Rochester NH College

Introduction to Astronomy is just one of the interesting courses we are offering this fall at our Rochester NH college campus. Astronomy is taught by Professor John Gianforte, who is very involved over at the UNH Observatory which is part of the University of New Hampshire System.  I enjoyed taking my 5-year-old son there for the Public Sessions held on Saturday night, so he could view the constellations in the night sky.  If you take the course, you will visit the Observatory in Durham as well. 

John is also a gifted photographer.  He is also exhibiting his astrophotography at a showing at the Galleries at One Washington Center in Dover, begging the question -- Where do science and art meet?

A note of congratulations to our Rochester NH college campus student, Sarinya Ball, who was selected as employee of the term at the Rochester Holy Rosary Credit Union.  Sarinya is a good student and member of our learning community -- she has served as a student ambassador for Granite State College and we congratulate her on her accomplishment as she follows her career path in marketing and the pursuit of a business degree with GSC.  Check out the article about her in Fosters.

Have you ever waited for something? You imagine what it will be like. You weigh the pros and cons of what it might be. You may even form preconceived notions of what this new thing will mean for you.

Well, that is what happened with the new Granite State College campus at Rochester, NH. The new campus opened two weeks ago. We were told from the beginning of the spring semester that Granite State College would be moving to a new location. It was a bit further from the seacoast, but it was a building all of its own. It was the former Cabletron building, if you knew what that was, which I didn't.
So in my head I imagined a college campus in an older building. I imagined the extra travel time. I imagined getting lost the first time I went there.

But I was so amazed! My preconceived images were so wrong.  The new campus is only about 8 minutes further from the seacoast than the old campus. (So commuting is still easy for those of you from the Portsmouth area.) The building is large, very new and set out on the top of a hill like a college campus should be. The classrooms are large and have all the latest technology available. There is even a large entry area with computers available for use!

The new Rochester, NH campus is a beautiful site. It gives the feel of a college and it is a place worth visiting!

So, if you are looking for a great college experience, stop by the new Rochester campus of Granite State College.

It is now official! - as this article in the Granite State Sentinel (Somersworth/Dover) announces, Granite State is moving our NH State College in Rochester to a new campus location.  

The new address will be 35E Industrial Way, and locals know this facility as the former Cabletron building.  For both faculty and students, to say that I/we are thrilled would be an understatement.  This new Rochester NH College is much larger and will have substantial upgrades in classroom technology.  I also expect that students will enjoy the campus feel - outside the building offers opportunities to walk around and soak up the greenspace.

For those interested, here is a sneak-peak at key Fall Term 2010 course offerings in Rochester:

Daytime Courses!  (Look for our flyer and speak with an Advisor)

HIS 602, History of New England (we anticipate off-campus historical site visits)

ARTS 503, Introduction to Watercolor (to be held in our new lab classroom)

SOSC 644, Families At Risk (A special topics course with beloved Instructor, Molly Connelly)

MGMT 500, Principles of Management (kick off your Business/Management Degree)

PSY 509, Human Development (kick off your Behavioral Science Degree) 

ENG 500, The Writing Process
(do you need adult college classes that fit your schedule?  This course will be a "hybrid" that mixes face-to-face with online instruction)

Many of you may have noticed that there are quite a few changes happening in the Financial Aid world right now. A new legislature was passed stating that all schools are now required to switch their lending program to Direct Lending(meaning the government will now be providing Stafford loans as opposed to private lenders). Are you wondering how this will effect you?

The good news is that for the most part it will be seamless for students. You will be required to sign a New Master Promissory Note (MPN) with Direct Lending, but other than that, things will remain the same in terms of how and when the aid is disbursed.

The real change will happen behind the scenes at the Adult Financial Aid office here at Granite State College. We have been working feverishly to make sure we are ready for the July 1st deadline imposed by the government.

What was the reason behind the switch you ask? The intention is to provide increased funding for federal grant programs such as the Pell Grant. Now, rather than private lenders collecting origination fees from students and using them towards their own services, the Department of Education will now take the fees charged for the Stafford loan programs and funnel it back into the Federal Grant programs.

Also, over time, the Department of Education is planning to lower the Stafford Loan Interest rates, making educational loans more affordable for students.

