Category: News

Financial Operations and the Office of Research Post-Award are holding a vote for their decorated pumpkins.

Vote online or stop by 201 Jardine Hall to vote in-person. Voting ends at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 and is open to current WSU students, faculty and staff. One vote per person.

Faculty from the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University and WSU’s Innovation Campus partners assembled for an hour of networking and making connections Oct. 25.

Featured faculty from each school in the College of Fine Arts shared a sample of scholarly and creative activities to Innovation Campus partners and other faculty from across campus. 

The mixer was part of a series of networking opportunities facilitated by WSU to encourage knowledge sharing and establish relationships among faculty and Innovation Campus partners. The College of Applied Studies was the featured college for the spring mixer.

The Wichita State Child Development Center (CDC) is dedicated to serving the needs of young children by providing a high-quality, culturally diverse early childhood program within a safe nurturing environment.

The CDC encourages the physical, social, emotional, creative and cognitive development of each child using developmentally appropriate practices and is also dedicated to serving the needs of WSU students.

The CDC provide employment opportunities as well as applied learning, life skills and educational training for students. It offers these to students to introduce them to early childhood education and related degrees. It is the philosophy of the CDC and its staff that children, their families and society benefit from high-quality early childhood programs and believe that there is a critical link between a child’s early experiences and later success in life and that one cannot separate childcare and education; children learn best through their play, interactions and experiences.

The learning environment at the CDC is structured in such a way as to give children an opportunity to independently explore, select, create and problem-solve. Classrooms are organized around interest centers and play areas that include art, math, science, language arts, blocks, dramatic play, cooking and nutrition. CDC staff plan and facilitate these experiences for the total development of children in the center. Each classroom promotes the physical, social, emotional, intellectual and creative well-being of the children.

The Student Activities Council and Indigenous Student Collective are hosting a road trip to the First Americans Museum Saturday, Nov. 11 in Oklahoma City.

In one place, visitors experience the collective histories of 39 distinctive First American nations in Oklahoma today. The First Americans Museum shares the cultural diversity, history and contributions of the First Americans.

This experience includes transportation to and from Oklahoma City, admission to the First Americans Museum and time in Bricktown located in downtown Oklahoma City. The participant registration fee includes museum admission and transportation. All meals and souvenirs are at the expense of the individual.

The registration fee is $20 per student and $30 per faculty or staff. All participants must be ages 18 and older, and no general public may attend. The deadline to register is Sunday, Nov. 5 or when all available spots have been filled. Refund requests will not be accepted after the deadline.

On Tuesday, Oct. 31, WSU Information Technology Services (ITS) will roll out Microsoft’s Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) for currently enrolled students.

Microsoft’s MFA enhances security by requiring the use of a secondary device at login to verify your identity. This will ensure that others cannot access your account by obtaining your password.

What can you do to prepare for the implementation of MFA? Please download the Microsoft Authentication App. Information about Microsoft’s MFA Application and download instructions can be found on the Microsoft website.

Additional information on what to expect and how to set up your Multi-factor Authentication can also be found on the ITS webpage.

For questions, contact the ITS Help Desk at 316-978-4357, Option 1 or email helpdesk@wichita.edu.  

Event submissions are open for the Student Activities Council’s (SAC) annual De-Stress Fest. Submissions must be made by Friday, Nov. 3.

De-Stress Fest will take place from Dec. 4 to Dec. 8. Be a part of making Wichita State a relaxing place for finals week.

Watermark’s Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES) tool is Wichita State’s new course evaluation tool. Find more information over the coming weeks in WSU Today about CES.

Today’s focus is on the basic timeline.

• The CES administrator programs the pre-determined dates for each process. The pre-determined schedule cannot be modified.
• The CES tasks are sent at midnight on the scheduled start date and ends at 11:59 p.m. on the scheduled end date.
• The “Manage Course” process for instructors: Instructors have 10 days from notification of the opt-out window to delete courses from CES.
• CES evaluations will be open for students for varying lengths of time, depending upon the length of the course term:
  • 1-week and 2-week courses: two days
  • 5-week to 16-week courses: 10 days
  • Summer 4-week to 11-week courses: seven days
• Current CES results will be available at the end of the semester. Results will continue to remain accessible afterwards.
  • The availability date will be the Friday after grades are due to Registrar.
• There is a dedicated CES website that includes additional information.

For questions, contact Sandy Ranney at evaluations@ces.wichita.edu.

During the month of September 2023, CARE Team saw a 73.43% increase in the number care reports submitted for students from September 2022, totaling 248 care cases worked. The top two concerns that were submitted for students included “direct statements indicating distress” and “needing support for their emotional wellbeing.”

These top concerns are on track with the previous year’s data. At this time in the semester, students are often experiencing more anxiety and stress over schedules, managing social life and academics, and are unsure of the available supports here on campus. 55% of the students CARE Team worked with in September were freshmen who we were able to connect to resources on campus with Counseling and Psychological Services, Success Coaches and the Office of Student Accommodations and Testing being the CARE Team’s top three referrals made.

With the significant increase in reports and care cases, CARE Team is prepared to also see a high numbers of cases in October due to the mid-semester trends of transition/homesickness, seasonal depression beginning and academic stressors. As such, the CARE Team encourages faculty and staff to review the resources available on campus to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of all Shockers.

Join HOPE Services, in collaboration with the Wichita State University Police Department, in wearing purple Monday, Oct. 23 for Purple Day to help spread awareness about the issue of domestic violence, the help that is available and support survivors.

Visit HOPE Services and the prevention ambassador tables Oct. 23 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center and from 2 to 3 p.m. in Shocker Hall to contribute to the “Hands are not for Hurting” mural and pick up resources.

For those who may be seeking resources, contact the WSUPD or find a list of resources from the WSUPD.

Faculty and staff from across campus are invited to develop and teach Cohen Honors College seminars, including first-year seminars, for academic year 2024-25. Faculty are paid or the college is reimbursed for adjunct replacement.

Each semester, more than 60 faculty and staff are engaged in Honors. Honors-affiliated faculty and staff work individually and in collaboration with colleges to increase student opportunities across campus and lead students to do more meaningful work.

The Honors College encourages faculty and staff to consider developing problem-based, team-taught and/or social justice topics. An ideal Honors course is, at its core, an experiment. It boldly challenges assumptions about what students know and how they learn. It should provoke students to engage actively in the learning process, and it should empower students to participate in academic dialogue, solve real-world problems through research, and draw creative and compelling connections within and across disciplines.

Interested faculty should submit a course proposal through the Course Information Management system (CIM) system and include specific information about what makes a course an Honors-level experience. Course proposals are routed to the Honors College Faculty Council for review. Instructors whose courses are approved by the council will be asked to confirm chair approval and other details related to course scheduling.

Faculty also may use the Seminar Course Proposal form to make a preliminary inquiry and get feedback on a course idea.

Teaching existing HNRS seminars: Faculty may request to teach an existing Honors seminar course, such as HNRS 351 Survey of Leadership, HNRS 352 Survey of Law and Public Policy, or HNRS 486 Collaborative Research. For more information about Honors curriculum, visit the current student page of the Honors website or visit the undergraduate catalog.

Departmental honors courses: Departments may offer an honors (H- suffix) section of any existing department course by adding a cross-listed course through CIM. Once approved by the department and the honors faculty council, these courses are scheduled and supported by the department. Department chairs are welcome to contact the Dean of the Cohen Honors College with any questions.

For questions, visit the Resources for Faculty in Honors webpage or email honors@wichita.edu