Faculty Affairs Update – Nov 14

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

This newsletter starts by sharing information and important reminders for faculty and ends with sharing faculty-related Stories and News. The Updates section includes the following:

  • Join AI LIVE Tomorrow
  • NEW LINK: Faculty Guide to Getting Started with AI
  • Fall 2024 Grade Submission Refresher
  • Check Your Course Evaluations Now
  • Increasing Response Rates for Course Evaluations
  • Undergraduate Academic Status Change
  • Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Updates
  • Faculty Development Events
  • Texas Global Updates

Please share relevant information with colleagues and those you mentor. If you have any faculty-related questions, concerns or solutions, please 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


Faculty Updates

Join AI LIVE Tomorrow
The University’s celebration of its Year of AI, AI LIVE, concludes tomorrow with interactive sessions, including a session specifically for faculty and staff titled Obstacles, Faculty Challenges & Student Behaviors in the Age of GenAI (RSVP required), a Robot Parade, Show & Tell & Dance, and much more.

View AI LIVE Schedule

NEW LINK: Faculty Guide to Getting Started with AI
The Office of Academic Technology, in partnership with Grammarly, worked across more than 30 departments at the University to develop and test 20 activities and nine lesson plans. The link provided to the guide required sign-in. direct link for viewing and downloading these resources is now available for all UT faculty.

The guide is intended to help any faculty member get started with responsible AI use by emphasizing the importance of evaluating output. All activities and lessons plans are authored by UT faculty and staff and can be used with any generative AI tool.

Download Your Gen AI Faculty Guide

Fall 2024 Grade Submission Refresher
On Monday, November 18, the Office of the Registrar will conduct a Zoom training and refresher regarding Fall 2024 grade submission. This presentation will cover all aspects of grade reporting.

Making the Grade: Grade Reporting 101
Monday, November 18 | 11 a.m. – Noon
Zoom

Check Your Course Evaluations Now
The regular course evaluation period is open November 21–December 9. Instructors with course evaluations scheduled can now review how their courses are set up in the Course Evaluation System.

Ensure you have a course evaluation if you expect one and cross-check the start and end dates of your evaluation now by logging into the Blue Explorance system and clicking the View and Manage settings link for each course. You can also check that cross-listed courses are set up correctly by ensuring the unique number is listed in the title of the course. Follow these video instructions from the Office of Academic Technology for more details.

To ensure that TAs are properly assigned, correct any errors or for further assistance, please contact your Course Evaluation Liaison immediately.

Increasing Response Rates for Course Evaluations
Most instructors with high response rates offer time in class for students to complete their course evaluations. Learn more about increasing response rates from the Office of Academic Technology’s response rate resource page. This page includes a response rate guide and a how-to video for viewing your response rates during the course evaluation period.

Undergraduate Academic Status Change
There will be an important change to undergraduate student academic status language when students are assigned their academic status based on their Fall 2024 grades. Beginning December 19 — and effective from Spring 2025 forward — the new designations of “Academic Warning” and “Academic Dismissal” will replace the terms “Scholastic Probation” and “Scholastic Dismissal,” respectively.

No change will be made to graduate student academic status language.

Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Updates

Provost’s Teaching Fellows Think Tank: Learning from Failure
Is there a way to teach, providing opportunities for safe failures without being punitive or negatively impacting the grade? After a bazillion years of teaching, I think so and look forward to having a fruitful conversation on cultivating an environment ripe for teaching, failing and learning. This Think Tank will be facilitated by Ruth Shear (College of Natural Sciences). All instructors are welcome!

PTF Think Tank: Learning from Failure
Tuesday, November 19 | 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
PCL 3.349 | RSVP

Accessible Pedagogy Conversations
Join the CTL each Wednesday this fall from noon–1 p.m. on Zoom for Accessible Pedagogy Conversations. This informal, peer-directed space is open to all instructors who hope to share questions, strategies and recommendations regarding accommodations and inclusion in learning environments. Hosted by CTL, the Disability Cultural Center (DCC) and Disability and Access (D&A).

