Monday, October 11, 2021
News
Limited Testing Capacity at OAR
The Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) reports that they are happy to provide space and proctoring for students with extra time and other testing accommodations. They require no less than 72-hour notice in all cases. Faculty and advisers should remind their students and advisees to book their exams before this 72-hour window. The OAR has limited space and proctor resources, so some requests may be denied due to these constraints. It is always helpful when students can work with faculty to find alternative spaces and proctors. For more information about accommodations and the faculty, see the Disability Accomodations information maintained by the Dean of the College Office.
Special Class Schedule this Week
Classes on Friday, October 15 with operate on a special class schedule (as we do for Opening Convo) with slightly shortened class periods to accommodate the Inauguration Convocation.
Inauguration Installation Procession
Faculty planning to march for the Presidential Installation ceremony on Saturday, October 16, will line up between Laird and Boliou. Faculty should be in line by 1:45 p.m.; the procession begins at 1:50 p.m.
2021 Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium
The Inauguration Convocation on the afternoon of Friday, October 15, will be followed at 4 p.m. by a street fair with food trucks and entertainment along College Street. Follow the fair all the way to Weitz, and you’ll reach another marvelous inauguration event: from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. we will have the 2021 Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium in the Weitz Commons and adjacent areas. The Symposium promises to be a one-of-a-kind not-to-be-missed experience, with more than 200 students presenting posters on their summer research and internship experiences. Come join us to discover and explore the wide array of work our students did over the summer, both here on campus and at numerous other places around the country. Chat with the students about their work. You can focus on a handful of posters that most pique your interest, or try to browse the entire collection. Because this event will include many community and inauguration visitors, it will be masked.
Coffee and News with the Dean
Join us for Coffee and News with the Dean on Fridays, 8:00-8:30 a.m. On Friday, October 15, Wiebke Kuhn will introduce two new staff members — Sam Graff, Academic Technologist of Learning Innovations and Universal Design for Learning, and Em Palencia, Academic Technologist focusing on Moodle and Reclaim.
Humanities Center Blog
Read about what your colleagues read about over this summer: our latest post is from Anita Chikkatur, Summer Forester, Zaki Haidar, Meredith McCoy and Eddie O’Byrn about their discussions of Settler Colonialism: Global and Local Connections.
A Message from Admissions re: Visitors
In light of the changes in masking policies on-campus, the Admissions office would like to reiterate the expectations of Admissions visitors as their masking guidelines ARE NOT CHANGING. The full list of expectations for Admissions visitors can be found on the registration page under “expectations for fall campus visitors” and these are reiterated in reminder emails.
The expectations remain:
- All guests will be fully masked with a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times indoors when not actively eating or drinking (this includes in classrooms and in the dining halls).
- All Admissions staff (full-time and student) will wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times when indoors with guests.
The Admissions Office is hopeful that faculty will feel comfortable continuing to host prospective students who have attested to being fully vaccinated in classes. If this changes, please contact Holly Buttrey. Additionally, the Admission staff encourages you to thank prospective students for adhering to the Admissions guidelines even if your class opts to be maskless.
COVID Recovery
Answers to the following questions received this week can be found on the COVID Frequently Asked Questions website:
- What should I do if I can’t participate in random surveillance testing (due to travel, for example)? Please note that the answer to this question has changed slightly since the October 4 faculty meeting.
- How will I know if I’ve been selected for random surveillance testing?
- Where can I go to get a COVID test on campus?
Additional questions we received:
Can people email covid@carleton.edu to get mask signage for their spaces?
The Return to Campus Team will post signage about the general masking convention on campus, but we will not be providing signage for use in individual offices or other spaces.
What is the testing requirement for unvaccinated faculty and staff?
Our consulting epidemiologist has recommended that if we use a PCR test then unvaccinated faculty and staff should be tested once each week and if we use an antigen test then unvaccinated faculty and staff should be tested twice each week. We are currently using an antigen test, so we are currently testing unvaccinated faculty and staff twice each week. This may change in the future, as circumstances change.
During what hours are our random surveillance testing clinics operating?
Our random surveillance clinics are currently operating on Mondays from 10 am to 2 pm. These clinics are currently scheduled for October 11, October 18, and October 25.
Additional Information
Please continue to see the COVID Frequently Asked Questions website for updated information on the College’s COVID response and previous issues of the East Laird Times for information specific to the academic division.
Advising
Late Drop and S/CR/NC
Just a reminder to all faculty and academic advisers that late drop and S/CR/NC processes no longer require a physical “card” for processing. The process is entirely online. Please direct your students to the registrar’s website for the proper forms.
