturing Creativity in Teaching & Well-being - Microfiction
Verse & Vision is a transformative professional development series inviting faculty and staff to explore the profound impact of creativity on teaching strategies and personal well-being. Each session offers a blend of collaborative workshops and dedicated writing time, empowering participants to harness their inner storytellers while nurturing teaching methods and fostering a balanced, creative life in education.
Tuesday, February 13
12:00 pm ET
The Great Breakout Room Adventure: Exploring Breakout Rooms In Zoom
Join this interactive session about using breakout rooms in Zoom for course seminars at Purdue Global.
3:00 pm ET
The re-launch of the Humanities Book Club will feature Martin Pritikin, the Dean of Purdue Global Law School, who wrote a great book, Scrute. Scrute is described as "between Wonder, Harry Potter and Wayside School, Scrute mixes the realistic and the fantastical in a way that will make both kids and adults laugh." In this first event, which will be part book discussion and part Q&A, Dean Pritikin will talk about his books, his writing process, and offer encouragement for others to follow their writing goals. All are encouraged to read the book before attending.