Ongoing Improvement in Essential Education Courses: A Mid-Semester Guide for Instructors

At the core of the Essential Education program is a commitment to continuous improvement of student learning through the Essential Abilities (EA) assessment process. This faculty-driven system provides both structure and flexibility, helping instructors intentionally design, assess, and enhance their courses each semester through two main components: the Planning Tool and EA-Assessment Reporting.

  • The Planning Tool, completed at the start of each semester, helps instructors identify supported Essential Abilities, confirm course alignment, and request support or offer feedback.
  • EA-Assessment Reporting, at the end of the semester, prompts instructors to reflect on how these abilities were integrated, evaluate student performance, and plan improvements for future courses.

To balance ongoing engagement with workload, Essential Ed faculty follow a 3-Year Improvement Cycle. Instructors complete the Planning Tool every semester throughout the cycle. Meanwhile, their end-of-semester responsibilities gradually shift—from detailed assessment reporting and improvement planning toward sharing updates and focusing more on professional development—supporting continuous improvement while managing workload.

Week 7: Mid-Semester Check-In: How’s Your Essential Abilities Plan Holding Up?

As we settle into the rhythm of the semester, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the work many of you did back at the start — completing the Essential Abilities (EA) Planning Tool.

Though it was brief (approximately 15 minutes), that step helped lay the groundwork for more intentional teaching by:

  • Clarifying which Essential Abilities your course supports
  • Encouraging alignment between assignments and Essential Abilities
  • Creating a space to flag support needs or raise questions

Now, with classes in full swing, you may already be seeing the benefit of that early intentionality — whether it’s clearer assignment design, more focused student feedback, or simply a stronger sense of direction. A quick self-check now can help ensure that things stay on track—or give you space to course-correct, if needed.

Quick Check — Which best describes your experience so far?

  • Students have submitted assignments showing Essential Abilities, and I’m satisfied with my plan, and I’m satisfied with how my plan is unfolding.
  • Students haven’t submitted yet, but I’m confident in my plan.
  • I’m beginning to think my original plan may not work as expected and might need revising.

If you relate to the third point or feel unsure, reach out to your Course List Team for help you revisiting your plan, realigning assignments, or troubleshooting challenges. Also, visit the Essential Ed Resource Hub for Instructors in Canvas, which offers updated tools to support you—whether you’re revising your plan mid-semester or preparing for reporting. It includes support contacts, editable rubrics, a setup guide with a growing number of examples from fellow instructors.

Why This Matters Now

This fall marks the soft launch of the Essential Abilities assessment process. Selected courses—typically those taken by first-year students—are participating in the phased launch of EA Reporting. Instructors teaching 1xxx- and 2xxx-level courses on the Foundations, Math, and Science lists are asked to complete an EA Report at semester’s end.

Early planning makes the process smoother and more meaningful because you will have already:

  • Identified which Essential Abilities you’re focusing on
  • Aligned those abilities with your assignments or activities
  • Set clear expectations for how students demonstrate those abilities

If you’re not required to report this semester, it’s still a good time to reflect on how your EA goals are unfolding. Taking a few notes now will be especially helpful later, when EA Reporting is fully launched and you teach the course again.

The EA Report is essentially a check-in: Did things go as planned? What worked well? What might you adjust next time? We’ll share more about the reporting process next week—including who will need to complete a report this term.

By Jean Straw DeClerck, Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness

Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Steering Committee Guides the function and continuous improvement of the program

As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are prepared to enter and succeed in this changing world – to have the skills to become culturally-responsive leaders who are civically engaged. This line of thinking is at the heart of Essential Education, a core component of the Tech Forward vision. 

