Important Updates from the Town Hall

Dear Colleagues:

I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our Town Hall last week. Thank you for your many thoughtful comments and questions.

See the full video recording of the Town Hall meeting.

As Provost Michelle McCauley put so well, what Middlebury College and MIIS share is a commitment to experiential learning and a mission to prepare students to lead engaged lives and address the world’s most challenging problems.

As we face fires, floods, and war across the world, our work has never felt more important. We are preparing the professionals the world needs now. Moreover, the world is changing and so are we.

I want to acknowledge how tough the last few years have been. We have been in a state of one adjustment after another – many of them painful. We’re moving into a new phase, in which we are less reactive and more intentional in building the Institute of the future.

Expanding our Programs

Our focus right now is two-fold:

• Renewing, reinvigorating, and growing our in-person, on-campus programs and 
• Expanding our offerings by launching new online programs.

Our initial enrollment estimate (subject to updates) is 450 FTE for fall. We are working to increase on-campus enrollment, which has been particularly impacted by the suspension of important partner programs like Peace Corps during COVID. 

We have a number of marketing initiatives underway and are also designing and launching new programs in high-demand areas, such as the online MPA in Sustainability, to be followed by an online cybersecurity degree.

What we’re working towards over the next decade:

• A vibrant campus community with all of our existing in-person programs and 500-600 on-campus (FTEs), plus 30 undergraduates each semester.
• 10-12 online programs that are ‌growing steadily each year, reaching 600-1,000 in total annual enrollments, primarily part-time students.

Middlebury is investing in this transition, and senior leadership and the Middlebury board are committed to the Institute’s success.

Shifting our Teaching Modalities

We have taken a step forward towards this vision by starting the process of phasing out blended synchronous instruction as the default modality (see my update). It has been a critical tool for us to weather a time of crisis. However, it is not the ideal experience for students, and it’s more taxing for faculty, 

We have a range of students with very different needs from full-time students at the start of their careers to mid-career professionals and career-changers who are part-time, as well as students with distinct requirements such as international students, military, and undergraduates. Blended synchronous serves most of these student groups less well than programs designed in light of their expectations and needs. 

I fielded many great questions about this in the Q&A. Dean Laura Burian and I will also be joining the Faculty Senate on Tuesday to discuss this further and will work closely with all of the program chairs.

If you had additional follow up questions around this, please submit them here. We’re using a form to ensure that we capture all questions in one place.

Leadership Council Roles

We want to make sure that our team is structured effectively and that people have the right authority, responsibility, and accountability. With Fernando DePaolis returning to our faculty ranks, we’re reassigning that work. Toni Thomas is taking the lead on some pieces related to academic operations and the budgetary process improvements are being moved forward by Barbara Burke, with assistance from Angie Quesenberry. Some of the systems integration work is still being assigned.

We have a lot of complex curricular and organizational changes underway, especially for our on-ground programs. 

• Laura Burian’s role is shifting to be even closer to a classic Dean of Faculty role, leading on faculty evaluation, contract renewal, promotion, and sabbaticals, as well as recruitment of new faculty.
• Patricia Szasz’s role will focus completely on online programs, including the contract with an online program management company, developing processes and guidelines for online programs, and overseeing the design and launch of new online programs.
• Advancing academic innovation is my primary focus. We have created a new role, the Director of Academic Initiatives, as an in-house consultant and project manager for these change processes and who will be focused on supporting the strategic directives of the Council. Professor Daniel Chatham will be starting in that role on Oct. 1.

See our key initiatives this fall and who is leading for each one in our Institute Council Objectives and Key Results.

As I shared at the Town Hall, I will be taking a sabbatical in spring 2024, returning in the fall. During this period, Stephen Snyder, Dean of Language Schools and Vice President for Academic Affairs, will serve as interim VPAA. Michelle McCauley will also spend more time here in Monterey during the semester, working closely with the Institute Council to ensure continued progress on our many change initiatives.

Language and intercultural competency are in the DNA of Middlebury and one of our greatest strengths. We look forward to working with Steve – and Thor Sawin in his new role – to promote greater integration of language programs across Middlebury.

In other exciting news, you may have noticed that painting has kicked off for the new mural on the side of McCone. Learn more and sign up to help paint. Latine Heritage Month kicked off September 15 and we have a couple of upcoming events, including one this Wednesday with the muralist Yermo Aranda, who is speaking at 5 p.m. in Irvine auditorium. The Jewish high holy days kicked off with Rosh Hashanah on September 16 and 17 with Yom Kippur coming up on September 24.

