Tara Wertz

We do a ton of on campus activities, food drive, 3 blood drives a year, phone and ink cartridge drives, anything on campus seems to work really well with our students, however getting them off campus is a whole different story. We did a Breast Cancer walk, and ONE student showed up - we did however raise of $800. I never thought of reaching out to the community to set up partnerships? Does anyone do this, and which kinds of organizations do you seek/work with? I know childcare is such a problem for many of our students, along with transportation… >>>

We all seem overworked; I personally am both staff and faculty. Which means I'm here, and must be here on campus at least 40 hours a week, our faculty members, not so much. My concern is getting them to really notice the importance and power of their influence on both Academic Erosion and Stagnation. I see it outside my office (I'm in a very central location) all the time, students asking for help and faculty being too busy for the extra care. I am putting together a seminar to inform faculty of what I'm learning in this course, as well… >>>

I offer a ton of extra credit, and sometimes it is completely impromptu. Topics will come up, such as "Does looking at the sun really help you sneeze?" or "What is the exact meaning of i.e.?" or "Why do we sleepwalk." The environment I create is one that bonds students right away; make them feel like they are a true part of the school. Being a real person to them, while remaining their professor, allows for a higher level of trust between class members. Once I asked them to simply go and research something that they always wanted to learn… >>>

I think doing this creates a larger gap between those students that are A+ students, and have the extra time to do this work, and those that are barely making in through the regular assignments. Imagine how that feels for the student struggling, when the A+ overachiever student continues to do more work, and get more and more recognition for doing so. I just can't do that with my students, they, the C students, doubt their ability as a student already, rubbing better students work in their face would be counterproductive for me. This reminds me of the separation between… >>>

Yes, I have many students that earn over 100% in the class. Originally there was desire from faculty to make the class pass/fail, however that seemed wrong on so many levels. There is the A student and the C- student both receiving the same grade. So, with extra credit, students can do it as they have time, or not do it and just stick with the work. I also accept late work, so even those students that barely are making it, have the opportunity to make up their missed work, and still feel good about their accomplishment, albeit not ideal.… >>>

I have found in my College Success class, the first class students take, that offering extra credit truly motivates them to try. After reading through Module 1, specifically with Fact 3. Retention can be enhanced by making changes in the campus environment, I realized how much my extra credit options help students better and voluntarily connect to the class and thus the school. We all feel more motivated after we do well on a test, paper, or assignment. I discovered that extra credit is a way to improve student persistence and came up with more options for them. Most recently… >>>