Newsletter October 16, 2025
cte.utah.edu

If you ask a group of students whether they prefer individual or group work, many will say they prefer individual assignments. This is because group work often takes time out of class, the goals may be confusing, student responsibilities are not defined or balanced, and the activity may be poorly organized and executed. However, researchers have shown that incorporating well-designed collaborative learning exercises into course instruction can contribute to a positive learning climate, aid classroom cohesion and improve students’ self-direction (e.g., van Wyn & Haffejee, 2017), in addition to improvements in learning outcomes (e.g., Andrews & Rapp, 2015) and durable skills (NACE). However, to be most effective, collaborative learning activities should be thoughtfully designed and executed. 

Want to learn more? Attend CTE’s upcoming in-person workshop on collaborative learning: "Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing: Collaborative Learning for Multiple Modalities” on October 22 from 11-12 am in Marriott Library Rm. 2008 (Flexible Classroom). Please register in advance. 

Midterm grades are a new optional grading tool available to faculty who teach undergraduate classes. These grades can help students better understand how they are doing in a class and make appropriate decisions around their continued enrollment, prior to the withdrawal deadline. If you would like to opt out of using midterm grading, no action is required.

 

Midterm grades will be viewable for students but will not be posted to their transcript
and will not have any effect on GPA calculation.

 

How to Approve Midterm Grades

Midterm Grading will become available on October 13th until October 23rd.

Midterm Grades are posted through the same tool that final grades are posted through.

Go to cis.utah.edu click “View/Enter Grades”

From View/Enter Grades, select the term, and grade roster type:

You will see a list of classes you have grading access to, in the status, you will be able to
see if midterm grading is available for the class.

Select the class for which you would like to approve midterm grades.

You will see a countdown at the top of the page for the deadline to approve midterm grades.
You will see the class roster and a drop down for each student to approve a midterm grade.
You will see an option to “Save” and an option to “Approve”

“Save” will allow you to exit the grade roster without losing your progress. Students will be
able to see entered grades after you click save. “Approve” will lock in all the midterm
grades after you have entered a grade for every student on the roster. 

In honor of National Transfer Student Week (October 20-24), individuals from the Office of Transfer Student Success in Undergraduate Studies will be hosting a talk, “Supporting Transfer Students: Resources for Faculty”

Supporting Transfer Students: Resources for Faculty
A workshop for faculty who want to learn more about transfer students and how to support them

Jason Taylor, Paul Fisk & Jill Bavetta
Office of Transfer Student Success, Undergraduate Studies

Date: Monday, October 20th
Time: 2–3 PM
Location: Zoom
Click here to register.

National Transfer Student Week
October 20–24, 2025

CTE workshops are open to all instructors, postdocs and grad students on campus. Please register with unid@utah.edu  

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: CLASSROOM CONSIDERATIONS
FOR INTERNATIONAL INSTRUCTORS

In this workshop, international instructors will explore key communication skills to help navigate American cultural norms.
Topics will include levels of discourse formality, cultural references, personal space, and other relevant issues.

Workshop
1 PM – 1:45 PM
Wed, Nov. 5, 2025
Zoom
Click here to register.

SUPPORTING YOUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM

Discover practical strategies to connect with your international students and help them thrive in your course. Gain simple, effective techniques that not only boost your students’ success, but also strengthen your own confidence as an instructor in a diverse classroom.

WEDNESDAY
19th November 2025

WHERE
GC 3105 Conference Room

TIME
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Appointment to the prestigious rank of University Professor recognizes extraordinary skill in or commitment to undergraduate teaching with an emphasis on crossing conventional boundaries, interdisciplinary relationships, and a strong commitment to liberal education. Individuals considered for the University Professorship will have demonstrated exceptional ability in challenging and stimulating the intellectual curiosity of undergraduate students. The University Professorship offers faculty the opportunity to launch a project that has the potential to improve and enhance the University's undergraduate curriculum within the changing landscape of higher education.

University Professors hold this special rank for two years. The funding associated with this award supports:

Open to tenured or tenure-line faculty. More information can be found on the University Professorship page. Deadline to submit applications is December 1, 2025. 

Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation is one of the most fundamental university regulations because it establishes requirements for instruction such as grading, course numbers, adding and dropping

courses, and academic standards. While certain sections of this policy have been revised over the years, it has not undergone comprehensive review for quite some time. At the direction of T. Chase Hagood, Vice Provost for Student Success, a working group of faculty, administrators, and students reviewed the policy section by section and is proposing revisions to ensure the policy clearly communicates requirements, aligns with university practices, and promotes student success. The working group proposed changes for several reasons, such as to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, to improve safety for the university community, to ensure consistent and equitable processes across the university, to increase transparency for students, and to clarify the language. Changes are not intended to impact academic freedom or faculty rights related to teaching or primary responsibility related to course content. A summary of the proposed changes has been provided by the Writing Group. 

