Academic Affairs Projects
Committees with faculty and student representatives carefully scrutinize or create policies and programs to ensure that TCU continues to be a premier institution of higher education now and for the future.
AI Teaching and Learning Policy
Charge: To develop a policy for how AI should be used ethically in teaching and learning at TCU, and what should be included as a syllabus statement to make this clear. Click here for committee members.
SPOT Revision Committee
Charge: Develop a revised student course evaluation instrument and process that better reflects effective, inclusive, and reflective teaching practices; aligns with TCU’s teacher-scholar model; and addresses bias, validity, and the limited utility of current student evaluation systems. Deadline: Pilot improved SPOT questions for Fall 2026. Click here for committee members.
Post-Tenure Review Committee
Charge: Review the current Professional Development Review Faculty Appointment, Reappointment and Promotion Policy AA1.004. Recommend clarifications to the policy, revise existing inconsistencies, clarify faculty and administrator expectations, determine potential outcomes. Click here for committee members and timeline.
Mid-Semester Grades Policy
Charge: Review U-grade vs. letter grades for mid-semester submission. After much discussion and deliberation, a new policy will be implemented in Spring 2027 requiring mid-semester letter grades, A-F, for all first-year students, all first-semester transfer students, and all students whose academic performance is a C- or below at the time of submission of the mid-semester grade. The policy is the result of work by Undergraduate Affairs, Student Success, and with input from Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Faculty Senate, and Provost’s Council. Click here for a timeline of discussions and steps. Click here to access the full policy.
Promotion & Tenure Policy
Charge (2021): Review the process and timeline for promotion and tenure and the faculty appeal process, and make recommendations for improving the efficacy and clarity of these processes. In Fall 2023, the Promotion and Tenure Policies Review Committee (2023) submitted recommendations to the Provost, various university committees, deans, chairs, faculty senate and the entire faculty before being approved by the President’s Cabinet in Spring 2024. Charge (2025): Make minor updates to the policy based on issues that arose during the last PTE cycles, identified by a committee led by Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Fran Huckaby, working with the Faculty Senate’s Faculty Relations Committee. Click here for the 2025-26 committee and timeline.
New Centers and Institutes Policy
Charge: Provide a clear process for establishing new centers and institutes, plus clear evaluation and reporting structures. With the guidance of Dr. Reuben Burch, Vice Provost for Research, all deans, many associate deans, and many directors of existing centers and institutes, Academic Affairs established a policy in 2026. (This does not affect existing centers or institutes.) The policy Access the policy here.
Watermark for Faculty Success
Charge: Enhance faculty career and professional development. Academic Affairs replaced Faculty180 with Watermark Faculty Success, which eliminates manual tasks for annual reports, course evaluations, service contributions and more with a system that tracks and manage faculty accomplishments and provides better information for everyone. Click here for more information.
Stellic for Advising
Charge: Simplify advising for both advisors and students. Academic Affairs launched an advising platform, Stellic, in 2023 to help both our advisors and students stay on track. By Fall 2026, all faculty advisors are expected to fully utilize Stellic. Click here for details.
D2L Learning Management System
Charge: Review updated D2L and Canvas for a new contract. Academic Affairs compared Learning Management systems in 2025 and decided to continue with an updated version of D2L Brightspace with a seven-year contract beginning January 2026. The decision was based on scrutinizing D2L’s current and new functions, comparing it to Canvas, and requesting faculty and students to participate in demos and sandboxes for both platforms. Click here for more information.
Coursedog Curriculum Management
Charge: Simplify processes and technology for curriculum management, catalog information, academic event scheduling, and course demand projections into a single, unified platform. The Registrar’s Office upgraded to a software platform called Coursedog in August 2025. Click here for more information.