May 2017 travel immersion learning experience
What course credits can be earned?
- Goal 13 – GNED 400 Exploring Public Issues Through Writing
How does that work?
- Pre-departure organizational meeting (before spring final exams)
- On-campus work during “Senior Week” (i.e., after spring final exams)
- Eight-night field excursion in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE)
- Continued work on course requirements in an online format during Summer Session I
For this 2017 version of LU@YNP, the following faculty and staff members are participating: Dr. Carl Riden, Dr. Edward Kinman, Dr. Alix Fink, Ms. Jennifer Cox, Dr. Phillip Poplin, Dr. JoEllen Pederson, Mr. Josh Blakely, and Ms. Jessi Znosko. Other faculty may join the group to help with driving responsibilities.
What are the travel days like?
As you can see in the tentative schedule below, we move around a lot. Our days in the GYE are busy and intense. Everyone needs to be “on” for many hours each day. Some days we get up very early and leave the motel before dawn in search of wolves, bears, and other excitement. We work until at least dinner time, and we often meet as a group after dinner to talk about the day’s work and to look ahead to the next day’s learning adventure.
We work with local experts while we are in the GYE, including two very well respected (and incredibly friendly and helpful) wildlife guides in Gardiner, MT. Each has a graduate degree in wildlife ecology, and each has worked with wolves in Yellowstone for many years. Additionally, we meet with local ranchers, a local artist, and other key stakeholders to gain understanding of how the management issues in the GYE affect the lives of the people who live in the landscape.
| Date | Morning | Afternoon | Evening | Overnight |
| 22 May | Arrivals | Arrivals | Group meeting | Jackson Hole |
| 23 May | Community research – JH | Explorations | Group meeting | Jackson Hole |
| 24 May | Leave for YNP | Old Faithful | Down time | Gardiner |
| 25 May | Four-day rotation:
wildlife watching, backcountry-as-text, structured recreational activities, and oral history interviews |
Group meeting | Gardiner | |
| 26 May | Group meeting | Gardiner | ||
| 27 May | Group meeting | Gardiner | ||
| 28 May | Group dinner | Gardiner | ||
| 29 May | Leave for Jackson | Canyon, Lake | Colter Bay closing | Jackson Hole |
| 30 May | Departures | Departures | Home | |
While we are out in the field, cell phone service is intermittent at best, and we discourage use of cell phones while we are exploring the GYE. However, each overnight location affords both good cell service and reasonable wireless Internet access.
What are the dollars and cents of it?
Each student pays a special course fee that covers your local travel (by minivan), transfer to and from the airport, all lodging, most meals, use of classroom space, visits to local museums, guest speakers and guides, etc. The course fee has not yet been set, but it will be as soon as possible. For LU@YNP 2016, the fee was $525 per person.
The course fee is paid to Cashiering using a special deposit slip that can be picked up from any member of the faculty team. It may be paid in multiple parts. It is very, very important that you keep your copy of your receipt in a safe place so that any accounting errors can be corrected (and it does happen, unfortunately).
- You also must buy a plane ticket. That’s not included in the fee cited above. Ideally everyone would travel from their home airport to Jackson, WY, arriving on Monday, 22 May, and returning home on Tuesday, 30 May. Those tickets are in the $600-750 range. [There is some flexibility with dates (arriving on 21 May and/or departing on 31 May) and airport: please inquire before booking tickets.]
- Longwood will bill for the tuition credits separately. Tuition and fees for Summer 2017 are not yet posted on the LU website, but the 2016 figures can be found on the Cashiering and Student Accounts website (http://www.longwood.edu/studentaccounts/tuition-fees/undergraduate/). It is useful to compare the costs for completing a course on campus during the semester and in the less expensive off-campus mode during the summer. Again, the new rates are not posted, but in past years the cost savings has been more than $300 for three credits.
- We will stay in clean, tidy motels with 4 people in a room with 2 queen beds. If you prefer not to share a bed, you may always pack a sleeping bag and use the floor instead.
- Except during your airport adventures to and from the GYE, all breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and morning coffee will be provided.
- You will need pocket money for most dinners, impulse snacks, hot drinks, souvenirs, etc.
What is next then?
A brief application is available through our blog site (http://blogs.longwood.edu/yellowstone/). Please do not buy plane tickets until you have been “accepted” to participate in the program. Just after Spring Break, we will announce the dates of a mandatory pre-departure meeting. This meeting will serve to help you prepare for the travel as well as provide key course content.
Do you have more questions? Please see any member of the faculty team to talk about the particulars of the LU@YNP experience. You also may email Yellowstone@longwood.edu with any questions.