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TRANSCRIPT
September 2012
Volume XXXVI, Issue 3 College Reading & Learning Association
NewsNotes
President’s Corner By Norm Stahl
Summer break has come to an end across the country, and another school year begins with all its eager new faces gracing our classrooms and offices. Each new academic year brings with it many opportunities to expand our professional and personal horizons and take our practice and our programs to new heights.
Such is the case for the College Reading and Learning Association as well. A couple of months ago I notified you that the Board of Directors had partnered with TEI, Inc. to serve as our management company. We felt that with the expertise supplied by an accredited, professional firm the Board of Directors could take a more strategic view of our profession and where CRLA should go within our profession. We started on a transition last January, and we have slowly implemented a new model of serving both the membership and the profession. Many changes have taken place, and there are more to come. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the changes that have already been put in place during the past few months.
1. Accounting: We have moved from an Excel-based ledger system to a professional general ledger system. This new general ledger package powered by Quick Books Enterprises will allow our management firm to have multiple staff updating the ledger simultaneously with its multi-user database interface and also allow us to close our accounting books earlier each month. With accurate and thorough management data supplied by professional accountants, your Board of Directors will be able to make informed and strategic financial decisions more quickly and with less risk of error than ever before.
2. Finance: Our new auditor made a number of suggestions pertaining to the fiscal policies and procedures followed by CRLA. Hence, our management company has recommended that we change our accounting procedures from a Cash to an Accrual system. Without an extensive description of the difference in procedures, we can simply say that the month-end accounting reports will begin to provide our Treasurer, Rosie Woodruff, along with the Board of Directors, with more accurate information pertaining to our cash flow and the financial ―feel‖ of the organization. This change will happen during the remaining months of 2012 and allow the Board of Directors and the CRLA Treasurer the ability to create and monitor the budgeting process and the cash expenditures that result from it in a more accurate manner.
3. Membership: The Board of Directors recently passed a motion that changes our dues collection from Calendar year to Anniversary date model. Simply put, each member will have a membership year that begins and ends with the date of membership in the organization. This will allow CRLA to collect dues and have a cash flow from membership income throughout the year. Additionally, this will reduce the risk of a financial cataclysm should a perfect storm of risks occur.
See PRESIDENT Page 2
In This Issue
President’s Corner 1
Leadership Opportunities 3
IMTPC Update 3
New Tutor/Mentor Training Handbook Available! 4
Why a Management Company? 5
Professional Development Update 6
ITTPC Update 7
CAS Standards 8
CRLA Houston Conference Update 9 Tips for Student Success 10
Upcoming Events 10
Page 2 CRLA NewsNotes
PRESIDENT CONTINUED FROM Page 1 4. Conference: The old algorithm of computing conference registration fees has been eliminated as of the Board of Directors strategic planning meeting in June. As you may recall, if you are a member in good standing (dues paid) prior to June 1st of each year, you were permitted to register for the annual conference at members-only rates. If an individual joined after June 1st but before the conference in October, that member had to pay non-member registration rates. This has been confusing, complex, and difficult to explain to new members. From this point going forward when registering for the conference, your registration rate will be based solely upon your membership status. Specifically, you will see a member’s only rate and a non-members rate. That’s it; it’s that simple! This policy will also allow us to recruit new members as they take advantage of joining CRLA to receive the member’s only registration rate for the conference. This action could have such a positive impact as we hold joint conference this year in Houston.
5. Website: The CRLA website has been undergo changes weekly and continues to do so. Rather than wait and do all of the necessary changes at once, the Board authorized the management firm to make incremental changes on a regular basis increasing the website utility greatly. Many new and updated functions are now available online. Join, Renew, Profile Update, SIG’s, surveys, voting, conference registration, integrated broadcast email, membership directory, and more features are available or coming in the weeks ahead. Please check out the website, and if you have any difficulty using a new function (or even an old one), please contact headquarters (414-908-4961 or 7044 S. 13th St., Oak Creek, WI, 53154-1429) and let them know.
Finally, I know this is a long message but much has been accomplished in the last six months. I’ll keep you informed of other improvements in more bite-size chunks as the months move along.
