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College Background
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas with an annual enrollment size of around 3,600 students. Their values include Teaching Excellence, Service, Kingdom Mentality, and a Christian Worldview. In Spring of 2023, UMHB launched 3 programs with Rize: Cybersecurity and Neuroscience Majors and a Cloud Application Development Minor.
“I’ve never been a part of an organization that is so mission focused” – Dr. Griesemer
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, the oldest continually operating university in Texas, is dedicated to equipping its students for purposeful lives that honor God. As an assistant professor starting in 2009 to now a tenured professor and the Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Nancy Bonner diligently fights to “make sure that our students have what they need” through strategic initiatives firmly rooted in this Christ-centered mission.
The heart of Mary Hardin-Baylor is well represented by the entire community of students, faculty, and staff. Chair of the Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics Department and Associate Professor of almost 13 years, Dr. Paul Griesemer shares,
"There's a lot to be proud of here. I've never been a part of an organization that is so mission focused and everybody is really on the same team pulling in the same direction to provide quality programs for our students … The feeling in this place of education for undergraduate students is really refreshing and the emphasis on the interaction between faculty and students, among the students themselves … it’s tremendous."
Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences Dr. Stephen Baldridge agrees and underscores the synergy between the faculty and students at UMHB: “That’s what I enjoy. I love working with faculty … the people I serve are the faculty and in turn the students.”
Andrew, a current UMHB junior majoring in Cybersecurity, adds “There's a lot of servant style leadership on campus. People aren't looking out for just themselves. They're looking out for the collective group that they're in … really focused on very servant style, mission focused leadership.”
“We have to be able to respond and be proactive” – Dr. Bonner
Especially post-pandemic, UMHB faces the same difficulties that many small, private Christian institutions encounter. Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Nancy Bonner empathizes with this predicament: “We looked around and other schools like us were cutting programs, laying faculty off, furloughing faculty … we are proud of the fact that we didn’t have to do any of that.” Dr. Bonner emphasizes: “Less and less young people are deciding on college … we’re having to work harder to prove the value of a college degree … and so we have to be able to respond and hopefully be proactive as well.”
“We’re able to introduce our students to top-notch faculty beyond Belton” – Dr. Baldridge
In Spring of 2023, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor launched 3 programs with Rize including Cybersecurity and Neuroscience. As described by Dr. Baldridge,
"We’re able to introduce our students to top-notch faculty beyond Belton. But on top of that, students are able to have contact with our faculty and other students to talk about the curriculum that they’re experiencing with the Rize classes."
He describes Rize as a doorway “to serve more students and to be able to provide program curriculum that we wouldn't be able to offer otherwise.”
Each Rize program is meticulously designed and developed with both academic and industry experts to ensure that every Rize course has industry-relevant learning objectives, equipping students with applicable skill-sets employers in each high-demand field are looking for.
“Examine the topic area from a Christian lens” – Dr. Bonner
In alignment with UMHB’s unapologetic faith-based commitment, each Rize program is paired with a seminar taught by UMHB faculty. As one such faculty, Dr. Griesemer describes, “This semester it’s been more explicitly connecting Cybersecurity topics with the Christian worldview … students have been asked to take a paper or a topic from their [Rize] class, describe the technical detail of it and then say how that connects to their understanding of Christianity – what the implications might be for somebody who's practicing Cybersecurity.”
Andrew, one of Dr. Griesemer’s students, expounds, “The seminar has been really awesome … pretty much every major [Rize] project we do, we also have to relate it to a Christian worldview. So, with my project I did this semester on human rights in cyberspace, I related it to a Christian worldview with how Christians view human rights and how human rights are an undeniable thing that everyone has to have.” Dr. Baldridge:
"That's working with Rize. They were really helpful in helping us think through what Rize programs might look like on our campus. Even if they don't have any other schools that they work with that have this exact model, they weren't afraid to explore different options, and for it to look a little bit different."
“Rize has been the best experiences I’ve had with online classes” – Junior at UMHB
Initially, UMHB faculty were concerned that students would feel removed from the community by taking online Rize courses. However, those fears were quickly subsided: “Rize is matching our expectations for the quality of online courses. Our students do have interaction in various ways with other people … it's not staring at a screen, being completely passive. So yeah, the quality is there” (Professor Griesemer). “One of the things that is really encouraging is when we start getting the data back from students looking at course evaluations and those sorts of things, it is really clear that students are enjoying this, that the teaching is impactful” (Dean Baldridge).
For Andrew, online classes are not new: “I've taken online classes [at other institutions]. And I would definitely say Rize has been the best experience I've had with online classes.” In particular, Andrew finds that Rize instructors match the level of attention he receives from his UMHB professors:
"I feel like my Rize classes have definitely given me personal attention, especially the professors. They're very good about it. There's been a couple of times this semester where I'll submit a file incorrectly and before I even realize, my [Rize] professor has already emailed me. So they're definitely on top of it … I definitely see a level of attention with Rize that I see on campus as well."
“Made my job easier and enjoyable” – Dr. Griesemer
For the faculty, Rize provides regular support to assess and track the student’s progress. Dr. Griesemer describes, “I get emails every week about attendance and who's passing and not passing. That is helpful for me because I can zero in on those students a little bit more than I would otherwise … I find it's very convenient to just go into the Rize website and actually see the grades of everybody in the program all on one page.” Overall, Dr. Griesemer’s experience with Rize has been “a relief and has made my job easier and enjoyable.”
Dr. Bonner adds, “The support is tremendous … I never felt like we were out here trying to figure it out on our own … there are so many operational things that have to occur for it to go smoothly … The responsiveness is amazing … it is so much easier to have you guys right alongside us.”
“Rize is really going to give these students marketable skills” – Dr. Bonner
Most importantly, for students like Andrew, he feels that his Cybersecurity major at UMHB is preparing him for the real world: “I feel like the Rize courses are preparing me to get a job and get into the field of Cybersecurity by really showing me what it's going to be like and what I can expect.” His vision for his career goes beyond just using his education for himself; he loves Cybersecurity because of “the helpful aspect of it … the helping people in need, the vulnerable people and … how few Cybersecurity professionals there are compared to how many people lose money to cybercrime every year.” With confidence he says,
"I think that UMHB has definitely given me a unique perspective on Cybersecurity with the Christian worldview and Christian set of ethics. I absolutely think that it's something that any employer would value … they want to know that their employees have a strong set of ethics and aren't going to use it for nefarious purposes. So, I feel UMHB is definitely preparing me for my field as well as the Christian aspect."
Both Andrew and Dr. Griesemer are excited for Rize’s new Career Navigation courses that will be embedded in their Rize programs. “This new class that's offered about getting a job in Cybersecurity … I think is a really good addition to the program … It's definitely something that my students have already asked me about” (Dr. Griesemer).
Download UMHB's story here. If you’re interested in learning more about University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s story or how you can partner with Rize, request a call with our Academic Partnerships Team.
