Develop and deploy a student success program that supports first-generation students (up to 47% of UNST’s FRINQ class), but supports all student’s at PSU. As part of our efforts to build resources and capacity to help students succeed, the University Studies has developed the U.Connect, an online learning and resources system, which includes a public website with wealth of information about what students need to be successful and a password protected site as an additional interactive tool to aid students in their academic work. U.Connect will allow for greater interaction between students, mentors, faculty and staff, as well as better students' connection to resources and opportunities on campus. See http://www.uconnect.unst.pdx.edu

We are focused on better understanding student experience and performance in Freshman year and factors influencing retention and persistence to Sophomore year. The results of this initiative are shared with PSU faculty and administration. The project is done in collaboration with OIRP.

University Studies is expanding the use of eportfolios to all levels of the program. Student specific portfolios are created by all Freshman Inquiry students. This year we will pilot the use of portfolios in Sophomore Inquiry courses. In year1 of this project capstone faculty created course portfolios in 27% of Capstone courses. We intend to expand the portfolios to 50% of the courses. Miller Grant funded project, "Expanding and Enhancing Sustainability in the UNST Curriculum," cluster courses will also develop course portfolios modeled after the Capstone portfolios. Global Perspectives and Sustainability clusters will be developed as part of cluster redesign.

High School Senior Inquiry Program includes teaching PSU’s Freshman Inquiry to high school seniors. Our effort will focus on increasing the college enrollment and success of first-generation college attendees and students from historically under-represented groups in concurrent-enrollment programs in partnership with Hillsboro, Beaverton and Portland school districts. This is a self support program.

Integrating Honors throughout the University: this effort is aimed at augmenting the number of departmental honors tracks, and providing a useful coordinating mechanism. As has been discussed several times with the central administration, there remain needs both for expanded opportunities in academic departments to support students of high caliber who intend graduate or professional study, and, at the same time, there remains a need for some central coordinating effort to ensure consistency among honors tracks (while recognizing the fundamental vital need for variation from department to department.) An effort was made to begin that coordination in AY ’08-09, but it was forestalled by the formation of the Senate’s committee examining resources for high-achieving students. To some extent the forefront of this effort has shifted to the Senate committee on high-achieving students, on which two members of the Honors faculty serve.

Developing Useful Transfer Mechanisms for Honors Transfers from Community Colleges (PCC): this effort is aimed at providing both a point-of-arrival for students of high caliber transferring from PCC, and at continuing the necessary conversations to specify articulation agreements between the University and PCC. A number of meetings have already taken place to consider the state-of-development of the PCC project (still awaiting curricular approval for honors-designated courses, although that is anticipated for AY 2009-10, and first courses are to be offered Fall, 2010), and to begin to address needs for students ultimately arriving at Portland State.

Expanding Resources in Support of Internship: In 2008 an endowment fund was established in the PSU Foundation through an initial gift; its specific intention is to provide increased financial support for the Washington, D.C., internship project. A number of donors have suggested a degree of interest that would allow at least the tripling of the fund balance, but they have been made uneasy by what they perceive as a negative attitude toward the Honors Program.

Increasing Curricular Choice within Honors Program: this effort is aimed at developing new thematic strands, and the revision of curricular armatures, for the lower-division core course covering the first two years. We are in the process of designing a second lower-division strand; current design ideas suggest a formation around themes of colonialism and post-colonialism, national and ethnic identities, race, class, gender and struggles for full enfranchisement. We also now intend to carry out the planned return to the earlier differentiated-track model, which divides the second-year cohort into liberal arts and technical/professional cohorts. (This latter, more efficient means of delivery of the core course, has been delayed by staffing difficulties.)

This is a joint initiative between the Center for Academic Excellence and UNST. CAE will work to foster faculty adoption of hybrid courses through projects such as an AIM grant, in collaboration with Admissions and Records, which gives faculty small grants and desirable class times, if they partner with another faculty member teaching a hybrid class, so as to save classroom space. At the same time, UNST is working with Extended Studies to place key general education requirements on-line, so as to facilitate students ability to meet their degree requirements with on-line classes.

We wish to reform our curricular offerings for high achieving students, in cooperation with the high achieving student committee.

This is a joint initiative between the Center for Community Partnerships within CAE, and the Senior Inquiry Program within UNST, in alliance with the Center for Science Education. The Student Leaders for Service program has a sub-program called EDGE, which involves 10 students in a K-12 community-based learning project, which entails mentoring at both the High School and middle school level. In addition, we currently offer the Senior Inquiry Program in three school districts. Students are able to complete 15 general education credits towards college.

CAE-CUP provides leadership for the PSU Partnership Initiative, including applying for external funding to support CUP activity university-wide. This initiative began in 2008 and featured a national forum on partnerships, a sponsored research program, a university scan and analysis of CUP activity, and culminated with the first-ever International Partnership Institute (IPI) attended by over 150 national and global participants. In 2009-10, CAE-CUP is: 1) continuing to build the national advisory committee; 2) seeking funding to support the second IPI; and 3) editing a book focused on sessions from the Institute featuring several PSU faculty. CAE-CUP regularly seeks local and national funds to support CUPs and supports faculty scholarship by a) facilitating presentations at local, state and national conferences on PSU's engagement work, and b) supporting the publication of research and other institutional strategies in books and journal articles concerning engagement at PSU.

Develop and deploy a student success program that supports first-generation students (up to 47% of UNST’s FRINQ class), but supports all student’s at PSU. As part of our efforts to build resources and capacity to help students succeed, the University Studies has developed the U.Connect, an online learning and resources system, which includes a public website with wealth of information about what students need to be successful and a password protected site as an additional interactive tool to aid students in their academic work. U.Connect will allow for greater interaction between students, mentors, faculty and staff, as well as better students' connection to resources and opportunities on campus. See http://www.uconnect.unst.pdx.edu

We are focused on better understanding student experience and performance in Freshman year and factors influencing retention and persistence to Sophomore year. The results of this initiative are shared with PSU faculty and administration. The project is done in collaboration with OIRP

University Studies is expanding the use of eportfolios to all levels of the program. Student specific portfolios are created by all Freshman Inquiry students. This year we will pilot the use of portfolios in Sophomore Inquiry courses. In year1 of this project capstone faculty created course portfolios in 27% of Capstone courses. We intend to expand the portfolios to 50% of the courses. Miller Grant funded project, "Expanding and Enhancing Sustainability in the UNST Curriculum," cluster courses will also develop course portfolios modeled after the Capstone portfolios. Global Perspectives and Sustainability clusters will be developed as part of cluster redesign.