Overview, Visiting Workshop Program

Program Description

Departments will select topics of high interest from a list of areas of expertise developed through prior community workshops. Two of our workshop leaders will work with the department to customize our workshop materials in these areas and deliver the programming on (or near) campus. Each session will be built on presentations, discussions, and action planning. The workshop program will feature concrete examples drawn from the leaders' experience and from the collective experiences of the geoscience community, and will highlight online resources for further information. All workshops will also incorporate information on building departmental consensus and assessing departmental efforts.

Topics

Your department may choose one or more of the following topics on which to focus for your half-day to two-day workshop. Plan on a minimum of two hours per topic.

• Curriculum and Program Design
• Beyond the Curriculum
• Recruiting Students
• Preparing Students for the Workforce
• Program Assessment

Workshop Outcomes

Our visiting leaders will offer their knowledge and expertise on the topic or topics you choose from the list above, and will lead your department in a structured conversation about how to move forward with your departmental plans for the future. In particular, at the end of the workshop you will have:

• Strategies that have worked for other geoscience departments.
• A collection of resources, from other geoscience departments and beyond, on the topic(s) of your choice.
• A departmental action plan for moving forward.

Schedule

These workshops will take place during the 2009-2010 academic year, at the mutual convenience of your department and our leaders. We will have a rolling application deadline. The first set of acceptances was based on applications received on or before September 16. The next set was considered November 16; applications not accepted in the first round were considered again in the second round. Applicants will be notified within two weeks of each deadline.

Expectations

Participating departments are expected to:

• Schedule the workshop to support full participation by all department faculty members.
• Reserve a meeting space with robust internet access.
• Provide us with information about your department and its programs.
• Prepare in advance for workshop discussions via readings, writings, discussion or other activities developed by workshop leaders.
• Participate fully in the entire workshop.
• Develop an action plan at the workshop, implement it, and report the outcomes to us.
• Contribute to on-line collections of resources for the Building Strong Departments website.
• Assist in disseminating the results of the workshop through discussions with colleagues and other activities.

Institutional Costs and Responsibilities

Workshop leaders' travel expenses are covered by a grant from the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE-0817353). The host institution must provide housing, meals, local ground transportation and any other on-site expenses (e.g., duplication of handouts).

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be selected on the basis of potential impact on the department and the match between department needs as articulated in the application and our programs strengths. We will give preference to applicants with a high level of commitment, as indicated by the percentage of the department that will be involved and the length of workshop requested.