Thanks for all of your support and for your membership to CRLA. I wish you all a wonderful school year, and I look forward to seeing you at the conference in the fall.
Norm Stahl
The demographic reality we are facing in Texas provides great urgency to the plight presented by the growing gender gap in educational attainment, a gap that is heightened within the Hispanic community. Even as the number of Hispanics attending college and attaining degrees has increased steadily in recent years, the proportional representation of Latino males continues to lag behind their female peers. They are not keeping pace with their female and other male counterparts in high school graduation, college enrollment, and degree attainment rates. They are more likely to get tracked into special education categories than their peers, more likely to get held back a grade, more likely to get placed in remedial/development education tracks once arriving in college, etc. In 2010, two of five associate’s or bachelor’s degrees granted to Latinos were earned by males, and the degree completion gaps are growing at all critical junctures in higher education. What we know can be summed up succinctly: Latino males are struggling to keep pace with their male and female peers at key transition points along the education pipeline. This is why we are calling for a new national imperative to improve the academic success for Latino males. – Dr. Victor Sáenz
A Sneak Peak at CRLA / CASP Joint Conference
Thursday Keynote Speaker Dr. Victor Sáenz The University of Texas at Austin
College of Education
Page 3 CRLA NewsNotes
Leadership Opportunities! By Gretchen Starks-Martin, St. Cloud State
CRLA Executive Assistant
Help us create a positive future for CRLA! We are looking for members who have been active in the organization and are interested in volunteering for the following leadership positions for a three year term:
The following positions start after the 2012 Conference Conference Sessions Evaluator International Tutor Training Program Coordinator NewsNotes editor Media Advisory Board coordinator International Mentor Training Program Assistant Coordinator CRLA representative to CLADEA (beginning spring 2013)
View job descriptions on the CRLA Website under “Leadership Opportunities” or by visiting http://www.crla.net/leadership/opportunities.htm. The deadline for applications is September 30, 2012. Submit your application to Dr. Norman Stahl, CRLA President, [email protected]. Include the following:
Résumé or brief listing of qualifications, including number of years as a CRLA member;
Letter of application addressing your willingness and ability to meet the requirements of the position;
Letter of institutional support (referencing travel funding, staff time, release time, and/or technology the department/institution will provide, as well as confirmation support for the candidate’s CRLA responsibilities). If institutional support is not needed, please state this in your letter of application.
If you have questions, please contact CRLA President, Norman Stahl, at [email protected] or CRLA Executive Assistant, Gretchen Starks-Martin, at [email protected].
IMTPC Update By Page Keller, College of Charleston, IMTPC Coordinator
The International Mentor Training Program Certification (IMTPC) program continues to experience steady growth. Over the summer, we certified and re-certified 12 programs and expect to do many more during the fall 2012 semester. We are now looking forward to opportunities to disseminate IMTPC information to interested colleges and universities at fall conferences.
During the upcoming National Mentoring Symposium, I will lead a concurrent session to share information about the IMTPC program with mentors and mentor program staff from across the country. This symposium will take place on October 20 at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Details can be found at http://symposium.uc.iupui.edu.
NewsNotes is published three
times a year: January 15,
May 15, and September 15.
Editorial Board:
Dorothy Bonser
Maggi Miller
See Publication Guidelines
for submission information
and dates or email Lindley
Alyea at [email protected].
At the CRLA/CASP Joint Conference in November, I will offer two sessions during which I will share details about IMTPC certification. On Wednesday, November 7, I will be joined by several IMTPC reviewers to lead an institute intended for college and university professionals interested in developing a peer mentor training program, expanding and improving existing peer mentor training programs, and applying for IMTPC Certification. I will also lead a concurrent session on Friday to share general information about IMTPC certification.
We look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Page 4 CRLA NewsNotes
CRLA Executive Board
President Norm Stahl
President-Elect Melissa Thomas
Past President Ann Wolf
Treasurer Rosie Woodruff
Secretary Linda Russell
Executive Assistant Gretchen Starks-Martin
Professional Development Coordinator Lori Saxby
NewsNotes Editor Lindley Workman Alyea
CRLA is Proud to Announce the Availability of its New Handbook!