In order to make the process of signing the new Direct Lending MPN easier for our students, the Office of Financial Aid will be making visits to the Rochester NH College, the Claremont NH College, the Conway NH College and the Manchester New Hampshire College to assist students and answer any questions. To find out the specific times of our visits, please contact the regional centers. Also, as always, students are welcome to stop in and see us at the Concord New Hampshire College at any time.

 Have you ever thought about genetic research? Well the students in my night college course of Child Development class at the Rochester NH college campus hadn't really either. We were studying the development of the embryo and began to discuss genetic disorders. The genes that determine who you are can become mutated and cause problems at birth or later. We also discovered that people are studying genetics to see how traits like eye color and hair color are determined. The question of whether individuals should know that and be able to choose the traits they want for their child arose. Can you imagine if you could shop for the characteristics you wanted in a child, what the world would be like? Do you think it would be a good idea for people to decide what characteristics were right for the next generation? The discussion was very interesting. It is always amazing where discussions lead in a classroom at Granite State College.

We have wonderful news to share specific to our Rochester NH College: GSC is the underwriter for "If These Rocks Could Talk: Stories of the Granite State" which is an upcoming exhibition by Art Esprit in Rochester, NH.  This public art project will run from early June through October, and while early, I'm hopeful that there will be unique teaching and learning opportunities for our students. 

Fosters had a wonderful article this weekend about teaching and learning at our Rochester and Portsmouth campuses.  Click here for the link.

This perspective really captures our NH State College, and what adult college education entails.

This week marked the end of Winter Term classes at Granite State College.  That means no more weekend college classes, online classes or evening college classes (at least for a couple of weeks).  What did I do with my free time?  I hiked up to Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington this Saturday, and did some spring skiing.  A person mentioned to me that "there are days you don't go to Tuckerman Ravine; there are days you do go; and there is THE day to ski Tucks."  I think it is safe to say that this was THE day this spring to motivate up to this unique place in New Hampshire.  What an amazing day! 

Pics below. . .but don't forget, you still have time to register for Spring classes at our Rochester NH College and Portsmouth NH College.  I should also probably mention that you can take classes at our Conway NH College. . .which is only 20 minutes down the road from where I started my hike!!

What do you do with your spare time? If you are like most people, you probably don't have a lot of spare time. You are probably running from one thing to another. Maybe you have a job and a family and friends that you juggle your time for. But what about in the evening? Are you sitting in front of tv watching commercials for New Hampshire Colleges and Universities? Maybe an add for a Concord NH College, or a Manchester NH University caught your eye. But you say to yourself, "no way, not me, I can't go to college."

But why not you? Do you realize that you could be taking courses at home on your computer instead of watching tv? You could be enrolled in a course at Granite State College right now at home, or you could be in Rochester, Concord, Manchester, or any number of locations sitting in a classroom and learning new things.

Oh, I lost you again. You say to yourself, "I can't sit in a classroom. I am too ____," (old, tired, busy..) But what if you went to class one night a week? Everyone else in the room is just as busy as you. Even most of your instructors are working somewhere else during the day. They know what it is like to juggle responsibilities. So instructors give you work that is geared to help you in your profession, classmates support one another and suddenly, TADA! You have taken your first course.

Give it a try! Granite State is a place where adult learners can grow and learn and only by giving up a tv show or two!

What a weekend to be outside!  

It was quite the treat this Saturday - I was able to join a field trip with our Enviromental Heritage class in Maine.  The course is offered out of our Rochester NH College, but it also includes some time outdoors.  

The course is being taught by Dan Gardoqui, and it is safe to say that he is truly a Master-Teacher.  As Executive Director of White Pine Programs based in Cape Neddick Maine, Dan supplies a tremendous amount of passion, knowledge and experience in his teaching with Granite State students.  He is well-known for field components in his courses - frankly, it is an aspect sought out by students.  For adult college students, or students of any age, learning doesn't get any better than being outside, being active, and having a Master like Dan making science accessible.  

