Education Commons^™

Get On The Bus: College Talent & Industry Tours, Christopher Sell

Academic Leadership Academy

Employers and career services professionals are always looking for ways to efficiently connect students to internships and job opportunities early in their college careers. Streamlining the early identification process for college students and employers has become vital to higher education institutions and companies in Michigan as they strive to retain talent in the state. College and university educators are equally committed to helping students learn the professional networking skills necessary for achieving their career goals.

In order to address both outcomes, career services staff at Western Michigan University (WMU) created a five-day immersion program that allows engineering & applied sciences …

College Recruitment…It’S A Family Affair., Jodi L. Ward

Academic Leadership Academy

The purpose of this project was to bring attention to different family dynamics and the role that parents and guardians play in the college decision making process. This was done with the departmental goal of enhancing WMU recruitment and admissions efforts. This project is also supportive of the University’s goal to build a foundation for student success.

Leaders Unplugged: An Outdoor Leadership Experience, Kate Bates

Academic Leadership Academy

Backpacking and leadership development are two of my passions. I wanted to create an opportunity where the two come together. Thus, the concept of Leaders Unplugged was conceived. This five day, twenty-three mile backpacking adventure will provide students with an opportunity to push themselves as leaders and as people.

Student leaders have to learn how to balance their academics, jobs, student leadership roles and life. In all the craziness of this, most students take very little time to reflect on what they are learning through their experiences. Student Activities and Leadership Programs currently offers three opportunities where students take two …

Leading Data Inventory For International Student Enrollment And Retention Data For The Haenicke Institute For Global Education, Rebecca Solomon

Academic Leadership Academy

The International Student population is a numerically smaller, yet a vital segment of the student population at WMU. According to the 2011 -2012 WMU Fact Book, of 23,068 total students on the University’s main campus 1, 262 were International Students in Fall of 2010. Reports readily available in Cognos, the system used by the University to analyze student data, are developed to meet a wide variety of data needs for the University. While many of these general reports can be tailored to extract data describing the International Student population, others do not provide that option. It is possible, that gaps …

A Strategic Plan For Engaging Undergraduate Speech Pathology And Audiology Students In The Research Enterprise, Stephen M. Tasko

Academic Leadership Academy

The goal of this project is to develop a strategic plan for the Speech Pathology and Audiology Research Experience, which is a program designed to increase undergraduate student engagement in research activities. The emphasis on undergraduate students is based on the view that the sooner research opportunities are introduced and ‘demystified’, the sooner students envision this as a viable professional option.

Student Staff Training & Development A Servant Leadership Model, Caroline M. Ray

Academic Leadership Academy

Project Summary

The focus of this project is to develop a training program for the Event Planning/Employer Relations Intern that will repeatedly offer experiential learning and professional development opportunities while also adding to the effectiveness and efficiency to the employer relations arm of The Career Center.

Value Of A Graduate Gerontology Certificate Versus A Masters Degree, Janet S. Hahn

Academic Leadership Academy

The WMU Center for Gerontology was established in 2010 and builds on a strong tradition of gerontology education offered at WMU from the late 1970s to 2004. The undergraduate minor has been revised and is again offered. The previous graduate certificate in gerontology has not yet been reestablished.

This project sought to determine the relative value of a graduate certificate in gerontology vs. a masters degree in gerontology.

Time To Completion Of Degree And Retention Rate In Graduate Student Cohorts From 1998-2008, Robert L. Anemone

Academic Leadership Academy

The Anthropology Department at WMU suggests that incoming graduate students should be able to complete the Masters Degree within two years or 4 semesters. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it is the rare student who actually completes his or her degree within 2 years. In fact, many students require 4-6 years to complete what is ostensibly a 2 year degree program, while many other students eventually drop out of the program and never complete their degree.

This situation has been discussed among faculty and graduate students within the department for a number of years, but no actual data have been collected …