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Grad Lab | College of Health and Applied Sciences

Mission Statement

To provide an inspiring and supportive environment for MSU Denver College of Health and Applied Sciences graduate program professionals to learn, develop and integrate new skills and knowledge into building self-sustaining and thriving graduate programs.

Meet the Grad Lab Team

Powered by the Office of Social Work Student Services, Finance & Administration (OSWSSFA), each member of the Grad Lab team works within various areas of the integrated operations model across the student life cycle. Team members with an asterisk (*) after their name are Grad Lab leads.

Caitlin Plamp*

  • Email: cbauer17@msudenver.edu 
  • OSWSSFA Role: Marketing & Admissions Coordinator
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Marketing & Recruiting, Admissions, Enrollment Management

Claire Alfus, MA*

  • Email: calfus@msudenver.edu 
  • OSWSSFA Role: Graduate Advising Services Coordinator
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Advising & Retention, Graduation, Alumni Engagement, Enrollment Management

Bailee Bannon Murray, MA*

  • Email: bbannon1@msudenver.edu 
  • OSWSSFA Role: Associate Director of Student Services
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Marketing & Recruiting, Admissions, Advising & Retention, Graduation, Alumni Engagement, Enrollment Management

Amy Middleton, MS*

  • Email: gienckea@msudever.edu 
  • OSWSSFA Role: Director of Student Services, Administration, and Finance
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Marketing & Recruiting, Admissions, Advising & Retention, Graduation, Alumni Engagement, Enrollment Management, Budget Management

Kayla Duensing

  • OSWSSFA Role: Welcome Desk Coordinator
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Admissions, Advising & Retention, Academic/Faculty Support

Melissa Grogan Gore, MA

  • OSWSSFA Role: Administrative and Financial Services Coordinator
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Budget Management, Academic/Faculty Support

Liz De La Rosa, MA

  • OSWSSFA Role: Undergraduate Advising Services Coordinator
  • Primary Student Life Cycle Assignments: Advising & Retention, Graduation, Alumni Engagement, Enrollment Management

Grad Lab Services

Open Labs

These 60-minute sessions will include a brief overview that includes the basics/foundational elements of the topic and will then be opened for Q&A. Grad program reps can bring specific questions or problems they wish to consult and brainstorm with the group on. These sessions will be held in Zoom, recorded, and uploaded to the resources section of this website.

Workshops

These 90-120 minute sessions will provide resources, skill development, and group consultation. Guests from our University partners may be invited as relevant.

Direct Support & One-on-One Consultations

To be developed - more information coming soon!

Upcoming Events

Open Lab: Grad Admissions for Grad Programs | Thursday, October 8 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

  • Facilitated by: Caitlin Plamp, Marketing and Admissions Coordinator & Amy Middleton, Director of OSWSSFA
  • In this open lab, we will explore systems and resources for developing a strong admissions funnel. Topics may include admission funnel data management, program responsibilities in Slate, programmatic communications plans, the importance of establishing admissions cycles/timelines, and more. While this will be high-level overview, the team will also offer a longer Workshop on this topic. This session will be recorded and uploaded to the Grad Lab website. 

Open Lab: An Introduction to Graduate Enrollment Managment | Thursday, October 22 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

Open Lab: Budgeting for Graduate Programs at MSU Denver | Thursday, November 12 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

Open Lab: Graduate Student Employment as a High Impact Practice | Monday, December 14 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (Mountain Time)

Open Lab: Accounting Practices for Managing Graduate Program Funds | Thursday, February 4 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

Open Lab: Establishing Emergency Funds for Graduate Students | Monday, February 22 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (Mountain Time)

Past Event Recordings


Open Lab: Developing Scholarships with Grad Program Revenue Funds

Thursday, September 10, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

Facilitated by: Bailee Bannon Murray, Associate Director for Social Work Student Services & Amy Middleton, Director of OSWSSFA

In this open lab, we will explore the necessary steps to establish both merit based and need based graduate student scholarships that are funded by tuition revenue. We will discuss budgeting for scholarships as well as guidelines for creating scholarships that help you recruit and retain students. We will share effective timeline establishment and identify key partners in the Office of Financial Aid.

Handouts and Resources:

Open Lab Presentation: Developing Scholarships with Grad Program Revenue Funds

Open Lab: Advising & Advising Systems

Monday, September 21 from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM (Mountain Time)

Facilitated by: Claire Alfus, Graduate Advising Services Coordinator & Bailee Bannon Murray, Associate Director for Social Work Student Services

In this open lab, we will explore advising tools and resources that foster graduate student success. We will present a potential check list of items graduate students need (advising sheets, assigned advisor, registration support, mentors, website resources, etc) and support participants to make a customized advising plan for their program. We will also provide an overview of SSC Navigate, Degree Progress Reports, and benefits of internal tracking systems to support data management.

Handouts and Resources:

Open Lab Presentation: Advising and Advising Systems

Example MSW Program Advising Snapshots:

 

Open Lab: Grad Admissions for Grad Programs

Thursday, October 8 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Mountain Time)

Facilitated by: Caitlin Plamp, Marketing and Admissions Coordinator

In this open lab, we will explore systems and resources for developing a strong admissions funnel. Topics include graduate enrollment management basics, the importance of the admissions funnel, admissions funnel personalization and optimization, resources and tools to support the admissions funnel, and utilizing the admissions funnel to inform predictive analytic enrollment management.

Handouts and Resources:

Grad Admissions for Grad Programs Definitions

GEM Resources (from NAGAP)

Successful Strategies for Recruiting Adult, Online, and Graduate Students (presented at the 2019 NAGAP Annual Conference by Brian Connelly, Kayla Manning, and Stephanie L. Franks Helwich)

The 5 Key Stages of College Enrollment (from EAB)

The Enrollment Funnel: Better Results Start with the Prospects You Already Have (from ICEF Monitor)

Overlooked Inefficiencies in Admissions That Can Impact Yield (from AACRAO)

Program Development & Integrated Operations Toolkit

Grad Lab Current State Profile (Program Development & Integrated Operations)

Resource Library

To be developed - more information coming soon!


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Contact Information

Main Office Phone:

303-615-0555

Location:

Main Office
Central Classroom Suite 201

Office of Field Education
Central Classroom Suite 202

Office of Social Work Student Services
Central Classroom Suite 206

Maps and Parking

Mailing Address:

Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Social Work
PO Box 173362 CB 70
Denver, CO 80217-3362


Accreditation

Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation logo

Our MSW and BSSW Programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education - the sole accrediting body for social work education.