hey all,
happy winter break! i'm typing from my hotel room in cork, ireland right now. yep, in ireland thinking about duke academic policy-what a nerd. or maybe i'm just reasonably excited, because what the AA committee is rolling out next semester is pretty fantastic. many of you (over 1000 at this point) took this survey that was emailed out right at the end of the semester about one-year master's programs, but if you haven't yet please take a second and fill it out. on the docket for next semester:
1. one-year master's programs: the prospect of not getting a job after graduation is frighteningly close this year. and, let's face it, goldman is going to be less interested if your resume says that you graduated from duke and worked at nordstrom for two years. duke doesn't want to dilute the quality of its degrees, we want jobs: the perfect solution for many is a one-year master's program in the graduate and professional schools after completing a duke bachelor's. it will be difficult to roll out in a few months, so no promises for this year (especially with conventional academic subjects; accreditation is a nightmare), but it is an extremely popular program at many of our sister institutions, including yale and vanderbilt. would you be interested? let the aa committee know at cpg5@duke.edu or by leaving a comment here!
2. pass-fail policy: the aa committee is going to suggest a new pass-fail policy to the academic standards committee of the arts and sciences council at the beginning of next semester. it is still being edited, but will include:
-allowing premajor students to take classes pass-fail (post-major is already allowed)
-extending the pass-fail deadline to the current withdrawal deadline (3/4 into the semester)
any thoughts? let us know please. all student feedback is very appreciated!
3. remember as you get new classes to post your syllabi on the Syllabus Archive. also, as you drop and add classes, use the archive for information.
as classes start, feel free to email me, Chelsea (cpg5@duke.edu), with any policy questions. happy new years everyone!
cheers,
chelsea
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Pass/Fail Questions
Hey all! We're trying to construct some changes to the current pass/fail policy in Trinity (initially), and we would love to get some feedback.
For Trinity, the current policy is essentially:
1. You cannot take classes P/F until you have declared your major.
2. You cannot take any T-Reqs or Major/Minor/Certificate/Prereqs at Duke P/F.
3. You have to declare P/F status before drop-add ends.
4. You can only take 2 full-credit classes P/F at Duke.
Which of these standards would you benefit most from changing? What classes would you want to take P/F and why?
Please leave a comment or email me at chelsea.goldstein@duke.edu. Thanks to all, and I'll keep you updated!
Best,
Chelsea
For Trinity, the current policy is essentially:
1. You cannot take classes P/F until you have declared your major.
2. You cannot take any T-Reqs or Major/Minor/Certificate/Prereqs at Duke P/F.
3. You have to declare P/F status before drop-add ends.
4. You can only take 2 full-credit classes P/F at Duke.
Which of these standards would you benefit most from changing? What classes would you want to take P/F and why?
Please leave a comment or email me at chelsea.goldstein@duke.edu. Thanks to all, and I'll keep you updated!
Best,
Chelsea
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Syllabus Archive
I've got to run to class, so this will be quick, but the Syllabus Archive is now up! Check it out, send in your syllabi, and let us know what you think.
Academic Love,
Chelsea
Saturday, November 1, 2008
ACS presents...Kville Online
Okay I guess I’ll step in here since I can see this is quickly becoming the Academic Affairs blog. There’s a lot going on in the world of Athletics and Campus Services this semester, as the development of New Campus creates space for new ideas and brings into review a lot of old ones. ACS has a dozen projects in the works, ranging from bringing students to away games to changing the dining plan structure for freshmen.
But you didn’t come here for a list of awesome ACS projects (or did you? Is anyone even reading this?). You can find those on our website. Today, let’s talk Kville.
First, does everyone know that tenting season is short this year? It’s a little more than a month long, which should come as a great relief to those still thawing from three months of Kville last year. It’s always nice to host the first rivalry game.
I am proud to release kville.info, the new online home of Kville tenting. The site is the lovechild of Head Line Monitor Joel Burill, ACS Senator Vivek Upadhyay, and web guru Andrew Tutt. While the website is still in development, you can already find all of the tenting policies and a forum for tenting discussion right on the site. It’s easy to navigate and easy on the eyes. Right now we’re working on integrating the Crazies Counter into the website, which will let you see how many people are already waiting in line for a basketball game. In the future, we’ll be posting testimonials from tenting veterans so prospective Kville residents can learn what to pack and hopefully sort fact from fiction.