By Karen Agee & Russ Hodges, Editors
Are you seeking certification for your training program from CRLA’s International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) or International Mentor Training Program Certification (IMTPC)? Are you looking for new training options for a program already certified by CRLA? In 111 modules by 106 authors, the Handbook for Training Peer Tutors and Mentors provides ideas for creating or improving your training program.
CRLA has just published a new handbook. The 2003 edition of the Tutor Training Handbook will still be available, but this new handbook is a different kind of publication. It is produced by Cengage Learning, and it is big—nearly 450 pages of ideas organized into six chapters:
Theories underlying postsecondary tutoring, mentoring, and training
Modes of tutor and mentor training (e.g., day camps, conferences, courses, blogs)
General training topics appropriate for both tutors and mentors
Tutor training topics
Mentor training topics
Program management (design, funding, staff selection, evaluation, and more)
In their introduction to the book, co-editors Karen Agee and Russ Hodges report that the volume ―constitutes a wealth of support for trainers of peer tutors and mentors and opens new vistas for exploration.‖ They recommend the Handbook as a professional development opportunity for anyone who trains tutors, mentors, and other learning assistants.
The Handbook for Training Peer Tutors and Mentors is available for $54.95 through the CRLA store at http://www.crla.net/handbook/handbook_overview.htm. (You can see the Handbook’s abbreviated table of contents on that page, with a link to the full contents list.) Purchasers should expect their copies to be sent from Cengage Learning within a few days.
CRLA Myth Busters
Myth: I must be a member of CRLA because our tutor or mentor training program is certified.
Truth: Tutor and Mentor Certification is program-based and IS NOT based on CRLA membership. CRLA membership is individual--CRLA does not offer memberships for institutions or programs.
CRLA NewsNotes Page 5
I wanted to share with the membership of CRLA some history and reasons that helped the current Board make the decision to hire a management company to coordinate the day-to-day workings of our organization. The CRLA Board made its decision during the November Board meeting at the 2011 San Diego Conference. This decision was not made lightly or without research on the part of both voting and ex-officio members of the Board. So I am sharing the history of the process that the CRLA Board went through to hire Technical Enterprises Inc. (TEI) as of January 2012.
A Management Company? Are We Crazy?
By Ann A. Wolf, CRLA Past President
CRLA voting board members are nominated and then elected by the active members of CRLA while ex-officio members are appointed by the president. All members of the CRLA Board are volunteers, giving freely of their time and energy to continue to make CRLA the great organization it is. Many of the positions take up as much time as a full time job, and there are a few positions that seem to take more than that amount of time. Ask anyone who has served as an officer for CRLA, and he or she will tell you what it is like. Remember, they are not complaining but are sharing the facts of the time needed to do some of the responsibilities related to being a CRLA Board officer. Some of you are thinking about the time that someone asked you to run for the board and told you it would only take a few hours each week. That is just not true anymore.
With more people turning down the chance to run for the Board and fewer qualified people able to take on such a position, the 2012 Board members decided something needed to be done to make leadership positions more attractive and that the Board should begin to look to the future and strategically plan what we would like CRLA to grow into. This is something that many CRLA Boards had been discussing long before the decision was made by the current board, inviting a speaker to explain what a management company could provide an organization like CRLA as far back as the Summer 2011 Strategic Planning Meeting. At the same time, the Board asked former Treasurer Joe Barnhill to create a four year financial plan to see if our organization could afford to hire a management company and at what cost. Other considerations included examining what other non-profit organizations such as NADE and LRA were doing. Both of these organizations have management teams, NADE using an Executive Director while LRA uses a management company. These are just two organizations close to the size of CRLA and with similar governance. At the end of the 2011 Strategic Planning Meeting, Board members left with the charge to consider all the information provided and prepare to make a decision at the next Board meeting in San Diego.
