Category: Student Success and Persistence

Starting this fall semester, undergraduate Shockers working toward their bachelor’s degrees who meet the requirements will automatically be awarded associate degrees.

While Wichita State has offered an Associate of Arts (AA) degree for some time, the new initiative will award the AA degree automatically every semester to undergraduate students who meet the requirements while they pursue their bachelor’s degree. The degree is awarded to celebrate their achievement of making it halfway to their bachelor’s.

The AA degree exists under the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students can contact the Registrar’s Office at 316-978-3055 for further information about the process.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Kara McCluskey, associate educator for the Department of Applied Engineering in the College of Engineering.

• What role do you think faculty/staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “As a faculty member, I believe we can play a big role in student’s success and persistence. We need to set a high expectation level but make sure students know we believe in them and know they can succeed. By listening to students and getting to know what they are passionate about, we can guide them to a career path they will succeed in. We also help students by letting them know it’s ok to stumble along the way in their academic journey, and we are here to help them get back on track.”
• What is one small thing any faculty/staff member can do to make a student’s day or let them know they’re cared for?
  “Getting to know students and letting them know you care is the single most important thing a faculty member can do. I ask students how their days are going as they walk into my class. Giving them encouragement and empathy when their days aren’t going well and celebrating the positives on good days is a small way of letting them know I care about them. It makes my day better when students come early to class just to share something about their day with me.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “Faculty advising is a time when I get to know students and their career goals. Before teaching, I worked in industry, so I share my perspectives with students and give them advice when they are finding their ‘dream’ job.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Trevr Bahr.

Trevr — senior majoring in applied engineering with a concentration in facilities management — a Burlington, Kansas native who graduated from Burlington High School, will be one of the first students to graduate from the facilities management concentration.

He says that faculty and staff need to remember what students’ needs are, and understand how the work they are assigned impacts their education, but in his department, he has found faculty who understand what student life is like and have helped him succeed inside and outside of the classroom, notably Kara McCluskey, associate professor of engineering.

“Kara McCluskey has always been very helpful with academic advising. She assisted me through the new curriculum. Also, Kara is connected with industry and set me up with an internship after my freshman year of college.”

McCluskey is excited to see how well Trevr has done in the program and is excited to see where his career will take him.

“Trevr is an outstanding student and will be a highly successful facility manager. We could not have asked for a better student to be the first graduate from this program. He will be a great representative of Wichita State.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Mercedes Lubbers, student success and retention specialist in the Business Student Success Center.

• What role do you think faculty/staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “I think faculty and staff, outside of finances, play one of the largest roles in a student’s success and persistence. I feel it is my job to make my students feel understood, supported and cared about while guiding them because I remember what it felt like to be a student who struggled and at the end of the day, the faculty that supported me and who made me feel important were the reason why I successfully graduated (shout out to the English department).”
• What is one small thing any faculty/staff member can do to make a student’s day or let them know they’re cared for?
  “I think one of the easiest things we can do is making genuine eye contact with our full attention as we ask a student, ‘How are you?’ or ‘How was your weekend?’ Some question, whatever it may be, that allows you to show consideration and active interest in the student’s answer. Some questions are easy to throw out there as habit, but people can tell when the question is asked as formality and when it is asked from genuine care.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “It depends on how we define student success. For me, student success is when a student realizes what the best option, path or resolution is for them. I think this is where my strength lies since I engage students as individuals and care about their experiences and what they’re going through. I utilize a ‘strengths’ mindset and will go over with students their strengths and areas they feel they need support; I ask them open-ended questions, and when requested, offer my own personal experiences and perspective to help them look at situations with more clarity, so that they ultimately draw—or learn to accept—their own solutions. This is ultimately why I love being an advisor and working with students.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Truong “Max” Duong.

