Dear faculty colleagues,
I hope your fall is off to a wonderful start and that you are enjoying some relief from this summer’s sweltering heat.
This week’s message is a series of opportunities, updates and reminders. There is an important reminder about our two new faculty development programs (UT-FDL for tenured faculty and the FDA program for mid-career professional-track faculty). The deadlines are rapidly approaching and we strongly encourage you to apply.
Final Reminder: Faculty Development Programs
- The Faculty Development Leave (FDL) program provides tenured faculty with time to dedicate to research, scholarship and creative endeavors.
- The Faculty Development Award (FDA) program is for mid-career and senior professional-track faculty and provides up to $10,000 to support professional development opportunities and activities for each awardee.
You can also read a recent Q&A here about the origin and intention of these new programs.
Applications close on Monday, October 3.
New Provost’s Academic Leadership Fellow
The provost’s office is thrilled to announce that Dr. Gautami Shah, Associate Professor of Instruction, Department of Asian Studies, is joining the Faculty Affairs team as a Provost’s Academic Leadership Fellow for this coming academic year. Over the next year, Dr. Shah will work closely with Faculty Affairs to design and implement new faculty development programming for professional-track faculty across the university’s individual colleges and schools. Professional-track faculty are critical to advancing the university’s instructional mission, and Dr. Shah is committed to building a more inclusive community for our professional-track faculty, through mentorship and career development activities. Dr. Shah joined UT in 2011, after serving on the faculty at Duke, Yale and Rice universities. Across her career, she has launched new language curricula at Yale and Rice, led programs to increase the use of innovative technologies when teaching languages and strived to increase inclusivity and equity in the classroom.
Accepting Nominations: 2022 Civitatis Award
The Faculty Council Executive Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2022 Civitatis Award. The award is conferred upon one or two members of the faculty each year in recognition of dedicated and meritorious service to the university above and beyond the regular expectations of teaching, research, and service. Criteria for selection and the nomination and selection procedure can be found here. Please submit letters of nomination and the nominee’s résumé, if available, by October 15, to the Office of the General Faculty (fc@austin.utexas.edu).
Reminder: Promotion (& Tenure) Information Sessions – Fall, 2022
The Faculty Affairs team will be hosting promotion (and tenure) information sessions this fall semester. These sessions include a representative from the President’s Promotion (& Tenure) committee and offer the opportunity to share advice and answer questions focused on the relevant promotion(s).
- Tuesday, October 4, 1 – 2 pm
Tenured Associate Professor Information Session with Vice President for Research Dan Jaffe
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/99049759348 - Friday, October 7, 11 am – 12 pm
Professional-track Faculty Information Session with Senior Vice Provost Tasha Beretvas
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98470534596 - Friday, October 14, 11 am – 12 pm
Tenure-track Faculty Information Session with Senior Vice Provost and Dean Mark Smith
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/98059821571
Reminder: Faculty Family Medical and Sick Leave Workshop – October 12
The Faculty Affairs team is hosting a workshop on faculty family medical and sick leaves, extensions to the probationary period and leaves without pay, as well as a description of modified instructional duties. Please join us to learn more about existing leave options, policies, and procedures.
- Wednesday, October 12, 2:30 – 4pm
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/93838091885
UT Learning and Development Needs Assessment
The Learning and Development Office is seeking responses for a needs’ assessment sent to all UT benefits-eligible employees. Learning and development is critical for attracting, recruiting, and retaining capable and dedicated people. It is also one of the seven dimensions of wellness we prioritize for all UT employees. Results of this survey will help inform UT’s strategic direction for talent development. Data gathered through this assessment will help us identify gaps, opportunities, and priorities for how we can provide continuous workplace learning to both faculty and staff. Our office encourages you to complete the survey and share with your colleagues this opportunity to be heard on an important topic. More information on the survey can be found here.
Update on New Course Evaluation System
In April, the Provost announced that the university would adopt a new course evaluation system (CES). Faculty should expect several new features that will make course evaluations easier, including Canvas integration and response rate monitoring. Please refer to this Fall 2022 Course Evaluation System Update to review the new core questions, learn more about the new CES, or sign up for an information session. The genesis of the reimagined CES was the work of a provost’s Task Force on Student Feedback and Teaching and a follow-up resolution passed by Faculty Council. This summer, the Offices of Academic Affairs and Faculty Affairs led a pilot of the new system, and this fall, the university is rolling it out for all courses. The goal of the reimagined CES is to drive teaching excellence and to support continuous improvement in teaching and learning experiences. Email the course evaluation team at course-evals@utexas.edu with questions.
DUO authentication changes coming October 19
Duo, the university’s multi-factor authentication service, is changing its interface design beginning October 19, 2022. As part of its acquisition by Cisco, Duo is updating several aspects of its service, including incorporating the latest technology standards and a redesigned look and feel to provide a simplified experience when you sign on, allowing faster access to the applications you use. Duo is calling this new sign-in process “Universal Prompt.”