To make this vision become a reality, Essential Education will be guided by the Essential Education Steering Committee (EESC). The EESC will conduct the following activities:

  • Planning of the annual Essential Education Symposium
  • Review new Essential Education course proposals, suggesting any needed changes, approving changes
  • Provide oversight of assessment and resulting actions to ensure continuous improvement and effectiveness of the Essential Ed curriculum
  • Provide feedback to Essential Ed instructors and units regarding curricular needs and possible modifications

Steering Committee Membership: Representatives from staff and faculty, including 6 course-list leaders:

  • Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education (chair)
  • Essential Ed Project Manager
  • Assessment Manager 
  • Director, Husky Folio
  • Registrar’s Office representative
  • Student Affairs representative 
  • 2-3 at-large members selected to ensure that there is faculty representation from each college of the university
  • 6, course list team leaders (see below)

The Essential Ed oversight structure is intended to encourage and support a community of educators focused on student achievement of programmatic learning outcomes (which for Essential Ed are the Essential Abilities). Since the course-list types serve different functions within the curriculum and have different expectations, support is structured around groupings of course lists: course-list teams and leaders (who also sit on the Essential Ed Steering Committee). Note: This differs from the previous approach structured around undergraduate student learning goals (USLGs).

Role of Essential Educations Course List Teams

  • 3-6 members who are from units teaching or supporting courses on the associated Essential Ed course lists 
  • Helps compile/disseminate findings and recommendations; develop online resources; help train faculty; make proposed-course recommendations to assist Steering Committee, plan/attend Essential Education Symposium 
  • Provides Essential Ed faculty support for their units — to provide assistance or referral on topics including pedagogy, Essential Ability evidence/assignment design, ePortfolio, as well as Essential Ed checklist completion and assessment reporting
  • Participate in professional development, especially the summer assessment activities (strongly encouraged)hort description

Different from previous goal committee structure

  • Not applicable to degree program outcome assessment. 
  • Considerable faculty support duties
  • Fewer members but additional faculty can be recruited for specific tasks
  • Reviews course proposals and makes recommendations to Steering Committee

To view who staffs the Essential Education Steering Committee and Course List Teams, visit Michigan Tech’s Essential Education News Blog. Next week, learn about the role of continuous improvement in the ongoing improvement and increased effectiveness of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Tech Forward initiative.

Michigan Tech Essential Education Steering Committee

Essential Education Steering Committee
Member Department Role Course List Team
Marika Seigel APUE Chair
Steve Patchin APUE – Project Mgr Member
Jean DeClerck APUE – Assessment Mgr Member
AJ Hamlin Eng Fund, Director Husky Folio Member
Darren Bausano Registrars Office Member
Cassandra Reed-Vandam APUE – E3 Manager Member
Anna McClatchy Student Affairs Member
Travis Wakeham BL & APUE Member
Yu Cai College of Computing Member
Valroiee Gagnon CFRES Member
Audra Morse CoE Member
Steven Holloway CoB Member Foundations & SHAPE
Richelle Winkler SS Member Experience & 1 credit minor portfolio Course
Holly Hassel HU Member Composition & Communication Intensive
Crystal McLeod Ctr Student Mental Health & Wellness Member Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success
Mike Maxwell VPA Member Arts & Culture + Intercultural Competencies
Mike Meyer Physics Member Math + Science + STEM

Michigan Tech Essential Education Course List Teams

2025-26 Essential Education Course List Teams
Course List Team Member Dept Role
Foundations & Shape Steven Holloway CoB Lead
Steve Walton SS Co-Lead
Laura Fiss Pavlis/HU Member
Experience + 1-credit minor portfolio course Richelle Winkler SS Lead
Cassandra Reed-VanDam APUE Co-Lead
Laura Rouleau SS Co-Lead
Danielle Meirow SLI Member
Estella Mira Barrenda HU Member
Composition + Communication Intensive Holly Hassel HU Lead
Jennifer Nish HU Co-Lead
Paul Sanders MAT Member
Jonathan Robins SS Member
Nich Radcliffe VPA Member
Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success Crystal McLeod Ctr Student Mental Health/Wellbeing Lead
AJ Hamlin Eng Fund Co-Lead
Veronica Horning SA Member
Melissa Michaelson Career Services Member
Craig Pelizzaro KIP Member
Christopher Plummer VPA Member
Arts & Culture + Intercultural Compentency Mike Maxwell VPA Lead
Destaney Sauls PHF Co-Lead
Matt Seigel HU Member
Math + Science + STEM Mike Meyer Physics Lead
Teresa Woods Math Co-Lead
Brigette Morin BL,CSA Member
Tim VanWagner CC Member
Andrew Galerneau Chem Member
Chad Walber MAE Member
Matt Laird CEGE Member

Essential Education important Fall Dates for course proposal submission

Reminder of important Fall Essential Ed course proposal dates.

