Title III
U.S. Department of Education
Strengthening Institutions
In 2007, Texas Wesleyan University was selected to receive nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program. Wesleyan was the only university in the state to receive this award and was one of 20 institutions nationwide. With a goal of increasing student success in terms of retention and graduation rates, the Strengthening Institutions Program funding totals $1.98 million over five years beginning October 1, 2007.
The project has four major focus areas:
Learning Communities
The development of Learning Communities (LC) improves students' learning, grades, retention, engagement, and overall satisfaction with the college experience. Wesleyan LCs welcome incoming freshmen, providing an academic and social connection among core courses and the freshman seminar. Transfer student Learning Communities assist students new to Wesleyan with building relationships and establishing networking opportunities. LCs help students learn more deeply by collaborating with faculty and their peers and further promote concepts of inclusion, mutual respect, and recognition of the richness of diversity.
New Advising Strategies
The introduction of new advising strategies assists faculty and staff with advising techniques and processes that better serve students in planning their college and future careers. This includes advising technologies such as the online advising tool, E-Advising, which increases the quality and quantity of faculty-student interaction. This redesign includes consideration of individual learning styles and career aptitudes, Career/Education Portfolios (CEPs), and early alert/warning systems.
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
A new Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) provides our faculty with professional development on 21st-century technologies and tools needed to improve instruction.
State-of-the-art Technology
State-of-the-art technology is a key component in the program. Upgrades include smart classroom tools such as interactive whiteboards, projectors which connect with DVD players, VCRs, and streaming video. Campus-wide wireless access to the Internet supports 24/7 access to information, communication, and web-assisted courses.
The University continues to increase the amount of grants and contracts received to support student scholarship, outreach, technology infrastructure, economic development, and teaching and learning. Among these: the Rosedale Redevelopment Initiative, School of Education multi-year grants, the TexPrep Pre-Freshmen Engineering Program, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions project. The President’s Review, Winter 2009 details these exciting accomplishments.
Texas Wesleyan has always been known as an institution that values good teaching with an emphasis on scholar-teachers. With a continuing tradition of quality faculty and small class sizes, Wesleyan is focused on moving to a new student-centered learning paradigm.
