Dear Academic Affairs colleagues,
Commencement and summer break are almost upon us. Before that, I have some important updates about required certification for teaching online, changes in centralized accommodated testing for summer, ways to streamline your syllabi coming soon, opportunities for Finding Ourselves in Community, and the Chairs and Directors Academy later this month.
Faculty Must Be Certified to Teach Online
I remind you that ALL faculty who plan to teach online courses, whether synchronous or asynchronous, must be e-certified; otherwise, you cannot teach the course. Faculty teaching online for Summer 2023 must complete your eFaculty 2.0 training before developing and releasing your courses. The Registrar and Koehler Center are identifying those who are not e-certified to their department chairs. You can review your certification by logging in to TCU ONLINE, click on your IMAGE in the upper right-hand corner, and then select PROFILE. The eFaculty 2.0 badges will appear in the awards showcase. You can share these with your department chair to confirm.
Accommodated Testing for Summer
On May 4 and May 5, Reading Days, centralized accommodated testing will be available solely for graduating seniors, in accordance with our policies. Hours will be 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. both days.
There will be no centralized accommodated testing available during the summer due to orientation and advising needs. Colleges and schools should follow the guidelines you used prior to January 2023 for accommodated testing May 15 through August 27. Centralized accommodated testing will commence again in Fall 2023. More information is available here.
Streamlining the Syllabus
A committee was formed in Spring 2023, led by Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Francyne Huckaby, to make recommendations to streamline the syllabus template and the process for sharing syllabus content. The committee presented a recommendation, approved by Faculty Senate, to put approved statements and policies online with links to the information, thus greatly shortening the syllabus. More information about how faculty and students will access these important policies will be provided before the end of the semester.
Finding Ourselves in Community Applications Open
There is still time to apply for the fall 2023 workshops for embedding Finding Ourselves in Community into your course. Your participation is acknowledged with a stipend. The workshops take place Friday afternoons for six weeks to prepare you for teaching in spring 2024. Apply here.
Attend the Chairs and Directors Academy May 16-17
I encourage ALL department chairs and program directors to attend the free two-day academy May 16-17 on campus. You will hear from keynote facilitators who are experts in professional development in higher education, and participate in workshops on strategic planning, faculty and staff evaluations, budgeting, program review and assessment, research grant writing and more. Registration and more information are available here.
Best Regards,
Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs