College of Education Newsletter

On March 8th UCA had a 24-hour drive to raise money during the UCA Day of Giving. The College of Education set a goal to raise 5,000 dollars and ended up with a total of $6,000.87 dollars (I'm not sure where the 87 cents came from, but I'm happy to have it) ! The money went into the College of Education Enhancement fund and is earmarked to help students attend local professional conferences, help students struggling financially with the cost of travel to field placements, fund faculty and student research. I'm very proud to say that over 70% of the faculty and staff in the College of Education donated on the day of giving. That is a huge commitment coming from the people who work the hardest to ensure that we have quality programs that support our outstanding students. I'd like to thank everyone who donated.

Vicki

The 4th annual UCA Day of Giving was held on Thursday, March 8th. For 24 hours alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to donate whatever they can to help make a better UCA. This year, Dr. Mike & Susan Hernandez generously pledged a $5,000 matching challenge to benefit the College of Education Enhancement Fund. When asked why he decided to give to the COE Dr. Hernandez stated, "I believe UCA’s College of Education plays a critical role in developing excellent educators for the state of Arkansas. I gave my gift to aid in continuing the efforts by UCA’s quality programs and staff."

We are pleased to announce the COE raised $6,000.87 from over 50 donors. Individuals that donated are:

Gary Bunn, Stephanie Huffman, Tammy Gately, DeeDee Cain, Helen Hu, David and Brandy Walthall, Ashton Hankins, Barbara Jones, Anonymous, Aaron King, Howard Walker, Jeff Whittingham, Patty Phelps, James Bradford, Genae Dorsett, Jamie Dallas, Stephanie and Daniel Poje, Sonya Green, Mike and Susan Hernandez, Victoria Groves-Scott, Sunny Styles-Foster, Terry James, Jason Trumble, Michelle Buchanan, Nancy Ringold, Donna Johnson, Shelly Albritton, Rachel Sanders, Debbie Dailey, Lisa Herrington, Sandy Norris, Wendy Rickman, Jennifer Mason, Amy Thompson, Maree Herring, Donna Wake, Susan Suits, Alicia Brown, T.K. Gault, Patty Kohler-Evans, T.J. Hendrix, Mara Cawein, Linda Horton, Steve Ward, Kathleen Atkins, Jud Copeland, Angela Greenland, Jamie Dallas, and Patty Carbon.

SR Education Group, an education research publisher, recently named the University of Central Arkansas as one of the 2018 Best Online Colleges and one of the 2018 Most Affordable Online Colleges for Teaching as well as one of the 2018 Best Online Colleges and one of the 2018 Most Affordable Online Colleges for Special Education.

For the 2018 Best Online Colleges ranking, SR Education Group researched and analyzed accredited online schools across the nation. Inclusion on this list shows high academic standards and a commitment to affordability, two key factors important to prospective students. University of Central Arkansas made this ranking at 15th for Master's Degrees in Teaching.

The 2018 Most Affordable ranking represents online schools across the nation that are making an effort to provide economical options for students. We manually researched the tuition of every college offering fully online degrees to determine and rank the most affordable choices. University of Central Arkansas made this ranking at 22nd for Master's Degrees in Teaching.

For the 2018 Best Online Colleges ranking, SR Education Group researched and analyzed accredited online schools across the nation. Inclusion on this list shows high academic standards and a commitment to affordability, two key factors important to prospective students. University of Central Arkansas made this ranking at 14th for Master's Degrees in Special Education.

The 2018 Most Affordable ranking represents online schools across the nation that are making an effort to provide economical options for students. We manually researched the tuition of every college offering fully online degrees to determine and rank the most affordable choices. University of Central Arkansas made this ranking at 13th for Master's Degrees in Special Education.

The full lists are available here:

• https://www.onlineu.org/most-affordable-colleges/teaching-masters-degrees
• https://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/degrees/teaching#best-value-masters

Congratulations to Dr. Stephanie Huffman from the Department of Leadership Studies. She was recently honored as the DECA Postsecondary Teacher of the Year 2017-18 by Delta Epsilon Chi. This award recognizes the finest career and technical teachers at the postsecondary level who have demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to their students and dedication to the improvement of Career and Technical Education in their institutions and communities.

Dr. Huffman was nominated by Michelle Camp, an alumni of the College of Education (BSE in Business and Marketing Technology and MS in Advanced Studies in Teacher Leadership). Ms. Camp stated, "I nominated Dr. Huffman after the Leadership Studies New Student Orientation in January. I have always admired her and the light she paints on Career and Technical Education."

Congratulations, Stephanie!

As a continuing member of the Louisiana Library Association (LLA), Dr. Jud Copeland had the opportunity to present 2 topics during the LLA Annual Conference in Alexandria, Louisiana on March 7- 8, 2018 .

Mapping the Field of Mixed Methods Research: A Pathway for Innovation Research - Three researchers stayed after this presentation and expressed a desire to collaborate with Dr. Copeland on further research in this area for both K- 12 and public librarians.

Is Dewey Dead? The METIS Challenge to "Ditch" Dewey - This was the most interactive session Dr. Copeland has ever had for any presentations related to Cataloging & Classification. The room was full with standing room only.

Congratulations, Jud!

The University of Central Arkansas Teachers' Fair was held Friday, February 23rd in the Student Center Ballroom. There were representatives from over forty school districts and organizations. More than 231 students attended the annual event geared towards introducing teacher candidates to school districts in the state of Arkansas and surrounding states.