We started our day atop Mt. Agamenticus, and ended up at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.  It seems clear that potentially abstract notions about conservation, our environment, and public policy, are transformed during class time spent in this manner.  As I have written before, the New Hampshire University System through Granite State, offers such a wealth of experienes for students.  Be they online classes, weekend college classes, or classes that get students outdoors, it is thrilling to offer such a range of educational experiences.  

Pics below!       

View from atop Mt. Agamenticus (York, ME):





Inside the Wells National Esturaine Research Reserve (Wells, ME):

 Juggling is one of the things that adult learners are good at. It is also something that the faculty at Granite State have to be good at. For me, I juggle the course I teach at the Rochester NH college site, with a full time teaching job in the York, Maine Public Schools, and a family. 
For my students, they are almost always juggling a job with the college evening classes  they are taking. Many of them are working in day care centers that don't even close before they need to be in class. Often, they are running out of work, driving up to 40 minutes, and then coming in to class. They occasionally run in  even a little late because the last child was picked up late from daycare.

One thing that all this juggling causes, is a lack of time to eat. Students and faculty come from one job to another and arrive at their  early childhood education classes without having eaten dinner. Often they bring something to eat in class, maybe a sandwich, a bagel, or even macaroni. 

Well, these jugglers are also resourceful. In a class I taught last spring, one week a student arrived, not only with food for herself, but she brought a huge fruit salad, enough for everyone. The idea caught on and a few weeks later we were treated to homemade lasagna. 

The students at Granite State are jugglers, but they are also caring. It is amazing to see how quickly students become friends, and reach out to support and help one another as they juggle all the many demands in their lives.

Twins! 

With a colleague from our Portsmouth NH College, we visited with one of our Faculty members that gave birth to twins this past fall.  Dr. Angele Fauchier teaches behavioral science classes for Granite State College in Portsmouth and at our Rochester NH College.  As Angele commented to me, being the parent of twins is her Human Development course come to life!  Angele is also keeping a fantastic blog that is incredibly educational.  I was thrilled to hear Angele discuss incorporating her experiences as a parent of twins into her future teaching.       

Aside from marveling at what it takes to care for twins, and of couse sleep patterns, we also discussed online classes for adults, and part time classes, and being a lifelong learning college.  Yet what struck me about this visit, apart from holding Angele's wonderful children, and comparing parenting stories, was the very direct connection to adult college education.  Dr. Fauchier is an excellent example of what our New Hampshire State College provides: it is quite valuable to learn in small classes, with accomplished faculty teaching from experience.

I just have to say it again - twins!



       

I had an interesting conversation with a student this evening at our Portsmouth NH College.  I asked about her experience taking adult college classes with Granite State College, and her response made me sit up and pay attention.  Because I hire Faculty that teach in both Portsmouth and our Rochester NH College, I was fascinated by her take on teaching at this particular NH State College.  For her, the individuals that teach our adult college classes are "fresh."  

I thought - well isn't that something for New Hampshire Colleges and Universities to consider.  Granite State College does indeed have unique people in our classrooms bringing current, "fresh" and unique perspectives with them.  I believe it was this student's view that our Faculty truly want to be in our classrooms, and offer a great deal.  

This student asked me in return - so, what do I look for when I hire Faculty?  Clearly I'll now be thinking about a "fresh" perspective. . .but rather than list particular qualities, I thought I would be specific.  Whether you are interested in classes for early childhood education, or behavioral science or management, chances are, you might consider a Sociology class as part of your adult college degree.  If that class is with Granite State College in either Rochester or Portsmouth, you could have the pleasure of hearing a "fresh" perspective from Dr. Nena Stracuzzi.  Take a listen here to Nena talking about her research involving students from Northern New Hampshire.  This is how we keep teaching at Granite State College fresh, and why I feel so fortunate to have individuals like Nena Stracuzzi as our Faculty.     

Hello Everyone!
As a part of my Adult  College Education Program, I am presently taking the most wonderful class!  It is called Environmental Heritage which covers a wide range of topics pertaining to our New England area.

Due to the nature of our study in this particular class, two field trips are included as part of the accredited experience.  Sunday, January 31, 2010 we went on our first field trip. Did I tell you that the Instructor for this class is brilliant?  Well, he is!  And, the reason why I tell you this is because his brilliance, his ability to answer questions and to provide his students with good and interesting information is what set this educational experience aside for me.

