K-State Current - September 9, 2015
K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents in an effort to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.
K-State News
KSIS enhancements support K-State's Student Success Collaborative
As part of the university's ongoing commitment to improve academic advising, student retention and graduate rates, several new and innovative features are available in the KSU Advisor Center in KSIS. These innovations provide some of the most advanced analytics and advising tools available anywhere, which enables Kansas State University advisors to quickly identify and assist students who may be in need of early intervention or long-range academic planning.
One especially visible new feature includes green, yellow and red icons, which indicate a student's risk level. In this context, risk is determined by comparing students' K-State academic performance with 10 years of K-State students' historical academic performance data. The comparison is computed by a proprietary predictive analytics model developed by EAB, which was formally the Education Advisory Board. This is an example of how big data can help gauge probabilities and identify opportunities for strategic improvements. This new type of information can helpfully inform advisors in their complex and consequential work and can assist students in their pursuit of maximally informed and effective academic career decision-making.
Additional enhancements in the KSU Advisor Center enable advisors to quickly access EAB's Student Success Collaborative Advisor Platform. The Student Success Collaborative Platform contains additional advising tools and analytics, including individualized recommendations to help students understand what alternative majors might best suit them and what curricular choices are most apt to improve their likelihood of graduation.
K-State's Student Success Collaborative, under the direction of the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, is in the first of a three-year pilot. The first pilot groups — business, engineering, global campus, human ecology, open option and sociology, anthropology and social work — began in July and are well underway. The next round of pilots will kick off this week and will include advisors from nearly every other major unit on campus. EAB consultants will conduct three training opportunities Wednesday, Sept. 9, and Thursday, Sept. 10, on the Manhattan campus. Our long-range goal is to train and provide access to anyone with the KSIS advisor role who is interested in having such access.
Please contact Steve Dandaneau at dandaneau@k-state.edu for more information on K-State's Student Success Collaborative and Diana Blake at dkblake@k-state.edu for more information on these KSIS enhancements.
K-State offers numerous safety resources to the campus community
The Office of Student Life is reminding the Kansas State University community that safety on campus is a shared
responsibility. Please report any concerning behavior you may see on campus or near
campus. Additionally, K-State offers a multitude of safety services designed to fit
your needs.
• Have you signed up for K-State Alerts? K-State Alerts is a K-State primary emergency notification system. It notifies you when
a dangerous condition exists on campus, such as storms or winter weather, an active
shooter or for a forced campus closure like the lockdown of the Manhattan campus this
morning. K-State Alerts includes texts, emails, automated phone calls and other channels
of communications.
• If you haven't already, please download LiveSafe, the K-State safety app, for your smartphone and encourage your friends and family to do the same. You can use the app to anonymously send text, photo and video tips to police; have friends and family monitor their walks using GPS; find campus safety procedures and resources; and more. It's free and available to all students, staff, faculty, campus visitors, parents and community members.
• Kansas State University has many emergency phone boxes — or "blue phones" — throughout the Manhattan campus. These phones connect directly to campus police to provide quick access to emergency services, allowing users to ask for directions or report a crime or accident. See a complete list of the phone locations as well as a picture of the phones.
• Wildcat Walk is a safety escort service available for whenever you feel uncomfortable walking across campus alone at night. Call 785-395-SAFE (785-395-7233) or push one of the blight light emergency buttons located throughout the Manhattan campus and a safety escort will meet you and walk you to another on-campus destination or up to two blocks off-campus. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You also can contact Wildcat Walk through the LiveSafe app.
• SafeRide offers a free, safe ride home for K-State students and guests who live within the designated city limits of Manhattan. SafeRide can be used as an alternative to driving while intoxicated or other dangerous situations. The service is available from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and has three available routes. At least one current K-State ID is needed to obtain a ride for up to four individuals.
• If you see someone or something suspicious on campus, you can report it anonymously through the K-State Police Department's Silent Witness program. The online form does not ask for or require personal information from you.
• Use caution when you are approached by an unknown persons and please do not leave with anybody you do not know.
• Above all, our outstanding officers at the K-State Police Department are available to campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can contact them at 785-532-6412, police@k-state.edu or @KStatePolice.
Stay safe, 'Cats!
Faculty Highlights
Michael Kanost elected 2015 Entomological Society of America Fellow
Michael Kanost, university distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and an ancillary professor of entomology, has been named a 2015 Entomological Society of America, or ESA, fellow. Election as a fellow acknowledges outstanding contributions to entomology research, teaching, extension or administration.
Kanost is internationally known for his research, which has focused on understanding how proteins in insect blood function in immune responses, the biochemistry of insect exoskeletons and functions of insect multicopper oxidases. He helped lead genome sequencing and annotation of the tobacco hornwom, Manduca sexta, which is an important model species for insect research.
Kanost's work has been supported with more than $17 million in grants from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has served as major professor for 23 doctoral and master's degree students and as a research mentor for 19 postdoctoral scientists and 42 undergraduate students while teaching numerous biochemistry courses. Kanost has authored more than 180 journal articles and book chapters, and his publications have been cited more than 10,000 times.
The Entomological Society of America was founded in 1889 and has nearly 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. 2015 fellows will be recognized at the society's annual meeting in November. Read the ESA's full announcement.
K-State Student Achievements
Staley School of Leadership Studies announces LEAD 212 class leaders for fall 2015
The Staley School of Leadership Studies has selected 61 students to serve as class leaders for LEAD 212: Introduction to Leadership this semester.
LEAD 212 is a one semester course for two credits facilitated in two parts: large lecture sections of approximately 150 students each that meet once a week for 50 minutes, followed immediately by learning communities — small groups of 12-14 students — for an additional 50 minutes. Peer educators are juniors and seniors, called class leaders, who facilitate these learning communities.
A unique feature of this course is the use of peer-led learning communities, a high-impact educational practice for leadership development. Students selected to serve as LEAD 212 class leaders will facilitate these small group learning communities through discussions and active-learning activities. Class leaders serve as a liaison between students and instructors and help to connect first-year students to campus and community opportunities.
Class leaders began training last spring by completing several preparation and training sessions, enhancing facilitation skills and participating in service learning opportunities. Approximately 600 first-year students are enrolled in LEAD 212 for the fall semester.
The following students are fall 2015 class leaders for LEAD 212:
Katie Ahern, Ami Albert, Courtney Anschutz, Brady Armstrong, Joshua Banwart, Allyssa Barrios, Chance Berndt, Myranda Bower, Martika Chappell, Sarah Colburn, Jenny Cooper, Andrew DeBrie, Allison DuLac, Kaylee Engle, Cassie Enright, Aaron Evans, Katy Fernandes, Kathryn Fix, Madeline Frankel, Tanner Garver, Katie Gehrt, Kaitlyn Goddard, Graham Goodner, Emily Gray, Annie Greenwell, Gabriel Gutierrez, Emily Hail, Sarah Hansberry, Benton Harkey, Allison Harwood, Ellissa Heim, Chance Hunley, Emily Ingram, Jordan Jimerson, Morgan Jones, CJ Kadel, Kirk Kennedy, Nicole Kraly, Michael Lee, Emily Lehman, Ben Lewis, Katie Littell, Mackenzie Lutz, Madison May, Katie Meek, Mackenzie Mense, Maggie Meyer, Morgan Mobley, Arissa Moyer, Amanda Nelson, Daphne Park, Eden Randolph, Nicholas Rohrbaugh, Margaret Salisbury, Emily Stolfus, Amanda Stultz, Kylie Sturgis, Sophia Tolentino, Daphne Weber and Grace Works.