– Oct 15 (Wed): White binder course proposals complete & posted to department summary sheet
– Oct 17 (Fri): Proposals for Essential Ed courses due to Essential Ed Steering Committee via Google form
– Oct 27 (Mon): White binder proposals/changes reviewed by Deans & sent to Registrar’s Office for processing
– Nov 21 (Fri): Degree audit changes due to Registrar’s Office
– Dec 5 (Fri): Essential Education Steering Committee review of proposals complete; list of approved changes forwarded to Registrar.s Office

The Course Proposal Form is live for courses you would like to propose and submit before the deadline. Stay tuned for next Thursdays Tech Today article regarding the role of Essential Educations Steering Committee and Course List Teams. Did you miss a Thursday Michigan Tech Essential Ed Update? Find it at Michigan Techs Essential Ed Newsblog.

Building Bridges: Michigan Tech & Keweenaw Community Foundation Collaborate on Essential Ed Experiences

Beginning early in 2025, Michigan Tech University and the Keweenaw Community Foundation (KCF) co-hosted a series of community focus groups, bringing together more than 50 local organizations to explore how MTU students and faculty can engage meaningfully with the local community. The discussions, centered around the university’s new Essential Education Experiences (E3) program, highlighted ways to connect classroom learning with hands-on service opportunities while ensuring that collaborations are mutually beneficial for both students and community partners.

Michigan Tech Essential Education Experiences are a new type of course, launching this Fall 2025, designed to provide students with a transformative education that integrates civic engagement, interdisciplinary learning, and real-world problem-solving. Through hands-on learning projects outside of the traditional classroom, these courses will equip students with the skills needed to navigate a rapidly changing world while fostering meaningful partnerships with local organizations. 

Leading the effort is Cassandra Reed-VanDam, the E3 manager at Michigan Tech, who emphasized the importance of fostering long-term relationships between the university and the local community.

“These focus groups allowed us to hear directly from community partners about their priorities and how Michigan Tech can collaborate in meaningful ways,” said Reed-VanDam. “We want to ensure that these projects are valuable not only for student learning, but also for the organizations and constituents they serve.”

A Collaborative Approach to Community-Engaged Learning

Held at the KCF office Community Room located in the Hancock Community Hub, with one session taking place in Keweenaw County, each focus group centered on different themes, including education, arts and culture, government and social services, and environmental stewardship. Participants engaged in thoughtful conversations about how students could support local initiatives through coursework, research, and volunteerism.

“When we learned more about the MTU E3 program, we saw an excellent opportunity to help provide capacity and support to our community partners while helping students and faculty at MTU engage locally. The ‘mutual benefit’ value alignment drew us in to partner with MTU, and we are looking forward to the future of this new initiative,” stated Robin Meneguzzo, KCF Executive Director.

The sessions allowed community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and faculty members to identify key areas where student involvement could make a difference. Ideas ranged from helping local museums develop digital content and improving nonprofit social media strategies to tackling environmental challenges and mentoring local youth.

Additionally, discussions explored ways to enhance student engagement, align project timelines with academic calendars, and improve logistical support such as transportation and funding. Many organizations shared insights on fostering structured communication channels with the university and developing effective long-term planning for student projects to ensure successful collaborations.

Looking Ahead: Next Steps for Collaboration

As Michigan Tech continues to refine the Essential Education Experiences program, the insights gained from these focus groups will help shape its structure. Potential next steps include developing a formalized project matching system to pair faculty and students with community needs more effectively, strengthening communication platforms to ensure that expectations and responsibilities are clear on both sides and establishing long-term partnerships between faculty and local organizations to create sustainable, impactful projects.

These conversations mark the beginning of an evolving collaboration between Michigan Tech, the Keweenaw Community Foundation, and the broader community. By working together, students can gain real-world experience while making a meaningful difference in our local community.

For community partners, this initiative represents an opportunity to gain actionable insights, develop creative solutions, and receive valuable support from Michigan Tech. As the program develops, local organizations are encouraged to stay involved and continue shaping the future of community engagement at MTU. 

