In an effort to improve learning experiences at Hamline, Provost Eric Jensen is currently working on five new initiatives that will bring changes to the libraries, undergraduate and graduate collaboration, technology use, mentored experiences and special academic terms.

Faculty and staff volunteered to participate in discussions and decision-making processes about particular initiatives that pertained to their areas of expertise. Each group presented their plans at an open forum hosted by Jensen in March.

The five initiatives vary in many ways, from how expansive the changes will be to the cost of implementing new technology or programs.

Two of the initiatives do not offer large scale technology or university integration programs, but they do include recommendations to change how Hamline students participate in internships and nontraditional terms, such as J-term.

One group focusing on mentored experiences created a new way to conduct and synthesize internships by creating a required seminar to accompany any internship credit. 

“Our big goal is when people have high-impact experiences, Hamline has a way to provide reflection,” history professor Susie Steinbach said. 

Steinbach also said that creating some way for students participating in internships to process and reflect on their journey and outcome is “so in line with Hamline’s mission.” 

According to Steinbach, this change is a long way from becoming a rule, but is a strong recommendation from the group. 

Mentored experiences are not limited to just internships, but include departmental honors projects as well as summer collaborative research. 

Steinbach said that as of right now, faculty overseeing summer collaborative research are compensated very little for their time and effort. Faculty advising departmental honors projects are not compensated at all. 

Steinbach said that as a professor who collaborates with students on these projects herself knows the time commitment and effort required from faculty, so one of the objectives for this group is to ensure that faculty are fairly compensated.

For Special Terms, or terms outside of a regular semester, the group discussed what kinds of courses should be available to offer students a “high impact” learning experience. 

Religion professor Deanna Thompson, a member of the Special Terms group, said the group wanted to create ways that Hamline could establish experiences outside of a traditional semester in order to set the university apart. 

Thompson also said that discussions initially began by questioning whether or not Hamline should keep J-term in the future. This possibility is what prompted Thompson to take part in the conversations. 

“I teach almost every J-term and I was worried J-term would go away,” Thompson said. 

The group decided on keeping J-term at Hamline, but plan on offering more unique and collaborative classes. Grant opportunities will be offered to faculty to propose and then fund special classes during these special terms. 

Thompson said the group has continued to discuss making other changes to J-term, such as requiring first years to take a J-term course to foster a sense of residential community on campus. Thompson also said that the group brought up the possibility of Hamline charging for J-term classes like some of its fellow ACTC schools. However, Thompson said that these suggestions are not yet set in stone. 

“There are a lot of ideas out there, but nothing is firm,” Thompson said.

Jensen decided upon these particular five areas after discussions with various groups at Hamline.

“They were the result of conversations I had around campus with faculty, students and staff for Hamline moving forward,” Jensen said.

According to Jensen, President Linda Hanson has raised some funds to begin covering the cost of these changes. Jensen also stated that gradual implementation of these initiatives will be seen soon.

“All of them are intended to start right now,” Jensen said.

Jensen also said that he is looking forward to seeing these initiatives and their progress moving forward.

“The enthusiasm I’m seeing for these ideas is exciting,” Jensen said. 

Read more about the initiatives here.