Thank you all for making MIIS what it is today. Have a great week.

JDJ

Important Update: Shifting our Teaching Modalities to Improve Student Experience

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back! Thank you for all your hard work in preparing for the start of the semester and welcoming our newest students.

I’m writing to share an important update that we’ll be sending out to current and prospective students later today.

We are starting the process of phasing out blended synchronous instruction (including hyflex). We plan to wind down this modality on a program-by-program basis as our current students graduate, working in close coordination with program chairs and academic advisors.

Our goal is to stop offering blended synchronous courses by fall 2025.  Blended synchronous has been a critical tool for us to weather a time of crisis. However, it is no longer the best default teaching modality. It is not the ideal experience for students, it’s more taxing for faculty, and it doesn’t meet the needs of prospective students, whether they’re seeking an on-campus or an online learning experience.

Students starting their studies in on-campus programs at the Institute in spring 2024 will need to be on campus by fall 2024. Going forward, the Institute plans to admit students either to an in-person, on-campus program or to a fully online, asynchronous program – but not to chiefly blended synchronous programs. 

We will honor our commitment to current students that they can start and finish their degrees remotely. We will work with current students who started this fall 2023 or before to shift them into courses that are either in-person or fully online and asynchronous over the next four semesters, ensuring that we offer a mix of courses that allows them to complete their degrees remotely.

We’re moving past the pandemic and want to take the best of what we’ve learned to offer the highest quality instruction both in-person and online, while also providing expanded access and flexibility. 

Questions? Please come to our Town Hall next week!

Until then, faculty can contact Laura Burian, Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development. Please direct students to connect with their academic advisors and/or program chairs. I will be working closely with Laura and program chairs to map out the phase-out in each program and I look forward to working with all of you through this transition.

Reminder: Faculty and Staff Town Hall on September 14

Provost Michelle McCauley will be here in person in September and Michelle and I will be hosting a Town Hall focused on outlining our vision for the future of the Institute with plenty of space for dialogue. Please join us!

MIIS Town Hall

Thursday, September 14

12:15 – 1:45 p.m.

McGowan 100 / Zoom (Register in advance: https://middlebury.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsd–oqz0sGNXwli6q0BH4POk-Z3Mpcpmj. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)

Light snacks and beverages will be available at noon.

See you soon,

Jeff Dayton-Johnson

Vice President for Academic Affairs

Online Expansion Update and Town Hall Recording

Hello All,

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

It was wonderful to see and hear from many of you at our Town Hall last week. I wanted to share a brief summary of the update I provided on expanding our online programming and the recording of the Town Hall (which can be viewed on Panopto).

Our strategic priorities continue to be:

• Strengthening and evolving our in-person programs and fostering campus vibrancy
• Launching new online programs to reach more and more diverse learners
• Deepening our connections with Middlebury by bringing more undergraduates to Monterey
• Adding non-degree offerings for professionals

Our Town Hall focused specifically on expanding online programs, with our panelists sharing the process of developing our new fully online MPA in Sustainability Management.

Why We’re Expanding our Online Programs

• The most critical component of our business plan from a revenue standpoint is launching new online programs.
• The #1 reason that students don’t come to the Institute is the cost. Adding more online options will allow us to reach more people and expand access.
• We are identifying new online programs to launch based on market data, focusing on those that serve in-demand fields and are aligned with our strengths, content expertise, and mission.
• Over the next 7-10 years, we hope to launch 10+ new programs total, ultimately serving a total of 1,000 – 2,000 online learners. 
• It’s important to note that these are not 10+ completely separate and siloed programs, but that one of our goals is to identify core competencies and build out courses that could serve students across different programs.
• Successfully launching new online programs takes a significant investment over several years. We’ve built some great experience in this area with the launch of our online TLM, TESOL, and IEM programs with DLINQ as a key partner. However, we need to increase capacity and resources.
• To this end, we are in negotiations with Wiley Educational Services, an online program management company, to provide support in marketing and recruitment, as well as student support and retention, which is a bigger issue for online programs.

Launching a New MPA in Sustainability Management for October 2023

• Market research helped us identify this degree, which leverages our strengths:
  • Large market: Over 12K MPA conferrals annually, as well as strong markets for programs related to the environment and climate change.
  • Strong career options: Huge and growing demand for sustainability professionals, with Sustainability Managers in the U.S. making a median salary of $126K.
  • Mission-aligned: Climate change is driving the urgent need for professionals working across industries and cultures.
• The program will be designed for working professionals: fully asynchronous, three starts a year, 30 credits, with students taking one course at a time for 7-8 weeks (exact length TBD).
• Collaboration between MPA and IEP faculty, working closely with DLINQ.
• Targeting launch for October 2023.

