Priorities:George Fox University Student Priorities
Contents
- 1 Current Fellows 2023-2024
- 2 Overview
- 2.1 Strategy #1: Workshops for Majors
- 2.2 Strategy #2: Mental Health Check-Ins
- 2.3 Strategy #3: Required class that teaches different skills needed to be successful as a student academically, but to also introduce the various resources we have on campus and how to find them.
- 2.4 Strategy #4: Youtube/Podcast
- 2.5 Strategy #5: Herd Hurdles
- 3 Past Fellows Idea
- 4 Strategy #1: Encourage I&E through emphasis on the problem solving process and employability
- 5 Strategy #2: Encourage I&E through expansion of innovative spaces
- 6 Strategy #3: Developing innovation connections between departments on campus
- 7 Strategy #4: Develop a platform for students to launch new ideas
- 8 Related Links
Current Fellows 2023-2024
Overview
Fall of 2023 the UIF members have created the idea of S.H.E.E.P. (Student, health, encouragement, and education, planning)
The majority of students who are moving forward in their school careers after high school are very underprepared and overwhelmed when they first go to university. High school does not do a good job at preparing these students on what it means to be successful and confident in college academics. This program will focus mainly on freshman and the undeclared majors transfer students. S.H.E.E.P will focus on areas such as workshops about different majors, having mental health check-ins, classes on what it takes for students to succeed in college, putting on fun activities to destress, and producing a Youtube/Podcasts that students can listen in and connect with others to build a community.
Strategy #1: Workshops for Majors
Description
The week before school starts, on the George Fox campus there will be courses that do a quick over view of the potential fields students can go into. In these workshops students will learn the basics of each major through a lecture and then implement what they had just learned into hands on activities. This way not only do students get to experience a wide range of careers before they are required to choose one, but it will allow students to be involved and have fun. Having this be before school starts is so that freshman and undeclared transfers can have to opportunity to build community with students and faculty they might not meet otherwise.
Tactic #1
Bring in faculty of different fields on a volunteer basis to teach the courses. Also have seniors of the various careers to help out similar to a TA, this would be something that those seniors could put on their resumes.
Tactic #2
Promote these workshops through the George Fox social medias, the Bruin, and informing incoming students of this resource.
Tactic #3
While this would be required for freshman and undeclared transfer students the program would be open to anyone joining.
Strategy #2: Mental Health Check-Ins
Description
Going to a new school environment can already be extremely overwhelming and confusing. That's why the current members of UIF propose the idea of Shepherding. Shepherding (going along with our Sheep theme) would be another resource that would be available to students focusing on the mental and emotional wellbeing. This would be required for those that were involved in the major workshops and it's just a way for students to get the help that they may need if they are struggling and don't know where to go for that help.
Tactic #1
Grad Psych Students who come to the undergraduate campus as part of their internship requirements will help with this and it would count towards their credits.
Tactic #2
Counselors that are already on campus would be on a volunteer basis as another set of hands to help out.
Tactic #3
This would only be required a few times a semester, but once students know of this resource and how to find the main mental health resource on campus they can go as much as they want.
Strategy #3: Required class that teaches different skills needed to be successful as a student academically, but to also introduce the various resources we have on campus and how to find them.
Description
When students first come onto the campus they don't know that the campus has certain resources or how to even search for these researches. Many students also are not previously taught the needed skills for college academically as university is so different from high school.
Tactic #1
Course would teach skills needed for college such as, how to time manage, how to be organized/how to find an organizational pattern that works for that student, etc.
Tactic #2
Course would teach students what resources are on campus and where to find them and how to contact the various groups.
Tactic #3
This course would only be a couple times a semester and would encourage community building.
Strategy #4: Youtube/Podcast
Description
As a way to encourage community, students can check in to prerecorded videos or podcasts and catch up on the latest events on campus. Students can also watch or listen in real time as another way to build community.
Tactic #1
Work with media/film students. This would be something media and film students could put on their resumes and would also be a paid internship through the school.
Tactic #2
This would give resources to students through the advancement of technology by giving updates about the resources George Fox has.
Strategy #5: Herd Hurdles
Description
Continuing with the sheep theme. When sheep go through traumatic events they hurdle together for safety and comfort. Similar to this idea, UIF will put on a couple events throughout the year as a way reduce stress and anxiety of students, primarily those in the college success course, but it would be open to any students.
