10-11-2020 Education - Flipbook - Page 1
EDUCATION
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020 | | THE BALTIMORE SUN
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2020
1
INSIDE:
2 Societal changes
spark new initiatives
2 Programs help fill
workplace needs
3 The next step
New programs address
today’s challenges
4 Acquiring expertise
Certificate programs
5 Master’s programs
made more affordable
and accessible
6 Educators and leaders
driven by student interest
7 Registration Directory
Education publishes five times a year.
advertise@baltsun.com
© 2020 Baltimore Sun Media
Two students collaborate in a hoop house during a hands-on class assignment at Terp Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Photo courtesy of University of Maryland.
Matters of experience
Simulating student experiences actually provides the experience itself
By Lisa Baldino, Contributing Writer
E
xperience. It can mean many things.
It indicates familiarity or skill in an
industry or market. It can also describe
a particular encounter or incident. In
addition, it can render action or feeling. Today’s programs at colleges and universities
focusing on experiential learning meet the definition in every sense of the word.
At the University of Maryland, two notable
programs allow students the opportunity to hone
their skills in real-world settings. The school’s
Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) offers a
two-year certificate with eight different program
tracks. Its Center for Social Value Creation strives
to educate, engage and empower students to
create a better world through business. Both
programs are designed around the student experience.
The IAA provides students with the entrepreneurial, technical and leadership skills for jobs in
agriculture, Maryland’s No. 1 industry. According
to Rebecka Jones, student services coordinator
for the IAA, “This is a great place for students
who have strong interests in agricultural and
environmental sciences and want a specialized
credential in the industry.” The program includes
courses in agricultural business management and
leadership; ornamental horticulture and landscape management; and turfgrass and golf course
management. Many students graduate to manage
successful agricultural enterprises, including golf
courses, food systems, sports fields, landscaping
companies, farm operations and markets, and
nonprofits.
Jones emphasizes that while this is a certificate program, not an associate degree, it still
bears college credit that is transferable within
the University System of Maryland and beyond.
The academic environment also lends itself to a
great student experience. “We pride ourselves on
having a small feeling in a large university,” Jones
says. “IAA students are surrounded by 40,000
students, but there are only 70 to 90 students in
the program at any one time. It’s a community
within a large university, something that makes
our program very unique.”
Student demographics run the gamut of firsttime freshmen, transfer students, career changers
and adult learners who may need certifications
for job advancement. In addition, IAA classes like
the newer leadership and communications courses are appealing and open to students in other
majors. “Many students earn their certificate and
then transfer to the University of Maryland or
other four-year colleges to finish their bachelor’s
degrees, since they are already about halfway
there,” Jones says.
At the Center for Social Value Creation, also
at the University of Maryland, the experience
is in the experience. M.B.A. candidates manage
teams of undergraduates and master’s degree students as the team provides pro-bono services to
companies with an impact-driven social mission.
Nima Farshchi, director of the center, says the
program has grown since its inception in 2009,
and it gives students the opportunity to consult
with real-world companies about both advancing
the bottom line and advancing the world. He says
it is an enhancement to the University’s Robert
H. Smith School of Business. An estimated 85%
of participants are business majors and the other
15% are a mix of communications, economics
and other general studies.
The 145 students in the program attend the
Matters of experience,
continued on page 7
The power of technology
New tech programs offer advanced training for diverse set of students
By Linda L. Esterson, Contributing Writer
W
ith the constant changes to technological capabilities in today’s workplace, area institutions are increasing their technological offerings
accordingly.
A new digital storytelling class open to all
students at Towson University introduces a range
of media through which narrative can strengthen
their work in other areas.
Lynn Tomlinson, assistant professor at
Towson in the electronic media and film department, created the online, asynchronous, 100-level
course to demonstrate how digital tools and processes can be applied to effectively inform in areas
of interest as well as academic fields including the
liberal arts, education, the arts, business, math
and science. Students learn how digital storytelling combines video, audio, images and text to
convey stories, information and ideas and how to
effectively wield narrative to engage, inform and
educate the viewer, according to the syllabus.
“Students take these skills and apply them
to their major of their other area of interest,”
Tomlinson explains. “Some students are pretty
savvy with social media. They have the opportunity to use those skills they’ve already developed
in social media and apply them in a more academic fashion.”
Students use tools they have available to them,
whether on the iPhone or Android, or through
software on laptops and desktop computers like
Carmen Jones is enrolled in the Howard Community College Google Information Technology Support Professional
Certification program. Photo courtesy of Carmen Jones.
iMovie or Adobe Premiere. Additional resources
and tutorials are also accessible. Students complete coursework at their own pace and meet
with Tomlinson via Zoom or WebEx with specific
questions.
The course was piloted and became eligible to
fulfill the university’s creativity core requirement
last spring. Students initially learn to make sto-
ryboards, analyze stories and their structure, and
develop more pragmatic skills like audio recording, using do-it-yourself tools, and basic editing.
They proceed to record their own audio story,
interview story and a story related to a wider
world event. They take one of the three projects
Power of technology,
continued on page 8
STEVENSON
UNIVERSITY
Above: In-class student teaching is an important
part of UMBC’s program. See article on page 3.
Ask Margit
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
Debt-free degree
Picture yourself achieving a bachelor’s
degree and not owing a cent. You probably
never imagined that was possible. Thanks
to The Bob Parsons Scholarship Fund at the
University of Baltimore, it’s not only possible,
it could be you.
Bob Parsons, Baltimore native, founder
of GoDaddy and the CEO and founder of
YAM Worldwide – home to his entrepreneurial ventures in the fields of golf, motorcycles, real estate and innovation, as well
as The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation
– floundered when he finished high school.
Then his life changed. He enlisted and served
in the military, attended and graduated from
the University of Baltimore (UB), setting him
on the path to success. Today, he’s known
as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist,
helping others discover their own potential.
Because it worked so well for him, he wants
to help others have the same opportunities.
Yes, there are certain requirements. You
have to be Federal Pell Grant eligible. You
must attend full-time. And it has to be your
first bachelor’s degree.
“You have to have completed an associate degree or the equivalent, usually at a
community college,” says Seth Marc Kamen,
assistant vice president in the Office of
Admission at UB, “but it doesn’t matter when
you attended. It could be 10 years ago. As
long as you qualify, you can do this, especially people who otherwise would not have the
means. It also reaffirms UB’s commitment to
transfer students from community colleges.
“Military and veteran students can be eligible if they have earned 60 credits, regardless
Ask Margit, continued on page 4
adds career
direction to your
college degree
Plan an on-campus or virtual tour today at stevenson.edu