The team has used a wide range of data and a survey of current/prospective students, faculty, alumni, and employers to inform the core competencies of the degree and is in the process of determining the curriculum and course sequencing. 

Thank you to our wonderful panelists, who invited us into the process: Mahabat Baimyrzaeva, Jeff Langholz, Jeni Henrickson, and Heather Stafford. Other critical members of this project team include Toni Thomas, Lyuba Zarsky, Scott Pulizzi, Amy Collier, Sarah Lohnes Watulak, and Muchadei Zvoma.

I hope to see many of you this Friday at Transforming Conflict: An Interdisciplinary Conversation, a day of dialogue, storytelling, and discussion featuring our 65 Conflict Transformation Fellows, as well as faculty and staff. See the full schedule of the day’s events.

Wishing you all a wonderful end of the semester.

JDJ

Dear Colleagues,

This year, we’ve been starting to translate the vision of the Institute’s business plan into concrete actions. Our strategic priorities continue to be:

• Strengthening and evolving our in-person programs and fostering campus vibrancy
• Launching new online programs to reach more and more diverse learners
• Deepening connected Middlebury by bringing more undergraduates to Monterey
• Adding non-degree offerings for professionals

Recent Highlights

• We launched our first online “Canvas catalog” short course on Subtitling for Streaming this year and I’m excited to share that we’ve already had 149 people purchase the course. Great work by the project team: our faculty lead Max Troyer, DLINQ’s Amy Collier, Tom Woodward, Bob Cole, and Jeni Henrickson and our marketing lead Muchadei Zvoma.
• Our second Climate Semester Study Away is underway right now with undergraduates taking advantage of our location on experiential learning trips around the region.

Town Hall on 4/27

Our Town Hall later this month will particularly focus on our expansion of online programs. Patricia Szasz will share some of the market insights informing the launch of this program. She’ll be followed by a panel discussion with several people who are currently working on developing our next online program launch – an MPA in Sustainability Management:

• Mahabat Baimyrzaeva, Program Director for the online MPA, and Jeff Langholz, Professor in International Environmental Policy, who are among the faculty members contributing to the project.
• Jeni Henrickson and Heather Stafford, Instructional Designers working shoulder to shoulder with our faculty colleagues.

Other critical members of this project team include Lyuba Zarsky, Scott Pulizzi, Amy Collier, Sarah Lohnes Watulak, and Muchadei Zvoma. 

This will be a chance for everyone to hear more about the process, how we’re leveraging market insights and experimenting with new and different approaches to program design and delivery.

We encourage you to come in person if you can. The Town Hall will be from 12:15PM – 1:45PM in McGowan 100. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

I also want to highlight that there are many special events going on this week leading up to Earth Day on April 22. This is a great opportunity to reflect and take action to support a healthy planet and advance sustainability.

Have a great week,

JDJ

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this year, I asked for your input on whether hyflex should be added as an option for course modalities this fall.

What we heard: 

• A large majority (83%) of survey respondents – across staff, faculty, and students – supported including hyflex instruction mode on the course schedule. You also expressed support for empowering academic programs to determine whether they would support this mode for classes in their program. 
• Faculty need additional support, including course design guidance as well as enhanced classroom technology, in order to deliver hyflex classes effectively.

What we decided: 

• Hyflex instruction mode will be an option on the course schedule for Fall 2023. 
• Programs will have discretion to determine if they support this mode in their program and if so, which courses will be offered in this mode. 

Our primary driver for adding this option is that hyflex has the potential to provide more flexibility and access for students (such as accommodating unexpected crises or illness). Respondents raised concerns about making expectations clear, faculty workload, and the impact on class cohesion, attendance, and group work. Many noted this could work well for some classes, but definitely not all. Effective instructional design and technology are key for successful implementation.

We’ve updated the definition of hyflex to make it clearer and better reflect the true nature of this mode:

Original Definition: A course that offers live class sessions that can be attended in-person on campus, online via Zoom, or re-watched asynchronously afterward. Students can choose their preferred mode of attendance week-to-week and class-to-class. Some coursework and interactions may be offered online-only, so that students are interacting both in live and asynchronous ways.

