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This week, we are featuring Micaela Flores, Outreach and Retention Specialist, within the College of Veterinary Medicine at MSU. Micaela was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high-impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator initiative) regularly!
Read more about Micaela perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by their responses! 

You were recognized via the Thank an Educator Initiative. In one word, what does being an educator mean to you?  
Responsive
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice?
My role is divided between undergraduate advising and youth outreach programming for traditionally underserved students. When I advise students, I am not only focused on imparting the knowledge and information they need to complete a task or prepare for an opportunity, I focus on where the student is in terms of their familiarity with the systems, departments, or tasks they need to navigate. I listen to their concerns and take my time to understand the things that are important to them and I make sure they leave with a thorough understanding of where they are and what they need to do next. Similarly, when coordinating youth programs, I assess the audience or participants' needs, their existing knowledge and skill levels as well as the needs and desires of the agency requesting the collaboration in effort to create programs and events responsive to the groups’ unique needs.
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how?
If I was asked what the role of an educator was as a recent college graduate and high school college adviser, I would have responded with something along the lines of, educators impart knowledge and share information relevant to their educational role. I now understand the importance of meeting students where they are and tailoring my approach or method to fit the needs of the students’ I work with. A one size fits all approach does not work when one’s goal is to provide equitable programs and services.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students. (Aka, where do you work?)
I am a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Office of Admissions, Student Life, and Inclusivity. My work is entirely grant funded through the State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity King-Chavez-Parks Initiative for students from underserved backgrounds both financially and academically. I provide academic advising for undergraduate pre-veterinary and veterinary-nursing students as they work towards application and admission to the Veterinary Nursing and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine programs. I also work with youth from our target locations which include Detroit, and Lansing. I have also partnered with groups from Flint and Grand Rapids.CVM, MSU & Community connections:

MSU GEAR UP
MSU GATE Guppy
MSU Latinx Student Success Committee
MSU Assessment and Metrics Working Group
MSU Pre-College Committee
MSU CANR, Pathfinders, AIMS and AIMS-B
MSU Admissions, Dia de La Familia, African American Family Day
MSU CVM Enrichment Summer Program
MSU Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions
MSU Collaborative Learning Center
MSU Student Groups – ASMSU, MSU Preveterinary Club, Delta Tau Lambda Sorority Incorporated.
MSU Dia de La Mujer Conference
MSU New Student Orientation
Michigan Humane (former Michigan Humane Society)
Capital Area College Access Network – CapCan Launch Your Dream Conference
Detroit International Academy for Young Women
Clinton County RESA Career Expo
Flint Area and Capital Area Michigan Career Quest Fairs
Michigan Veterinary Conference
The Fledge – Lansing
Detroit Horsepower

What is a challenge you experience in your educator role?
Time is the biggest challenge. When I began practicing inclusive and responsive pedagogical methods, the amount of time I spent in advising appointments increased significantly. I regularly went over my 30 minute time slots. Now that I am familiar with responsive strategies, appointments are not as long. While time is a challenge it is important to embrace new practices and allow time to learn and adjust.
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? 
As an educator, it is important for me to know my students feel heard and leave with a comprehensive understanding of what was discussed. I have found the technology we have at our fingertips can be leveraged to provide facilitation strategies inclusive of all learners. For example, I always share my screen or seat my students in an area where they can see what I am doing or looking for, I follow up with an email summarizing our discussion, and/or I invite the student to follow up with me via email or by scheduling another appointment with me if we run out of time.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator?
In addition to the best practices listed above, I have created event planning templates to ensure I do not miss or forget critical information. I like to set reminders on my calendar to follow up with students who may be struggling academically as well as reading ESAE reports and following up with students to either congratulate them for their progress or intervene if they are not doing well. This enables me to practice proactive and intrusive advising strategies.
I feel most successful as an educator when I receive positive feedback or sentiments of gratitude from my students, when I see a student who was placed on probation return to good academic standing, or when a student I have advised, supervised, and/or written a letter of recommendation for is admitted to veterinary school.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at msu?
I would like to see more information relevant to equitable practices to improve the ways in which we teach diverse students in our courses as well as ways to enhance the programs and services we offer. Practicing culturally inclusive or responsive pedagogy seems difficult on the surface or when the concepts are new, but there are simple changes we can embrace that make a world of difference to our students. I would like to learn more from educators who are also doing this work.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester?
Next semester, I will continue to make progress towards the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, M.A. program which is where I have picked up inclusive and responsive strategies for teaching and learning. I am excited to continue to learn and improve my educational practice to help my students succeed in higher education.

Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature! 

This week, we are featuring, Dr. Gary Roloff, Professor and Chair in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Dr. Roloff was recognized via iteach.msu.edu's Thank and Educator Initiative! We encourage MSU community members to nominate high impact Spartan educators (via our Thank an Educator form) regularly!
Read more about Dr. Roloff’s perspectives below. #iteachmsu's questions are bolded below, followed by his responses!
 

 
In one word, what does being an educator mean to you? 
Empowering
Share with me what this word/quality looks like in your practice? 
As an educator, I look to facilitate critical thinking, synthesis of ideas and information, acquisition of contextual knowledge, and informed judgment that ultimately results in empowered, confident decision-making and choices by our students.
Have your ideas on this changed over time? if so how? 
My philosophy on this has absolutely changed over time. When I initially started teaching I leaned towards emphasizing contextual knowledge (e.g., why snowshoe hare are white in winter, why pigs turn feral so fast when released into an unconstrained environment), where there was a clear answer that could be assessed for correctness. I quickly realized that guidance for students on synthesizing and integrating contextual knowledge (and other pieces of information) to make informed arguments and decisions was a gap in my learning outcomes. Since then, I’ve worked to correct that deficiency in my course offerings.
Tell me more about your educational “setting.” This can include, but not limited to departmental affiliations, community connections, co-instructors, and students.
I am lucky enough to teach a field-based course in wildlife research and management techniques (I also teach a graduate-level course), which includes a blend of classroom and field experiences. Much of the class is hands-on and outside, and I involve our agency partners like the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and USDA Wildlife Services to teach sections of the class. This professional-student interaction is often a highlight for the students, providing an important opportunity to help build a professional network that is so critical to success. Some students in my class have gone on to work for the agencies that help me teach.
What is a challenge you experience in your educator role? 
My biggest challenge is reading the classroom early and trying to adjust my delivery of content to the different learning styles that I know occur in the room. As instructors, if we fail to recognize and adjust our content and delivery to appeal to diverse learning styles we are not being fair.
Any particular “solutions” or “best practices” you’ve found that help you support student success at the university despite/in the face of this? 
I started implementing a brief survey at the start of the semester in my undergraduate class to gauge personality types. The students work in groups in that class on a semester project that looks for integration and synthesis across the semester. One of my PhD students, as part of her FAST Fellows program, showed that “introverts” were at a significant disadvantage in these types of settings, unless we were able to integrate them into “extrovert” groups from the start. I stopped letting students form groups on their own, as the “introverts” and  “extroverts” tended to group together; instead I purposefully mix the personality types to help create a more equitable chance of success for all students in the class.
What are practices you utilize that help you feel successful as an educator? 
Last fall, I changed my standard assessment technique for the mid-term. I used to implement a standard type test, where students identify things and answer questions on paper. This fall I changed the mid-term to a field practical, where I interacted verbally with the students (i.e., an oral exam) and had them show me how to do things and explain their answers. This one-on-one assessment, though time-consuming, gave me a better sense (I believe) of how the students were learning the course content.
What topics or ideas about teaching and learning would you like to see discussed on the iteach.msu.edu platform? Why do you think this conversation is needed at msu? 
Efficient, effective ways to teach our students better oral and written communication skills as part of the classes they take.
What are you looking forward to (or excited to be a part of) next semester? 
I really miss the energy of campus; I’m hoping we can return to some sense of post-pandemic normalcy soon.
 

Don't forget to celebrate individuals you see making a difference in teaching, learning, or student success at MSU with #iteachmsu's Thank an Educator initiative. You might just see them appear in the next feature! Follow the MSU Hub Twitter account to see other great content from the #iteachmsu Commons as well as educators featured every week during #ThankfulThursdays.
 

