Headlines
- Dosumu Joins A-B Tech as Instructional Services Vice President
- A Q&A on Designed Teaching and Learning with President Young
- A-B Tech Forms Transfer Agreement for Budding Entrepreneurs
- Rising Sixth-Graders Attend Camp CSI
- Yelton Receives Grant to Study Sustainability
- Folkmoot USA Comes to A-B Tech
- Meet Foundation Scholarship Recipients
- Compensatory Education Students Celebrate Independence Day with Ice Cream Social
- Invitational Education Committee Names New Coordinator, Members
- Korth Elected SGA President
- A-B Tech Student Volunteers as Puppy Walker for Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind
- Welcome, New Employees
- Incubator Tenant Hopes to Turn Cars Green
- Phi Beta Lambda Succeeds at National Competition
- Transfer Process to N.C. Private Institutions Made Easier with Articulation Agreement
- College Hosts Hands-on Youth Summer Camps
- Tech Notes
Dosumu Joins A-B Tech as Instructional Services Vice President
Dr. Samuel Dosumu
Dr. Samuel Dosumu has been named vice president of Instructional Services at A-B Tech. He had served as the dean of the School of Business and Information Technology at San Juan College in Farmington, N.M., for the past five years. Prior to that position, he was the senior academic director at University College and at the University of Denver and was director of instruction at the Colorado Community College System central office in Denver.
Dosumu earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Innovation from the University of Colorado, his MBA from Regis University in Denver and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science from Xavier University in New Orleans.
"I have no doubt that I will be working with a distinguished group of faculty and staff at an institution whose handprint can be seen throughout the community," Dosumu said. "After visiting the campuses during my interview, I was convinced that I definitely want to be a part of the college and the Asheville community. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with faculty, staff and students. We will work together toward helping students achieve their educational goals and provide the necessary support for our programs. "
Dosumu, who began his duties July 28, said he is also looking forward to what the region offers. "From the materials I've picked up, there is a more than a ton to see and do in Western North Carolina and my family is looking forward to weekend trips to exciting places around here."
A Q&A on Designed Teaching and Learning with President Young
What is your history with Designed Teaching and Learning; were you responsible for its creation and implementation at Franklin University?
Yes, the model was developed to address the need to ensure academic integrity in a system in which we have many people teaching the same classes.
What are the benefits of Designed Teaching and Learning for students?
The number one benefit would be that students are confident they are achieving all the learning outcomes they would expect to achieve in a particular course, regardless of who the instructor is. Each instructor brings their own style of teaching, their own personal experiences and that’s what makes up the dynamics of any class. And that’s not lost in this model.
What are the benefits for faculty?
The full-time faculty who we anticipate will be the majority of developers for these courses can have confidence through Designed Teaching and Learning that the standards and expectations they have for our academic curriculum are met not only in the courses they are teaching, but in each course they have had the responsibility for developing. In addition for the first time, resources such as instructional designers and multimedia will be available to support them.
And employers?
Employers can look at A-B Tech and with a high degree of confidence know that we do a lot more than other institutions as far as achieving that high level of academic integrity in each course that is taught here.
One of the words you’ll hear me use a lot is confidence – confidence for the full-time person that all the courses are meeting their standards, confidence for the adjunct that they know what they’re supposed to be teaching and the expectations for student performance, and confidence for employers who look at our programs and know the expectations for students and that that’s being delivered consistently. It’s also confidence for our accreditors who look at how we do business and want to measure academic quality, so it’s really a model that achieves a high level of confidence for all who are engaged in it.
Another term you’ll hear me use a lot is academic integrity, and that really is the quality question. Designed Teaching and Learning makes it possible for us to talk about consistency in content and consistency in delivery that result in, again, a high level of confidence in the academic integrity of our curriculum and in our faculty in delivering that curriculum.
