(Note: Associate Professor of History Ramona Shelton serves Motlow as director of the newly established Academic Resource Center. She provides details about the ARC’s purpose and goals in the following interview.)
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| Ramona Shelton, Associate Professor of History and Director of the newly established Academic Resource Center |
Question: Describe the newly opened Academic Resource Center.
Answer: The Academic Resource Center is a hub for faculty members to find support. The goal of the ARC is to provide training and professional development for Motlow’s full- and part-time faculty members. Faculty are all subject matter experts in their fields, but it can sometimes be challenging to know how to do all the extra “classroom” stuff or to learn new techniques and collaborate with others so the ARC strives to bridge that gap. All of the ARC coordinators are faculty members, so who better to help and support their colleagues?!? Currently, the ARC is completely virtual, but the plan is to not only expand our offerings as we move into Phase Two and Three, but also to ultimately have brick-and-mortar locations at all of our campuses.
Question: What are High Impact Practices?
Answer: High Impact Practices, or HIPs, were officially given that name in 2010 by George Kuh, an academic researcher, but these are things that faculty have been doing in our classrooms for years. HIPs are practices that add another layer to the subject that is being taught in a particular class, often giving students the chance to learn life or job skills that will help them long after they have graduated from Motlow. HIPs take many forms and new ones have been added as new ideas become important. HIPs designated courses do not include more work but rather specifically tailored work that further ties the course to that particular HIP.
Motlow currently offers several different HIPs in our courses. Some are “catalog level” HIPs, which mean that every section of that particular course, regardless of the professor or modality, has the practices embedded into the course. These include Certifications, First Year Experience, Honors Education, Learning Communities, Study Abroad, and Work-Based Learning.
“Section level" HIPs are more instructor-driven. These include Global Cultural Awareness, Service Learning, Technology Enhanced Learning, and Undergraduate Research. Faculty members submit applications to the Academic Resource Center to get their courses designated for these HIPs. In doing this, the faculty members show how they have crafted assignments and coursework that meets the minimum definition for their chosen HIPs. Because instructors apply for this designation, you won’t see these HIPs across the board in all courses. For example, one history instructor may have been approved for their section(s) to be classified for Global Cultural Awareness while others may not.
Question: Explain the HIP course-badging process at Motlow State Community College.
Answer: As stated above, HIPs that are considered catalog level are already built into many of our courses. For example, Motlow’s Honors program is built of courses that have met the rigorous standards of the program coordinator, so that HIP is inherent to the Honors courses. The same can be said of Motlow’s MSCC 1300 First Year Experience Courses.
However, faculty members may do different activities for the section-level HIPs that are tied to their particular disciplines. Since this is unique to that particular professor, he/she goes through the application process, explaining not only how their courses meet the minimum definition for the HIP, but also describe the assignments within their courses that give students the opportunity to master the HIP. For example, one of our history instructors has a course coded for Undergraduate Research where his students will complete a research project for the class and will also have the opportunity to present their findings at our Fall 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium. This gives students the opportunity to hone their research, writing, and presentation skills- things that will come in handy with most jobs and upper level college courses.
Question: How do students benefit from HIP-directed teaching?
Answer: HIPs designated courses have extra layers that are specific to that HIP. These all give students the opportunity to add to their experiences and skill sets. Students in a Service Learning HIPs course have the chance to work on projects and events that are beneficial to the community. Study Abroad courses really do broaden a student’s horizon because they give him/her the chance to immerse themselves in a completely different country’s culture… while earning college credit! Students in any Motlow course are going to get an outstanding learning experience, but the HIPs designated courses give students the chance to go above and beyond.
Question: How can HIP-focused courses enhance career opportunities for students?
Answer: Most Motlow courses give students the opportunity to build those “soft skills” that employers are looking for, but HIPs-coded courses definitely expand on that. In addition to all the extras that I mentioned above, there are several other things that are career specific. For example, many of our Certifications-coded courses give students the opportunity to earn a certification or micro-credential that may give them a +1 when potential employers look at their resumes.
In addition, students have access to an expanded digital transcript, referred to as their Comprehensive Learner Record. Not only does this list all of the courses they have successfully completed during their tenure at Motlow, but it also includes a listing of the HIPs the student earned with descriptions of what was part of this process. Prospective employers will be able to see this information, which will show that Motlow’s students have both the education and the skills that make them excellent employee material!
Question: Provide an example of a course that has incorporated HIPs activities for hands-on learning.
Answer: I can give you an example from my courses. My Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Early World History and Modern World History courses were designated for the Technology Enhanced Learning HIP. We have a tendency to think that history and technology don’t get along well with each other, but Motlow has invested in VR/XR technology that is available through our Motlow Library. For one of their assignments, my students visited one of our library branches and used the technology to “experience” history. Some of the options in the library XR catalog include exploring a Medieval castle and visiting Anne Frank’s house. As much as I love telling stories in my classes, I think that this gives our students the opportunity for an enhanced learning experience that takes things to the next level.
This is only one of many opportunities that students have in HIPs-designated courses! Different instructors have crafted all sorts of projects and learning experiences tailored to their courses and their chosen HIPs. The Academic Resource Center is working to build a repository of these activities so that we can grow and expand as we add more and more HIPs designated courses each semester.
Question: How can students sign up for HIPs-designated courses?
Answer: Each semester, students register for courses in My Motlow. Courses that are coded for HIPs have the practice title listed as part of the information listed for that course. Not every course is HIPs designated, but we have some that have up to three HIPs opportunities available.
Question: Can students earn HIPs outside of the classroom?
Answer: Yes! There are two practices that do not show up in MyMotlow during registration because they are student specific. These are Peer Mentor and Student Employment. Motlow has an excellent group of student workers in areas like our Library and Writing Center. Students who serve as peer mentors work with their colleagues throughout the college experience, starting with our campus visits and orientations.
Question: Who should faculty, students, administrators and staff contact for more information?
Answer: Students who are interested in registering for HIPs designated courses should consult with their faculty advisors or completion coaches. HIPs designations are visible in the course schedule in My Motlow. Faculty who are interested in having their courses designated for HIPs should contact Ramona Shelton at rshelton@mscc.edu and should attend ARC workshops throughout the semester to help facilitate the process.