If you would like to join the E3 Community of Practice here on campus, please contact Cassandra Reed-VanDam (cmvandam@mtu.edu), the Essential Education Experience Manager at Michigan Tech.

Michigan Tech Essential Education Seminars prepare students for Success

Starting college is a pivotal moment, and at Michigan Tech, we’ve designed a first-semester experience to help new students navigate it successfully. The Michigan Tech Seminar in Essential Education, offered through a wide variety of introductory courses, helps students not only get acclimated but also chart their academic journey, practice reflection, and build a sense of community. This isn’t just another class; it’s an integrated experience with core modules that are adapted by instructors to fit the unique needs of different majors.

The seminar is built on three key pillars:

Essential Education: these modules help students understand the “why” behind their education. By introducing Michigan Tech’s Essential Abilities, students are prompted to reflect on our key learning outcomes and their own strengths and areas for growth. This self-assessment is more than an exercise; it’s a tool for creating a unique academic plan. Students are encouraged to explore a wide range of opportunities early on, including Essential Ed minors, undergraduate research opportunities, study away programs, and student organizations, helping them set concrete goals and map out a pathway to achieve them.

Husky Folio: Michigan Tech’s pedagogical approach to helping students recognize, reflect on, and collect evidence of their learning, is a powerful tool for career readiness. The Husky Folio modules introduce students to the practice of documenting and reflecting on their learning. Through a series of assignments, students learn how to use our Husky Folio platform to tell the story of their academic and personal growth. This is valuable practice not only for future classes but also for preparing them to articulate their skills and experiences in a job interview.

Husky Life: The Husky Life modules focus on crucial aspects of student success: academics, community, and wellbeing. These modules connect students with vital campus resources and encourage them to build relationships with peers, faculty, and staff. Instructors can tailor assignments to fit specific professional development needs, with many sections focusing on resume building and departmental networking. The modules also address key life skills, with instructors able to choose topics like time management, stress reduction, and coping with loneliness, ensuring a holistic approach to student wellness.

Because we recognize that transfer students have unique needs, a seminar specifically designed for these students was also developed. Evidence suggests that a significant number of our transfer students may face academic challenges, with nearly half having a GPA of 2.5 or lower (about 33% of our total Michigan Tech undergraduate student population have a GPA below 2.5). We know that having a sense of belonging on campus contributes to academic success for students. (https://www.ihep.org/publication/student-experience-and-belonging-strong-outcomes/) Through the Michigan Transfer Seminar, we are working to build community among new transfer students while also helping them learn about campus resources and plan for their future, ensuring they have the support they need to succeed.

The success of the seminar is a testament to strong cross-unit collaboration. Developed by faculty from diverse academic disciplines as well as student affairs staff, this partnership has created a seamless introduction to campus life, beginning with summer orientation and continuing through the fall semester. This collaborative effort also resulted in a $650,000 State of Michigan MiLEAP College Success grant, which will support continued development of the modules and innovative teaching practices over the next three years.

The seminar also serves as an incubator for new ideas in curriculum design. The shared modules are designed to be both structured and flexible, allowing them to be effective in courses ranging from small seminars to large lectures and in subjects as varied as Engineering Analysis, First Year Arts Seminar, Explorations in Computing, and Natural Resource Professional. This adaptability ensures that students across all disciplines receive a high-quality, relevant experience.

You can learn more about the shared seminar modules and other seminar-related programming through the “Essential Education Resource Hub for Instructors” in Canvas <Essential Ed Resource Hub for Instructors> Courses that serve as seminar courses can be found on our Michigan Tech Essential Education website <Program Requirements | Essential Education | Michigan Tech>.




What’s New with the Essential Education Minors?

Our new Essential Education minors, launching this fall, are built directly into the Essential Education curriculum. They offer a unique opportunity to explore a specific theme through a variety of disciplinary perspectives. By design, they are a seamless addition to a student’s degree, allowing them to broaden their perspective and complement their major without adding to their credit load. 