Updated Definition: A course in which students can choose their preferred mode of engagement week-to-week and class-to-class: in-person on campus, online via live class sessions, or asynchronous. Courses are designed to support equitable interaction with course content, peers, and the instructor, regardless of the mode of engagement chosen by the student.

What this means: 

• Program chairs are encouraged to communicate with their faculty members about whether or not to include hyflex mode as an option on any of their courses for the fall 2023 schedule.
• Faculty who would like to deliver courses in this mode should engage their program chair. If approved, we strongly encourage them to set up a one-on-one consultation with DLINQ to think through course design implications. DLINQ will be developing more resources to support faculty who are interested in teaching in this mode.
• Students will see some courses in this mode on the fall schedule, and hyflex will be included on the course instruction mode definitions on our website.

Thank you for your thoughtful engagement in this process and continued innovation and creativity in how we deliver instruction.

Jeff Dayton-Johnson

Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the Institute

Dear Institute Community,

Over the next month, I am seeking your input on whether the Institute should support hyflex instruction starting in fall 2023.

Please read more about hyflex instruction and the decision-making process I am using below, and share your input via this survey before 3/20. Note that you will need to use your middlebury.edu credentials to sign in.

Hyflex Instruction Mode

As of spring 2023, the Institute supports four instruction modes on the course schedule: 

• Fully in-person 
• Blended synchronous
• Scheduled online
• Asynchronous online

Defined modes of instruction are important so that faculty and students can plan ahead grounded in clear expectations and so that the Institute can manage the infrastructure and resources to support this.  

We did not include “hyflex” instruction in the initial list, because we needed more input on whether this is a desirable and viable delivery mode for our community.

Hyflex instruction is defined as:

A course that offers live class sessions that can be attended in-person on campus, online via Zoom, or re-watched asynchronously afterward. Students can choose their preferred mode of attendance week-to-week and class-to-class. Some coursework and interactions may be offered online-only, so that students are interacting both in live and asynchronous ways.

Hyflex would only apply to courses with an in-person component.

Decision-making Process and Timeline

One of my priorities this year is to improve communication throughout the decision-making process. To that end, the Institute Council will be following a framework called Fair Process. 

Fair process includes three steps: 1) Engage stakeholders in the decision to be made, 2) Explain the decision taken, and 3) Communicate clear expectations as to how the decision impacts the community. Learn more by registering for this workshop with Melissa Sorenson on 3/16. 

Patricia Szasz is facilitating our engagement process for the hyflex policy. The primary mode of engagement is a survey, and I will also be engaging key stakeholders and constituencies one-to-one and via standing meetings. At the beginning of April, I will make the final decision and communicate that out, including a summary of the feedback received and the rationale.

• Take the survey by 3/20.

Note that you will need to use your middlebury.edu credentials to sign in.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Patricia Szasz, Dean of Academic Innovation, at pszasz@middlebury.edu.

Fundraising Town Hall Recording

It was wonderful seeing many of you at our recent Town Hall where we heard from President Laurie Patton and VP for Advancement Dan Courcey on how the Institute is integrated into the campaign and progress to date. Watch the recording.

Events on Campus this Week

I also wanted to note that we have two very interesting in-person events on campus this week. I hope to see you there:

• A Year of War: A Reporter’s View of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine with Joshua Yaffa, contributing writer for the New Yorker – Tuesday, March 7, 12:15 p.m.
• Journalism and Democracy: Covering Truths and Untruths Stories from an NPR Political Correspondent with Asma Khalid – March 8, 5:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful week!

Jeff Dayton-Johnson

Dear Colleagues,

This past week, the sunny tables on Pierce Street were filled with visitors from Vermont and across the country, including the Middlebury College Board of Trustees. The full board meets in Monterey every three years and they always leave energized after spending time with our students.

On Thursday, I updated the Institute Board of Advisors (IBA) – a part of the larger Trustees group – on the business plan, focusing on the initiatives that I outlined to you in my email last week.

The urgency and importance of our work to launch new programs was underscored by our latest enrollment update. Total (new and returning students) enrollment in fall 2022 was down 10% year-over-year (YoY), our lowest enrollment in over 30 years. We provided the detailed memo, which outlines the many different factors driving this.

The IBA was very supportive of our direction and initiatives for this year. We will be developing and sharing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track our progress, with a shared understanding that launching new online programs requires significant investment and will take years to become profitable.