Wednesday, November 20: Deadlines
Wednesday, December 4: Look Ahead: Syllabus Design & Setting Expectations for Class

CTL’s Holiday House Party
Join the CTL for a jolly celebration of instructors and staff who help build a supportive culture of teaching and learning at UT at CTL’s Holiday House Party! We are opening up our “house” for a festive event that promises fun, games, refreshments, door prizes and more. It will be the perfect pause from the inevitable December hustle and bustle. Come unwind, relax and enjoy some holiday cheer with your colleagues!

Holiday House Party
Wednesday, December 11 | 3–5 p.m.
PCL 3.349 | RSVP

CTL LinkedIn
We are thrilled to welcome both new and returning colleagues as we launch a new LinkedIn page. Stay connected with us to receive updates on funding, research, workshops and much more!

Faculty Development Events

New Faculty Orientation: January 6
Faculty Development is offering a spring term faculty orientation on Monday, January 6, 2025, at Rowling Hall for faculty hired after the start of 2024–25 academic year. This session will help new faculty gain a better understanding about how the University works, where to access critical resources and how to leverage opportunities for growth and advancement.

Additional in-depth monthly sessions are offered on topics to advance scholarly agendas, develop teaching practices, integrate service with scholarly and teaching pursuits, plan for promotion and tenure, and much more. Details about supplemental sessions are on the New Faculty Launch webpage.

Please RSVP by Monday, December 16, to reserve your spot!

Register for New Faculty Orientation

NCFDD Workshop Strategies for Effective Semester Planning
Faculty Development is hosting this workshop to help faculty identify personal and professional goals, create a strategic plan to accomplish them and identify the types of support and accountability you need.

The workshop, Every Semester Needs a Plan, will be facilitated by Dr. Elizabeth Parks from NCFDD will take place in person from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday, December 9. Registration closes at 5 p.m. on November 15.

Register for Every Semester Needs a Plan

Texas Global Updates

Texas Global Open House: November 19
Texas Global invites you to explore their renovated space at an open house on Tuesday, November 19, from noon–3 p.m. at 2400 Nueces Street, during International Education Week. Visit the beautiful new Global Lounge, enjoy refreshments and learn about global opportunities for faculty.

 

Diplomacy Lab: Call for Bids
The bidding window for spring 2025 Diplomacy Lab projects is open through December 31. Diplomacy Lab offers a unique chance for faculty and students in all disciplines to collaborate with the U.S. Department of State on real-world foreign policy issues. For the spring 2025 project menu, email Holly Schneider.

 

Texas Around the World: Add or Update Your Information
Texas Global displays data reflecting the University’s international activities and connections on the Global Explorer Map. This map showcases UT’s global engagement, including student mobility, alumni networks, partnerships and the research and creative efforts of more than 1,000 faculty members across country-specific webpages. To contribute or update your information, please complete this survey. For further details, contact Texas Global’s Global Strategies Officers at txglobalgso@austin.utexas.edu.

Submit Your Information

 


Featured News & Stories

Computer Science Professor Receives Regents’ Recognition for Outstanding Teaching
Etienne Vouga, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, has received a 2024 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award for demonstrating extraordinary classroom performance and innovative teaching.

UT’s Premier Faculty Fellowship Launches New AI Initiative
The Donald D. Harrington Faculty Fellows Program, The University of Texas at Austin’s premier faculty fellowship, is launching a new initiative to recruit exceptional visiting faculty in the area of artificial intelligence.

2024 Hamilton Book Award Grand Prize Goes to David Hillis for Homage to Texas Hill Country’s Biological Diversity
“Armadillos to Ziziphus,” a book that serves as both an education and celebration of the Hill Country’s natural beauty and diversity, has been named the grand prize winner of the 2024 Hamilton Book Awards.


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