Wilson College recently added a new master’s degree to its expanding offerings in education graduate programs: a Master of Mass Customized Learning. The MMCL program prepares educators to create a student-centered learning environment by enabling them to tailor their teaching methods to the individual learning style of each student.
The philosophy behind mass customized learning, which has been widely promoted by educator-authors Charles Schwahn and Beatrice McGarvey, is rapidly gaining in popularity, according to Eric Michael, Wilson’s director of graduate education programs. He said more school districts are embracing the technique, which has been made possible by advances in technology.
“This is shifting the whole mindset of traditional education,” said Michael, former superintendent of curriculum for the Chambersburg Area School District. “There are districts throughout the country that are moving toward this. It is gaining steam—we see a lot of growth potential.”
What is mass customized learning? First, it represents a shift away from the traditional “mass production” model of education that many of us are familiar with. The MCL vision is learner-centered, where teachers empower and put into place the conditions in which student (or learner) choice is central to the learning experience, according to a review of Schwahn and McGarvey’s book Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning in an Age of Empowerment.
MCL could mean allowing some students to move on if they’ve mastered a concept, while others keep working. It could mean offering students different options in the ways they want to learn, or giving them free reign to choose their own topics of study.
“We know we all have different ways of learning. Some might learn best visually, some by listening to lectures and some learn best by doing,” Michael said. “MCL gives the teacher more tools to be able to deliver in the classroom.”
In much the same way that people have the ability to customize services or products to meet their needs, MCL takes a similar approach in the education of children. Although technology provides important ways to leverage the digital age to meet the needs of each learner, the effective use of MCL requires a complete transformation of the current industrial-age model of education, according to Schwahn and McGarvey, both former teachers and school administrators who have authored two books on the MCL concept.
Several regional consortiums have been formed to examine the concept and potential benefits of MCL, including the Pennsylvania Leadership Development Center and the Mass Customized Learning Mid-Atlantic Consortium. And in Pennsylvania, several school districts have taken the lead in adopting the MCL philosophy. Central York School District’s efforts are described in this York Daily Record story from 2016.
Wilson’s MCL master’s degree, which began in fall 2017, is targeted toward classroom teachers. It’s offered in an online format, but “we would work with school districts with cohorts of teachers” to provide alternates such as onsite course teaching, according to Michael. He said courses can be scheduled at the student’s convenience and the degree can be completed in 18, 24 or 36 months.
For more information about Wilson’s Master of Mass Customized Learning, contact Michael’s office at 717-262-2045 or med@wilson.edu, or visit https://www.wilson.edu/master-mass-customized-learning.
In January, approximately 11 Wilson College students, accompanied by several faculty members, will travel to the Dominican Republic to take part in the College’s first medical mission trip.
During the eight-day trip sponsored by a nonprofit Christian organization called Mission: Hope, Wilson nursing, Spanish and health science students will assist local Dominican healthcare workers at a hospital and a migrant work camp. “Medical missions are often life-transforming,” said Wilson Director of Nursing Carolyn Hart. “We want those who participate to come away with an understanding of what it’s like not to have. There are a whole host of things that we take for granted—including clean water, healthy food and access to health care—that others do not have.” The Wilson group will be centered in La Romana, a city of about 250,000 on the island’s eastern side. Students will work at the city’s hospital, La Buen Samaritano, and at a field clinic for Haitian migrants. Hart will accompany the students on the trip, along with Wilson Associate Professor of Spanish Wendell Smith; Tim Hart, nursing department simulation coordinator; and Summit Health Senior Vice President of Hospital Services Sherri Stahl. With Wilson’s recent emphasis on nursing and healthcare, organizers say they hope the medical mission trip will become a yearly event. Organizers are planning a fundraiser for the trip and potential future missions. The “Hustle for Health” running event will be held on campus on April 28, 2018.
Wilson 2003 graduate Kari Herchelroth was recently named 2017 Certified Veterinary Technician of the Year by the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association. The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of veterinary technology.
