Newsletter July 31, 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.

Syllabi for mandatory Fall 2025 courses must be posted to CIS by August 4th, 2025 (2 weeks prior to semester start).

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.

You can always request a consultation with a CTE staff member for more in-depth course and pedagogical questions!

You can also contact Digital Learning Technologies, visit their Pre-Semester Canvas Checklist to get started for Fall '25, check out their Canvas Help links, or submit a help request form.

Due to Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, which includes new IT security requirements, the University of Utah is required to implement an enhanced Duo two-factor authentication (2FA) (login required) process to access Microsoft Azure-based services. The enhancements will help further secure university accounts and protect against unauthorized access.

Starting Tuesday, August 5, 2025, on an ongoing basis, main campus and University of Utah Health students, faculty, staff, affiliates, alumni, and emeriti must complete an additional verification step during the Duo 2FA process when signing into Microsoft services.

The change affects the following Microsoft services:

Any time users are asked to authenticate with Duo when accessing a Microsoft service, they will receive an additional prompt to verify their identity (example below). Select “Approve with U of U Duo.” Users will then be redirected to the standard Duo 2FA experience to complete the authentication process.

Users who have not set up Duo and would like to opt in can visit the Duo Management Portal (login required) to enroll before August 5.

For more information about Duo 2FA, please visit this IT Knowledge Base article (login required).

If you have questions, your local IT support staff may be able to assist, or you may contact your respective help desk:

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:

The University of Utah community is invited to attend an AI Forum on Tuesday, August 5, at noon to hear updates from AI Office leadership and ask questions. RSVP for the Zoom webinar.

In July, the AI Office shared guidelines to clarify how existing university rules apply to the use of artificial intelligence in research and teaching. Read the guidelines and attend the forum to learn more.

In this forum, the AI Office will provide an update on guidance for AI use in the research and educational spaces. The discussion will also provide information on what's new in AI at the UU as well as where we are on offering access to Open AI tools.

Forum Agenda:

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