I enjoyed this field trip more than any other because of the Instructor's passion for the subject matter.  His amazing enthusiasm was contagious.

We first visited an actual working farm in South Hampton, New Hampshire.  We had the opporutunity to pick the brain of a Farmer who is actually making his living by farming the land.  In his hothouse, where we actually saw radishes growing in the ground on the last, (freezing) day of January.  And, for the first time in my life I heard the word "vole" and just had to ask, "What is a vole?"
Well, let me tell you, a vole is  a rodent with chopped off ears and a chopped off tail and looks like a sausage.

Farming is a tough life, but Andre is passionate and dedicated to the cause of growing his own food, knowing what and where his calories come from, and he will continue to farm as his life's work.

Adult Education Programs become relative to the individual.  That is for certain.
I have never known a farmer from my generation and if I had not taken this course as a part of my Adult Education Program I might never have met Andre, at his farm in South Hampton, New Hampshire.

After our visit at the farm, we  journeyed further south to Plum Island in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Have I told you how blue the sky was or how crisp the air was on that day? It was a perfect day for our brisk yet cheerful walk along the board walk to the bird screens where we looked out toward the Parker River and saw huge mounds of Marsh Grasses that we think were built by muskrats.  Because the Instructor of this particular Adult Education course is so knowledgeable, combined with the fact that I was not in a good position to take notes, I have actually forgotten the name of the grasses (sorry to say).  But, I did take photos for the notebook I am creating for this course.

We observed SCAT.  Now, scat is not for everyone.  But... this course does give you a better understanding of what scat teaches us about the habitual underpinnings of wildlife.  In nature, scat marks territories and... if you look very, very closely at it.. and I mean get right down there on the boardwalk and take a look at it.. you can actually discover what the animals are eating which tells you what the food sources are for wild life in the area.  So, if we recognize fox scat it is because we know what they eat and we know they are there with us ... somewhere.

I loved it best of all, when I learned aabout the squirrels and how they actually discovered maple syrup!  We watched as Dan bit into a very old Red Maple tree with lots of "bruises" on it.  He then told us how squirrels bite into the tree to eat the sap.  It was by watching squirrels do this and asking why, that sap was discovered, reducing it was discovered and Maple Syrup was born.

My Adult Education Program is a gift from my husband but it is so much more than that to me because I just love the learning process.  So far, I have taken Portsmouth NH classes and Rochester NH classes through Granite State College and I am very happy with them.  I make every effort to get the most out this experience as I can.

Learning is vital to my experience of Adult College Education.  It is one of the joys in my life.

An event this week captures the essence of adult higher education here at GSC.  At our Rochester NH College, our ENG 555, Children's Literature class hosted well known New Hampshire author and poet, Marie Harris.  For those of us highly invested in adult college classes, the energy and enthusiasm from the the interaction between students and Marie was incredible. 

I have a great appreciation for all New Hampshire colleges and universities, but when you combine small seminar-style classes, the ability to meet and talk with former NH Poet Laureates, all through evening college classes, it adds up to a unique teaching and learning environment.  We of course have adult online degrees, and yes, affordable Bachelors degrees, but there is something particular about this NH State College.  I observed a particular dynamic between this noted children's book author and the students in Children's Literature.  The questions, the intent look on each face, and the transformation of something abstract to something alive is why Granite State College is the college for lifelong learning, and the center of adult education. 

G is for Granite (State College):

L - R: 
John B. Cook, GSC Faculty Coordinator; Poet and Author Marie Harris; GSC Faculty Member Heidi Zollman

If you work for the NH Department of Environmental Services I will be attending your Wellness Fair on February 2nd...come and learn more about Granite State College's continuing education degrees.

Students currently in the CCSNH come out and see Outreach Coordinators at your respective campuses the first week in February.  The University of New Hampshire System is holding Transfer Fairs at each campus.  On Friday, February 5th I will be at Great Bay Community College for Rochester NH college and Portsmouth NH college students.   Check out www.nhtransfer.net to look at transfer options. 

Students currently at York County Community College, I will be visiting your campus on February 10th.  Stop by and learn more about taking classes online, night college classes or
teacher training education. 

Hope to see you on the road!