Herchelroth, who earned a bachelor's degree from Wilson in veterinary medical technology, is program director of the veterinary technician program at the YTI Career Institute's campus in York, Pa. There, she oversees a staff of 11 and a study body of more than 150 students. Herchelroth also led the school's program through its American Veterinary Medical Association accrediation process in 2014.
Wilson College will hold its annual Christmas vespers service at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, in Thomson Hall's Alumnae Chapel. The public is invited to attend. The service will include scripture readings by students, faculty and staff; songs by the Wilson College Choir; and Christmas carols sung by all. After the service, free refreshments will be served in Laird Hall's Patterson Lounge.
Wilson College will host the 8th annual Handmade for the Holidays event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in Lenfest Commons. The event will feature handmade items from local craftspeople, including beaded jewelry, handwovens, paintings, Shaker boxes, ceramics, soaps and ornaments. This year, 10 percent of the proceeds will benefit Learning Campus, Wilson's migrant education tutoring program.
Lancaster Theological Seminary professor Lee Barrett will deliver two lectures about anxiety as part of Wilson College's Orr Forum on Monday, Nov. 6. The talks, which will be held at noon and 4:30 p.m. in the college library, are free and open to the public. Talk 1 - Noon Is Anxiety the Root of All Our Ills? Christianity and other world religions have often identified the root of all human evil, with such vices as lust, selfishness, worldliness or pride. The Danish philosopher/theologian Soren Kierkegaard proposed another possibility: perhaps all human evil is the fruit of an unresolved anxiety. Barrett will explore what Kierkegaard meant by this seemingly odd claim and why this diagnosis may be plausible. Talk 2 - 4:30 p.m. Anxiety and the Travail of Contemporary Culture Modern theology has often identified anxiety as the ultimate source of social injustice, hurtful interpersonal behavior and individual despair. We will test out this thesis and consider the ways in which a host of cultural woes may be explained in terms of the inability to deal in constructive ways with the phenomenon of anxiety. The second lecture will be followed by a reception. Barrett is the Henry and Mary Staeger Professor of Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary, where he has taught for 24 years. His most recent books include Kierkegaard: Foundations of Theology and Eros and Self-Emptying: The Intersections of Augustine and Kierkegaard. Barrett has received all of his degrees, including a doctorate, from Yale University. When he is not writing about Kierkegaard, he frolics with his three Shih-Tzu puppies.
Wilson College will host a community health and safety fair from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017 in Laird Hall. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature speakers and offer free health screenings. English-to-Spanish translators will be available. Building Safe and Healthy Communities is sponsored by students taking a Wilson “Environmental Sociology” course this fall, the college’s nursing department and BOPIC (Building Our Pride in Chambersburg). Keynote speakers include: • Chambersburg Police Chief Roland Camacho, who will talk about “Situational Awareness” and how to be safe when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. • Jocelyn Melton of Baxter Environmental Services, who will discuss indoor human health threats such as mold and radon. • Erin Young, a Summit Health nurse who will discuss healthy eating and personal care. • Yissel Lopez, a licensed social worker who will speak in Spanish on “Salud Mental” (mental health).
Other organizations taking part in the fair include: Women in Need, Keystone Health, Norex, Costa Academy, the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and the Wilson College Counseling Center. The event will offer free health screenings and translators will be available. The fair is “kid-friendly” and Wilson’s Learning Campus tutoring program will provide activities for children. Refreshments will be provided. The fair is part of a project developed by students in the “Environmental Sociology” class, whose goal is to help inform Chambersburg residents and the college community about how to stay safe and healthy.
Wilson College will hold a reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, to mark the opening of an exhibition of art created by area high school students. The juried exhibittion, which is free and open to the public, will continue through Dec. 8 in the Bogigian Gallery, which is located on the second floor of Lortz Hall. The exhibition will include works for art submitted by students in Franklin, Adams, Cumberland and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County, Md. Students have been encouraged to offer their works of art for sale during the exhibition.
