Minnesota
State Colleges
Hennepin Technical College, Eden Prairie, April 11, 2003
History Report Summary
Facilitators: Steve Potts, Mary D'Andrea, Louise Hoxworth
Transfer Issue/problem one:
Students need advising for their major, either from faculty or counselor. A better advising environment includes History faculty.
Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem one:
Encourage and/or facilitate clear and accurate information on three levels:
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Broadest level: website connected to www.mntransfer.org, with contact information (names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses) so that students with questions regarding transferability could contact people at their destination institution.
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Regional level: regional/statewide meetings
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Campus level: campus discipline meetings
Transfer Issue/problem two:
Faculty discussion is important: among faculty members, among counselors, between two and four year institutions, and among faculty and counselors.
Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem two:
Encourage face-to-face and electronic communication on professional issues, curriculum development and transferability.
These opportunities include, and may not be limited to:
Regional History meetings with a MnSCU breakout session (possible tie-ins with regional history conferences, i.e. Northern Great Plains, Missouri Valley, and Great Lakes conferences).
History discipline workshop with CTL
Faculty awareness of transfer for various colleges
Master History email list for list serve
History discipline clearing house
Identify transfer college visits (perhaps with electronic calendar)
Highlight what History departments are doing on their campuses
History faculty can communicate with each other.
Transfer Issue/problem three:
How can we facilitate centralizing resources, and discipline and major awareness?
Strategy(s) to address transfer issue/problem three:
Establish a web site, similar to mntransfer.org, for History (and other disciplines) with multiple components. The website is a portal for the disciplines.
These components include, and may not be limited to:
Link to historical resources
Email list
Resource list (people: for research, speaking, projects)
Program requirements
History as pre-requisite to professions
Faculty mentor system
Student job list
Internship opportunity information
Student and Professional access
Accurate information
Out-reach for faculty within the MnSCU system
Weekly email to disseminate information to faculty
Encourage collaboration and exchange of ideas
Note exchange programs or internships for History students
Include state social studies standards, secondary Ed program, and individual department programs.
Limit the deep linking to three.
Summary
Communication was a major concern for the History faculty. The problems identified in the first round of identification (credit, major prerequisites, student misinformation, course begin/end dates, content), were viewed a manageable or fixable with good communication among the faculty. Communication should not be limited to electronic, face-to-face, or paper. A combination of these would be ideal.
Management of these issues should be a partnership between the discipline faculty and the system.
The group expressed a desire to work with CTL to assist with a possible state-wide discipline meeting to assist with information exchange, professional showcasing, and web-site creation.
The creation of a web-site would have the greatest impact on students and faculty. The effort to accomplish this was viewed as "easy" to accomplish, IF supported by MnSCU and/or CTL. The effort would be very difficult for individual faculty members or institutions.