Tactic #1
Work with student activities on campus to throw free events during the week. This would only be a couple times a semester primarily around midterms and finals.
Tactic #2
Market through George Fox's social medias, the Bruin, posters around campus.
Tactic #3
Students and faculty can volunteer to help out and it would be an activity students could put on their resumes.
Past Fellows Idea
Project pitch Idea
Many of the student priorities at George Fox University are centered around the Maker Hub. We want this space to live up to its name as a "hub" of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus, and to ensure that it is being used to its fullest potential. We also want interdisciplenary students to be able to take advantage of this resourse, so that students with different talents can pool their resources and make something truely special.
Strategy #1: Encourage I&E through emphasis on the problem solving process and employability
Description
Currently, students are evaluated on their performance with an A-F grading system. The current system encourages students to work until a certain level of performance is attained rather than to learn and enjoy problem solving. We want students to focus on the problem solving process and critical thinking skills. These skills will create professionals that see challenges as learning opportunities and desire to expand entrepreneurship and innovation.
Tactic #1
Bring in professional graders to see how the work that students are doing would hold up in an industry setting. This will encourage students to think about improving skills that will be desirable in the workplace, while also networking students to professionals involved in entrepreneurship and innovation in industry.
Tactic #2
Encouraging concept based grading to shift students focus from numbers to learning material and critical thinking. This will foster a mindset of continuous improvement, and will encourage students to learn from mistakes. As a result, critical thinking skills that students have developed will encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.
Tactic #3
Implement an employability grade that reflects students' effort and predicts their performance in a professional environment. This grade is designed to display to employers how well a student demonstrates an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset while in classes, as well shows that the university is investing in the employability of students. The grade shows students application of knowledge, and thus creates an emphasis on practicality rather than on innovation.
Strategy #2: Encourage I&E through expansion of innovative spaces
Description
While there are spaces on campus that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, these spaces are either not well known or are not large enough for the growing number of students that will use the space as awareness is brought to it.
Tactic #1
Increase the amount of students that use current innovation spaces through more awareness to already existing spaces. Having a greater number and diversity of students in the same spaces will encourage different ideas and contribute to entrepreneurship and innovation.
Tactic #2
Expanding innovation spaces to include fishbowls or other study spaces that give students the freedom to "Dream Big" in creating new ideas. These spaces would be smaller and around different locations on campus. This would make students more confident in approaching innovation spaces.
Tactic #3
Reorganize current spaces to make them more efficient for student success. Use spaces unfit for student use as storage spaces, and transform old storage spaces into usable innovation spaces.
Strategy #3: Developing innovation connections between departments on campus
Description
Many students on campus notice problems in the spaces the live and work, but don't know how to solve them or even that these problems are solvable. We believe that connecting students to innovative spaces would encourage an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset and foster a greater connection between different departments on campus.
Tactic #1
Create a club that connects students with a desire to practice problem solving skills with problems that they could solve in other departments, as well as provide a platform where students can learn the necessary skills to solve these problems.
Tactic #2
Bring students from multiple departments together to solve smaller problems in the local community. Students could learn about resources available on campus and develop teamwork and communication skills with those in other majors. This would also help students focus on the need for their design, rather than jumping straight into the building process.
Strategy #4: Develop a platform for students to launch new ideas
Description:
A major gap in our I&E ecosystem is that students lack the support necessary to launch new ideas. We may be able to develop those resources to demonstrate that an idea has merit beyond the walls of the University
Tactic #1
Create a program where students from multiple majors work together to design a product and create a business model for a competition. Winners of this competition receive support and funding to patent their ideas and launch their business. This will inspire students to dream big and create a realistic proposal, while working with professionals.
Tactic #2
Create resources where students can go to receive support for launching new ideas.
Tactic #3
Generate incentive for students to try new ideas and put in the work to launch them. This would encourage students to engage in innovation by motivating them and removing their fear of failure.
Related Links
Fall 2023
Hailey Mccollum
Fall 2019:
Fall 2018:
Fall 2017 Fellows:
Fall 2016 Fellows:
Fall 2015 Fellows:
Related links
