MSE-PD Council
Minutes of the Meeting of April 1, 2009
WH 1002B
Present: Steve Albrechtsen, Pam Clinkenbeard, Liesl Hohenshell, Eileen Schroeder, John Stone, John
Zbikowski.
1. MSE-PD Online FAQ:
a. The items should be reworded to eliminate the simple “NO” answers.
b. The deadline for enrollment should read “August 1”, with the understanding that if a
student enrolls by that date, the student will be guaranteed a space in all the cohort
classes.
c. Discussion: Need to get information about technical details of course design and
workings of D2L courses to students ahead of time. Karen Skibba of iCITcan prepare a
resource packet, FAQs for distance-education, with information about library resources,
etc. The Danish simulation (SWIM) was a good example of this kind of material.
d. Discussion: Should we put the capstone project description online? We may need to
revise this description. Advisors need to know the nature of projects.
2. Advising in the MSE-PD online cohort
a. John Stone suggested having a chief welcoming advisor to whom all admitted students
could be assigned before switching to the advisor who would help them with capstone
project development. Until this person is identified, the committee decided that John
Zbikowski would be the default advisor for new cohort students. First contact with the
individual advisor is built into CIGENRL/EDFOUND 723 Issues Perspectives and Directions
and EDFOUND 780 Readings in Educational Research, the first two courses of the
cohort.
b. John Stone will look at funding a stipend for a contact-advisor-overseer, cohortcoordinator.
3. Emailing out the summer courses
a. The Summer PDF at the Registrar’s page is okay. The schedule of classes on WINS is
correct.
b. The list requires a lot of tightening.
4. Proposed MSE-PD emphasis in Research Administration: Steve Albrechtsen brought up this
proposal, which had been discussed some months ago but shelved because of the unlikelihood
of external funding to support development. Steve asked whether the emphasis might be
started next fall. Eileen asked whether there was a market for such an emphasis and who would
teach the courses. Katy had assumed that we would hire adjuncts for this.
5. Format of Online Courses/back to the FAQ
a. We need to sell the fact that there is a lot of variety.
b. Don’t advertise that the classes are in an 8-week format.
c. Don’t have set times for activities. “You will work on course work at your convenience.
You may find it useful to set aside a few specific times per week to meet weekly
deadlines.”
d. Faculty teaching the cohort classes each semester need to get together and talk about
how their classes will fit together.
e. Do not frighten students with the number of hours required (the official formula is
based on a 40-hour work week, 150 minutes per week X 16 weeks; 18 clock hours per
week)
6. EDUINDP 724, 726, 727.
a. S/NC for 724: Pat Shaw, now teaching EDUINDP 724, has reminded us that EDUINDP 724
Planning for Change is currently on the books as a graded course by default with
Satisfactory/No Credit a student option. The intention when the program was
developed was to have this be a Satisfactory/No Credit course only. John Zbikowski will
write a curriculum proposal to change the grading basis to S/NC.
b. Advising checklist: Liesl has drafted a checklist indicating all the steps for students in
their work with advisors through the core courses, with spaces for advisor initials.
c. Sequence of the one-credit advising courses:
i. EDUINDP 726 Capstone Advising I should be taken simultaneously with
EDUINDP 724 Planning for Change.
ii. EDUINDP 727 Capstone Advising II is intended to provide guidance for students
while they carry out the project and write it up. They are supposed to have
something written up when they start 789. Note that in the online flow chart
727 shows up before the Capstone Seminar. Advisors should encourage
students to take this course before the Capstone Seminar. Advisors should note
that advising students about their projects is part of their responsibility even
when students are not enrolled in EDUINDP 726 or 727.
7. Recruiting for the program: Eileen suggested contacting the big school districts—MPS, Green
Bay, etc. Steve Albrechtsen cautioned that there may be UW-System rules restricting where
we can recruit. John Zbikowski will ask John Stone (who had to leave early today) to which CESA
the post card was sent and whether the range of advertising could be extended. Courses can
also be advertised on the QEI website.
8. Tasks for members not covered above:
a. John Zbikowski will send the list of summer courses to John Stone. Use the PDF, just
copy and drop in.
b. Liesl will run the advising checklist by Pat Shaw. 724 and 789 will be revised to what we
discussed.
c. Eileen will send the most recent Advisor FAQ to John Zbikowski and Liesl so that they
can make the presentation at the C&I meeting Friday.
d. Eileen and Pam will contact John to remind him about the summer courses.
e. Steve will send descriptions of the HPERC courses to John Z.