Joel and I met with Phil and Scott from Facilities on Friday and worked out the details of Kville cleanup (FMD will make their sweep at around 7am each morning). Line Monitors will help take out full trash bags and replace them with new ones during the day. At our request, FMD is making sure there is an ample supply of new trash bags hanging from each trashcan (NOT in the bottom of the can—no one wants to reach all the way into an empty trashcan to grab a new bag). After meeting with a handful of administrators who would love to see Kville disappear forever, it was nice to hear Phil and Scott—the guys who actually clean up the place—so supportive of it.
I think Kville is going to be a great success this year. At the very least, it’s going to be shorter!
But you didn’t come here for a list of awesome ACS projects (or did you? Is anyone even reading this?). You can find those on our website. Today, let’s talk Kville.
First, does everyone know that tenting season is short this year? It’s a little more than a month long, which should come as a great relief to those still thawing from three months of Kville last year. It’s always nice to host the first rivalry game.
I am proud to release kville.info, the new online home of Kville tenting. The site is the lovechild of Head Line Monitor Joel Burill, ACS Senator Vivek Upadhyay, and web guru Andrew Tutt. While the website is still in development, you can already find all of the tenting policies and a forum for tenting discussion right on the site. It’s easy to navigate and easy on the eyes. Right now we’re working on integrating the Crazies Counter into the website, which will let you see how many people are already waiting in line for a basketball game. In the future, we’ll be posting testimonials from tenting veterans so prospective Kville residents can learn what to pack and hopefully sort fact from fiction.
Joel and I met with Phil and Scott from Facilities on Friday and worked out the details of Kville cleanup (FMD will make their sweep at around 7am each morning). Line Monitors will help take out full trash bags and replace them with new ones during the day. At our request, FMD is making sure there is an ample supply of new trash bags hanging from each trashcan (NOT in the bottom of the can—no one wants to reach all the way into an empty trashcan to grab a new bag). After meeting with a handful of administrators who would love to see Kville disappear forever, it was nice to hear Phil and Scott—the guys who actually clean up the place—so supportive of it.
I think Kville is going to be a great success this year. At the very least, it’s going to be shorter!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
exciting aa-ness
hey all! chelsea here again. academic affairs has had a pretty exciting few weeks. to recap:
-bookbagging opened on the new ACES, and it definitely wasn't the catastrophe it would have been a few weeks ago. there's still a few bugs, but i'm really happy that it's at least functional now. check out student.groups.duke.edu/academic_affairs for the OIT and DSG guides to the new ACES, or email me (cpg5@duke.edu) if you are confused. we had another focus group meeting and members got access to a test version of registration, which went really well for me. if only i could actually get in to ariely's class next semester though...
-underload passed through the academic standards committee! this means it should go to ECASC and then [hopefully] the arts and sciences council. again, i have to stay mum on the details for now, but this will be really cool for students if it passes.
-ben was surfing old duke sites and found a syllabus database--what a good idea! we're trying to revamp the site and link it to our evals system. a couple problems, though: 1. it's written in .PHP, which none of us know very well 2. there's a cgi code to get into the site for edits that we can't crack. if you could help us with these problems, there might be a work study or some type of compensation in it for you. please help!
-career-focused research and software training workshops are coming along nicely! i'm meeting with reps from the career center, library, and OIT next week, and hopefully we'll have some workshops put together in the spring.
-the committee is trying to jump start majors unions. if you're interested in getting involved, let us know. also, if you are an exec member in your major's union, let us know that too.
-also going on: [trying] to start on standardizing transfer credit. writing a new pass/fail policy memo. working to get a new focus that links to duke engage. working on a survey to see what classes are the most oversubscribed and brainstorming ways to fix it. helping DIYA to create a DSAS certificate. creating new half-credit courses in popular subjects. chicka chicka yeahhhh.
let me know if you want to get involved/have any questions/think AA is the hottest committee in DSG.
academically,
chelsea
-bookbagging opened on the new ACES, and it definitely wasn't the catastrophe it would have been a few weeks ago. there's still a few bugs, but i'm really happy that it's at least functional now. check out student.groups.duke.edu/academic_affairs for the OIT and DSG guides to the new ACES, or email me (cpg5@duke.edu) if you are confused. we had another focus group meeting and members got access to a test version of registration, which went really well for me. if only i could actually get in to ariely's class next semester though...
-underload passed through the academic standards committee! this means it should go to ECASC and then [hopefully] the arts and sciences council. again, i have to stay mum on the details for now, but this will be really cool for students if it passes.
-ben was surfing old duke sites and found a syllabus database--what a good idea! we're trying to revamp the site and link it to our evals system. a couple problems, though: 1. it's written in .PHP, which none of us know very well 2. there's a cgi code to get into the site for edits that we can't crack. if you could help us with these problems, there might be a work study or some type of compensation in it for you. please help!