Dr. John Humphrey, Business Computer Technologies instructor, and Pam Silvers, Business Computer Technologies chair, lead a Designed Teaching and Learning event involving a large number of their faculty for input.
What do you see as the role of the faculty in Designed Teaching and Learning?
The role of our faculty has never been more important than it is under this model. First of all, it would be my desire to see our full-time faculty have the leadership role in all course development. In areas where we do not have full-time faculty, course developers will be experienced adjunct faculty.
Faculty will collaborate with the course developers for guidance in the delivery of these courses and it will provide greater interaction between our full-time faculty and our adjuncts.
At the rate of growth A-B Tech is experiencing, particularly in our high school programs, we will continue to need more full-time and part-time faculty to meet the market demand.
Do you envision all credit courses eventually going through the design process?
We began this summer with a pilot and the pilot is expected to help us build the model. We’ll learn while doing. Then we’ll prioritize courses. We’ve identified courses that had the highest levels of enrollment. We looked at the retention rate in courses and identified courses in which there may be retention difficulties. These will be our top priority for development, as well as for any new program we would begin.
There are some courses where there may only be one full-time faculty member who teaches. The need for the Designed Teaching and Learning model may not be of as great a value to a course like that.
Some courses would require annual redesign, for example, a course in tax because tax law changes each year. Certainly, computer technology courses where technology changes rapidly might require more frequent review. Other courses where the content does not significantly change we’ll identify the timeline in which they should be scheduled for redevelopment and that will be part of the design team’s responsibility to determine that for each course.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a monthly column on Designed Teaching and Learning. Future columns will feature profiles on course designers.
A-B Tech Forms Transfer Agreement for Budding Entrepreneurs
WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo shakes hands with A-B Tech President Betty Young after they sign an agreement that enables students to transfer seamlessly from A-B Tech's new entrepreneurship program to WCU's bachelor's degree program. They are joined by, from left, Louis Buck Jr., the WCU Wesley R. Elingburg Distinguished Professor of Business Innovation and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; WCU Provost Kyle Carter; Dr. Phil Leftwich, dean of Business and Hospitality Education at A-B Tech, and Frank Lockwood, director of the master of Entrepreneurship program at WCU.
A new agreement makes it easier for students in A-B Tech's new Entrepreneurship program to transfer to Western Carolina University and earn a four-year business degree.
A-B Tech President Betty Young and WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo signed an articulation agreement July 23 that enables students who complete A-B Tech's new Entrepreneurship degree to transfer seamlessly to WCU and earn a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship two years later.
Young said the signing of the agreement serves as an expression of the strong relationship between the two institutions.
"I look forward to building on that relationship in the future as we work together to expand great opportunities that improve the quality of education for our students and the people of Western North Carolina," said Young.
"Today's entrepreneurship students are the business leaders and innovators of tomorrow," said Bardo. "Partnerships such as this one between A-B Tech and Western give our students more access to the knowledge and experiences that will help them succeed in our increasingly global marketplace."
A-B Tech student Michelle Marcoux said she is thrilled A-B Tech is expanding opportunities for students like her who want to be entrepreneurs.
From left, WCU Provost Kyle Carter, WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo, A-B Tech President Betty Young, and Dr. Phil Leftwich, dean of Business and Hospitality education at A-B Tech, sign an agreement July 23 that enables students to transfer seamlessly from A-B Tech's new entrepreneurship program to WCU's bachelor's degree program.
"This new program will open a world of opportunities for students interested in owning their own business, regardless of academic programs," said Marcoux, whose business, a loss-prevention consulting company called Preventive Measures, was recently selected for A-B Tech's student business incubator program.
"We are excited to broaden the reach of WCU's entrepreneurship program and forge stronger partnerships with A-B Tech in ways that will benefit the economic development of this region and the state," said Louis Buck Jr., the Wesley R. Elingburg Distinguished Professor of Business Innovation and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at WCU.
Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designers: Justin Page, April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu
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