Month: July 2014

Student experiences part of learning

Professor Ozeas Costa helps research student Stephanie Brokaw collect a soil sample from a vernal pool on the Mansfield campus.

Professor Ozeas Costa helps research student Stephanie Brokaw collect a soil
sample from a vernal pool on the Mansfield campus.

The Ohio State University at Mansfield believes that student experiences outside the classroom are just as important as the learning that goes on within. From research to internships, arts to athletics, and from studying abroad to leadership opportunities in campus clubs, students can choose the experiences that will provide personal development and prepare them for careers.

“Getting involved in activities outside the classroom gives them a sense of community and place,” says Donna Hight, Chief Student Life and Retention Officer. “They begin to realize college is a good fit for them. It’s where they belong.”

Stephanie Brokaw, a sophomore at Ohio State Mansfield, was selected for an Undergraduate Education Summer Research Fellowship. With mentoring from Earth Sciences Professor Ozeas Costa, the Pharmaceutical Sciences major is analyzing the wetlands and vernal pools on campus to identify the organic matter and carbonate content.

“It’s nice that we have a campus that already has wetlands and a professor who wanted to do the research,” Brokaw said. “The experience of gathering information, seeing what other researchers are doing and learning to use the computer programs that are involved for research and data collection has been invaluable.”

Two other current students will use their leadership skills to form a women’s support group on campus this fall, inspired by several speakers from a recent conference.

Senior Tiffany Tilley and sophomore Maris Bucci attended the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders at the University of Maryland in June. It was the first time students from the Mansfield campus participated in the conference, according to Donna Hight, Chief Student Life and Retention Officer.

“The women there were phenomenal. They were so high-spirited, outspoken strong women,” Bucci said. “It was awesome being a part of that and sharing it with other people who had similar interests as me.” Bucci is a self-described “involvement activist.” She is a Buckeye Ambassador, Campus Activity Board secretary, member of the Mansfield Mavericks volleyball team, president of Student Government, Camp Hetuck facilitator and is working at Buckeye Village as a leasing consultant.

Tilley is also training to be a Junior Admissions Counselor in the fall. She has been part of the Haiti Empowerment Project study-abroad for two years and was a Buckeye Ambassador.

Ohio State Mansfield connects students with paid internships in surrounding communities, too. Jessica Luna, an Accounting major, is a Human Resources Intern at OhioHealth MedCentral this summer. She provides a variety of duties for the director and vice president as well as participating in project development related to MedCentral’s integration with OhioHealth.

“I think it’s unique that our students have the opportunity to intern locally with a Fortune 100 company like OhioHealth MedCentral (ranked in the top 100 Best Companies to Work For by Fortune),” said Tracy Bond, Internship Program coordinator.

“Jessica’s internship is a road she’s taken to test the waters in key areas of her interests in the business field that may lead her to pursue specific paths in her academics and career.  The company culture and experiences she is having are invaluable and may open up doors for her in the future.”

From the Dean

Ohio State Mansfield and North Central State College, our co-located technical partner, have been engaged in a process of surveying residents, employees, and employers of the communities that surround us in an attempt to figure out the current state of the relationship between our combined campus and the community, or what I like to call our “town-gown relationship.”

Happily, More than 700 people working and living in Richland County chose to participate in our survey, and the initial results are nothing short of fascinating!

First, we have made some important gains in building our town-gown ties over the last several years, especially with sectors of the community that historically have been disconnected from our campus.

Second, in many ways our best connecting points with the community are happening with and through our students!

I will be providing a brief overview of the results for the Richland Community Development Group in early August, and then will be laying out the first full sets of analyses during a campus-wide presentation I will make during the common hour on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

As dean, I’ve thought a lot about the relationships between universities and the cities where they live, and connecting these relationships to my own research interests in family dynamics.

I discovered that town-gown relationships and marriages share a lot in common. The vows that state “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health,” and so on, are an applied fact of life for any college town.

During the presentation, I will define the four distinct types of town-gown relationships – devitalized, conflicted, traditional, and harmonious – and where respondents tell us we are in these relationships. I’ll also reveal where respondents think we are in terms of the level of comfort and level of effort of our relationship.

This is one presentation you will definitely want to attend!

 

Stephen M. Gavazzi, Ph.D.

Learning to span the ages

Whether you are 18 or 80, The Ohio State University at Mansfield offers higher-education options to suit your interests. Students can take a course or two, or obtain an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree right on campus.

Ohio State Mansfield serves as the gateway to Ohio State for most students who attend the campus. After completing 30 credit hours, which can usually be accomplished in a year, students can seamlessly transition to the Columbus campus to earn one of more than 170 undergraduate degrees.

Students may also stay at Ohio State Mansfield and complete one of nine bachelor’s degrees offered on-campus, including Business Administration, Criminology, Early Childhood Education, English, History, Middle Childhood Education, Psychology, Social Work and Sociology.

New this year is a writing concentration in addition to the literature concentration for English majors. The new writing concentration focuses on nonfiction writing, the art of persuasion (rhetorical theory), and literacy.

“Basically, it’s our version of the Communications major,” said Norman Jones, English program coordinator. “But in the broadest terms, it’s about making written communications but also digital and online multimedia communications.”

The Associate of Arts degree is an option for those who want to earn a diploma to mark two years, or 60 credits, of successful college coursework. The AA degree can be a stepping stone to a bachelor’s degree, or can be a stand-alone degree. Evening and online classes are available for those who cannot attend during the day. Credits also apply to an Ohio State bachelor’s degree.

Ohio State Mansfield also offers a Master of Arts in Early and Middle Childhood education and a Master of Social Work.