When the CRLA Board met again in San Diego, we looked at the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a management company and made the decision to send out a Request For Proposals (RFP) for management companies to respond to. From there, the Board chose two companies to interview, and finally TEI was selected. Their contract began in January, and we are still going through a transition with many areas of our jobs, but there has been a lot of progress since we started working with TEI. This is something that is very new to the CRLA Board, and members are working out the problems as they arise and will continue to watch what is happening with customer service as we move forward. This change has taken a lot of day-to-day work out of our hands and allowed board members to attend to the larger needs of the membership.
In the President’s column of this edition of NewsNotes you will find the current report from Norm Stahl related to the work that TEI has accomplished. Please take a look at what they have done so far. I know that we still have a long way to go, but I think that this transition will be in the interest of our members as new people offer to be officers of our organization. Some may have thought we were crazy, but in fact, we are thinking about the best interests of CRLA and supporting our growing membership.
CRLA NewsNotes Page 6
Professional Development Update
By Lori Saxby, University of Southern Indiana,
CRLA Professional Development Coordinator
Access to Free Webinar on Social Media On June 14, 2012, Stacy Oliver presented our first CRLA free webinar on ―Connecting with Students Via Social Media: Tools for Engagement and Interaction.” Stacy is the Associate Director for Student Success at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, and uses social media extensively. The link will be housed on our CRLA Professional Development webpage, but for now you can access it at this site: https://utsalive.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=_UTSA_trcss_CRLA_2104584694_2012_0614_1501_08
The link will take you first to the “Participant” Login page. When you sign in with your first name and click enter, the webinar should begin. Stacy will serve as a consultant for our CRLA colleagues for the next couple of months, so please feel free to contact her at [email protected] regarding questions you may have.
Tuesday Twitter Chat Beginning the middle of September, we are going to reinstate a weekly Tuesday Twitter chat with a guest speaker and topic. Please be on the lookout for more information….and get up to speed with Twitter by viewing Stacy Oliver’s “Twitter 101” presentation at http://bit.ly/OliverWebinar. If you have a suggestion for a topic or a guest speaker, please email Lori at [email protected].
CRLA/CASP Conference and Twitter The official Twitter page for the upcoming CRLA/CASP conference is at: https://twitter.com/#!/crlacasp12. Check the site regularly for updates regarding the Houston conference and send Tweets to: @crlacasp12.
Looking for a New Read? Try Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies Educause asks, “How can we reach more learners, more effectively, and with greater impact?‖ Edited by Diana Oblinger, this book includes chapters and case studies about who is changing the higher education game and what we can learn from their approaches. You can download the free e-book at: http://www.educause.edu/research-publications/books/game-changers-education-and-information-technologies
New to CRLA/CASP Conference this 2012 is the
Mobile Guidebook, a downloadable application
allowing conference participants to view all
conference info (site maps, session descriptions, a personalized schedule,
evaluations, and more) for free and on the device of their choice. Info on how to access
Houston’s Guidebook is coming soon!
Have you ever wondered what ITTPC certified programs have to say about the benefits of certification?
Benefit to LRC Staff:
Certification helps staff in the tutor recruitment process by attracting more applicants, many of whom have exceptional qualifications.
The staff has a better sense of unity, purpose and camaraderie since all work as a team in certifying the LRC tutors.
Benefit to Tutors:
Tutors gain a pay increase, professional credentials for their résumés and the opportunity to further develop their tutoring skills.
Tutors have also expressed and demonstrated a greater self-awareness and maturity in their dealings with staff and students.
The tutors stated that the peer tutor training has greatly helped them to improve their tutoring skills.
Benefit to Program:
CRLA certification has significantly added to the prestige and professionalism of our Student Learning Center’s tutoring component.
The certification process has allowed us to market our unit as one of the more professional and effective departments on campus.
Having an external agency certify our training of student workers is very important to us as a department, but also important to the tutors themselves. They gain confidence in knowing that their training process is thorough, standardized, and comprehensive.
Benefit to Institution:
The LRC reports directly to an office in the Division of Academic Affairs. Hence, CRLA certification benefits the Office of Academic Programs by ensuring the quality of the LRC’s tutorial services.
