GC Journeys Newsletter

The 2021-2022 GC Journeys Participation data show an overall increase in students participating in transformative experiences. In seven of the eight categories, overall participation increased. "I think that the data show students are ready to participate in experiential learning and GC faculty have been able to offer these experiences that students crave," said Dr. Jordan Cofer, Associate Provost for Transformative Learning Experiences.

With the exception of community based engaged learning, which recorded its second straight decrease, all categories of participation increased, including undergraduate research. This increase of engagement corresponds with the increase of student retention after covid.

For the third year in a row, Georgia College faculty participated in the GC Journeys High-Impact Practices (HIPs) Summer Institute. Within the institute, Georgia College faculty worked with institutional experts, as well as heard from national experts on innovative pedagogy and high-impact practices. Drs. Brian Etheridge (Kennesaw State University) and Susan Hrach, author of Minding Bodies, (Columbus State University/Carleton University) served as speakers during the first week. Participants spent the summer working with faculty experts on developing a high-impact practice to institute in their classes. Then, they presented their work with the new faculty during New Faculty Orientation. According to Dr. Jim Berger, Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning, “we wanted our new faculty to see what types of projects are possible and to get them excited about leading high-impact practices in their own classrooms.”

Faculty Completing the 3rd Annual High-Impact Practices Institute Include:

Capstone

· Arnab Sengupta

· Ashok Hedge

· Eric Rindal

CbEL

· Mariana Stoyanova

· Suzanna Roman-Oliver

Internships

· Jamie Downing

Undergraduate Research

· Andrew Allen

· Peter Rosado

· Matt Milnes

· Alexandre Scarcioffo

Leadership

· Steve Elliot-Gower

Study Abroad

· Chika Unigwe

· Eryn Viscarra

· Paulette Cross

First Year Experience

· Kasey Karen

· Helen DuPree

· Amy Sumpter

Dr. Stefanie Sevcik, a lecturer in the English Department, has agreed to serve as the next Faculty Director for the office of Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (MURACE), following the retirement of Dr. Doreen Sams.

Dr. Sevcik has experience working with Undergraduate Research at Georgia College & State University having co-planned, with Dr. Sams, the Undergraduate Research Conference, Posters at the Georgia Capitol and worked with Dr. Sams in the HIPs Champions initiative. Dr. Sevcik has also served as a Chancellor’s Learning Scholar for the University System of Georgia, a GC HIPs Champion for Community-based Engaged Learning, a GC Journeys Fellow, Georgia College’s campus representative for the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, and has helped organize Faculty Learning Communities on Community-based Engaged Learning (CbEL) and "Small Teaching" across the campus. For the past two years, Dr. Sevcik has also served as an instructor in the GC Journeys Summer HIPs Institute.

“Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors play a vital role in the Georgia College experience. Our faculty offer unique hands-on experiences across the disciplines, so we are excited that Dr. Sevcik will be supporting both the faculty mentors and the students participating in these experiences” said Jordan Cofer, associate provost for Transformative Learning Experiences.

Dr. Sevcik is already soliciting student participation in the upcoming Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (November 11-12; abstracts due September 19) as well as faculty and student participation in the MURACE Symposium (October 17th). For more information, contact Dr. Stefanie Sevcik, GCSU Faculty Director of MURACE at urace@gcsu.edu. She will also be holding regular drop-in hours Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-2pm at the Center for Teaching and Learning (Library 375B) to discuss any questions students or faculty may have around MURACE.

The Office of the Provost & GC Journeys are teaming up to offer Community based Engaged Learning Mini-Grants. These mini-grants are up to $1,000 to help fund projects that engage students with real-world problems in real-world settings. Doing so provides them with experiences and activities that they will face when they leave our programs. The deadline is October 17th.

For more information, visit: https://www.gcsu.edu/ctl/community-based-engaged-learning-grants

The Center for Teaching and Learning, with support from the Office of Transformative Learning Experiences, recruited a group of seventeen faculty members to develop the Frameworks for Success (FFR). These frameworks are a resource designed by GC Faculty experts in these experiences. The idea of the Frameworks is to serve as a resource for faculty who would like to implement High Impact Practices within their courses/programs.

Five groups of faculty worked to develop the frameworks to guide faculty in implementing effective HIPs with high fidelity and impact. The frameworks are for the following Transformative Experiences: Capstone, Community-based Engaged Learning, Global Learning/Study Abroad, Internships, and Undergraduate Research. More information and the frameworks themselves can be found at the GC Journeys website under Faculty Resources.

• Capstone
• Undergraduate Research
• Global Learning/Study Abroad
• Community based Engaged Learning
• Internships

The annual MURACE (Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors) Symposium will be on Monday, October 17th from 12pm-4pm in the Peabody Auditorium. The symposium will feature panels and presentations for faculty, along with workshops for students.

Sign up for the MURACE Symposium. https://forms.gle/MLEd5PM1We9xkgg47

The Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference is a regional, multidisciplinary conference open to undergraduates both within Georgia (GC was an original co-founder). MURACE will pay registration for both students and faculty mentors.

GURC 2022 will be hosted by Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, on November 11th & 12th, 2022. We invite you to join us for this 11th annual conference to present your research, performances, or artwork and to learn more about the exciting undergraduate work being conducted by other students in the region. GURC welcomes all fields of research and creative activities.

Submissions are due by Sept 19th. For more information, and to have your students submit, please visit the website.

The J. Whitney Bunting College of Business has published a report of the GC Journeys activity within the college. The report was compiled by Dr. El-Jourbagy, who serves as the Coordinator fo GC Journeys within the College.

Read the report here.

The GC Journeys Annual Report for 2021-2022 details Georgia College's GC Journeys activities.

Read the report here.

Research Day, a celebration of research at Georgia College, will be held on March 29th, 2022. More information forthcoming. For questions, contact: jordan.cofer@gcsu.edu.

Email: journeys@gcsu.edu
Website: https://www.gcsu.edu/gcjourneys
Location: Carl Vinson House