The PPM 6-100 Writing Group will host 3 town halls to get feedback on proposed revisions before the final draft goes to the Academic Senate:

Wednesday, October 29 from 3-4pm in person in Sill Center Conference Room

Tuesday, November 11 from 11am-12pm in person in Alumni Hall, EHSEB

Monday, January12 from 2-3pm virtual via Zoom. Click here to register.

The Learning Spaces-Student Computing Fees funding request and allocation process for fiscal year 2027 began on October 15, 2025, with proposals due by January 23, 2026. For details, please access the Learning Spaces webpage and proposal submission guide.

In February 2026, a task force of campus IT staff will review and recommend proposals for funding. After evaluating the recommendations, the Teaching and Learning Portfolio (TLP) governance committee will forward its selections to the Campus Budget Advisory Committee for final review and approval.

Key dates:

· October 15, 2025: Call for Learning Spaces funding proposals

· November 26, 2025: Deadline to request AV estimates

· January 23, 2026: Deadline for proposal submissions

· February 2-5, 2026: Virtual meetings between applicants and task force

· February 6-13, 2026: Preparation for final deliberations

· February 25-27, 2026: TLP deliberations

· March 11, 2026: Finalizations and notifications of awards

· July 2026: FY27 award transfer to applicants If you have any questions, please email classhelp@utah.edu.

Starting Wednesday, October 29, 2025, University of Utah and University of Utah Health faculty and staff will be able to add “Optional Info” like department and pronouns to their “Display Name” in Campus Information Services (CIS). Display Names appear in Microsoft 365 (M365) and Adobe applications.

Display Names that already contain additional information (e.g., department) will not transfer to the new Optional Info field. Users will need to reenter them in CIS.

Users can edit the “Optional info (dept, pronouns, etc.)” field to provide clarity, distinguish between individuals with the same name, etc. Information can include department/organization and pronouns, among other things.

The field is limited to 15 characters.

This change will affect M365 and Adobe products. For instructions on how to add and update the “Optional Info” field, please visit this HR webpage.

Instructions

· Log in to CIS

· Select your name in the upper right

· Select “Employee Profile” from the dropdown menu

· Select “Name” from the menu on the left

· Enter your details in the “Optional info” field

· Select “Save” in the top right

Applications are now open for the NAIRR AI Education Fellowship at CRA, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

This one-year fellowship will bring together a national cohort of 10 faculty champions to advance undergraduate and master’s AI education. Fellows will:

Receive a $5,000 stipend plus travel support for NAIRR workshops and conferences.

Serve as a champion at their institution for AI education and as a resource for other faculty seeking to teach AI courses utilizing NAIRR Pilot resources.

Lead conversations on AI education through seminars and community-building.

Contribute to shaping a sustainable community of practice around AI education.

The NAIRR Pilot Classroom Expansion AI EDU RCN is a national initiative that connects faculty across a wide range of higher education institutions — including research-emerging universities, four-year colleges, MSIs, HBCUs, and community colleges — to collaborate, share resources, and develop best practices for making AI education available for all.

📅 Applications are open now through November 1, 2025 (12 midnight ET).
🗓 Fellowship term: December 1, 2025 – December 1, 2026

Faculty and researchers with experience in AI education are encouraged to apply. Community members are also asked to share this announcement with colleagues who may be a strong fit for the fellowship.

Thank you for helping advance the future of AI education.

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:

This year’s Center For Science and Mathematics Education Exchange series will explore the evolving role of AI in education. Each session will be held from 12:00–1:00 PM in CSC 206. 

The exchange series is an opportunity for colleagues in the College of Science and the College of Education to talk about ongoing issues of teaching and learning. The series is not limited to STEM scholars - everyone is welcome!

Please mark your calendars for the following dates:

1 hour Trainings are divided by 30 minutes for a Canvas related tool, followed by 30 minutes for an Adobe related tool.

21-Oct Poll Everywhere/Adobe Express AI

28-Oct Canvas Accessibility/PDF Accessibility

4-Nov AI: Google Gemini/Student Adobe Portfolios

11-Nov Zoom Recording & Breakouts/Express Collab.

18-Nov Lucid Chart-Mind Mapping/Express D

2-Dec Import for Spring Semester/Adobe Assnmt

9-Dec Feedback Fruits/Adobe Express Holiday Fun

Free, but registration is required using this link: https://utah.zoom.us/meeting/register/-tmCu_trSIWNmffmJI8Eqw#/registration

John R Park Teaching Fellowship

November 10

Community Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Award

November 10

Early Career Teaching Award

December 5

University  Teaching Grants

January 26, and March 6