One of our six core values is Learn By Doing. The LRC’s CRLA certification program maintains the integrity of this value in that tutoring as provided under CRLA methods encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning.
... [our] Center for Academic Success has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a model program for providing academic support for developmental students. The fact that the peer tutor training program was CRLA-certified was emphasized in the report to the U.S. Department of Education...
Certification has given our program a new level of credibility with faculty and administration. Our tutors are also excited for the opportunity to achieve the requirements of certification, especially those who are pursuing a teaching degree.
To find out more about the certification process, visit our website at www.crla.net/ittpc or attend one of our CRLA fall pre-conference sessions (morning session for those just getting started or afternoon session for those in the middle and wanting to get things wrapped up). And of course, you are welcome to join us for both sessions--always.
CRLA NewsNotes
Page 7
From the Horse’s Mouth: Programs Share Benefits of ITTPC Certification
Your ITTPC Team Leaders: Rick Sheets, ITTPC Coordinator Roberta Schotka, ITTPC Asst. Coordinator Linda Stedje-Larsen, ITTPC Asst. Coordinator
Page 8 CRLA NewsNotes
Use CAS Standards to Assess Your Learning Assistance Program!
By Karen Agee, Northern Illinois University
CRLA Representative to CAS
The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), of which CRLA is a longtime member, published its new assessment materials on August 1. In addition to the new edition of the CAS ―blue book,‖ Professional Standards for Higher Education (8th edition), CAS produced a CD containing the new (2011) General Standards and Self-Assessment Guides for all 43 functional area standards. Each functional area standard (e.g., Learning Assistance Programs, Disability Resources and Services, and TRIO and Other Educational Opportunity Programs) has been revised to incorporate the new General Standards, which are trimly divided into 12 areas for self-assessment, down from 14.
To purchase the new publications, go to www.cas.edu and click on the Store link. And to see the CAS standards and guidelines for self-assessing your learning assistance program, go to www.crla.net/membership, click on the Members Only link to sign in on the Members Only page, and then look down the left column to CAS LAP Standards. (The new LAP standards will replace the old ones soon.) If you have questions, please email me, Karen Agee, CRLA Representative to CAS, at [email protected].
Need more ideas for engaging your students in their learning and to transfer that learning to everyday life? Is sitting in circles, asking questions, and talking about what happened working effectively for you? Action and Reflection is designed to introduce you to active debriefing activities that are simple and easy to use in the classroom and beyond. We will present activities that focus on different learning styles and help you take traditional curriculum and implement it into hands-on activities. You can increase the quality and value of your program through powerful hands on activities and reflective learning. What you learn in the workshop will help you creatively get your students to take responsibility and ownership for their learning and transfer those experiences to real life situations. We will also debrief your experience at the conference! - Michelle Cummings
A Sneak Peak at CRLA / CASP Joint Conference Saturday Keynote Speaker Michelle Cummings
Founder of Training Wheels
Things to Bring To Houston!
1. CRLA One Book, One Conference selection available on Amazon or MIT Press’ website.
2. Raffle items you’d like to donate benefitting CRLA Professional Development Scholarships.
3. The gadget of your choice should you choose to try out CRLA’s Mobile Guidebook.
CRLA NewsNotes Page 9
This year’s conference has some of the familiar conference traditions but also some new ones undertaken in the spirit of collaboration and growth! Wednesday will open with an amazing array of Preconference Institutes that allow us to dig deep with our esteemed colleagues on topics of importance. Wednesday evening will feature the smooth music of Mickey Hobbs Project at the Welcome for First Timers and the All-Conference Welcome.
Thursday morning will feature a breakfast keynote by Dr. Victor Sáenz on the struggle of men of color in higher education and the induction of two CLADEA Fellows—a red carpet affair for sure. Additionally on Thursday, we will have a Townhall meeting with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) as they continue to work with institutions on reshaping developmental education in the State of Texas. Thursday night we will close with the always friendly and welcoming ―Dinner on the Town‖ which will have volunteers taking small groups to various amazing restaurants all within walking distance of the hotel.
