Newsletter August 7, 2025
cte.utah.edu

CTE’s biggest event of the year, our Annual Teaching Symposium (ATS), is just around the corner on August 11. This event will start with a keynote address by an award-winning U of U faculty member, Matt Basso, followed by several breakout sessions throughout the day. Registration is now open, and it is free to all campus members involved in instruction (faculty, postdocs, grad TAs, staff, etc.).

All instructors are required to post syllabi to the class schedule via CIS prior to the beginning of classes each semester.

For non-mandatory courses, Syllabi must be posted by August 11th, 2025 (one week prior to semester start).

You can find additional syllabus requirements, templates, and University policies on the Center for Teaching Excellence’s Syllabus Design page.

To improve consistency and access to mandatory course syllabi, the University is transitioning to Simple Syllabus, a centralized syllabus management system that supports state requirements and student needs.

Simple Syllabus is a platform, not CTE's Core Syllabus. This tool will make it simpler to update your syllabus each semester and replace the need to manually post your syllabus to CIS in future semesters. 

Learn more about the guidance issued from USHE on the definition of "mandatory course" here.

We will be sharing additional communications in the coming weeks, including:

We in CTE, along with the university's central Simple Syllabus support team in Digital Learning Technologies, are committed to supporting a smooth transition and appreciate your partnership in this important work to improve transparency and student success.

Every year, the students in Being Human in STEM engage in special projects. In Spring 2025, one group of students created a 
Reporting Flipbook (A Student Guide to Getting Help), a simple guide on where/how to report bias, discrimination, sexual assault, etc. We believe this would be a great link to include on your Expanded Syllabus and/or on your Canvas page. 

Starting Fall 2025, students will have the opportunity to earn academic credit through Portfolio-Based Assessment (PBA).

PBA allows currently matriculated, degree-seeking undergraduate students to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes for an existing course in the University catalog by showcasing verifiable, college-level learning gained through professional, volunteer, or community-based experience. PBA expands credit pathways for diverse learners, bridges academic curriculum with workforce and community needs, and supports timely progress toward degree completion.

To prepare faculty portfolio reviewers of eligible courses, asynchronous Canvas training modules are now available. Please contact Danielle.Susi-Dittmore@utah.edu to access these Canvas modules.

Additionally, two optional faculty PBA orientations will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, September 2 at 11:00 am and Wednesday, September 3 at 3:00 pm. Interested faculty, department chairs, and associate deans need only attend one of these meetings and not both.

The 2025-26 MBE Teaching Fellows are engaged in funded pedagogy projects that innovate higher education in ways that expand upon students’ application of digital learning skills and their awareness of current events, with the hope of fostering workforce-ready technological skills and compassion in University of Utah students.

CTE is proud to offer a 15-credit graduate certificate in Teaching in Higher Education. The certificate consists of 4 online semester-based courses taught through CTE, as well as one elective.

Interested in learning more? Check out the certificate page.

This year, we will be offering two elective courses:

University Distinguished Teaching Awards

 September 15

University  Teaching Grants

 October 3, January 26, and March 6

Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch Prize in Teaching

October 13

John R Park Teaching Fellowship

November 10

Community Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Award

November 10

Early Career Teaching Award

December 5