The Academy is an intensive cohort-based developmental experience that happens every spring semester. The vision of the Academy is to create a learning community of engaged scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds who will apply theories and principles of leadership to their current contexts and beyond.
Participants will begin by identifying their own strengths and growth areas as leaders. They will attend professional development workshops, engaging with advancedleadership concepts through discussions with leaders on campus and in the community.  Participants will work on teams that will design and execute leadership development projects. Projects in the past have focused on improving or creating Graduate Student Organizations, organizing service projects, researching leadership development opportunities on campus, and working to overcome personal barriers to leadership. (Picture: Speaker Vivek Vellanki facilitating a session at the 2019-2020 Leadership Academy).
Examples of past projects:

Organize forums for graduate students to disucss the intersection of DEIJ principles and graduate student life
Hosting a mock conference for graduate students to practice presenting in an informal setting
Hosting weekly, informal gatherings with graduate students, post docs, and grad school faculty
Creating and distributing surveys regarding… 

International students and mental health
Recycling and sustainability practices among grad students

Since 2017, the MSU Strategic Communication Online M.A. has been helping working professionals advance their careers with skills the marketplace demands. A tenet of the program has been the fostering of interpersonal engagement, by creating spaces for student-to-student interaction and student-to-staff interaction. Through surveys and interviews with current students, we measure the importance of program engagement for students by tracking the effectiveness of: various communication mediums and tools; and personal touchpoints with classmates and MSU StratCom staff.

To access a PDF of the "The importance of interpersonal engagement in an online master's degree program" poster, click here.
Description of the Poster 
The importance of interpersonal engagement in an online master’s degree program 
 Introduction 
The purpose of this report is to provide the Michigan State University Strategic Communication Online M.A. a summary of students’ perceptions of engagement in the program. This report focuses on the responses of currently enrolled students as of Spring semester 2021. Students voluntarily responded to a survey sent out via email and social media. Additionally, students were given the option to agree to a second phone interview for further insights. The report looks at engagement through students’ connection to each other, to staff and faculty, and facilitated through various tools and media. 
Methodology 
Survey Purpose and Methodology 
To gain an understanding and perspective of students’ views on engagement in the StratCom program a written survey was sent by Daune Rensing, StratCom Student Advisor, via email.  


The email was sent to the MSU email address of students currently enrolled in either the StratCom master’s or certificate program, on March 15, 2021. 


Written reminders were sent March 22 and March 29. 


A video reminder was posted by Jason Archer, StratCom Director, on StratCom’s Student Life, Teams and Facebook pages on March 29. 




The 24-question survey was closed on April 2, extended from the original deadline of March 25. 


Sixty-two responses were received with 2 incomplete surveys, resulting in 60 responses.  


Phone Interview Purpose and Methodology 
To expand the understanding and perspective students views on engagement in the StratCom program, a follow up phone interview was conducted. Forty students responded positively to a question on the survey asking if they would be willing to participate in a follow-up phone interview with a fellow student. 
Limitations 
The limited nature of the data set needs to be taken into consideration when weighing the meaning and significance of the insights reported here. The written surveys were completed by students enrolled anywhere from their first semester to last in the program, which may affect their perceptions of the program. All phone interviews were conducted by one person, which may result in some bias of interpretation. 
Research Questions 
To measure the importance of engagement in the StratCom program, the research questions in the survey and phone interview fell into three categories:  

What tools and resources are important for student engagement in the StratCom program?  
Do students feel the StratCom program is meeting their engagement needs?  
What changes/improvements does the StratCom program need to make to meet students’ expectations? 

Results 
These graphs highlight responses to our first two questions of what students do value and what they don’t value, and that we are meeting their engagement needs. The conclusion, in more detail, addresses ways in which respondents feel StratCom can improve engagement. 
Conclusion 
Overwhelmingly, respondents felt that StratCom was meeting their engagement needs, in terms of tools used and connection to faculty and staff, and that it was an important part of their time in the program. To continue StratCom’s good start, some respondents had suggestions to strengthen their engagement experience even more:

Set expectations for tools and resources 
More student onboarding  
Intentional diversity throughout the program 
Develop stronger bonds with fellow students and instructors 
Standardization in the curriculum 
Use the coursework to develop student-led engagement activities in the program 

Future Work 
Planning for StratCom’s future and creating a sustainable engagement model are themes respondents suggested. For instance, leadership contingency plans, consistency among courses and “keeping their finger on the pulse” of student needs and industry requirements were all important things to consider moving forward. 
  
