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As we approach the end of the semester and the close of the 2023-24 academic year, I want to thank all CU faculty for your deep engagement with our students. When teaching is at its best, it provides mirrors and windows for students, mirrors that reflect back to students new ways of seeing themselves in the world and windows that allow students to see more expansive possibilities for the future. Although this can sometimes feel quite magical, I know it comes from attentiveness to the needs of students, intentional engagement with students, and the ability to make course content relevant to the lives of students. Please know that your work is not invisible and it will live on in the way students walk in the world well into the future. Thank you so much!
Faculty Unbound Award
In recognition of the work the CU faculty do in support of students and their learning, College Unbound will be presenting its first Faculty Unbound Award. Consistent with College’s Unbound mission to reinvent higher education for adult learners, this annual award will acknowledge a member of CU’s faculty who through their teaching and engagement with students has redefined the learning experience for CU’s diverse student community. The recipient of Faculty Unbound Award, through student nomination, must have exemplified the following:
- Demonstrated through their teaching a commitment to College Unbound’s core values around equity, justice and the transformational power of lifelong learning.
- Employed innovative instructional practices that center students and their lived experiences, and engage students in challenging the status quo in their courses and in their lives.
- Went above and beyond the traditional responsibilities of faculty in order to support the holistic development of students.
Although the Faculty Unbound Award will be formally presented to the recipient at the CU’s Commencement Ceremony in Providence in August, I want to celebrate all of the faculty who were nominated by College Unbound students. Please join me in congratulating these incredible faculty for their commitment to CU students and to teaching in a manner that is truly unbound.
2023-2024 Faculty Unbound Award Nominees
David Bromley
Suzanne Brooks
Wanda Brown
Jody Cohen
Ashley Cook
Mac Crite
John Cruz
Gigi DiBello
Chris Dickson
Debra Jonfelix
MaryEllen Kelley
Deborah Kronenberg
Melina Kuchinov
Hannah Khan
Larome Myrick
Swetha Narasimhan
Kimberly Natareno
Peter Newman
Rosey Ok
Jimi Orange
Silas Pinto
Michael Reaves
LaSheena Riley Duval
Brandon Robinson
Jose Rodriguez
Kerry Schiff
Jeremy Thayer
Vanessa Vigil
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CU Prison Education Program | |
College Unbound is committed to increasing access to degree completion for adults who have experienced barriers to education. Through the Prison Education Program, CU has maintained a long commitment to providing access to education for those most marginalized inside of carceral spaces, including at the men’s and women’s facilities at the Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) in Rhode Island. CU also works to ensure those we are returning from carceral spaces can continue their education and transition smoothly to their communities.
For more information about CU’s Prison Education Program, please visit: https://www.collegeunbound.edu/apps/pages/cuprisonwork
| Get to know the PEP Team! | |
Bonnie Clarke - Prison Education Initiative & Transition Coordinator
Wanda Brown - Community Care Coordinator
Charles Dickson - Assistant Dean of Student Success
Jose Rodriguez - Assistant Vice President of Community & Belonging
Sylvia Spears - Provost & Vice President for Lifelong Learning
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Looking for new PEP Faculty
The PEP Team hopes to increase course offerings in the ACI in the future. So we are looking for talented faculty with a deep commitment to seeing the best in all learners and who possess the necessary qualities for teaching CU courses on “the inside.” In addition to fulfilling requirements for teaching roles at CU, faculty who teach as part of PEP in the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (DOC) must be able to do the following:
- Teach during the regular work week. Saturday teaching options may be available. The DOC class times can vary, however, most class times are as follows: 8:30am -10: 30am, 12:30pm - 2:00pm and evening classes are from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
- Follow DOC policies and procedures, including reporting to the DOC and the Program Coordinator, and set and maintain appropriate boundaries with DOC personnel and PEP students
- Meet 1-2 per month with the PEP team staff.
In addition, onboarding at the DOC includes the following:
- Completion of the RI DOC Access Application and the PREA form, which is submitted to Bonnie.
- Once the RI DOC Application is approved, the applicant will receive an email from the RI DOC to complete the NEO (new employee orientation) 16-hour orientation in person at the RI DOC.