After October 19, you’ll notice that the Duo sign-in options look different than they did in the traditional prompt—but the Universal Prompt still will support a wide range of Duo options, so you can choose what works best for you. Universal Prompt is also more accessible, with easy-to-read large action buttons, voice and assistive technology controls, and improved color contrast. With the traditional prompt, you were redirected to a web page hosted by the university, but when you sign in with Universal Prompt, you’ll be redirected to a page hosted by Duo to verify the sign-in attempt. Check out this article for more information and a video showing the new Universal Prompt in action.
Open Access Publishing Q&A – UT Libraries
If you’ve ever been curious about publishing an open access (OA) article, wanted to know what’s involved in running an OA journal or how OA can work for books and monographs, then please join us on Tuesday, October 11th, 1 – 2 pm for a virtual discussion with these UT panelists:
- Paola Bonifazio, Chair and Associate Professor, Italian Studies
- Melissa Guy, Director, Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Francesco Maggi, Professor, Mathematics
- Tanya Paull, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
This panel discussion will be of most interest to faculty, students, and staff who publish articles or books and want to learn more about OA options. This virtual workshop is free, but registration is required. Register here, and feel free to share this announcement with colleagues. Questions about this event may be directed to Colleen Lyon, c.lyon@austin.utexas.edu
Testing Accommodations at the new Campus Testing Center
As a result of a successful pilot, our office will continue the centralized testing location in the Campus Testing Center (CTC) for in-person accommodated tests. The new location has allowed us to expand our capacity to serve students. The CTC will also offer options for students who have conflicts during final exams. This added service will provide more testing locations and flexibility during the shortened final exam time under the new academic calendar. Faculty can initiate this option for students through RegisterBlast in Canvas. Details and FAQs about RegisterBlast can be found here. If you have any questions about the Campus Testing Center or RegisterBlast, please reach out to campustesting@austin.utexas.edu.
Four Ways to Celebrate and Support our First-Gen Longhorns
First-gen students represent nearly a quarter of UT undergraduate students. There are many First-Gen resources across campus and ways that you can get involved with the First-Gen Collective!
- Complete this Qualtrics form to let us know if you’d like to support first-gen events and initiatives, or if you’re interested in sharing your first-gen story
- Celebrate First-Gen Week with us November 7-11, full event details will be available on the First-Gen website at the end of October.
- Sign up for the First-Gen Newsletter
- Learn about resources for your students, such as First-Gen Equity, a first-gen center on campus, and the First-Gen Living Learning Community for first-time-in-college students
If you have any questions about resources for First-Gen students or how you can support first-gen initiatives, please email the First-Gen Collective at firstgenlonghorns@austin.utexas.edu.
Important Updates to Institutional Rules on Student Conduct and Academic Integrity
Changes have been made to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (Chapter 11 of UT’s Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities) and specifically to Subchapter 11-500 which affect the faculty disposition and referral processes. These changes include:
- Faculty must notify the accused student of the alleged academic misconduct before the referral, or at the onset of the faculty disposition process.
- As part of faculty dispositions, faculty must provide supporting documentation to the accused student and inform them of their rights in the student conduct process.
- All faculty dispositions will be reviewed by Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students for due process, determinations of responsibility and alignment of grade impact with institutional precedent.
- Faculty dispositions will not be final until Student Conduct has completed their review and afforded the accused student an opportunity to meet with their staff, in accordance with Institutional Rules Sec. 11-505(f). Each accused student will be offered a meeting with Student Conduct staff where they will be able to confirm their acceptance of the faculty disposition or rescind their acceptance and request a referral before any outcome is considered final.
With these changes, it is critical to submit faculty dispositions and referrals to Student Conduct within 30 days of learning of any potential misconduct. Please review Chapter 11 of the Institutional Rules and email Student Conduct if you have any questions.
NEW Academic Integrity Support Resources
The Office of the Dean of Students is pleased to share a new Academic Integrity Videos module on Canvas Commons. The module is UT Austin approved and featured content, with five different video options on topics including due process, collusion, plagiarism, and more. Add the module and show or hide videos as desired for your classes and help your students avoid academic misconduct.
Reminder: Global Risk and Safety Q&A Sessions
The Global Risk and Safety (GRS) team will be hosting a series of Q&A drop-in sessions this fall on the following topics:
- Restricted Regions
- International Travel Registration
- SAIGE Process
- Health Clearance
The schedule of GRS events can be found on the Texas Global Events page.
If you have any faculty-related questions, concerns, and solutions please feel free to contact the Faculty Affairs team. We’re here to support you in any way we can.
Stay well,
TASHA BERETVAS | Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin | Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost | provost.utexas.edu