Each Essential Ed minor allows students to engage with a variety of perspectives and disciplines, incorporating courses from specific categories in the curriculum. These include a communication-intensive course, an intercultural competency course, and a selection of courses from the humanities, arts, social sciences, and business (SHAPE). A key feature is the flexibility for students to customize their coursework within the minor’s theme, allowing them to align their learning with their personal and career goals. The Essential Education Curriculum page <https://www.mtu.edu/essential-ed/overview/curriculum/> includes more specific information about the requirements each minor must meet. As part of their minor pathway, students will create an ePortfolio through Husky Folio, allowing them to reflect on and integrate their learning journey. 

We are excited to announce that the following Essential Ed minors are in the final stages of approval: 

  • AI Ethics
  • Creativity & Expression
  • Economics & Society
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Leadership
  • Population Health
  • Public Policy & Law
  • Sustainability Studies

Stay tuned for a deeper dive into each of these themes in the coming weeks. In the meantime, get a sneak peek into the vision behind these minors by watching this video:  <Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Minors – Launch 2025>. 

Essential Education is here! Your guide to the new curriculum

This fall marks the official launch of Essential Education, a new general education program that began as a part of Tech Forward 1.0 conversations seven years ago. Essential Ed represents a strategic evolution of our curriculum, and we’re dedicated to helping you navigate it.

Every Thursday this academic year, we’ll use Tech Today to highlight the many components of Essential Education. You’ll get a closer look at the key elements, and we’ll share the accompanying programs and resources designed to assist instructors, community partners, and in navigating this new curriculum.

For a deeper dive into any topic, visit the Essential Education News Blog . We’ve already developed a number of resources to get you started:

  • What is Michigan Tech’s Essential Education? The Essential Ed website provides a comprehensive overview of the program’s core elements.
  • Introducing HuskyFolio powered by PebblePad. Learn about the value of Folio Thinking and how the new HuskyFolio platform will be gradually integrated into the curriculum at the HuskyFolio website .
  • Essential Education Minors – Find the current list of minors. Degree audits will be linked here once they are finalized.
  • Essential Education Experiences – Get all the details on the new Essential Education Experiences website.
  • Essential Education Resource Hub for Instructors – If you are teaching an Essential Ed course, this Resource Hub is your one-stop-shop in Canvas. It offers step-by-step guidance—including a Course Setup Guide, instructions for Instructor EA reporting and HuskyFolio—as well as specialized tools and support for course lists, Essential Abilities, large-class teaching, and more.
  • Essential Education YouTube Channel – Our new channel features videos you can use in the classroom or just to learn more about Essential Ed, featuring corporate partners discussing the value of Essential Abilities, highlights from our first symposium, and more. We’ll be adding new content all year to showcase how Essential – Education prepares our students for success.

If you ever miss a Thursday Update, just check the Essential Education News Blog to catch up and continue exploring this signature program.

Join Us for the Essential Education Symposium

Calling all faculty, staff, academic advisors, and campus partners—don’t miss the upcoming Essential Education Symposium on Wednesday, April 30, from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building (MUB).

This full-day event is your opportunity to dive deeper into Michigan Tech’s Essential Education program, ask questions, explore best practices, and build meaningful connections across campus and beyond.

Why Attend?

Whether you’re directly involved in teaching Essential Education (EssEd) courses or simply want to better understand how this initiative impacts our university community, this symposium was designed for you. With training sessions, panel discussions, and collaborative working sessions, there’s something for everyone—from seasoned faculty to new advisors to campus partners and staff.

Featuring Keynote Speaker: Shane Sutherland

We’re excited to welcome Shane Sutherland, Founder, CEO, and Chief Mischief Maker of PebblePad, as our keynote speaker. Shane brings a global perspective to reflective learning and will share insights on: “How are other higher education institutions around the world using this powerful reflective tool?” Don’t miss this chance to hear from a leader in the field of e-portfolios and learning design.