- Obtain access badge at the ISC (Intake Service Center Records & ID office)
If you can see yourself teaching some of CU’s most incredible students within the ACI, then the PEP Team would like to hear from you. Those with previous experience working with folx who have been or are currently incarcerated is preferred but not required.
For more information, please contact Bonne at bonnie.clarke@colllegeunbound.edu
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New Lab Faculty Resource! |
End-of-Semester Advising Guide
During the last several weeks of the semester, students and lab faculty should review students’ current academic status and finalize plans for the upcoming semester. To aid in this process, we've developed a quick reference guide to support advising on essential topics: reviewing academic standing, Major courses, registration, career plans, and more.
Registration Check-in Form - Due May 17
In addition to the guide, we are asking Lab Faculty to maintain their own form for continuing students in their cohort(s) that tracks registration and registration-related advising. More information will be sent via email related to this checklist.
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As students show signs of doing great or indicating they need help or are struggling, instructional and lab faculty can and should be in contact with each other to conduct follow-up with students as needed.
If a student is showing low to no engagement in a course, instructional faculty should make an effort to contact the student, and also to contact that student's Lab Faculty.
If a student's Lab Faculty notices an issue with a student's engagement in an instructional course, that Lab Faculty should take measures to follow up with the student and instructional faculty to configure the supports needed to get back on track.
Each faculty member is a part of a student's learning network. Open communication and collaboration on issues and successes as they arise is a way to facilitate and close the loop on student support.
If you have any questions about expectations around being in contact with a student's instructors, please contact Karen Casper at Karen.Casper@collegeunbound.edu.
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Keep in Touch with
Lab Faculty
How to find a student’s Lab Faculty
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Log into Campus Cafe/MyCU
- Select "Choose one" in the middle of the screen
- Select the current semester
- Select Roster
- Select the 3 dots to the left of the student's name
- Select Contact Info
- On this page, you'll see student's personal contact info and lab faculty
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Keep in Touch with
Instructional Faculty
How to find a student’s Instructional Faculty
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Log into Campus Cafe/MyCU
- Search and select the student's name
- Go to person selected
- Go to class schedule
- Select semester
- Select see info
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If an issue appears on the student's Engagement report, the name of the Instructional Faculty is available there.
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End-of-Semester Reminders | |
Grades & Narrative Evaluations
Grades are due in Campus Cafe on May 17 for Spring Session 2 and 3 courses.
Guidance on grades and Narrative Evaluations is available on the Faculty Resource Site.
Final Course Feedback from Students
Please remind your students to complete their final course evaluations. The link to the form is available in the last week of your Moodle Course. You can also access/send this link for evaluations directly. Feedback is anonymous and will be shared with instructors the week after the term ends.
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CU student, Randy Phillips, featured!
Johnston High School makes history with all-girls flag football team
In what started as a CU project, Randy Phillips has made history with an all-girls flag football team at Johnston High School.
Read the article here.
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Editorial by CU student, Koren Carbuccia, featured in UPRISE RI
Community health workers need love too
Koren Carbuccia shares her inspiring journey to Washington D.C. to advocate for increased access to CHWs under Medicaid and Medicare.
Read the editorial here.
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CU Student Digital Storytelling: Aaliyah Robinson | |
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CU has been collecting, recording, and sharing student stories. One story recently shared is Aaliyah Robinson's- the abbreviated version of this story is available below in audio and transcript format.
As part of CU's pilot method of collecting student stories, we invite you to nominate students to work with CU's Institutional Storyteller on developing and recording their own stories. Learn more about this pilot and our Institutional Storyteller here. Students can complete this form, or faculty can nominate a student to get started.
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The Unbound Remix Vol. 3
Friday, 5/10/2024 | 6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. EST
Virtually and in Person
AS220 Blackbox
95 Empire Street, Providence, RI
A creative art showcase for CU Students to celebrate the art that speaks to their hear and soul, truth and vision.
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RI Housing Clinics
Local to Rhode Island? Share this flyer outlining various housing clinics around the state.
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Sincerely,
All of Us at College Unbound, including:
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