FY 2022 Recipients

"SFA at RELLIS Teacher Candidate Workroom Resources"

Awarded funds were to develop an SFA BSIS EC-6 workroom at the RELLIS Campus with materials and resources for teacher candidates and faculty in Bryan. The project goal is to purchase resources to augment coursework at the RELLIS campus and field experiences in the Bryan-College Station area. Resources are currently being purchased and will be available for the next group to start at RELLIS Campus in fall 2022. The workroom will be available to faculty and students in the program.

"Collaborative Project with Panola College: Ajax in Iraq"

Funding supported a collaborative project between SFA’s School of Theatre and Panola College Drama. Students and faculty from SFA and Panola teamed up to rehearse and perform a production of Ellen McLaughlin’s "Ajax in Iraq." In addition to working closely with Panola, we organized with community leaders in Center to perform the show in a restored historic building there. President’s Innovation funds supported this project in a variety of ways and made the experience better for all involved. In addition to giving Panola students a direct experience of SFA, which supports recruitment, we also deepened our bonds with Panola more generally. This project was completed in November 2021.

"Natural Resources Management Summer Camp as Recruitment Pathway"

Recruitment into natural resources management undergraduate programs is critical to producing society-ready resource managers in professional career positions, and summer camps are one method used to achieve this. We propose to establish a five-day summer camp targeting secondary school students to provide engaging activities that enhance forest literacy and natural resource management career awareness. The program goal is to create a recruitment pathway to Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture programs that is novel to natural resource management programs in Texas. The camp's first year will be evaluated using pre- and post-experience surveys focusing on forestry and natural resource literacy and intentions to enter a natural resources career trajectory. Estimating 20 participants during its first year, the $7,689 budget covers lodging and meal expenses, counselor stipends and other commodities.

"Pilot Project in Emerging Photographic Technologies"

Pilot projects were created in the advanced photography and intermediate digital photography courses in fall 2021 and spring 2022 that gave students opportunities to learn and work with state-of-the-art photographic technologies. Students studied modern artworks and scientific applications of aerial drone photography, microscope photography and astrophotography before creating their own photographic and video content. Students collaborated with SFA’s departments of biology and geospatial science, and members of the community also benefited ‌from a recent visit by artist Dornith Doherty, who has garnered widespread recognition for her pioneering work that combines art and science, including awards from the Guggenheim Foundation and Fulbright Foundation.

"DRONES — Drone Research and Outreach in the Natural and Environmental Sciences"

As part of this project, I have already redesigned our mammalogy course BIOL/FORS 4446 to include drone training and experimental UAV use labs, giving students firsthand experience with the devices as research tools. Each lab group was tasked to find the most mammals possible on campus with about 20 minutes flight time. Students have developed flight plans and made drone selections based on relative strengths and weaknesses of each device relative to their plan for identifying the most mammals. As a result, students captured footage of animals on campus using high-end photography and thermal tools on the drones themselves. Data was collected before and after these labs to gauge student interest in the project and help us evaluate the module’s value in retention. Currently, we are planning a field trip with marine biology students to go to Galveston and use the drones in marine applications.

"Virtual International Internships"

Virtual international internships can develop global competencies and skills to prepare students to thrive in an interconnected world and workforce. The pilot project will evaluate virtual internships as an accessible tool to provide transformative experiences and also as a potential retention strategy. Ten first-year business majors have been honing their skills to prepare for the unique aspects of online work and have been placed at United-Kingdom-based companies Beauty City International and The Smart Container Company for eight-week virtual internship experiences.

"Early Detection and Intervention of Disengaged Students with Deep Learning"

The proposed project recruited a group of faculty and student workers to use the huge amounts of data SFA collects to identify which students are at highest risk for probation and attrition, then to connect that information with the appropriate support units at SFA. Tremendous progress has been made in automated data collection. The gathered data includes student academic records, meal plan usage, Brightspace engagements, residential halls and Student Recreational Center info. A database is designed for effective and automated management of this big data, which offers easy access and integration of the dataset. We have developed promising collaborations across campus with ITS, professional advisors, the Office of Admissions, the Academic Assistance and Resource Center, and others.. Initial results in predicting whether a student is going to complete their degree program based on the academic performance of the student during their first two years demonstrates promising results.

"Developing a Major Framework White Paper for Market Launch and Recruitment of Eligible Adults in BAAS Degree Completion Programs: A Case Study of the Organizational Leadership Completer Program"

The following goals and objectives have been accomplished:

Goal 1: Create a content framework for market launch and recruitment of eligible students in adult degree completion programs.

Our three objectives related to this goal include developing strategies for creating sample content for recruiting eligible adults through research; developing marketing strategies for BAAS degree completion programs through in-depth research; and writing a framework white paper summarizing the step-by-step process of content creation, market launch and recruitment for such programs.

Goal 2: Create website content based on in-depth research for such programs.

Our two objectives for this goal include using expert advice and research to create content that is competitive, consistent and complete in nature; and create a quality digital information page. We also have conducted two focus groups with students to test the website content.

"Video Recording Pack"

Equipment was purchased and used to create numerous videos by SFA music faculty members. Some of the recordings available include:

• SFA Double Read Day’s Mass Ensemble - Dr. Graham Mackenzie and Dr. Margaret Fay
• Texas Music Educators Association oboe etudes clinic - Dr. Graham Mackenzie
• Four trombone students used the camera pack to enter competitions - Dr. Deb Scott
• Trombone Choir concert - Dr. Deb Scott

"Competing to Attract and Retain"

The project "Are You Up for an SFA Challenge" aims to develop and implement a series of friendly competitions that would address retention and recruitment, keep enrolled students interested in their programs, and create a stronger bond between their peers and other professors. The competitions also would attract prospective students from regional high schools and community colleges, exposing them to the SFA community and the different academic departments. The team is currently developing everything needed for the competitions. The first competition is modeled after the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Micromouse competition, and it aims to involve students interested in robotics. The second competition is a programming competition, and the team is currently developing a website to deploy the different challenges and register teams.

"Recruiting Tours by Small Ensembles from the School of Music"

The project goal was to recruit new SFA students from high school band halls for all majors using small ensembles. The SFA Trombone Choir toured the Dallas area in January 2022 and performed for three schools. A saxophone quartet led by Dr. Robert Eason performed and spoke to high school students about SFA in the Houston area. The SFA faculty brass quintet performed and recruited at the high schools in its East Texas and Dallas area tour. The SFA faculty woodwind quintet performed and recruited in the East Texas and Houston area on their tour. At least 20 high school band halls have been visited so far this year by small ensembles. Hundreds of prospective high school student names have been collected and forwarded to SFA’s Office of Admissions. This information includes contact information of the students as well as the major they plan to pursue.

"Viatoribus: Study Away with SFA"

Study away is an accessible alternative to the traditional study abroad while still providing a chance for students to feel the magic and intensity of these cross-cultural adventures. Students participating in the spring 2022 Viatoribus Project will travel by van through the Deep South, up the East Coast, and through the Midwest and Southwest with intensive experiences in New Orleans, Louisiana; New York City; Boulder, Colorado; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Whether they are sleeping in tents, engaging with the Navajo, drinking root beer with the Amish, or learning early childhood approaches from some of the top schools in the nation, students on this trip will return with incredible stories to share about studying away with SFA.