2009 Serving those beyond Ship's boundaries
This standard addresses any activity that is done using the Shippensburg name. These activities range from offering our for-credit programs through different modes of delivery and at different locations, to forming partnerships such as our 27 year old partnership with the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission in Pennsylvania.
Shippensburg University offers several programs, such as our MBA, at other locations in the region. The office that helps coordinate these programs is the Office of Extended Studies. For programs that are taught as part of a faculty member's workload, this office assists the college and department with logistics. When a program is offered beyond a faculty member's workload, Extended Studies is responsible for every aspect of the program from registration, billing, paying the faculty member, etc. The Office of Extended Studies organizes the K-12 Summer Educators institute and a new speakers' series at Menno Haven. This office is also responsible for providing courses during the summer and winter sessions via distance education. When the office was first created, the Dean of Extended Studies was made co-chair of the distance education subcommittee of the Academic Affairs Council, along with the Associate Provost. Through the work of individual faculty members and members of the subcommittee, we have well thought-out policies and best practices for distance education courses and programs.
This standard also applies to the experiences that students undertake in the region where they are the face of Shippensburg, experiences such as internships, practicums, field experiences, student teaching and study abroad. Of these different experiences, two have seen the most change over the past ten years: study abroad and internships. Students who wished to study abroad were assisted by the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences before 2004. Now, the International Programs Office helps these students find appropriate study abroad experiences for their major, trains them on what to expect during their study away from home, and helps them readjust when they return. This office is also responsible for assisting the international students attending Shippensburg University. Another time when students represent Shippensburg is when they are doing an internship. Due to PASSHE funding for the past two years, the internship experience is becoming more standardized at this university.
Shippensburg has other activities to which it lends its name. The Small Business Development Center, housed in Grove Hall, helps entrepreneurs in the area learn what they need to do to create a successful business. Faculty can contribute to this center as well as to the Center for Land Use. Faculty in the Geography Earth Science department provides non-credit programming for a five-county region on sound land use and community planning. Our criminal justice faculty provides master's degree training for juvenile probation officers and court administrators from across Pennsylvania. They also perform research with graduate students as part of the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research located in Horton Hall.
The H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center also falls under this Standard. It helps the Shippensburg University brand reach not just central Pennsylvania but also Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Our service to families in need should not be overlooked. Since 1971, Shippensburg University has sponsored the Head Start Program. Though this program, Shippensburg provides classrooms, office space, and meeting rooms so that university students and community members can effectively volunteer their time with parents groups to help these young students be successful.
The activities mentioned in this article are just a few of those that are carried out in the name of our university. Even from this short list, it is evident that Shippensburg University is integral to the community and the region. We help build the economy of the region, entertain its citizens, provide local governments with tools to manage their resources, train juvenile probation officers and court administrators, support disadvantaged children with their educational needs, and provide continuing educational experiences for its citizens. In return the region provides our students with practical learning experiences such as student teaching and internships and provides members of the Ship family a place to live. Our relationship with the region is important to us; it "Makes Ship Stronger".