The Student Veterans of UNM are assisting the New Mexico Veterans Integration Centers and the New Mexico Project Hand up for "2nd Annual Stand-down and Project Hand-up" event on Oct. 17-18 at the New Mexico Veterans Integration Center located at 6101 Central NE. The Student Veterans of UNM are helping to coordinate and gather the names of people interested in volunteering with the event, and are conducting a clothing and food drive.
The goal of the project is to bring together programs and service providers to provide no-cost services, information and assistance to those in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The “Stand Down Project” was created to help veterans, while “Project Hand Up” is aimed at helping non-veterans.
Services will be available in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, medical health, employment, benefits, and housing. People will also be able to get a shower, a hot meal, get a hair cup and pick up much needed warm clothing before the winter sets in.
The Student Veterans of UNM are also coordinating and gathering the names of people interested in volunteering with the event, and are conducting a clothing and food drive. Donations of winter clothing, gloves, hats, toiletries, and sleeping bags are very welcome during the drive.
People interested in helping with the event or drive can contact Eric Ross at eross@unm.edu or contact the New Mexico Veterans Integration Centers at (505) 265-0512. For more information about the event, people are encouraged to visit Stand Down.
The University of New Mexico Student Union Building is one of the locations selected to host an early voting site for the 2008 General Election. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 18 and will continue through Nov. 1. Early voting will be held in the Cochiti Room on the second floor of the SUB.
The dates and times for early voting at the SUB are:
· Saturday, October 18: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
· Sunday and Monday, October 19 - 20: CLOSED
· Tuesday - Friday, October 21 - 24: Noon - 8 p.m.
· Saturday, October 25: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
· Sunday and Monday, October 26 - 27: CLOSED
· Tuesday - Friday, October 28 - 31: Noon - 8 p.m.
· Saturday, November 1: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
UNM was selected in part because of the success of the location for people interested in voting early during the recent primary election.
“When we held the primary election here the response from people inside and outside of campus made this an easy decision (to hold early voting at UNM),” said Walt Miller, associate vice president for Student Life at UNM.
Assessment form replDavid Brookshire ICES
Instructional Course and Evaluation System, or ICES has been used for the past 30 years to provide faculty student feedback. The old mainframe computer that runs ICES has been retired and along with it, the ICES software. The university has chosen IDEA, or Instructor Development and Educational Assessment, to replace ICES.
The IDEA system is one of the most popular student feedback systems in the country, and is used currently by more than 200 universities.
On the surface, IDEA seems just like ICES: students give feedback by completing a paper survey near the end of the semester in each of their courses.
Deputy Provost Richard Holder said, “Like ICES, the IDEA results will be used as part of faculty performance evaluation in most UNM departments. However, unlike ICES, which merely gave professors averages on each survey question, IDEA gives professors two additional kinds of feedback: (1) information on students' perceived learning; and (2) suggestions on teaching techniques that can increase student learning.
Wynn Goering, vice provost, Academic Affairs, said, “The delivery of useable feedback for improving teaching is a real plus of the IDEA system.”
For students, the forms allow reporting on their own learning gains and the types of instruction that they experienced. The forms are generalized, asking the same questions for all classes, meaning that some questions may not apply to all courses. That does not affect the instructor ratings because each course section has its own learning objectives determined by the instructor. Students should be able to complete the forms quickly during class time.
The Office of Support for Effective Teaching, OSET, is assisting faculty and departmental administrators make the transition from ICES to IDEA. Nick Flor, OSET Teaching and Technology Faculty Coordinator, and associate professor in the Anderson School of Management, has been holding lunchtime meetings with faculty and staff for nearly a year.
“Questions and concerns always arise when you do something new, but overall faculty members and department chairs who have attended our brown bags are looking forward to making use of the IDEA system and its emphasis on assisting faculty to adjust instruction based on student input,” Flor said.
For more information visit the IDEA website at idea.unm.edu, or send an e-mail to idea@unm.edu.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at UNM announces the 2009 competition for post doctoral fellowships. These 12-month awards carry a stipend of $51,750 plus health insurance.
Applicants should have a research agenda that demonstrates a focus on the mission visit: RWJF Center.
Minimum qualification is a doctoral degree in a relevant social science discipline, awarded by the date of application, from an institution other than UNM. Preferences will be given to applicants with degrees from the departments of economics, political science or sociology and demonstrated interest or experience in health disparity research.
For best consideration, all application materials should be received by Dec. 1. Positions will remain open until filled. For more information please contact:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy
1909 Las Lomas Rd. NE
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Tel: (505) 277-0130 Fax: (505)277-0118
E-mail: rwjf@unm.edu; web site: http://rwjf.unm.edu