This course is designed for student affairs practitioners and student support service providers in the field of higher education who seek to gain understanding of the staff and student experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). It explores theoretical perspectives and practical approaches to serving the HBCU student population through frameworks related to academic success, advising, mentoring, student support, and student engagement. We will examine the history, culture, and impact of HBCUs on education and its critical role in American history and society. Students will be expected to evaluate high-impact practices (HIPs) currently being used at HBCUs and analyze creative strategies for better engaging students of color. This course will incorporate diverse perspectives, including faculty, staff, alumni, and guest speakers from HBCUs.

Course Objectives

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Describe the historical and cultural impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities on American education.
• Define and provide examples of high-impact practices currently being used at HBCUs to address advising, mentoring, and student success.
• Differentiate the specific challenges and opportunities faced by HBCU students compared to students at other institutions.
• Develop the knowledge, skills, and cultural competencies necessary to provide effective mentoring and advising support to students within the unique context of HBCUs.
• Articulate how the HBCU experience can inform your own personal and professional development.

Required Text:

Course materials will be provided.

Tasha Carson, Ph.D.

Assistant Vice President in Student Affairs, Tennessee State University

Tasha A. Carson, Ph.D., is a noted strategist, solutionist, and higher education enthusiast. She currently serves as the Assistant Vice President in the Division of Student Affairs at Tennessee State University. As a speaker and trainer, she has presented at national conferences and numerous HBCUs throughout the country, including Langston University, Fisk University, Bethune-Cookman University, Shaw University, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, on an array of topics ranging from student leadership to staff development.

With a nearly 12-year career established on integrity, student-centeredness, and organizational theory, she is an emerging leader in the field of higher education. Dr. Carson is a two-time graduate of North Carolina Central University, where she earned a masters in counseling education and two undergraduate degrees in political science and sociology. She earned her Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State University. As a devoted lifelong learner, she holds two leadership certifications from HarvardX and a wealth of continuing education completions.

Registration Deadline: May 21, 2024
Course Capacity: 30 registrants 
Fee: $425

This course is aimed at making assessment more manageable for higher education professionals who have been tasked with conducting assessment, but perhaps have lingering questions about how to make their assessment efforts more efficient and effective. Developing the skills necessary to plan, carry out, interpret, and implement assessment activities is important to those who have been tasked with these responsibilities.  This course aims to provide information and techniques to those interested in developing intermediate-level proficiency with assessment and evaluation.  The course will cover topics such as aligning assessment plans with department, division, and institutional goals; knowing how to gather and make sense of qualitative and quantitative data; connecting assessment results to program improvements; and developing relationships with key stakeholders in the process. 

Course Objectives 

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Understand the process of developing aligned assessment plans  
• Detail practical concerns with assessing impact of student engagement 
• Explore how assessment questions lead to data analysis 
• Examine effective reporting of assessment results  
• Identify methods of using assessment results to improve program effectiveness 

Required Text:

Course materials will be provided.

Dallin George Young, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor in the College Student Affairs Administration and Student Affairs Leadership graduate programs, University of Georgia

Dallin George Young, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the College Student Affairs Administration and Student Affairs Leadership graduate programs at the University of Georgia.  Dallin has presented and published widely on college student transitions, peer leadership, graduate professional preparation in student affairs, and assessment of student learning.  Before coming to UGA, Dallin was the Assistant Director for Research and Grants at The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and has held professional roles in housing and residence life as well as student affairs assessment at a variety of institutional types.  

Registration Deadline: June 28, 2024
Course Capacity: 30 registrants 
Fee: $425

Current research on growth mindset has exploded in the past two decades, and many student success professionals are grappling with how best to take what we know works and implement it into a first-year course or program. It is a foundational component of learning mindsets that help students feel as though they belong and that they can overcome inevitable challenges. This course will first focus on a foundational understanding of growth mindset and how it connects to the literature on belonging and resilience. Then, the course will cover opportunities to infuse growth mindset as well as belonging and resilience into a first-year program so that participants can create a plan that provides opportunities for students to encourage, develop, or enhance these traits. Each week of the course will be centered on current research and strategies that can enhance student success. This course will encourage participants to identify where they could include learning mindsets information and intervention into their first-year program. 

Course Objectives 

As a part of this course, participants will:

• Discuss the current research of growth mindset.
• Identify ways that a growth mindset connects to belonging and resilience.
• Describe how incorporating a focus on growth mindset into the first-year can lead to long-term gains for students.
• Describe the key components of effective interventions related to growth mindset that enhances belonging and resilience.
• Create a plan for incorporating learning mindsets into their first-year student success course or program.

Required Text:

Baldwin. A, Bunting, B., Daugherty, D., Hardman Lewis, L., & Steenbergh, T. (2020). Promoting Belonging, Growth Mindset, and Resilience to Foster Student Success. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing

Amy Baldwin, Ed.D.

 Former director of Student Transitions at University of Central Arkansas, now Senior Lecturer of Literacy and Academic Success, specializes in first-generation and at-risk college students, authoring multiple student success texts and serving as a resource for faculty, staff, and families.

Amy Baldwin is the former director of Student Transitions at University of Central Arkansas and current Senior Lecturer of Literacy and Academic Success. She also coordinates the First-Year Seminar. Her scholarship is focused on first-generation, at-risk, and first-year college students. In addition to chairing a department focused on first-year students, she also teaches composition, literacy, and student success.

Baldwin wrote the first student success book for the community college market for Pearson: The Community College Experience. She has authored and co-authored additional student success texts including The College Experience, The College Experience Compact, and The First-Generation College Experience. She is also a co-author of Promoting Belonging, Growth Mindset, and Resilience to Foster Student Success, a book published by the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. A chapter on growth mindset appeared in the summer 2019 issue of New Directions for Student Leadership: Leadership Development Through Campus Employment. She has three Open Educational Resource (OER) texts with OpenStax: College Success, College Success Concise, and Preparing for College Success. She also blogs, writes, and speaks about student success topics for faculty, staff, students, and families for Collegiate Parent, NBC Toolkit, and Higher Ed Parent. Follow her on Instagram @thecuriousprofessor for tidbits of student success strategies.

Baldwin earned her bachelor's degree in English literature at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and a master’s degree in British Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Her previous positions include Chair of College Studies and faculty member at University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College. She served as the state project director for the Arkansas Complete College America (CCA) grant from 2011-2013 and is a CCA content expert for corequisite developmental courses.

Registration Deadline: August 20, 2024
Course Capacity: 35 registrants 
Fee: $425