grad_com An electronic newsletter from the BSU School of Graduate Studies
	Vol. 3, No. 8	January 2007
The Process Registration: Grad classes Starting the count of seven years to complete a degree Form 1: Applying for admission to graduate studies Completing 13-16 graduate credits after admission Form 2: Applying for candidacy in a graduate degree program Taking the written exam at the end of course work Form 3: Proposing a research paper or thesis Doing the work and writing the results Form 4: Applying for graduation Submitting the research paper or thesis for review Form 5: Scheduling the oral examination Defending your graduate work Diploma	This month . . . · New Year – New Benefits for You! A Look at the D2L Site Available to all Grad Students · Interview with D2L – Some Info from Julie Adams · Q&A: How can I access My BSU Graduate Community?
	Introducing the new BSU Graduate Community D2L Site
	Some of you have already had an opportunity to investigate the site called the BSU Graduate Community. The BSU Graduate Community is a confidential site – it is password protected to ensure that no one else has access to your personal information – but it gives you the ability to connect with one another through several venues: - the discussion boards - chat rooms - the “class list” of names and email addresses of other graduates participating in this community Note: If at any time you choose to no longer take part in the BSU Graduate Community site or you no longer wish to receive updates from the School of Graduate Studies, please feel free to email us at grad@bemidjistate.edu with the heading of “REMOVE ME FROM _____”, and we will promptly fulfill your request. While the site will always be changing in some way or other, it is essentially ready for students to use. Sources Available on the Site The BSU Graduate Community is meant to be an electronic student hub, providing many benefits to students. The Homepage Is meant to give students quick news and updates that may be pertinent to Graduate students. We will also try to list the Hobson Memorial Events list for each week so that students may have a better idea of the activities occurring on campus. Course Content Provides many of the pertinent information and papers that graduate students need. It will list: · Oral Defenses taking place each week so that students may know when and where to attend · Available Graduate Assistantships that open up each semester · All graduate forms necessary for candidacy, Thesis/Research proposal, and graduation (These can also be found on the Graduate Studies website)		· Handbooks and sample front matter pages for every terminal project including thesis papers, creative thesis papers (English MA) research papers, and application and capstone projects. · All Newsletters that have been written by the School of Graduate Studies The Chat Section Currently has 10 available chat rooms for student use. These rooms are open for any topics, from discussing class work to venting frustration, or even choosing to say nothing more than what movies people would like to recommend. They are solely for student benefit. Note: Students will need to organize their own chats if they want to make sure that they catch someone in one of the rooms. The Discussion Section gives students the ability to: · ask questions of classmates · get or give helpful hints to others in the same field · discuss pertinent topics · get help with thesis papers · buy sell or trade books for classes · find and advertise for cars, apartments, roommates, etc. · give the School of Graduate Studies suggestions about how they can improve the site for student use The Class List Gives students information to contact one another if they are working on projects or would like to reach a former classmate. The Drop Box Enables students to drop off thesis/research papers or other information that the School of Graduate Studies may need. It also provides students with the ability to make additional suggestions, whether they are to add specific sites to the links page or advertise other events in the news section of the homepage. Surveys We will eventually list a survey section for students to give us feedback on what they think we are doing well and what they would like to see improved. Links Provides students with links to sites that they find beneficial or pertinent to their own education and lives. Hopefully, this section of the site will always be growing. If there is a site that you believe would benefit other students, please send us a note, and we will add it.
Q&A: Question of the month? Q: How do I gain access to the BSU Graduate Community D2L Site? A: Students can use the following web address to access the Student Support webpage for information on logging in to D2L: http://www.bemidjistate.edu/ elearning/Student_Support.html
	Meet “Desire2Learn” – D2L
	We asked Julie Adams, instructional designer/technologist and D2L Site Administrator at Bemidji State University, to give us some additional information on the programs and courses that are supported by D2L. 1. What are some of the uses of D2L? D2L is used at BSU to provide an online “classroom” environment for classes taught totally online and to enhance classes taught on campus. The D2L program includes such areas as News (for announcements), Discussions (for asynchronous interaction among students and their instructor), Chat (for synchronous interaction among students and their instructor), Content (for class documents and materials), Dropbox (for submitting assignments), Quizzes, Surveys, and Links (to access web resources). D2L is also used as an online “meeting place” for several academic programs and department groups, as well as for clubs and organizations at BSU. Here are some examples of its current use: D2L Statistics for Fall 2006 D2L CLASSES: 224 D2L classes supported 268 BSU courses (48 multiple sections) · 118 enhanced classes · 106 online classes INSTRUCTORS: 80 instructors used D2L for fall 2006 · 35 instructors used D2L for only online classes · 30 instructors used D2L to enhance only on-campus classes · 15 instructors used D2L for both online and enhanced on-campus classes NEW FACULTY & ADJUNCTS: From the New Faculty list, 13 of 26 new full-time faculty used D2L; also 3 new adjuncts used D2L 2. How many different programs are incorporating online classes, and which programs are they? This should give students an idea: Online Graduate Programs [http://distance.bemidjistate.edu/default.aspx?pageID=54] Note: Not all cognate areas are available as online courses. Contact the Department for specifics. · Master of Science in Education · Master of Education  - M.S. Education or M.Ed. with a Cognate in Reading - M.S. Education or M.Ed. in Educational Technology, BSU / MSUM - M.S. Education or M.Ed. with a Cognate in Mathematics - M.S. Education or M.Ed. with a Cognate in Science - M.S. Education or M.Ed. with a Cognate in Leadership - M.S. Education or M.Ed. with a Cognate in Middle Level Education - On-Line Teaching Certificate Program · Special Education Online Licensure · Master of Science - Industrial Technology Online Undergraduate Programs [http://distance.bemidjistate.edu/default.aspx?pageID=33] · Bachelor of Science in Teacher Education (DLiTE) · FasTrack Secondary Initiative Bachelor of Science - Business Administration - Online  · Bachelor of Science - Business Administration - ITV (Arrowhead University Consortium)  · Bachelor of Science - Applied Psychology (Arrowhead University Consortium)  · Bachelor of Science - Criminal Justice  · Bachelor of Applied Science in Technology Management · Bachelor of Applied Science in Technology Management collaborative with George Brown College 3. Why use D2L for the Graduate Community? Answer From the School of Graduate Studies: We were hoping to provide a venue for students to be able to communicate easily and stay connected with others in similar classes, and it made sense to use something with which many students would already be familiar. It seems difficult to stay connected to peers from one class to another. This site is meant to provide an opportunity for students to continue relationships and remain connected outside of the classroom.
	Contact Information
	If you have any questions, or you would like to know more about D2L courses, reach us through D2L Student Support: Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Phone: Local: 755-4207 Phone: Toll Free: 1-888-240-4759 Email: studenthelp@bemidjistate.edu Website: http://www.bemidjistate.edu/its Walk-in Help: Information Technology Services, Memorial 11 Or you can contact Theresa Perreault at helpdesk@bemidjistate.edu
We want to make grad_com useful for you. Let us know what you would like to see on these pages by contacting the School of Graduate Studies, Decker Hall 110, 218-755-2027 (toll-free: 1-888-386-8464), Grad@bemidjistate.edu