04-16-2023 Education - Flipbook - Page 1
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, April 16, 2023
EDUCATION
A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION OF BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA • SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023
INSIDE:
2 Experiential learning
Experience to aid in
future careers
3 Demand for nurses
University of Maryland
Global Campus
6 Workforce needs
Working professionals
succeed
6 Career advancement
Pathways to success
7 Forensic science
Towson University
8 Important research
Salisbury University
CCBC students gain hands-on work experience while learning about topics such as landscape design, restoration, installation and maintenance.
Higher education partners with the community
Academic programs are elevated through community
engagement partnerships
By Emily Parks, Contributing Writer
T
hrough
their
partnerships,
Baltimore-area colleges and universities consistently demonstrate the
value of working with their community. From working with area
employers, solving community-based sustainability problems with local government jurisdictions, and providing continuing education
opportunities for learners of all ages, institutes
of higher education contribute to the growth
and well-being of the community.
Educational opportunities at University of
Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) aren’t
limited to undergraduate and graduate students.
UMBC supports learners of all ages and at all
stages of their education through its Institute
of Extended Learning (IXL), which provides
credit and non-credit educational opportunities
both in online and hybrid formats. To support
professional development, learners can choose
from online courses in over 35 categories in
industries such as communication, cybersecurity, data analytics, finance, design and more.
Professionals in the non-profit sector can
utilize the community leadership program,
which offers skills courses like community
organizing, strategic planning for community engagement, and grant writing for social
change, which are specifically designed to
strengthen non-profit organizations.
According to Lamar Davis, director of
UMBC’s IXL, the fastest-growing area in higher
education is non-credit programming. “Noncredit programming provides great exposure,”
he says. UMBC wants to expand opportunities
through The Institute’s Summer Enrichment
Academy (SEA.) SEA connects the academy and
the community as it exposes middle and high
school students to STEM programs. “Young
people can try out college courses which aren’t
as academically rigorous, but instead focus on
creating a joy of learning. Students are exposed
to a college atmosphere and experiential learning, which puts the understanding of a concept
such as engineering into activities that are fun
and engaging and get them thinking.”
The Sustainable Design and Engineering
course is very popular as its focus is to design
and build an artistically inspired functioning
land and sea worthy vehicle for the annual
kinetic race hosted by the American Visionary
Arts Museum.
“Our SEA engineers and artists work with
the students on the vehicle,” Davis says. “The
Education publishes four times a year
middle and high school students design it and
the UMBC students build it and race it. The
SEA students can join the UMBC support team
for the race in May. The beauty of this summer
program is that working on this project is a
truly collaborative bridge between the school
and community.”
Davis feels the greatest benefit of the IXL
is its ability to be nimble and pivot to develop
programming as opportunities arise. The IXL
is geared to say "yes" to meet needs and gaps in
professional development, to figure out how to
develop programs that benefit the worker and
the workplace.
“We developed a bio ‘boot camp’ within Montgomery County government to help
retrain and repurpose folks who left one field
and wish to enter the biotech field,” he explains.
“We worked with them to develop an eightweek boot camp. Upon its conclusion, 90% of
the participants were hired in positions in the
biotech field.”
For a University of Maryland college of
information studies initiative, the community
is central to its 80-plus programs. Students
and faculty members explore community-based
Community outreach,
continued on page 10
Taking the next step
Today’s graduate programs are focused on preparing students
for success in their professional endeavors
Loyola is now also offering an emerging
leaders MBA (ELMBA), a full-time, one-year
MBA program designed for recent college graduates and early career professionals. Cohorts
begin the program each fall and are comprised of diverse individuals with a wide variety
of educational and professional backgrounds.
“This program is designed to help those just
starting out in their careers to be more successful in the business world,” says Scully.
“We take very seriously the fact that the
world is changing and that employees need to
know how to couple critical skills with technical
skills to stay relevant throughout their career,”
says Scully.
Salisbury students in the M.S.W. program can choose from two academic paths.
By Carol Sorgen, Contributing Writer
W
ith its professional’s MBA
program, Loyola University
Maryland makes it easier for
those already embarked on their
career to pursue a higher degree.
