I hope you’ve all had a great summer and are ready for the official start of a new school year on Wednesday. We had a highly successful new faculty orientation last week, and I want to thank everyone who attended as well as everyone who contributed to the day’s success. It certainly is a busy and exciting time on our campus, and before it gets even busier, I’d like to give you an update from the Division of Academic Affairs.

Feedback Sought for New Course-Section Information Tool

About a week ago, I sent a message seeking feedback on a new course-section information website developed by the Office of the Provost, Robert Holland Faculty Senate leadership, and Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE) as a response to a resolution from our Student Association. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee was invited to provide feedback concerning what information should be included on the site in March after reviewing similar sites from many of our peer institutions. Faculty Senate leadership viewed some of those sites and provided the requested feedback. After looking at a number of options, this site was created to provide grade point averages, by section and instructor, for the past four years. The site also includes the percentage of positive responses to Question 10 in the student course survey, which asks “I would recommend this course.” As I mentioned in my email, this approach offers a more accurate and holistic picture with both GPA and student satisfaction.

Tracey Baham and her OIRE team have fielded a number of questions and suggestions already, and I am very thankful for all of the input. To date, they have addressed the following:

* Several tweaks were made on how cross-listing is displaying so that enrollments are not duplicated for the combined sections

* Instructors who have passed away have been removed from the tool

* Instructors who were added to a class in response to emergency situations have had those classes removed from the tool (e.g., a faculty member took over a class during the last two weeks of the semester)

* Preferred names were added along with the names that appear in Banner on the schedule

* Investigating how we can identify and remove instructors who have left the institution

* Removal of Spring 2020 information, since it is highly skewed because of the pass/fail options that were provided to students

* Not list GTAs in this dashboard, nor faculty who have only taught only one section in one semester. This helps prevent a bias for first-time teachers

Dr. Baham and OIRE are still working on several issues that have been raised, many requiring thinking through how we can use and access Banner data (e.g., 4000/6000 splits, Honors sections, incorrect faculty listings in sections).

The site will be available to all MSU faculty and staff for evaluation and feedback until October 1. At that point, the site will be finalized and made available to students prior to pre-enrollment for the spring semester. The site can be viewed at https://ir.msstate.edu/research/grades.php and I would encourage you to review it and share any questions or concerns you may have.

New Flexwork Policy Now in Place

In late July, the university’s Executive Council approved a new policy to address flexible work arrangements for 12-month employees (nine-month faculty have work expectations addressed in other policies). The new flexwork policy — OP 60.324 — defines the different types of flexwork arrangements, establishes procedures for implementation, and provides important considerations for both supervisors and employees considering flexwork. First and foremost, we are an in-person, face-to-face institution, but there are times when flexwork can be the best option for all involved and the new policy seeks to address these situations. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6738

Dyer to Serve as Interim in New Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies Leadership Position

Earlier this month, we announced that Jamie Dyer will be serving as interim dean of interdisciplinary studies, which is a new leadership position here on campus. Dr. Dyer has extensive experience with interdisciplinary academic and research programs, and I believe he is exceptionally well qualified to lead our growing Interdisciplinary Studies Program as we broaden and expand these offerings to better meet the needs of our students. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6733

Kudos and Congratulations

Every month, I look forward to sharing faculty and staff success stories with you, and here are a few that have crossed my desk recently:

* Kudos to Becky Hagenston, a professor in the Department of English, who has been awarded a literary artist fellowship for fiction from the Mississippi Arts Commission. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6721

* Congratulations to Robert West, the interim head of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures and a professor in the Department of English, who has published the first book dedicated to poet, short story writer and novelist Robert Morgan. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6714

* Kudos to Cole Etheredge, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, who has been recognized by the American Society for Horticultural Science with an ASHS Professional Early Career Award, as well as an Education Publication Award, which recognizes the author of the outstanding paper on horticultural education, published in the previous year's issues of The Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6710

* Congratulations to Daryl Jones, an Extension professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, who is among The Wildlife Society’s latest group of fellowship inductees. Read more at https://memo.msstate.edu/story.php?id=6705

Final Words

As always, I welcome your questions, suggestions, comments, and concerns at david.shaw@msstate.edu

Hail State!

David

Dr. David R. Shaw is Provost and Executive Vice President at Mississippi State University. His email address is david.shaw@msstate.edu.