Max — a junior majoring in music education with a concentration in piano and a resident assistant at Shocker Hall — came to Wichita State from Hanoi, Vietnam after earning his Associate of Keyboard Performance from the Military University of Culture and Arts. Max is also a cultural ambassador at the Office of International Education, treasurer for the American Choral Director Association chapter at WSU and a teacher assistant at Juniper Arts Academy.

Max promotes more diversity training in education, as he believes future educators will have to navigate increasingly more diverse classrooms. He has found other faculty and staff members who have similar beliefs who have pushed him to succeed, one of whom is Andréa Banke, assistant professor in the School of Music.

“The two biggest things I learned from Professor Banke are passion and empathy. She has an endless passion for music and education, and this is reflected evidently in her lessons. Furthermore, Professor Banke’s above-and-beyond educational assistance, such as extended office hours and advocacy for women’s rights and the LGBT community, show her aspiration to provide appropriate help to all students in her classroom.”

Banke appreciates Max’s capacity and enthusiasm in the classroom and in the field of music, as she also sees the future of the field growing more diverse.

“Of all the many wonderful attributes that come to mind when describing Max, the foremost is his intellectual curiosity. Max frequently arrives to class early, and stays late, to ask questions about content, further study or — my favorite — musical applications that he’s found during the week on his own. Whether it be K-pop, movie soundtracks or Mozart, Max incorporates and applies our learning to his musical life. More importantly, he approaches his studies with me with such joy and rigor. Our field is rich, diverse and evolving rapidly, and Max is a perfect example of this evolution. He will be a force in any classroom as an educator to the next generation of young musicians.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Andréa Banke, assistant professor of music theory and program director for the Master of Arts in Arts Leadership and Management.

• What role do you think faculty/staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “I think we can proactively foster a classroom environment in which students feel heard, seen and comfortable seeking support, both academically and emotionally, if they need it. And everybody will need it at some point. Frequent and regular office hours are a must, especially in applications-based courses like the ones I teach. The one thing I try to stress above everything else is to engage in the process, don’t chase the reward. The process and progress is so much more important than the grade, and here’s a success secret: if you deeply engage in and commit to the process, you’ll get the result you want faster than if you had just chased the grade anyway.”
• What is one small thing any faculty/staff member can do to make a student’s day or let them know they’re cared for?
  “Greet them whenever you see them — in the hallway, foyers, etc. Students who feel seen will connect better in class. Observe and describe without judgment: ‘I see you’re struggling this week. How can I help?’ then listen to the reply. The best conversations are not started with a discussion of a grade or an absence.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “Our field of music has historically been dominated by white, male composers. My goal is to create a diverse classroom advocating for, and using as examples, women composers, BIPOC composers and LGTBQ musicians. When students see themselves represented, they thrive.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Fatemeh Farokhi.

Fatemeh — a senior majoring in medical laboratory sciences — graduated Farzanegan High School from her home city of Kerman, Iran before coming to Wichita State.

Being an ESL student, Fatemeh worried that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her workload, but those fears were quickly unfounded when she found the Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) faculty and staff were understanding and accommodating.

“The staff and faculty of MLS were really friendly and made me feel like I belong. They patiently answered any questions I had and gave me great advice along the way. Aisha Waite, chair of MLS, also introduced us to a book called ‘Who moved my cheese?’ in a management course that tells us not to fear change and adapt to the change quickly. It helped me a lot to look at things differently and reduce my stress when any change happens.”

Katie Baskins, clinical educator in MLS, says it’s important for faculty and staff to be open and available to students to help them not only with their stress, but also to share with them the passion for the subject.

“I valued Fatemeh’s eagerness to learn. She is always well prepared with questions and didn’t hesitate to reach out to me when needed. I think being open to students’ needs is a vital piece in their educational growth, and being present with them helps alleviate the stress and anxiety that comes with higher education. I know this profession is my passion, and I share this with the students. For the student to be successful, the material needs to be clear so they can make those connections when it comes to patient care.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Autumn Ginther.

