Faculty Institute 2021 - Faculty Portal
Highlighted Concurrent Sessions
Essential question addressed:
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How can we design courses and curricula that allow for micro-credentialing, allowing students to attain knowledge, career credentials, and skills via non-traditional paths?
Presenters:
Claire Sullivan, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation in Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials, UMS (She, Her, Hers)
Rosa Redonnett, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Credential Attainment, UMS (Seh, Her, Hers)
The University of Maine System piloted a collection of micro-credential pathways during 2020-21. In this session, we will discuss what a micro-credential is and its importance to the learner, the institution, and employers. We will walk you through our framework and processes that are in place to develop a UMS micro-credential. Our technical platform, Badgr, organizes opportunities along pathways that enable learners to highlight the skills and competencies they have developed. UMS takes a unique approach in creating aligned pathways to higher education and employment opportunities. This flexible, collaborative framework sets UMS apart from other known micro-credential frameworks with its attention to real-world application.
- Define and identify what a micro-credential is and why they are important nationally and within the state
- Identify and articulate the purpose of the UMS micro-credential initiative and learn about micro-credentials that have been developed
- Articulate the UMS Micro-Credential Framework and common language used
- Articulate the benefits of micro-credentials for learners and employers
- Explore the badging platform and the process for developing a UMS micro-credential
- Define the process of developing micro-credentials
Essential questions addressed:
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How can we give all learners, no matter where they are located in time and space, a sense of inclusion, connection, and equitable social presence in the learning community?
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How can we better inform ourselves about issues students face around diversity and equity to create a more inclusive teaching and learning environment?
Presenters:
Katherine Weatherford Darling, UMA Social Science / Sociology
Erica King, Justice Policy Program, USM
Joseph Jackon, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
Colleen Coffey, UMA Success Coach and UM Doctoral Student
Brianna Dube, UMA Student
This session will be facilitated by the faculty, staff and community partners involved in the Mellon-funded effort to strengthen and transform educational opportunities for people impacted by the criminal justice system, including DOC residents, justice-impacted students. The history of the UMA Prisoner Education Partnership and the goals of the Mellon Initiative will be outlined, including four key grant objectives:
- Develop & implement Humanities-driven curriculum and Arts programming highlighting issues of race and intersecting systemic inequalities
- Build a faculty development community focused on trauma-informed and anti-racist pedagogies
- Create a cohort of student ‘Justice Scholars’ working for peer-led policy change and a digital network for peer-learning and support across justice-impacted learners and programs
- Launch a state-wide coalition of faculty, learners, and community leaders committed to expanding emancipatory education across the state.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify opportunities for cross-institutional partnerships to strengthen educational opportunities inside and outside the classroom for justice-impacted students and aspiring students
- Understand best practices for supporting and including justice-impacted students in distance education, including peer support models
- Identify resources for professional development in trauma-informed and anti-racist pedagogies
- Understand relevant social science, education and policy research on educational access inequalities and incarceration in Maine.
The FI Planning Committee and support staff make every effort to make all content and experiences accessible to all from the outset. The university will also make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities upon request.
Certain accommodations may require planning and resources for us to implement, so we ask that individuals needing accommodations submit their request as soon as possible and no later than April 27th.
Email the UMA FDC if you have questions at uma-fdc@maine.edu.
- How can we give all learners, no matter where they are located in time and space, a sense of inclusion, connection, and equitable social presence in the learning community?
- How can we better inform ourselves about issues students face around diversity and equity to create a more inclusive teaching and learning environment?
- How do we prepare students for difficult conversations and materials they may find offensive and set the stage to include voices resistant to opposing opinions?
- How can we explore hyflex course design elements to support the needs of a diverse student body and assure flexible and equitable access to learning?
- How can we design courses and curricula that allow for micro-credentialing, allowing students to attain knowledge, career credentials, and skills via non-traditional paths?
We invite attendees from all campuses and outreach centers to join us. This event is most suitable for those teaching, learning, supporting, or advising via distance or web-facilitated modalities, such as compressed video, interactive television, web-conference, satellite campus or outreach center, correspondence, or fully online. In other words, anyone involved in the work of technology-enhanced teaching and learning within the University of Maine System will find this conference useful.
You might elect to attend if you are teaching or working in the University of Maine System, and one of the following:
- Full-time faculty
- Adjunct or part-time faculty
- Fully online or distance faculty
- Graduate student with a teaching assignment within UMS
- Academic administration or leadership
- Academic support staff
- Distance logistics support
- Disability or accessibility coordinators
- Library staff
- Instructional, learning, or eLearning designers
- Distance education specialists
- Student support service providers
- Center-based staff (or any UMS staff supporting teaching and learning away from the “campus hub”)
- Instructional content developers
- Staff using Kaltura, Zoom, or Blackboard
- Online training developers
- Academic advisors
The Faculty Institute is a rich compendium of professional development opportunities for distance educators across the whole University of Maine System.
