Student Academic Conference Important Information for Advisors
The Student Academic Conference Committee is already hard at work planning this year’s conference and we would like to let you know about some details of this year’s conference so that you may incorporate these dates into your Spring syllabus if you so wish. For those of you unfamiliar with the conference or who have not kept up with the changes that have occurred, a description and some FAQ’s can be found at the end.
Most importantly, your students should be submitting their applications by February 4th, 2011 to present in this year’s conference. There are several ways that you, as the advisor, may help with this process:
• Please take a moment to discuss the application process with them. Pay special attention to make sure that they have:
o written a concise and effective abstract,
o chosen the best format for their presentation (poster vs. presentation),
o let us know whether they need any special equipment or considerations.
• You should then get a confirmation from SAC after your student(s) have completed their application. At this time, look over what the student has submitted and please double check for misspellings and factual errors, as we want everything in the program to be accurate. Unless we hear from you, we will be printing what the student has provided.
• If their research involves human subjects, have they provided their IRB number, as they may be barred from presenting if this is not provided prior to the conference? If this number is not know, please provide it to the conference when the study is approved.
We will again be using a separate luncheon RSVP after presentation schedules have been released. At this time, it is important that your students are aware of your wishes regarding the luncheon so they can respond appropriately.
Second, anticipate a hard copy of some of this information in your mailbox in January, along with an attached RSVP sheet. The success of the SAC depends on faculty and staff volunteers to ensure that the event runs smoothly. Thank you to all of those who have volunteered your time in the past. We are once again asking for help on this important day. If you are willing to donate your time on this non-instructional duty day, please return that form by March 14th.
Third and finally, there has been interest in making the SAC a juried event, in whole or in part. Furthermore, in this time of budget concerns, SAC needs to look at ways to become self-supporting. The January letter will provide a URL for a Lime Survey where you may input your views.
Thank you for your time and support of the SAC.
Richard Lahti, Andrew Conteh and the SAC committee
A brief introduction to, and history of, the Student Academic Conference (from the 2010 program):
Purpose: Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Annual Student Academic Conference (SAC) provides students, graduates and undergraduates, from across academic disciplines with an opportunity to showcase their projects, scholarship, research, and creative activity to faculty, administrators, peers, and local community in a formal setting and provides an opportunity to involve the campus community in this learning and discovery process. The Student Academic Conference features the enormous talent which MSUM student learners bring to the local community and the state.
Origin: The Student Academic Conference was conceived in 1998 through the collaborative efforts of political science professor, Andrew Conteh, and his then student-assistant, Ryan Sylvester who is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Law at the Fordham University Law School in New York City.
Its own day: Since 1998, the Conference has truly become an MSUM Spring celebration evolving students, faculty, and staff. Through the good offices of the Academic Vice President Dr. Betty Midgarden and the University Calendar Committee the Conference day has now been declared a non-instructional day. This decision has enabled students to devote their attention to the conference sessions rather than having to choose between attending classes or the conference. Since the conference is now an all day event, this enables the organizers to accommodate more student applications and to start the sessions early in the morning. Rather than having two sessions after the opening lunch, there is now a session before lunch.
Guiding Principles: The conference organizers remain committed to:
a) Ensuring that students are growing as active scholars beyond the learning acquired in the classroom setting.
b) Encouraging a multi-disciplinary approach to research projects
c) Allowing visitors and guests to explore a panoply of different efforts showing the breadth of opportunities presented in the campus environment
d) Setting the pace and been the model for research by students across the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
Support: The Student Academic Conference has enjoyed the support of many faculty, administrators, support staff, and student organizations throughout its history. Without this support, both financial and more importantly, donation of time and creative energy, the Student Academic Conference would not be able to continue to grow each year.
Basic timeline.
• Early January: Call for proposals and media blitz to students to apply online at http://www.mnstate.edu/acadconf/.
• February 4th, Applications due. While there have been extensions in the past, we are moving towards a no-extension policy.
• March. Workshop on presenting available for students interested in more guidance.
• March 14. RSVP for faculty volunteers.
• Early April. Room schedule released online.
• Early April. RSVP for student presenters wishing to attend the luncheon.
• April 19. Conference.
Schedule the day of the conference.
The day is broken into three ~1.5 hour sessions. The first session is before the luncheon (9:30-11:00), the other two are after (1:00-2:30, 2:30-4:00). Lunch runs approximately from 11-1, with a keynote speaker and a student panel response. Lunch is provided for students presenting.
SAC FAQ’s for new faculty or faculty unfamiliar with the Student Academic Conference:
Q1. I hear the word research used in SAC literature. Is SAC only for social and natural science students?
A. Certainly not! This continues to be the biggest misconception about the SAC. The SAC welcomes presentations from across campus. Presentations could be a feasibility study that a business or construction management student completes as part of a capstone, a lesson an education student creates and presents to the audience, in addition to original and secondary research in any field of study. One presentation last year was on the history of Native American Fancy Dance, complete with riveting a performance by the presenter in full costume.
Q2. Is SAC only for undergraduates?
A. As the graduate programs have grown on campus, the SAC has worked with Graduate Studies to make sure they are included. SAC has dropped the word undergraduate from promotional materials. While graduate students may have more venues for presenting than undergraduates, we feel that the SAC offers a great opportunity for graduate students to present their research in a more comfortable setting.
Q3. How can I find out more about SAC?
A. acconf@mnstate.edu is the official SAC email. A committee member will be glad to talk to you and answer any questions you may have. The SAC website has information as well http://www.mnstate.edu/acadconf.
Q4. I would like to integrate SAC into my class. Do you have any suggestions?
A1. Many professors make an assignment for their classes to attend the conference. Since the list of presentations is in a sortable database, professors can screen these by department to find projects appropriate for their class. Many professors then assign a short writing assignment on the presentations that the students view.
A2. Some professors integrate SAC into their class as a regular classroom assignment, as an extra credit assignment, or simply by encouraging students to further polish a particularly strong class project.
Q5. How can I become more involved?
A. The SAC committee meets every other Tuesday. We currently need another member from CEHS, as we only have one representative. We would also be interested in member from University College.