Unprecedented times present unprecedented opportunities

Our faculty members have adapted to the COVID-19 situation in unique ways. The instructional deliveries used have become learning opportunities for us. Analyses of the student performance during the past two semesters in engineering courses has highlighted for us areas on which to focus.  When used in the context of curricular analytics, these analyses exposed vulnerabilities in the design of our curricula. Our leadership team is now taking a close look at how we could make the curricular flow more suitable for student progress and success. We are deploying additional resources in terms of tutorials and one-on-one counseling to provide help to students who are at critical transition stages in their curricula. Our leadership conversations opened up new opportunities to further improve student retention and time to graduation. We are beginning to see how we can further improve the learning space for our students, both physically and metaphorically. Physically, our Thomas and Brown building replacement project is benefiting from these conversations. Metaphorically, we are creating a learning environment where all students will find instructional modes suited to their individual learning styles.