The IBA also heard updates on:

• CoLab’s latest work with Netta Avineri and student Maria Zaharatos
• The growth of our Translation and Localization Management degree with David Mohr and students Linka Wade and Lai Lai who shared recent projects
• Institute fundraising progress

They also had sessions to hear directly from staff and students and were joined for lunch by several faculty members representing all of our programs. The full board met on Friday and Saturday, during which time they heard from researchers and graduate research assistants at CNS and CTEC, as well as a short film featuring recent graduates with experience working with CBE. 

I’ll close with some words that MPA student Maria Zaharatosshared with the board:

“My goal in coming to MIIS is to make meaningful change, not just performative change.”

Have wonderful week –

JDJ

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you feeling restored after winter break and energized for this spring semester. My warmest Lunar New Year wishes to all: 祝大家新春快乐，兔年大吉，健康平安！새해 복 많이 받으십시오 !

These are the Institute Council’s key initiatives this spring:

New Offerings 

Online MPA with a Sustainability Focus (Target launch: January 2024)

Based on our market research, we’ve identified the next new online program we plan to move forward: an online MPA with a focus on climate resilience and sustainability (name TBD). This is a cross-program initiative, with Maha Baimyrzaeva, Scott Pulizzi, and Lyuba Zarsky leading the instructional design together with the DLINQ team.

I’ve recorded this short video to share why I’m particularly excited about the potential of this opportunity and how it leverages our strengths.

MA in Cybersecurity (Target launch: Fall 2024)

We also hope to develop and launch a MA in Cybersecurity in fall 2024, for which we’ll request an additional faculty hire, with the posting going up in early 2023.

Online Microcredentials in TLM & Financial Crimes (Target launch: Fall 2023)

We plan to launch two 6-credit (3 courses each) microcredentials on these in-demand areas in September 2023. 

Online Infrastructure     

We’re building out our infrastructure and policies to support the expansion of online offerings. We are in continued conversations with online program management (OPM) providers with plans to finalize our contract by fall 2023. The new online MPA will be the first program that will have external marketing support from an OPM.

Existing Program Opportunities      

Strengthen TLM Teaching Capacity

We are posting for a new TLM faculty in early 2023 to address current overloads/course size issues in our TLM program.

T&I Transformation

Our T&I Task Force is finalizing its recommendations to the Provost and an implementation plan will be finalized by June.

It’s important to note that we are also continuing our work to bring more Middlebury undergraduates to study in Monterey, which is being led by colleagues in Vermont.

We’ve moved to setting Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for each quarter, rather than by semester. I’ll be sharing the final OKRs in the next two weeks with the project plan and interim milestones for these initiatives.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week –

JDJ

Dear Colleagues,

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at our Town Hall tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13 from 12:15PM – 1:45PM PT. This will be a hybrid event. For those of you joining in person, the location is McGowan 100. For those of you joining remotely, the Zoom link is below.

Our Provost Michelle McCauley will be joining us at the top of the meeting, then I will be giving an update on our policies on blended synchronous and physical presence.

This will be followed by an update on the progress on our business plan, including a panel discussion with Renee Jourdenais, Jason Martel, and Amy Collier, who will be sharing about some key initiatives underway.

We will do Q&A for the last part of the meeting. I look forward to engaging with everyone tomorrow.

JDJ

P.S. It was wonderful seeing so many of you at our holiday party. Please join me in sending congratulations and appreciation to this year’s Above and Beyond winners – Elizabeth Bone, Gael Meraud, Scott Webb and Bill Lackey! See photos from the party (including our Ugly Sweater contest winners)

Dear Colleagues,

Our upcoming Town Hall on December 13 from 12:15PM – 1:45PM will address campus vibrancy and will provide an update on implementation of the Business Plan. Additional information on the location of the meeting and the Zoom link for those joining remotely are at the bottom of this email.  

Let me focus on campus vibrancy in this update. We are finally past the crisis stage of the pandemic and moving into a new phase where we have the opportunity to take what we’ve learned and create policies and systems that reflect and support how we learn, work, and live now. 

We are preparing to transition beyond the following COVID-era academic policies possibly as early as the spring 2023 semester:

• Blended Synchronous Format: The quasi-mandatory “blended synchronous” teaching format for virtually all classes (in order to accommodate both on-ground and online students).
• Remote Degrees: The promise to new students who begin their degrees remotely that they can finish remotely.
• Physical Presence: The reduced physical presence requirement for regular and visiting faculty (from 45 days/semester to 22.5 days/semester). 

All of these are interrelated and have a significant impact on how we attract and enroll new students, teaching and learning and where we live and work.

Your perspectives and insights are critical to informing these important decisions.

Please share your feedback by 12/9.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Town Hall.

JDJ