Mary Jo Hawk, program coordinator for Social Work, sees some returning students as more agencies require a master’s degree to meet federal and state guidelines. Others who want to help people, especially children, are switching careers. And recently graduated students are continuing their education to further their employment opportunities in a fast-growing profession.

“They all see it as a positive career move to a profession with a high employment rate,” she said.

Ohio residents 60 or older can take undergraduate and graduate classes at The Ohio State University at Mansfield tuition-free on a space available basis. No credit is given and the courses can’t be applied toward a degree, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to take that history or business class you always wanted to take.

Program 60 students attend the same classes with enrolled students taught by world-class faculty. It provides an excellent opportunity to remain engaged in intellectual activity with people of all ages. Program 60 students add valuable life experiences to classroom discussions.

English writing concentration

A new writing concentration has been added as an option to the English bachelor’s degree. The concentration focuses on written communication as well as digital and web multimedia communication.

“There are a lot of students who want to focus on writing and be better communicators but who might not love analyzing literature,” said Norman Jones, English program coordinator. “This is a way for them to really be able to focus on a broader kind of writing, especially on non-fiction writing.”

The program will take advantage of state-of-the-art technology in the Learning Collaborative Classroom at the Bromfield Library and Information Commons. Susan Delagrange, one of the professors who will teach the writing concentration, has won numerous national awards for composition in digital media.

“We emphasize the real-world implications,” Delagrange said. “Writing occurs in all professions. People feel that it is a very practical aspect of English studies.”

Building student success is campus-wide initiative

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Students participating in Camp Hetuck learn team-building and problem-solving. These students must learn to adapt to an ever-shrinking group footprint.

The Ohio State University at Mansfield is known for its friendly caring attitude and those qualities show from the minute new students commit to “Buckeye North” and continue through their first year and beyond. In fact, that strong foundation towards building student success is one reason students decide to stay for a second, third, and four year with us.

Natasha Stouffer, Admissions and First Year Experience coordinator, says the goal is to try to help students through different stages of development, both academic and social.

“Students are feeling different things during this time, like ‘am I academically prepared for the first year.’ Some are moving to a new area and meeting potential roommates. If they are commuting, they have a newly emerging role of independent adult, yet are still living at home.”

Ohio State Mansfield offers many opportunities to smooth the transition to college life.

Orientation

Admitted students become Buckeyes at Orientation. They experience college traditions, receive their BuckID and leave with their first schedule of classes. Sessions for parents include financial aid, health insurance, safety on campus and how to be a part of their student’s success during the first year.

“Orientation also serves as the venue for new students to meet their new collegial classmates,” said Collin Palmer, Admissions counselor.

Student Welcome Leaders play a large part in making the new students and parents comfortable.

“When I’m at orientations, I try to make those personal connections with parents and students,” said Psychology major and Welcome Leader Mark Matthews. “I want them to know that faculty and staff genuinely care to a degree that goes so far beyond academia and social aspects to a personal level that you don’t get anywhere else.”

At orientation, students also learn about other pre-enrollment programs like Camp Hetuck, SMART and First Generation Connection Learning Community.

First Year Experience

Admissions counselors at Ohio State Mansfield also act as First Year Experience counselors.

“As an Admissions counselor, I get to know prospective students and they know I will be there with them throughout their first year,” Stouffer said.

FYE spans pre-enrollment through a student’s first year of college.

Pre-enrollment is about breaking the ice and getting rid of some of the myths that students might have about college, according to Stouffer. Engaging students becomes a campus-wide initiative. Activities such as the Buckeye Book Experience, Success Series and Convocation provide further engagement.

During the first semester, it’s all about making connections. Students who feel connected to their campus within the first six weeks are more likely to stay, according to Stouffer.

During the second semester, that foundation is built upon.

“At this point we want them to take the positive experiences they felt in their first semester and take more of a leadership role to continue the cycle,” Stouffer said.

Camp Hetuck

Ohio State Mansfield’s Camp Hetuck, in it’s 10th year, is one of the most prestigious campus events for new students. Sixty new students and a dozen student facilitators who are past participants converge in July for two days, including an overnight in Molyet Village student housing, to learn leadership skills.

“It’s almost like a secret society,” said Elise Riggle, director of Student Engagement. “They say ‘I’m a Hetucker’ like it’s a badge of honor.”

Teams of upper class leaders partner with new students to participate in competitions and games but also to have some serious conversations about leadership.

“What ends up happening is that you have students who have never met each other and within two days they are sharing things that they would only share with their most intimate friends,” says Matthews, who is also a facilitator.

SMART

Students Making a Realistic Transition is designed for students of color and for those who feel they might be challenged in making the transition to college, according to Renee Thompson, Office of Diversity and Family Engagement.

“College is very different from high school,” she said. “You can have a student who was very successful in high school, socially and academically, and then feel after the first semester that he has failed miserably. It requires a different sort of discipline and a lot more responsibility from the student.”

A two-part session titled Be the Difference introduces students to community services and activities. Thompson also offers a one-credit Seminar for Students of Color that anyone may take, which explores diversity.

First Generation Connection Learning Community

Ohio State Mansfield has a large first generation college student population, according to Stouffer.

“Many of our students are the first in their family to attend college,” she said. “The parents usually are the ones who would tell students what to expect, but in this case they are the pioneers in the family.”

Twenty students are accepted into the program each year. They participate in group activities during Welcome Week and attend at least two classes together as a group. During the second semester, they engage in a service-learning project.

“They take what they learned in the classroom about social empowerment and justice and apply it in the community,” Stouffer said. “This is a great opportunity to see our students go from feeling unsure to feeling that they are important to our community and that they are giving back.”

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