Many concurrent sessions will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Friday morning also means taking care of some business at the CRLA Business meeting and hearing CRLA President Norm Stahl give a Presidential Address about the state of our profession and organization. Friday also marks a CRLA tradition of ―Lunch with a Mentor‖ with a record-breaking 16 mentors hosting tables of colleagues for an intimate lunch conversation on various topics. And Friday wouldn’t be much fun without the Conference Social Hour which features drawings for the CRLA Scholarship Raffle. Make sure to buy your tickets early! And then things really get hopping as we head on down to the St. Arnold’s Brewery for a real Texas BBQ and a line-dancing good time. Brewery tours are optional but having FUN is not.
Saturday morning has us wrapping up with one more concurrent session, but a longer one (90 minutes) so that we can slow down... And this year, everyone’s conference registration fee includes Saturday’s Brunch with a keynote speaker who will challenge us to reflect on and digest what we learned—Michelle Cummings. Plus we have our traditional On-To-Boston/Amarillo presentations to get us excited about 2013. Many awards from all the organizations will be sprinkled throughout the conference. This is one conference you don’t want to miss!
A Note About Houston
By Melissa Thomas, College of Charleston, President-Elect
We hope you are as excited about this year’s joint CRLA/CASP conference as we are! This has truly been a collaborative effort on the part of the Boards from CRLA, TxCRLA, and TADE plus countless volunteers. We beckon you to the Bayou City of Houston to join us for a few days of learning, sharing, and reflecting on our daily practices. Student success is at the heart of what we all work toward, and we hope you join us for Exploring New Angles on Student Learning and Diversity, November 7-10, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency Downtown.
Best wishes for a productive fall. We cannot wait to see you all in Houston! Sincerely, Melissa Thomas, Denise Lujan, & Joanie DeForest Conference Co-Chairs
BREAKING NEWS!!
Have you heard? Melissa Thomas, CRLA President-Elect, has joined the Center for Student Learning at the
College of Charleston! Please update your contact information to:
CRLA NewsNotes Page 10
Upcoming Events
Oct: Fall Issue of JCRL mailed. Oct 3 – 6: National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA) Conference, Reno, NV Nov 1: Southwest Association for Developmental Education (SWADE) Conference, Salt Lake
City, UT Nov 7 – 10: Joint CRLA / CASP Conference, Houston, TX. Melissa Thomas, Conference Chair Dec 1: Copy deadline for submissions to Janury 2012 edition of NewsNotes
Tips for Student Success
Interested in sharing the best for student success? Submit your tips for student success on the topic of your choice to Lindley Workman Alyea, Editor of NewsNotes at [email protected].
Model active learning strategies with faculty and staff in regular committee meetings. Draw attention to what you did and ask them to think of adaptations for their classroom/area.
- Miya Squires, Student Success Coordinator, Butte College, June 2012
Be sure to interact with faculty. Engage in conversations. Make wise use of office hours (if possible, discuss problems with faculty just before working with tutors, study groups, or SI leaders to supplement).
- Donna Dawson, Director of Logan Academic Resource Center, Ohio Weslyan University, June 2012
Participate in class. Use all resources available to you. Talk to your instructors. Take it seriously. Have goals.
- April Hennessy, Supplemental Instruction Coordinator, Butte College, July 2012
Show students how to read textbooks—too many try to read them like novels. - Robert Oliverio, Learning Associate, Gateway Community College, July 2012
Understand that your students may not be familiar with the genre of writing assignments. Take time to explain
the assignment so that the academic language contained in it (ex. purpose, audience, thesis, etc.) will be understood by students. - Diane Flores-Kagan, Writing Learning Specialist, Antelope Valley College,
August 2012
Dave Arendale once said that everybody on the campus needs to be committed to student success and retention, not just the ―specialists.‖ - Denise de Ribert, Director, Kellogg Institute, Appalachian State
University, August 2012
Annotate while reading! - Bernadette Presloid, Writing Coordinator, Northern Arizona University, September 2012
Timelogs help students see how they use their time and make adjustments. - Connie Michalos, Director of
Tutorial Services, University of St. Thomas, September 2012