Mary Ann Scully, dean of Loyola’s Sellinger
School of Business, explains that the professional’s MBA is designed for professionals from
all academic and professional backgrounds.
The part-time program enables students to
earn their degree in 39 credits and manage their
studies at their own pace.
The program consists of 13 eight-week
courses, primarily in a hybrid format of one inperson class session and one online asynchronous session per week. Some fully online course
options are offered and may be fully asynchronous or may include a weekly online synchronous component. Program advisors work with
each student to design an individualized plan
that works with the student’s specialization,
pace and preferred location in mind.
Those who wish to complete the program
fully online will also take 13 eight-week classes,
which are designed to be small in nature, primarily asynchronous, and provide opportunities for faculty and student interaction.
Both formats offer resources in career services, mentoring, networking and study tour
opportunities that help maximize the Loyola
MBA experience and provide the opportunity
to become part of the Loyola community.
Students can choose among a variety of concentrations, including finance, management,
general business, data analytics and marketing.
“What makes this program distinctive is
its strong regional network, both of alumni
and members of the business community,” says
Scully, who had a long professional career in the
banking industry before joining Loyola.
9 Health care
More diverse health
care professionals
Preparing Students for Social Work Careers at
Salisbury
For students exploring the multifaceted
career of social work, Salisbury University not
only offers one of the most affordable online
M.S.W. options in Maryland, but also provides
the same high-quality programming at four satellite locations throughout the state including
Cecil College, Eastern Shore Higher Education
Center at Chesapeake College, University
System of Maryland at Southern Maryland, and
University System of Maryland at Hagerstown.
Courses in the Bachelor of Arts in social
work (B.A.S.W.) and Master of Social Work
(M.S.W.) programs are also offered in the
Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany.
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces, American
employees of the U.S. government, and their
family members may enroll in courses through
the Salisbury University/University of Maryland
Global Campus Europe (UMGC Europe).
All options are fully accredited by the
Council on Social Work Education.
Courses in the regional locations are hybrid,
combining conventional face-to-face presentations with fully interactive live video and online
instruction from SU’s faculty. The M.S.W. program offers evening and summer courses, so
the degree can be completed at the student’s
own pace.
More than 350 students are currently
enrolled in the M.S.W. program, according to
Grad programs,
continued on page 11
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© 2023 Baltimore Sun Media
Above: Mary Ann Scully, dean of Loyola University
Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business. See article
on page 2.
Ask Margit
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
College students' mental
health issues on the rise
In mid-February of this year, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (www.
cdc.gov) released its latest survey of health
behaviors and experiences among high
school students: The Youth Risk Behavior
Survey Data Summary & Trends Report:
2011-2021. The results were shocking.
According to the CDC, “The data show
that many of the same behaviors and experiences that were moving in the wrong
direction before the pandemic, like poor
mental health, continued to worsen, and
highlight the challenges young people continue to face.”
Given that high school students were
facing so many mental health issues, one
has to ask how college students were coping.
Were they doing better with age? Was the
change of venue from high school to college
a positive or negative? Were they more or
less willing to address their health and wellbeing as they got older?
“The Healthy Minds Network (https://
healthymindsnetwork.org) is one of the
nation’s premier research organizations
contributing to adolescent and young adult
mental health. For 15 years, the network
has administered the Healthy Minds Study,
a population-level survey of post-secondary
student mental health, collecting over half
a million responses from students at more
than 450 colleges and universities.”
Sarah Ketchen Lipson (she/her), Ph.D.,
Ed.M., is an assistant professor in the
department of health law policy and management at the Boston University School
of Public Health. She is principal investigator of the Healthy Minds Network, which
includes the Healthy Minds Study, the largest, most comprehensive study of mental
health in higher education.
In a recent interview, Lipson stated,
“College is a key developmental time; the
age of onset for lifetime mental health problems also directly coincides with traditional
college years – 75 percent of lifetime mental
health problems will onset by age 24.”
Key findings from the most recent
Healthy Minds Data Report found:
• Forty percent of students report witnessing race-based discrimination
either in person or online
• Symptoms of mental health conditions
remain high.
• In March through May 2020, a higher
proportion of students report that
their mental health negatively impactAsk Margit, continued on page 11
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