Dear faculty colleagues,
Below are listed some opportunities, updates and reminders. Please share the relevant information with colleagues and those you mentor.
In this week’s update, you will find information on the following:
- Faculty Trainings for the New Course Evaluation (“Course Instructor Survey”) System
- Faculty Leaves and Modified Instructional Duties
- Accepting Applications: Open Education Fellows Program
- Campus Contextualization Seminar Series
- Upcoming Center for Teaching and Learning Events
Faculty Trainings for the New Course Evaluation System
The university’s course evaluation (“Course Instructor Survey”) system will have several new features, including new questions, an option for faculty to add a few additional survey questions from an item bank, Canvas integration, student response rate monitoring and more. To help faculty understand and navigate the new system, there will be four virtual training sessions. Faculty and staff can register for them using the links below. To learn more about the course evaluation changes, please visit the new website. Email course-evals@utexas.edu with questions.
Training Dates
- Wednesday, October 19, 2022 – 12:00 PM
General Information Session
- Monday, October 24, 2022 – 4:00 PM
General Information Session
- Thursday, October 27, 2022 – 5:00 PM
New Features Orientation (including how to select your own additional questions)
- Friday, October 28, 2022 – 2:00 PM
New Features Orientation (including how to select your own additional questions)
Faculty Leaves and Related Policies
Faculty Affairs and the Faculty Women’s Organization hosted a Faculty Leaves and Related Policies Information Session on Wednesday, October 12. The materials that were presented can be found here.
One program that was highlighted as part of the information session was UT Austin’s Modified Instructional Duties policy that is available for all full-time faculty and offers workload redistribution allowing replacement of organized class instruction effort with an alternative workload. Specifically, modified instructional duties can be requested “when certain personal circumstances prevent [full-time faculty members] from being able to perform their classroom teaching duties, and when such modifications are found to be in the best interest of the university’s instructional programs.” The policy as well as application procedures may be found within the Modified Instructional Duties policy page.
Accepting Applications: Open Education Fellows Program
The UT Libraries (UTL) invites applications for a program to support faculty who will adopt or create open educational resources (OER): the Open Education Fellows Program. Through this program, we aim to reduce the cost of required course materials for UT Austin students and empower instructors to adapt or create course materials that meet their pedagogical goals. Over the program period, UTL will provide Fellows with professional development opportunities to support their activities in finding, evaluating, and/or creating OER as well as stipends to offset the time and effort that we recognize these activities take. Applications are welcome until October 31, 2022. Apply here.
Campus Contextualization Seminar Series
The new Campus Contextualization Seminar Series explores histories of race, gender, and power at UT Austin. Speakers present research and new frameworks for analysis concerning how U.S. universities address historic exclusion and inequalities and serve as key sites for engendering equity, inclusion and social change.
You’re invited to join the next lecture in the series: “Heman Sweatt, his Lawsuit, and the Civil Rights Movement in Texas” with Dr. Michael Gillette, former Director of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and former Executive Director of Humanities Texas.
Event Information: Tuesday, October 18, 5:00 – 6:30 pm CST in MAI 212
Free and open to the public, livestreamed and in-person
Upcoming Center for Teaching and Learning Events
Provost Teaching Fellows (PTF) Think Tank Series
The Provost’s Teaching Fellows invite you to the next Think Tank session on managing compassion fatigue. This fall series continues with the Role of Teachers, facilitated by Ashley Castleberry (Pharmacy).
Event Information: Thursday, October 24, 11:00 – 12:30 in SZB 4.102.
Inclusive Teaching and Learning Symposium
The Center for Teaching and Learning is excited to bring back the Inclusive Teaching and Learning Symposium where we invite you to Pause for Pedagogy. This year’s event will focus on promoting inclusive and transformative pedagogy through panels and communities of practice. Please join us for online and in-person sessions during the mornings of October 31 and November 1.
Please reach out with any faculty-related questions to the Faculty Affairs team. We’re here to support you in any way we can.
Stay well,
Tasha Beretvas