 

Who did you work with and what was their role in your project? I led the executive board and committee chairs as we collaborated with our expert speakers to put together our two-day conference. In total, we offered 22 sessions including workshops, lectures, networking opportunities, and social events. How did you manage relationships with key stakeholders in your college to achieve your project goals? I reached out to the Deans and department chairs to schedule meetings with them if they wanted more information. The initial email was very detailed about what we were trying to accomplish. I have met with these stakeholders in the past before too so that was helpful.  What is the impact of your project? Who was your target audience and what difference did your project make for them?  Our conference helped to bring together individuals who are passionate about science communication. Our attendees included a mix of students who were interested in entering science communication fields and experts looking to connect to peers and provide advice to the next generation. Our formal sessions included presentations and workshops that were targeted to specific interest areas, and we also offered space for networking and other informal conversations, all of which was well-received by our attendees.  If someone were to continue your work in the future, what advice would you have for them?  It was very important to us to highlight the diversity of science communicators as we worked to put together this conference, and we would encourage anyone else looking to plan a similar event to do the same. For anyone looking to host a virtual conference, make sure that your technology is accessible, and have members of your team ready to assist with any technical difficulties.  How did this work contribute to your personal leadership development? Through the process of planning and executing a conference of this scale, our leadership team was able to gain valuable skills related to event planning, public relations, marketing, grant-writing, and innovative technology use. I was able to guide our team in conducting all of this which helped me feel prepared for future event planning. I learned a lot about what it takes to run a successful large-scale event, and I look forward to the opportunity to use these skills when planning future MSU SciComm programs.  MSU SciComm Conveyance Website

“I want to learn. I want to help.” We regularly hear this from students. How do we design environments that empower positive failures and spark innovation? We created Street Teams, student-run collaborations. We partner with nonprofits to solve challenges in media communication. Students have real-world learning experiences while giving back to the community.To access a PDF of the "Street Teams: Team Resilience on the Street" poster, click here.Description of the Poster 
STREET TEAMS: TEAM  RESILIENCE ON THE STREET 
solution-based learning and resilience 
Street Teams are student-run, creative collaborations. They partner with nonprofits and assist them with media projects. Teams learn while giving back to the community. 

COLLABORATION 

We are stronger together  

Teams consist of students from various majors, backgrounds and skillsets. Their collective diversity amplifies the work of the whole team.  


Strategic focus on group culture and dynamics  

First semester = team building 
Second semester = content creation 
In 2020-21, we did this all through Zoom!  


Holistic approach to solving challenges  

Projects are based on a combination of non-profit requests and student-driven assessment Together, they create sustainable solutions  




MULTI-LAYERED MENTORING 

Faculty mentor students 
Alumni give feedback on student work  
Nonprofit partner-related professional development opportunities 
Student leaders (Producers) mentor teammates 
Street Team Coordinator hosts weekly Producer meetings and trainings  
Teammates mentor each other 


 IMPACT 

Throughout our history: 

131 students involved*  
20 majors represented**  
37 nonprofits served  
550+ products delivered  *At least 1/3 of students return for more than one year **Some are dual majors  




QUOTE FROM A PARTICIPANT

"(Street Teams) make me feel like I belong to a place. Thank you ... for the opportunity you give all of us to connect with the community." - Manuel Pérez Salas 

