02-06-22 Education - Flipbook - Page 1
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 6, 2022 1
EDUCATION
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022
Professors help students work out problems at Salisbury University's Chemistry Support Center.
Innovative student supports make the grade
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Helping students make higher education successful
By Elizabeth Levy Malis, Contributing Writer
A
t colleges and universities, higher education offers more student support
than ever before.
Why now?
A global COVID-19 pandemic
continues to challenge enrollment and
in-person attendance. In addition, schools muster
marketing know-how and employ direct surveys
that reveal exactly what their students need in
real time. Ultimately, there’s always the desire
to increase graduation rates, consequently the
bottom-line.
Nothing to fear taking chemistry
On the Eastern Shore, Salisbury University
(SU) newly zeros in on a specific academic subject – stereotypically much feared. In fall 2021, the
doors opened for in-person gatherings at the new
chemistry support center – a big open space with
desks, computers and white boards to work out
chemistry problems. A ton of periodic tables pepper the walls, too. Here, five days a week, a team
of rotating professors staff this new age help place.
It attracts not only chemistry majors, but nursing,
biology, premed and exercise science students, as
well as those interested in STEM. Occasionally, it
hosts liberal arts students choosing chemistry as
an elective.
Rather than traditional, one-on-one help during faculty office hours, “a lot of students are
in there at the same time,” says Brent Alogna,
senior lecturer in the department of chemistry
and director of the chemistry support center. He’s
one of approximately 12-15 people on the team
that staffs the center. He’s observed as many as 18
students in the center at one time.
“The professor moves around the room, going
from one student to next, like an assembly line. If
a bunch of them have common issues, I can get
them together in a small group,” he says. “A big
part of the center’s success is the dedication of my
co-workers who staff it during the week.”
Students give the center high marks. “One told
me ‘I would I be failing [chemistry] class if not for
this resource,’ says Alogna. “When I hear feedback
like that, I realize it is helping people.”
College chemistry is no easy feat. “We are
always fighting against stereotypes about chemistry, but it doesn’t have to be the hardest class
you’ve ever taken.” This center helps make that a
reality. “Math skills also are needed to do chemistry – so the center helps with math, too,” he adds.
Baltimore area-native Meagan Spicer, 19, now
a college sophomore, recently changed her major
from Spanish to chemistry. Although she took AP
Chemistry at Hereford High School, she knows
every year of college chemistry is challenging. So,
she’s glad the chemistry support center remains
Student support,
continued on page 9
Graduate programs targeting more
than just businesspeople
Local universities say successful programs must be
flexible and convenient for working professionals
Adobe Stock Photo
By Lisa Baldino, Contributing Writer
C
limbing the corporate ladder? Have
entrepreneurial intentions? Simply
interested in improving problem-solving skills?
Today’s working professionals
don’t have much extra time on their hands, yet
time is what it takes to advance their career goals.
Local universities continue to develop certificates
and degree programs that provide convenient and
stimulating courses and support a more diverse
audience – with a non-business background.
An online article from Business
Because (www.businessbecause.com/news/
mba-degree/7811/mba-admissions-2022) suggests a trend of more professionals with non-business backgrounds applying to business school pro-
grams. These workers are realizing they need the
skills that business school provides. Admissions
experts agreed that the pool of candidates from
other disciplines is growing, making the programs
not only more competitive, but more diverse,
opening doors to new perspectives for classroom
discussion and experience.
For example, Salisbury University offers a
Master of Arts in teaching program, as well as
a part-time schedule designed to fit the hours
and needs of working educators. University
of Maryland highlights the Maryland Applied
Graduate Engineering (MAGE) program, a master’s degree available through the A. James Clark
School of Engineering. University of Baltimore
offers complete classes online and in a hybrid format with a combination of online and in-person
instruction.
Flexible Times and Curricula
Whether it’s a specialization in data analytics
or a full M.B.A. degree, and whether it’s online,
in person or a hybrid, students have a variety of
opportunities to tailor a program specifically for
their needs. Murray Dalziel, dean of the University
of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business, says
programs for working professionals are “the core
DNA of University of Baltimore. The average
age in the MBA program is 33. We are successful
because we make the programs extremely flexible
and hugely convenient.”
Only a portion of classes are online at
University of Baltimore, and he says online courses have been an option since 1998. Teachers are
working in the field and students can come to
campus. “We had a seamless transition to online
classes during the pandemic. We do online differently. It is customized to the student,” says Dalziel.
At University of Maryland, the MAGE program uses the same requirements for the degree
and coursework across all learning platforms.
“Unlike many other online programs, our online
graduate engineering degree and corresponding coursework requirements are identical to the
degree and corresponding coursework requirements for the on-campus and remote sites offerings, ensuring that all of our modes of delivery are
equally enriching and valuable to working engineers and technical professionals, as well as their
employers,” says George Syrmos, Ph.D. assistant
dean of continuing education.
Student Recruitment
Schools depend on their alumni to feed the
graduate pipeline by coming back and taking
courses themselves, as well as referring colleagues
to the program. Dalziel says the trend is for
alumni to find opportunities to come back and
build on their degrees. “More students are remainGraduate programs,
continued on page 9
Above: STEM courses are now vital for all majors.
See article on page 2.
Ask Margit
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
Facing fears
“We must welcome the debate, modeling for our students how to listen more
intently to understand competing perspectives and learn from the rich diversity of
people and ideas on our campuses.”
— Ron Crutcher, Heterodox Academy
Advisory Council Member
A recent study by Heterodox Academy
(https://heterodoxacademy.org/), “a nonpartisan collaborative of 5,000+ professors, educators, administrators, staff and
students committed to promoting open
inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in institutions of higher
learning,” looked at college students’ reluctance to broach controversial topics with
their peers. Put more simply, they are wary
of discussing subject matter they think
might cause disagreement with their fellow students. They are not alone. Most
of us are reluctant to bring up these same
subjects that now affect all our lives.
But, by not talking with their peers,
remaining silent in the face of difficult
topics, students are eliminating a major
benefit of a college education: a location
in which they can figure out who they are,
experience diversity, and learn about how
other people live and think. This is, of
course, an extension of their studies.
According to the Campus Expression
Climate Survey, what topics are considered
disquieting? Certain issues connected to
politics. Certain issues surrounding race or
color. Certain issues associated with sexuality and gender. And reluctance is higher
when it comes to the 2020 Presidential
Election and the Black Lives Matter movement. Even sadder, students feel discouraged to discuss non-controversial topics in
classroom settings, afraid of the reactions
of other students.
What else did the survey show?
• Reluctance to discuss controversial
topics increased in college classrooms
from 2019 to 2020.
• Consistent with 2019, Republican
students remained more reluctant to
speak about controversial issues than
Democrat and Independent students.
Nearly half (44-48%) of Republicans
were reluctant to discuss politics, the
Ask Margit, continued on page 9