This event is also exclusive to members of the University of Maine System. There is no cost for a UMS faculty or staff to attend.
Normally, as a collaborative event, the Institute has a system-wide planning committee with faculty and staff representing each campus. The University of Maine at Augusta hosts this event for in-person attendees. While it has had various names over the years, the Faculty Institute has existed in some variations for the system for the past 30 years.
It is our pleasure to carry on this tradition of offering a system-wide, collaboratively designed event with sessions presented by our faculty and staff, as well as guests we invite.
Thank you for visiting our site. We look forward to seeing you soon!
The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) is committed to free speech and fosters an environment in which all members of our community have access to a vibrant, enriching education befitting a democracy. A hallmark of our work is academic freedom and open inquiry. We are proud to affirm our ongoing commitment to an education that is diverse, inclusive, equitable and anti-racist. We recognize that diversity is a strength, and encourage our college community to examine issues related to: race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender, gender identity/expression, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, and disability.
UMA applauds the endeavors of students, faculty and staff who engage in this work, including the development of programs and curricula. Through these and other undertakings, UMA actively promotes the lively exchange of ideas to improve our efforts and be responsive to the needs of our community. UMA will continue to lead by example, rising to the challenge of embracing change, acknowledging shortcomings, and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in pursuit of our mission.
The President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provides support and advocacy for these efforts.
Endorsed by Faculty Senate: 2/19/21
Endorsed by President’s Cabinet: 2/23/21
Related Links
Title IX –Equal Opportunity Resources »
University of Maine System Board of Trustees Policy Section 212: Free Speech, Academic Freedom, and Civility »
General Education Requirement – Cultural Diversity »
UMA is committed to ensuring a productive and inclusive environment for all members of our diverse community, which includes people of all abilities, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, religious traditions, socioeconomic classes, and ages. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council will work to support strategic initiatives, partnerships, advocacy, innovation, and educational programs that will create, sustain, and enrich UMA’s institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion of its entire community. They will also work to identify challenges, propose strategies, and make recommendations for new and ongoing policies that support DEI initiatives.
Putting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Action
The DEI Council will:
- Promote a long-term and sustained culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion that is flexible, evolving, and open to continual improvement.
- Establish institutional funding for ongoing education and training programs in DEI areas, to include regular professional development opportunities for all members of the community.
- Recognize that inequalities and exclusions are the products of both structural policies and unconscious prejudice, and that DEI initiatives are not possible without both institutional support and healthy self-reflection and openness to learning from all members of our community.
- Organize and promote workshops, activities, professional development, and research in DEI related areas and advocate that these opportunities be supported and rewarded through administrative and institutional support. These development activities should be provided by university professionals as well as initiated by student interests in order to better address structural blind spots and increase attention to diverse students’ actual needs.
- Create a shared culture of DEI through deliberate and public expressions of DEI values. This means that we will seek to actively and positively create learning communities that are inclusive of sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and income differences and actively understand and promote the benefits of DEI across our entire community.
- Intentionally prioritize and support faculty efforts to integrate DEI research, tools, and perspectives into their curriculum and classroom practices.
- Intentionally recruit and retain faculty, students, and staff that reflect multicultural and diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Susan Baker, Co-Chair
Professor of Science
sbak@maine.edu
Pamela MacRae, Co-Chair
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
pamela.macrae@maine.edu
Aaminah Aleem
Administrative Specialist, Office of Student Life
aaminah.aleem@maine.edu
Jeremy Bouford
Assistant Director of Recruitment, Admissions
jeremy.bouford@maine.edu
Lynett Kelly
Student Services Coordinator, Bangor
lynett.kelly@maine.edu
Charlotte MacDonald
Administrative Specialist, College of Arts and Sciences
charlotte.macdonald@maine.edu
Patricia Clark
Lecturer of Mental Health and Human Services
pclark@maine.edu
Kristin McLaren
Post-Doctoral Scholar for DEI Initiatives
kristin.mclaren@maine.edu
Samira Musleh
Post-Doctoral Scholar for DEI Initiatives
samira.musleh@maine.edu
Kelby Myers
Assistant Professor of Veterinary Technology
kelby.myers@maine.edu
Lynn Poor
Student Services Coordinator, Augusta & Lewiston Auburn Center
lpoor@maine.edu
Dave Samuelian
Professor of Mental Health and Human Services
davidjs@maine.edu
Carter Skemp
Assistant Professor of Architecture
carter.skemp@maine.edu
Lauren Stark
Assistant Professor of Education
lauren.stark@maine.edu
Piper Stiles
Student Representative
Brent Wooten
Director of Enrollment Marketing
brent.wooten@maine.edu