With COVID19 pandemic most, if not all, research activities placed on hold in 2020. The need for remote teaching and working was obvious. The increase number of older adults in the US and world wide place geriatric medicine as a priority in addressing health need in the near future. According to Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC] there is increasing number of medical graduates who do not match to any residency program in the US. We started a virtual research fellowship in geriatric medicine as a tool to empower some of those unmatched medical graduates in Michigan state and other areas using funds provided by The Pearl J. Aldrich Endowment in Gerontology/Michigan State University. One of the goals of this fellowship is to train these graduates to know the basic steps of any research work and how to use the tools available in any research environment. We hope that these students understand the methodology of identifying a problem that faces older adults, and then carry the required steps to address and solve such problem in a systematic way. Currently we have four teams, who are involved in different research projects. We have submitted 10 abstracts to 2 different meetings, and so far 6 were accepted for oral presentation. We targeted The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Some of the topics address include COVID19 and its impact on the elderly. During this session our team will share our experience.
To access a PDF of the "Virtual Research Geriatric Fellowship for Unmatched Medical Graduates" poster, click here.Description of the PosterTitle: Virtual Geriatric Research Fellowship 
Author: Nadir Abdelrahman, MD, CMD 
Geriatric Division,  Dept of Family Medicine, MSU 
Introduction:
Between 2020 and 2030, the number of older adults is projected to increase by almost 18 million 1. 
The Association of American Medical Colleges expects that an additional 42,600 to 121,300 doctors will be needed by 2030 2.  
There is a huge need for geriatric-trained health care providers 3. 
Each year, there are more than 8 thousand Unmatched medical graduates [UMGs] in the US. Most of them are international medical graduates.  
Aim: 
The aim of this fellowship is to empower UMGs by improving their knowledge, skills, and experiences in geriatric medicine.  
Curriculum Development: 
This curriculum was developed based on Entering Research course.  
The primary goals of this fellowship are to create a supportive learning environment to introduce UMGs to the culture of research and to teach them valuable skills needed to become effective researchers. 
The fellowship was designed to help medical graduates find a research mentor, explore the culture of research, write a research project proposal, and begin doing research.  
They informally share their research experiences and learn about the diversity of experiences available through their peers. 
Through virtual meetings, research basics, communication skills and common geriatric principles were reviewed.  
Early discussions included current pandemic topics ranging from COVID19 incidence, hospitalization and mortality to prevention and vaccination. 
The content of these discussions came from the students, and their engagement in the weekly, 2-hour-long meetings.  
The course facilitator provided a framework for the discussions, relevant background reading materials, and structured assignments designed to help students develop positive relationships with their research mentors, define themselves as a member of the research community, and understand and communicate their research.  
Description of Curriculum 
The following tasks were identified for this program 

Recognize the research ethics principles.
Select a research topic.
Identify research question(s).
Describe various types of study designs.
Select appropriate study design.
Define study population.
Take an appropriate study sample.
Enumerate various study variables.
Discern various types of errors, including bias.
Identify confounding factors.
Select and use appropriate measurement tools.
Prepare for data management.
Set a work plan with time, budget, and a plan for dissemination. 

Results of Implementation 
A total of 6 Virtual posters were accepted in 2 national conferences:  American Medical Director Association/The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC21: 2 virtual posters) and American Geriatrics Society (AGS21: 4 virtual posters). 
Eight of the fellows were matched into residency programs starting July 2021. 
Discussion 
This virtual research fellowship in geriatric medicine is considered unique and innovative as there is an immediate need for geriatric-trained health care providers.  
The conceptual framework allows training program directors to identify and select appropriate activities to use with their trainees based on need and career stage. 
Activities were designed to teach UMGs principles of research, research design, and critical evaluation of results while also giving them practice with the real-world experience of creating and presenting posters in virtual environment.  
This fellowship achieved its goals using online tools. 
In the coming year, we hope to expand this concept, and establish it as a model for implementation at other institutions. 
 Figure 1. 
The four-box model 
 Disclosure 
The author has no conflict of interest to disclose. 
This fellowship is supported by:  
The Pearl J. Aldrich Endowment in Aging  
Demographic Changes and Aging Population – RHIhub Aging https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/aging/1/demographics 
Healthcare Suers When Medical School Graduates Don’t Match https://www.insightintodiversity.com/healthcare-suffers-when-medical-school-graduates-dont-match/  
Record number of unmatched medical graduates. CMAJ 2017 May 29;189:E758-9. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.1095432 
Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. (1969). Management of organizational behaviour: Utilizing human resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 
 Tasks and Team approach 
Fellows were grouped into teams. 
Different tasks were assigned to each fellow. 
Teams leaders encouraged individual fellows 
Projects identified and project leaders assured completion of each Poster.  
 Fellows learned the basics of literature review, statistical analysis (using SPSS) and reference management (e.g EndNote) 
 Situational leadership skills and teams were incorporated using the four-box model 4 (See Figure 1) 
 References 
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=nursingposters 
https://slideplayer.com/slide/6319238/ 
https://www.mghihp.edu/poster-presentations-age-zoom 

For years, the Office of Admissions has provided our campus with an academic profile of each incoming class. Admissions is now positioned to provide a similar profile of admitted students' co-curricular activities. The data-informed profile provides opportunities to assess how many such activities were tied to areas such as athletics or find more narrow measures, such as the scale of first-year Lyman Briggs College student involvement within the fine arts. Additionally, our institution can identify involvements in areas such as research activity, with such involvements potentially providing students with a foundation for future involvement in high-impact experiences at the undergraduate level.To access a PDF of the "What is the Activities Profile of our Fall 2021 First-Year Class?" poster, click here.
Description of the Poster 
 