Agenda Overview

  • Registration and Breakfast – 8:00 am
  • Opening Presentation – 9:00 am
    • “Why Essential Education”
  • Block 1 – 9:30 am
    • “Question Assumptions, Communicate Quantitatively – Strategies For Teaching And Assessment”
    • “Profiles Of Incoming Students And Current Graduates” 
    • “Coaching Students To Success In Essential Education” 
  • Block 2 – 10:30 am
    • “Getting Started With Pebblepad”
    • “Panel: Building Community Partnerships For Essential Education Experiences”
    • “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic! Strategies For Embedding Essential Ed Minor Themes In Your Course”
  • Block 3 – 11:30 am
    • “Engage, Reflect, Storytell”
    • “Welcoming Challenge: talking about failure”
    • “Community Partner & Faculty Mixer”
  • Lunch – Keynote – 12:30 pm
    • Shane Sutherland, Founder, CEO, and Chief Mischief Maker of PebblePad
      • “The Power of ePortfolios Around the World”
  • Block 4 – 1:30 pm
    • “The Success Toolkit: Developing Practical Activities For MTU’s First-Year Seminars”
    • “What Is An Eportfolio?”
    • “Build-A-Minor Workshop: Centering The U.P. In An Essential Ed Minor” 
  • Closing Panel – 2:30 pm
    • Industry Representatives & Deans
      • “What Is The Value Of Essential Education To Future Students/Employers?”
  • Wrap-Up – Awards & Recognitions – 3:00 pm

Ready to Join Us? Register by April 25

We’re excited to host a day of learning, reflection, and community-building. Whether you’re new to Essential Education or already involved, your voice matters—and your presence will help shape the future of teaching and learning at Michigan Tech.

Questions? Reach out to us at essential-ed-l@mtu.edu.

Let’s shape what’s essential—together.

Registration Now Open for Michigan Tech Essential Education Symposium

Registration is now open for the Michigan Tech Essential Education Symposium, which will be held on April 30 in the Memorial Union Building. This free event is open to all Michigan Tech faculty and staff, as well as guests from local community organizations.

Check-in and breakfast begin at 8 a.m. with the opening welcome address starting at 9 a.m. Lunch will feature a keynote address from Shane Sutherland, founder, CEO and “chief mischief maker” of PebblePad, Michigan Tech’s ePortfolio platform.

The symposium will offer 12 sessions throughout the day with themes such as:

  • Industry and student generational experts discussing trends in student attributes and industry talent needs.
  • Reflection as storytelling.
  • Using Husky Folio to connect student experiences to development of Essential Abilities.
  • Embedding Essential Education minor themes into existing classes.
  • Building partnerships between faculty and community organizations to develop Essential Education Experiences.
  • What students can learn from us when we get comfortable talking about failure.
  • Question assumptions and communicate quantitatively — strategies for teaching, Husky Folio, and assessment.
  • Resources for academic advisors — coaching students to success in Essential Education.
  • Building a U.P.-themed Essential Ed minor.

The symposium will conclude at 3:15 p.m. A panel of industry representatives and deans will conclude the event by discussing the value of Essential Education to our future graduates and their future careers, followed by an awards and recognition ceremony.

Session titles, more defined session content, and presenters will be communicated as the event progresses. Please contact the Essential Education Implementation Leadership Team at essential-ed-l@mtu.edu with any questions.

CTL and Essential Education Lunch and Learn

Make plans to attend a Lunch and Learn hosted by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and Essential Education at Michigan Tech.

The Lunch and Learn is titled “Building an Essential Ed Experience: (Re)Designing Your Course to Become an E3.”

When: Tuesday, March 4, from 12-1 p.m.
Where: MUB Ballroom A
Registration: Register to Attend the Lunch and Learn (registration is required).
Interested in designing and teaching an Essential Education Experience (E3)? Join E3 leadership and fellow instructors for a course redesign workshop. E3 courses should prepare students for an ever-changing, dynamic and diverse world by increasing social awareness, global understandings and/or cultural competencies through hands-on learning. Students will apply their learning toward a project or activity that engages with community beyond the traditional classroom.

This workshop will cover the basics of E3 requirements and provide participants time to workshop with others an existing or proposed Essential Education Experience course, while learning more about practical tools for transforming their own courses into E3s. Faculty who are interested in E3 courses but don’t have a specific course in mind yet are welcome to attend and can expect to gain insights that will aid in future course development.

Lunch will be provided to those who register.

For questions or to request accommodations, including dietary, please feel free to contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu or 906-487-3000.