Autumn — a senior in medical laboratory sciences with a minor in health science — came to Wichita State after graduating from Mustang High School in Mustang, Oklahoma.

Autumn currently serves as the Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) Student Association president and found the encouragement she needed through the faculty in the MLS department, who went above and beyond in supporting her. She says that all faculty need to be available in making sure students are able to not only succeed, but thrive.

“One small thing that all professors should do is go the extra mile to connect with students. Whether this be reaching out when they notice a student is not doing well in a class or notice a change in attendance. Many students feel alone in college, and they feel that their instructors do not understand what they are going through, so I encourage both students and professors to reach out and be transparent with each other.”

Aisha Waite, chair of medical laboratory sciences, agrees that faculty and staff always need to be available to students in order for them to succeed, and that this needs to be a united effort:

“I strongly believe that departments that operate as a team are successful in their goals, which is the success of the student. Being approachable and providing a strong support system is, in my mind, the key in successfully guiding students on their journey. Having that support system builds confidence, and confidence helps you move forward.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Moriah Beck, professor in Fairmount College’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

• What role do you think faculty and staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “Faculty are unique in that they interact with the same students every week of the semester in their classroom. We have the opportunity to challenge our students to grapple with difficult or complex concepts, but we should also help them acquire the skills necessary to improve comprehension so they can face future problems.”
• What is one small thing any faculty or staff member can do to help a student succeed?
  “Sharing my enthusiasm for learning new things and being challenged to forge new paths in my field is a small, but impactful way I can inspire students to see the big picture and start imagining their role in changing the world. Often this means that I highlight areas of biochemistry where we have important, unsolved questions: How did life begin? How does the environment influence our genes? Why do we need to sleep? It is also important to explain how we came to know or discover things, the challenges overcome by humans and the people involved in this process of discovery.”
• How do you promote student success through your campus duties?
  “One of the most impactful experiences that many students have is the opportunity to work on novel research projects, and I have endeavored to provide more of these types of opportunities. First, I developed a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in the biochemistry lab that gives students the chance to come up with their own hypotheses, generate a novel mutation in a protein and carry out experiments that no one else has done before. Next, I created the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) in STEM program to match first year students with research mentors across campus for an early exposure to hands-on research. Lastly, I have welcomed over 60 undergraduates to work alongside graduate students in my own research lab as we aim to understand mechanisms of heart disease and cancer.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.

This week’s Student Success and Persistence highlight comes from Dr. Mercy Umeri, assistant teaching professor and MiniMPA coordinator in Fairmount College’s Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs.

• What role do you think faculty and staff play in a student’s success and persistence?
  “As a faculty member, the core of our work is to ensure the success of students beyond the classroom. We must believe in the ability of our students to succeed. We must let our students know that they are co-producers of their knowledge and that we are the facilitators. We can empower them, even if they are still figuring out their career paths. This shift in mindset encourages students to stay engaged and committed to their studies and to know that they have what it takes to succeed. We must take time out to walk them through the difficulties they’re facing and point them to other resources that will help them succeed. As a first generation college student, I understand firsthand the importance of having faculty members who believe in you and push you to succeed.”
• What is one small thing any faculty and staff member can do to make a student’s day or let them know they’re cared for?
  “We can all do better with listening to our students more. Our students are doing their best to combine life and studies and sometimes, they may get overwhelmed. I try to come to class a little early so I can chat with my students before class. I have my office hours, but I always want my students to know that they can always talk to me, not just when they have challenges with my course. Listening to them in a ‘non-formal’ setting helps you listen to some of the challenges they face, ones they may not ordinarily share. Sometimes, after listening to them, all they need is a little nudge and encouragement to continue to stay engaged.”

Do you know of a faculty or staff member who promotes student success, or a student who has been helped by a faculty or staff member, that should be highlighted in WSU Today? Email your ideas to Caelin Bragg, newsletter editor with the Office of Strategic Communications, at caelin.bragg@wichita.edu.