REMINDER: File Academic Progress Reports for Students Who Are Experiencing Serious Academic Difficulty
Faculty members are expected to notify the Office of the Dean of Students of any student at any point during the term who they believe is experiencing serious academic difficulty, who has missed a large number of classes, who frequently submits late work, or who, for some other reason, should be brought to a dean’s attention. As we approach the midpoint of the fall term, this is a strategic moment to prepare academic Progress Reports. This link will provide you with an easy interface to report your concerns about a student so that the DOSO may follow up. Please do not include any personal or health information in your progress reports.
Faculty, it is also a good idea to bring the academic adviser into the loop so that they understand why an academic progress report is being issued. We strongly recommend using phone calls rather than email so that a confidential conversation with the adviser is possible.
As you provide timely support for all of your students, be particularly mindful if any of your students and advisees show any of the telltale signs of struggling. The most common signs of struggling behavior are:
- Multiple, unexplained absences.
- Incomplete or poor scores on low-stakes assignments.
- Missed assignments.
- General non-responsiveness to emails and Moodle forum posts, especially when prompted directly by the professor.
Also, direct advisees experiencing academic difficulties to the relevant academic support resources. The most comprehensive, online overview of Carleton’s academic support resources is on the Dean of the College page, under Academic and Research Support for Students. In addition to resources under the umbrella of the Academic Support Center there are other sources of support such as the CARS Support page, Mentored Cohort Programs, and the new Undergraduate Research page. Some of these pages lead to little-known but very useful sources for supporting student research using spatial analysis, providing multilingual/second language writing support, and centers that will facilitate student work such as the Language Center, the Idea Lab, and the Quantitative Resource Center (page under construction).
Sophomore Anxiety during the Term
We have noticed thus far in the term a bit more anxiety among our sophomores, most of whom are navigating a fully in-person college experience for the first time. The Dean of Students Office reports that there are more social and club activities this term and that is causing some students to stretch themselves out a bit farther than they could last year. Besides referring students to Academic Support for help with time management, advisers should be aware of a number of resources to support student mental wellness.
A good resource to direct students to is the Student Health and Counseling page, maintained by the Office of Health Promotion and the Dean of Students. Specific subpages include an emergency situation flowchart, educational resources, support resources based on type of concern, and frequently asked questions. See the Supporting Student Mental Health page for faculty and staff resources to help students.
Scenes from the Majors and Minors Fair
Advising Quick Links
Grants and Fellowships
NSF “Racial Equity in STEM Education”
The National Science Foundation’s new “Racial Equity in STEM Education” program seeks to support bold, ground-breaking, and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM. Proposals from faculty or staff should advance racial equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice. Contact Christopher Tassava to discuss this opportunity.
Engeseth-Rinde Restoration Fund
Applications for grants to support habitat restoration, ecological and social research, and educational projects in the Nerstrand-Dennison area are invited by the Engeseth-Rinde Fund Advisory Committee for the Northfield SHARES Foundation. Grants typically focus on native habitat restoration of the Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area working in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Scientific and educational projects may also be funded where the projects have applicability in the Nerstrand-Dennison area.
Proposals may be presented by government agencies, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and other similar organizations. Grants usually range from $500 to $15,000. Grant applications should be submitted by Monday, November 1, 2021. More information about the application process can be found on the website for Friends of Prairie Creek.
ACM Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) program
The Associated Colleges of the Midwest solicits pre-proposals for grants from the Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) program for projects that:
- Engage faculty either from multiple institutions or from different departments within a single institution;
- Identify and test innovations that have the potential to address current challenges or opportunities faced by liberal arts colleges and their faculty; or
- Show plans to become sustainable on the campuses involved and demonstrate the potential to be replicable on other campuses through effective dissemination strategies.
Pre-proposals must be submitted by midnight on by Friday, October 29. The Grants Office can assist prospective applicants with pre-proposals, from thinking about projects and sharing sample pre-proposals to developing application materials and submitting the pre-proposal.
Conferences and Workshops
Foreign Policy and Practice Series
The ACM and Chicago Council on Global Affairs will be hosting the first session in the new Foreign Policy and Practice Series on Wednesday, October 27, 5:00-6:30 p.m. (CT) entitled Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Does It Matter and, If so, How?
This session will include a 60-minute panel discussion followed by a 20-minute conversation around careers in foreign policy. Please share this information with your students and ask them to come prepared to ask questions and interact with the panel members about their various careers to make the most out of the opportunity.