-career-focused research and software training workshops are coming along nicely! i'm meeting with reps from the career center, library, and OIT next week, and hopefully we'll have some workshops put together in the spring.
-the committee is trying to jump start majors unions. if you're interested in getting involved, let us know. also, if you are an exec member in your major's union, let us know that too.
-also going on: [trying] to start on standardizing transfer credit. writing a new pass/fail policy memo. working to get a new focus that links to duke engage. working on a survey to see what classes are the most oversubscribed and brainstorming ways to fix it. helping DIYA to create a DSAS certificate. creating new half-credit courses in popular subjects. chicka chicka yeahhhh.
let me know if you want to get involved/have any questions/think AA is the hottest committee in DSG.
academically,
chelsea
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Academic Affairs, woot woot
Hey all, this is Chelsea, the VP for Academic Affairs. I'll try to keep you updated on all of the things the AA Senators and I are doing to try to make academics at Duke better for students. Please comment or send me an email, though, if you have any ideas or need help with an academic problem--we're here to help you.
This week, we chose our new at large senators (Michael Mandl, Michelle Sohn, Andrew Schreiber, and Ben Getson) and had our first full committee meeting. We decided to send out a how-to guide to everyone before class registration to make sure that people can navigate the new ACES (I know-yikes!). We're also still working with the people in OIT to try to fix the problems with the new system. We gave them a big list at our first focus group, including making one menu that will be on every page and making the bursar's bill easier to read. I just emailed Kathy Pfeiffer, the head of the project, about setting a date for our next meeting: hopefully we'll fix the rest of the problems soon.
We've also been working with Portia, a student affairs senator, to set up a new focus program about Africa and Africans. Dean Baker was really excited about the idea, and suggested that we link the project to Duke Engage. Harrison, Portia, and I are now talking to professors to see if they would be interested. Let us know if you have any tips!
My pet project right now is working with the library, OIT, and the Career Center to set up career-focused research and software training workshops. These would be offered through the career center on topics like 'Researching Equities' or 'Learning Microsoft Excel'. It's still in the planning phases, so we'd love feedback on topics, etc.
One of our big three projects is on the table right now: changing the underload policy to be more flexible for all students. I have to stay mum on the details because it's in a private committee right now, but I feel good about the progress. It would be awesome if we got it passed, so watch out for it at the end of this semester!
I've got three midterms on Monday and Tuesday, so I better stop blogging and start studying. Leave a comment or shoot me an email with any questions--cpg5@duke.edu.
~Chelsea
This week, we chose our new at large senators (Michael Mandl, Michelle Sohn, Andrew Schreiber, and Ben Getson) and had our first full committee meeting. We decided to send out a how-to guide to everyone before class registration to make sure that people can navigate the new ACES (I know-yikes!). We're also still working with the people in OIT to try to fix the problems with the new system. We gave them a big list at our first focus group, including making one menu that will be on every page and making the bursar's bill easier to read. I just emailed Kathy Pfeiffer, the head of the project, about setting a date for our next meeting: hopefully we'll fix the rest of the problems soon.
We've also been working with Portia, a student affairs senator, to set up a new focus program about Africa and Africans. Dean Baker was really excited about the idea, and suggested that we link the project to Duke Engage. Harrison, Portia, and I are now talking to professors to see if they would be interested. Let us know if you have any tips!
My pet project right now is working with the library, OIT, and the Career Center to set up career-focused research and software training workshops. These would be offered through the career center on topics like 'Researching Equities' or 'Learning Microsoft Excel'. It's still in the planning phases, so we'd love feedback on topics, etc.
One of our big three projects is on the table right now: changing the underload policy to be more flexible for all students. I have to stay mum on the details because it's in a private committee right now, but I feel good about the progress. It would be awesome if we got it passed, so watch out for it at the end of this semester!
I've got three midterms on Monday and Tuesday, so I better stop blogging and start studying. Leave a comment or shoot me an email with any questions--cpg5@duke.edu.
~Chelsea
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Welcome to the DSG blog!
Everyone says that DSG needs to be a more transparent, open organization, and we agree. In the past, it has been hard to tell what exactly we spend all of our time doing.
This blog is going to help fix that.
For the rest of the year we are going to bring you the inside story behind every DSG project, initiative, and proposal. If you want a real, unfiltered look at the inner-workings of the Duke administration, this is the place to be.
We're excited about it, and we hope you are too.
This blog is going to help fix that.
For the rest of the year we are going to bring you the inside story behind every DSG project, initiative, and proposal. If you want a real, unfiltered look at the inner-workings of the Duke administration, this is the place to be.
We're excited about it, and we hope you are too.
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