At a time when many colleges are only now considering tuition resets, the Wilson College Board of Trustees voted this past weekend to hold the line on tuition for an eighth consecutive year. On the recommendation of President Barbara K. Mistick, the board agreed to hold tuition at the current rate of $23,745 for undergraduates for the next academic year, 2018-19. Wilson’s actions are unique in today’s higher education landscape. The College Board reports that nationally, private colleges and universities have increased tuition an average of 13 percent over the past five years, while public institutions have raised tuition an average of nine percent over the same period. Locally, PASSHE (Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education) universities have raised tuition 13 percent since the 2013-14 academic year. Under the decision, next fall’s tuition for the majority of Wilson’s students—including traditional undergraduates and those in the Adult Degree and Teacher Intern programs—will remain at this year’s rates. Graduate degree students in nursing will see their tuition increase $165 per three-credit course and accounting graduate students will see it decrease by $180 per course. Along with the tuition freeze, the college approved a modest 2 percent increase in room (the first increase in four years) and 2 percent in board. Board members also approved a plan to replace technology and activities fees with a new comprehensive fee that will also include graduation and administrative fees. The comprehensive fee was set at $850. The net effect of the trustees’ action means that Wilson’s full-time residential students will pay a total of $36,249 for tuition, fees and room and board next year, an increase of just 1.2 percent. “We know that cost is a key factor for today’s families when it comes to choosing a college,” said Mistick. “A significant percentage of Wilson’s students are the first in their families to attend college. We want to make sure as many deserving students as possible can afford a Wilson education.” Wilson, which is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as fifth in the “best value” category among northern regional colleges for 2018, continues to lead in college affordability and value. After freezing tuition for three straight years, the college reduced tuition for 2014-15 by $5,000 as part of the Wilson Today plan, which also included the creation of an innovative student debt buyback program. With that tuition decrease, the college became one of fewer than 30 colleges and universities in the nation to cut tuition between 2002 and 2014, according to a Sept. 25 article in Inside Higher Education. The article, “The Tuition-Reset Strategy,” adds that between Sept. 5 and 15 this year, at least eight schools announced tuition reductions for fall 2018, calling it significant, yet “a tiny percentage of the roughly 1,200 degree-granting private nonprofit institutions operating across the country …” Wilson’s efforts to keep tuition down are paying off for students. An Institute for College Access and Success study on the average debt level from student loans for the Class of 2016 shows the debt level for Wilson graduates is $4,146 below the state average of $35,759. U.S. News & World Report lists the percent of Wilson students receiving need-based grants at 87 percent. Prospective students and their families are responding to Wilson’s “value plan”—tuition affordability and the loan buyback program—according to the college’s admissions office, a fact borne out by the increasing number of enrolled students. This fall, overall enrollment increased by 10.7 percent from fall 2016, to a total of 1,216 students. Wilson’s enrollment increases continue to buck national enrollment trends. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported a decline of 1.5 percent in higher education enrollment nationally in spring 2017 over the previous year, while showing a slight 0.2 percent decrease at four-year, nonprofit private colleges. In contrast, since 2013 Wilson has seen a 44.6 percent increase in traditional undergraduate enrollment, with an 83.6 percent increase overall. Approved by the Board of Trustees in January 2013, the Wilson Today plan included a set of forward-looking initiatives to ensure that the college remains a thriving institution well into the future. In addition to the 2014-15 tuition reduction and student loan buyback program, the plan included infrastructure improvements, coeducation, improved marketing and new academic programs. Undergraduate programs introduced at Wilson since the plan was adopted include nursing, animal studies, health sciences and special education, while graduate programs have been added in education, healthcare, business and the arts.
Orchesis, Wilson College’s undergraduate dance ensemble, will present its fall performance—Glimpse—at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, in the Appenzellar Buchanan Dance Studio in Davison Hall on campus.
Glimpse features original dances choreographed by Wilson undergraduates, alumni, faculty and guest artists.
Tickets, which will be sold at the door, are $10 for general admission, $3 for students and free for military personnel and veterans.
Orchesis introduces students to a broad range of opportunities for active participation in the various forms of dance. Student participants work with visiting artists; attend performances in other venues; study in New York City; engage in choreographic projects; gain experience in lighting, sound and costume design; and work in the community to educate and develop an audience for dance.
