Celebrate Learning! Fall 2009 (Volume 1, Issue 1) | Page 3

Volume 1, Issue 1 TCC First-Time Participation in Oklahoma Research Day For the first time TCC was represented at the annual Oklahoma Research Day, a statewide event featuring research and scholarly activities by faculty and students at the state's undergraduate colleges and universities. The event was held November 13th at the NSU-Broken Arrow Campus. Patty Smith, a biology faculty from West Campus, presented a poster titled "Undergraduate Research Experiences in Conservation Biology" which included 6 student coauthors. The research project is focused on the Crosstimbers Forest habitat located on the West Campus and was funded by a FIG grant from the TCC Foundation. To date the students have focused on floral and faunal surveys and mapping. Dr. Diana Spencer, Biotechnology Program Coordinator at the Southeast Campus, presented a poster titled "Examination of the phylogeography of the human Y chromosome to male ancestry" with 4 student coauthors. Their project focused on tracing the migration patterns of humans based on specific genetic markers found only on the Y chromosomes of males. This project was funded by the Oklahoma INBRE program. Undergraduate research and other scholarly and creative activities are a relatively new focus in Oklahoma colleges and universities thanks in part to an effort by the OSRHE. OSRHE has partnered with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) with funding from the National Science Foundation and began a series of workshops in 2008 targeting faculty and administrators at the states PUI's (primarily undergraduate institutions) to facilitate and enhance research and scholarly opportunities for students not attending the state's research intensive flagship universities. A statewide conference on undergraduate research and creative and scholarly activities is being planned for April 2010. Faculty and students interested in more information on activities at TCC should contact Patty Smith at 595-8092 or via email at psmith@tulsacc.edu. -Bryan Coppedge Learning Effectiveness Plan Under Development The Learning Effectiveness Council, formerly the Institutional Effectiveness Council, is meeting this academic year with the charge to develop a college-wide plan for assessing learning. Members serving on the Council include: Susan Kamphaus, Penny Colglazier, Rachel Valentine, Mitch Ober, Dr. Margaret Lee, Don Mathieson, Tommy Mancino, Dr. Sandra Massey, Dr. Joyce Friske, Mary Cantrell, Suzanne Reese, Dr. Mary Millikin, and Dr. Donna Wood. As the development of the College-wide Plan progresses, input will be requested from faculty and administration for an instrument that will be helpful to the academic units of the College. Co-chairs of the Council are Suzanne Reese, Physical Therapy, Metro Campus, and Dr. Donna Wood, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. Partnerships Abound A record 53 articulation agreements have been signed with NSU to expand the ―Blue to Green‖ program in which students will be able to move seamlessly between the two institutions. In addition, House Bill 290 opened doors for high school students to receive dual credit for high school and for college. TCC partners with the area public schools, providing many different venues for course delivery offering classes on high school campuses, through online delivery, and on-site delivery. These partnerships strengthen the P-20 initiative for lifelong education.