CSU Faculty Members Receive Regional Faculty Excellence Awards
CSU Joins Dept. of Education Experiment that Increases Loan Counseling for StudentsCSU Faculty Members Receive Regional Faculty Excellence Awards
Central State University will participate in a U.S. Department of Education Experiment that Increases Loan Counseling for Students
Central State University will participate in a national pilot program to identify promising loan counseling practices that help students manage their federal aid.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Loan Counseling Experiment involves 51 colleges and universities and approximately 100,000 students. At each institution, half of the students will receive additional loan counseling that includes information about managing repayments after leaving school, and the other half will receive the current statutorily required one-time entrance and one-time exit counseling. Currently, Central State emphasizes financial literacy and provides increased information to help students manage their aid. This experiment will allow Central State to require more face-to-face counseling with financial aid officers.
At Central State, 82 percent of students receive Pell grants, a form of federal financial aid for families typically earning less than $60,000 a year, and many have no financial support from their parents, said Central State University President Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Hammond. CSU already incorporates financial literacy in freshman seminars, and has noticed increased interest from students in learning more about loan repayment, she said.
“If we can address problems a lot earlier, more often, give students the necessary tools to make the right decision, then we should see a reduction in the amount of debt,” President Jackson-Hammond said.
Under the pilot, the colleges and Universities can employ the counseling services of outside groups, develop their own platform or use the department’s loan counseling tools.
Two Central State University Faculty Members Receive Regional Faculty Excellence Awards
Two Central State University faculty members were honored along with their peers in Southwest Ohio for faculty excellence for teaching, service and scholarship efforts.
Dr. Fred Aikens, Associate Professor and Chairperson for the Central State Business Administration Department, and Dr. Anne-Marie E. Walkowicz, Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, both received the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) Faculty Excellence Award.
Dr. Aikens currently serves on the Institutional Review Board, Academic Standards Committee, and he is the 2016-17 Vice Chair of the University’s Faculty Senate. In addition, he serves on the University Program Review Committee and on the Committee on the HLC Assurance Argument.
Dr. Anne-Marie Walkowicz was honored because of her work with curriculum design and assessment. According to her nomination, she understands the relationship between good teaching and curriculum, and exhibits a delicate work balance between faculty leadership and student-centered learning.
This year’s SOCHE awards honored nearly 60 educators from more than 10 area colleges and universities. Chief academic officers at each college nominated the recipients.
Dr. Aikens said, “I am elated that my peers nominated me for this distinguished honor. Being recognized by SOCHE tells me that I am doing something right. When I read through my student evaluations, I am humbled by the sentiment that my students share about me and the appreciation that they have for the effort placed into delivering the material and bringing the content to life.”
Dr. Walkowicz said, “It’s humbling. This is an award given to the entire southwest region of the state of Ohio as recognition of the work that I have been doing.’’
About Central State University:
Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, is a regionally accredited 1890 Land-Grant University with a 129-year tradition of preparing students from diverse backgrounds and experiences for leadership, research and service. The University fosters academic excellence within a nurturing environment and provides a strong liberal arts foundation and STEM-Ag curriculum leading to professional careers and advanced studies globally.