What is the Activities Profile of our Fall 2021 First-Year Class? 
Terence Brown 
Abstract 
For years, the Office of Admissions has provided our campus with an academic profile of each incoming class. Admissions is now positioned to provide a similar profile of admitted students’ cocurricular activities. The data-informed profile provides opportunities to assess how many such activities were tied to areas such as athletics or find more narrow measures, such as the scale of first-year Lyman Briggs College student involvement within the fine arts. Additionally, our institution can identify involvements in areas such as research activity, with such involvements potentially providing students with a foundation for future involvement in high-impact practices at the undergraduate level.  [The abstract is accompanied by word cloud that forms a two-dimensional Spartan helmet from the Common Application’s categories for student co-curriculars.]  
Introduction 
MSU’s adoption of the Common Application, now allows Admissions for to collect descriptive information for applicants’ cocurricular activities. The additional information includes applicant descriptions of their high school cocurriculars, categories assigned to each activity and whether a student wishes to continue participation in the activity during their collegiate years. Currently, approximately 71% of first-year students apply to MSU via the Common Application.    This assessment fundamentally asks two questions: 

What does the profile look in the aggregate and by college? 
Can the profile information support our institution’s efforts in the realm of offering high-impact practices (Kuh et al., 2008; AACU, 2018) to our students? 

Results 
In assessing the 204,672 admitted student activity entries as of April 19, 2021, there were a few general findings. First was that students wished to continue with approximately 66% percent of these activities. Second was that the leading activity categories were athletics, community service and work. The collective of academic activities was ranked fourth, with the category having been in the top three in the two preceding years. The test case of Lyman Briggs majors with fine arts experiences was a significant (378 total) but small 5.5%. A full review of results across colleges is pending, but early findings only showed occasional reordering of the established top four categories.   This data must be viewed with the understanding that many applications are completed by the parents of applicants (Jaschik, 2017). However, the data still provides a good foundation for identifying activities that can serve as a gateway to high-impact practices at MSU. There were lower rankings for high school activities categories covering involvements that would most-readily prepare students for Internships, Diversity/Global Understanding and Research.  [The “results” section includes an Excel chart that lists the total activities reported by category, the Common Application’s activity categories, high impact experience categories and MSU Student Activities categories for student organizations.]  
Methods 
During the three most-recent admissions cycles, an iterative process has been used to collect and organized the cocurricular data from applications submitted via the Common Application platform. The Common Application is one of three platforms available to students, but was used by the majority of applicants in each of the last three admission cycles.   Summary data was compiled and applied to a matrix that incorporates all 30 Common Application categories for activities, five of the 11 high-impact practice categories and 12 of MSU’s Student Activities Office’s applicable student organization categories. Additional keywork searches were conducted, identifying student involvement in popular activities such as DECA and rare research areas such as CRISPR, but the activity profile’s assessment mainly focused on the broader categories.  [This section includes seven small, unconnected circles that are collectively placed in an array that forms a larger circle. Each circle includes text that describes a different step in the process used to gather, compile and share the data used in this poster presentation.]  
Conclusions 
The dominant application categories have largely held steady for three admission cycles. There was a notable change with the emergence of work moving into the top three. Incidentally, the top three categories have slightly varied in previous comparisons between MSU college cohorts. A similar assessment will be made after the closing of our MSU’s deposit deadline.  Future work in this area can be supported through use of the Educational Development Plan which Michigan schools maintain starting in middle school. To determine whether a particular high school activity helps prepare for high-impact involvement, the assessment portion of the EDP (Michigan Department of Education) could be used to identify traits that George Kuh associates with high-impact practices. Were the EDP to identify activities that provide students with sustained involvement, advisor involvement or a relevant coaching philosophy, such data could be inputted into the Slate CRM, and shared with appropriate campus partners prior to admitted student matriculation.  
Citations 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (2018). High-impact educational practices. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/node/4084 
Jaschik, S. (July 26, 2017). Survey: Parents finishing parts of college applications. From Inside Higher Education 
Kuh, G. D., Schneider, C. G., & Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities 
Michigan Department of Education (n.d.). The Educational Development Plan, p. 3. Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/EDP_Fundamentals_ADA2017_570694_7.pdf