From: RIT 365 Facilitators
Date: September 24, 2024
Subject: Pulse: Week 5




Greetings RIT 365 Facilitators,

Welcome to Fall! Just as the cooler weather is settling in, we hope you’re feeling more settled with your classes and Co-Facilitators. 
In this week’s issue (hopefully you only receive this once!):  ON-DEMAND TRAINING - LAST CALL
If you have not already done so, please complete your required On-Demand Training requirements.  Here is a link for the On-Demand Module  This module should be completed no later than 9/29.   

TRAINING SURVEY
Thank you all for your participation in this year’s day-long Facilitator training event! We strive to keep our training day purposeful and actionable. We also strive for continual improvement. Please help us by completing the training survey.

DEVICES AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Creating a dialogue-ready community starts with holding all students accountable to class guidelines. For example if your guidelines include “Active Listening” or “Just be Kind/Respectful,” explore with students how having a laptop open or using headphones will affect active listening or kindness toward the speaker. Ideas for ways to minimize devise use include the following: 
~As you begin class, remind all students that open laptops, headphones, earpods, and phones are not consistent with the class guidelines.  
~If you see students on devices, remind them that devices aren't necessary for this class, so they can put them away. 
~Arrange the room such that all students are in visible to each other, such as a circle. 
~Take note of when group work wraps up and bring the class together quickly to minimize opportunities or temptations to get on devices. 
You’ll find once you set this expectation it will become the standard with less effort and your student engagement will improve.

Please note: For some students there may be exceptions to this based on accommodations or adjustments through the DSO. If you have questions about how to both encourage engagement while providing accommodations, reach out to YOP or the DSO.

STARFISH EARLY ALERTS
Faculty/Staff Facilitators will receive email reminders from Starfish to complete the first round of Academic Progress Reports (Early Alerts). The survey is now open and closes on 10/6.
Refer to the Step-by-Step guide available on the Facilitator Resources website. While only the Faculty/Staff Facilitator have access to Starfish, decisions about which alerts are submitted should be made by both Facilitators.
 
PORTFOLIO GRADING
If you’d like to brush up on all things Portfolio, feel free to view this Portfolio training video. If you have any other questions, please reach out to Wendy at wsgrla@rit.edu.

A NOTE FROM HEALTH PROMOTIONS
Active Listening: Small Gesture, Big Impact
A simple conversation, like those in coaching, can make a world of difference when you're concerned about a student. By actively listening and showing genuine care, you can create a safe space for them to share what’s on their mind.
~ Keep it casual—this is a conversation, not a therapy session. 
~ Express your concern and offer support without giving advice or trying to fix the situation. 
~ Validate their feelings and ask open-ended questions, but don’t push for answers. 
~ Reassure them they are not alone and that resources like professionals, friends, and family are available to help.
~ If needed, submit a Tigers Concern report and let the student know you are submitting one. 
~ Remember, even small gestures of care can have a big impact on a student’s well-being.

Looking for Additional Mental Health Training? Consider Taking a Mental Health First Aid Course this Fall!
Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based training course for RIT faculty, staff, and students interested in making campus a more welcoming and mentally well one. Through this training, you will learn how to describe and talk about mental health, how to approach and reassure an individual who is struggling with their mental health, and explore what self-care looks like for you. This training is not designed to make you a trained mental health professional, but to help give you the tools and confidence to assist someone experiencing a mental health challenge (in whatever form that may look like). For more information on what Mental Health First Aid is and to register for an upcoming Mental Health First Aid session, please visit RIT’s Mental Health First Aid website.

BI-WEEKLY MEETING GUESTS AND UPDATES
Health Promotions will be continuing their discussion with us about supporting our students' mental health.   We will welcome back Sara Engel and Beau Gibbs to join us in some follow up community discussion.  For the dates listed below they will be joining us on ZOOM.  

We are unable to record these meetings, so the days/times selected are intentionally during regularly scheduled Bi-weekly meeting times to allow for ease of participation.  We will NOT BE HAVING regularly scheduled bi-weekly meetings during week 7 (10/9 and 10/10) and week 8 (10/16 and 10/17); the Health Promotions meetings will replace the bi-weekly meetings for these two weeks, and allow for anyone to join during their regularly scheduled meeting day/time, or select another that better fits your schedule. 
 
Prior to these dates, we plan to gather questions regarding anything that was discussed during in-person training, mental health support for students, and/or situations that you’d like advice on navigating with students in your classes. Please email yop@rit.edu, or anyone on the team with questions you'd like posed during these sessions.   

This ZOOM LINK will be the same for all of the sessions.  
Tuesday 10/1        1:00pm 
Wednesday 10/9  12 noon and 4:00pm  
Thursday 10/10    9:00am and 12 noon  

Remember to check the location for your assigned Biweekly Facilitator meeting. There are a few location changes throughout the semester as noted here. 
If you miss your Biweekly, you must join another time to make it up. Please visit the same document to find the best time and location that works for you.

TELL US ABOUT IT TUESDAY!
Thanks to those that shared responses to last week’s Question of the Week:
How does it feel to participate with the students in the Do experiences?  How has being a co-learner benefitted your connection to the community?   

Here are some thoughts shared by facilitators on the benefits of participating with their classes in their Do experiences:   
~The connections with class members have flourished
~ It is an eye opening chance to learn/try something new
~ Challenged me outside of my comfort zone, broadened my horizons
~ Removed the hierarchy of being an authority figure, to instead being a participant 
~ Connected me more to RIT 

THIS TUESDAY’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: 
What are some creative methods to encourage students to sign up for their coaching appointments?  
(Have a thought? Please email Robyn at: rmrldc@rit.edu with your answers.)      

REMINDER!
Looking for class activity ideas, coaching resources, or Portfolio information?  Find it all and more at the Facilitator Resources webpage.

PRIMARY POINTS OF CONTACT 
For questions that can not be answered by visiting the Facilitator Resources website, feel free to contact one of us as follows.
● Facilitator general questions:  
Deborah (faculty/staff, ddlyop@rit.edu) or Robyn (peers, rmrldc@rit.edu)
● myCourses, PDR guides, course schedule, “Do” experiences: Wendy (wsgrla@rit.edu) 
● Generic questions (not time-sensitive): yop@rit.edu 

Thank you for all you do, 
The YOP Team