Dear Faculty,

Over the past year we have prioritized enhancing our students’ academic experience by emphasizing ‘academic integration.’ As this concept has evolved, we realized a more accurate description of what we are trying to accomplish is ‘integrative learning’ described by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) as “an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus.” The AACU suggests that “fostering students’ abilities to integrate learning —across courses, over time, and between campus and community life—is one of the most important goals and challenges for higher education.”

Let me offer an example from my own experience as a faculty member. Currently, I teach a course, Seminar in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), with content focused on assessment and intervention for this special population. I also have a research lab where undergraduate and graduate students can apply what they are learning not only in my ASD course, but what they are learning in neuroscience, cognition and language, and education courses. They are transcribing language samples, developing intervention content, and analyzing data based on what they learned in the classroom, while also accompanying me on visits with children with ASD and their families in the community. In addition, they have an opportunity to be a member of the Autism Collaborative, a campus-wide initiative which allows students and faculty to learn with and from autistic adults and families of individuals with autism. This collaborative initiative helps to define research and training that will improve the lives of those affected by autism. Through all of these curricular and co-curricular experiences, my students are integrating their learning across courses, connecting campus activities with community activities, and improving their preparation for a job or graduate school when they leave UVM.

I am sure many of you can identify similar learning connections you are helping students to realize across curricular and co-curricular activities. Integrative learning requires this deliberate and targeted effort to achieve learning outcomes through collaboration by faculty, staff and students. I look forward to working with the Faculty Senate, Student Affairs, and our academic units on developing UVM’s framework for integrative learning, one that capitalizes on what we are already doing and maps those learning experiences onto clearly articulated learning outcomes.

Integrative learning is an exciting opportunity to advance the academic experience we provide to our students as they make sense of what they are learning and why. I look forward to sharing more and hearing your stories about the great work you are doing in this area as well.

As I do with each faculty digest, I offer information I hope you will find helpful.

Position Announcement: Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

After seven years of distinguished service in the role of Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA), Jim Vigoreaux will return to his faculty position in the Department of Biology on July 1, 2022. Jim has been a wonderful, trusted colleague and a valued member of the Provost’s executive team. His thoughtful perspective and calm and steady presence have helped us navigate challenges, craft creative solutions, and advance our strategic goals. Jim has served as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs since 2015, and his impact in this role has been significant. He has championed faculty development; integrated diversity, equity, and inclusion into all of our faculty affairs processes; elevated our faculty recognition programs; unified our faculty development units; and created development opportunities for academic administrators. Jim was instrumental in the establishment of the annual campus-wide faculty conference, and he introduced faculty to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). While serving as Vice Provost, Jim has maintained a highly productive research agenda. His lab at UVM has provided research training to over one hundred and fifty students and post-doctoral fellows, including Honors students, McNair Scholars, AGEP Scholars, Beckman Scholars, masters, and doctoral students. We will more formally recognize Jim’s accomplishments next spring. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in thanking Jim for his service and wishing him well in his next endeavors.

As is evident from all that Jim has accomplished, the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs is key to achieving many of our most important goals and it is critical that we have a strong pool of candidates for the position. I hope that you will encourage strong faculty leaders to consider a university-wide leadership role as their next career step, and to apply for this position. You can find the full position description and application information here. Applications are due December 1, 2021.

Health and Safety

  • Pfizer COVID-19 Booster: UVM faculty and staff who work closely with students and have had a second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago are eligible for a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot, regardless of age or whether you have an underlying medical condition. General information about booster shots is available here. Pfizer booster shots are available at many pharmacies and at Vermont Department of Health Vaccine Clinic locations. Information about locations and scheduling a booster shot is available here.

  • This year, it is even more important to get the flu vaccine to help keep our community healthy. There are still appointments available for employee flu shot clinics taking place on October 21, October 26, and November 4. Information on locations and how to sign up is available here. Flu shots are free with UVM insurance.

Student Recruitment and Retention

  • If you regularly travel to, conduct research in, or are otherwise connected to a country outside of the United States, and you are willing to support undergraduate/graduate international student recruitment efforts in that location, please complete the brief survey here. The recruitment demands on your time will be modest. We’ll provide training, materials, and contact information for the admissions experts to whom you will refer prospective students. If you are interested in participating, please complete the survey by November 5, 2021.

  • The Division of Enrollment Management recently shared with Dean’s Offices the dates of significant recruitment and yield activities that will take place throughout this academic year. These activities include open houses, academic fairs, mock classes, site visits from transfer and first-generation students, admitted student visit days, and more. Showcasing the quality of our faculty and our academic experience is essential to the success of these efforts. Thank you in advance for supporting our recruitment efforts and for your commitment to recruiting exceptional students to our university.

Teaching and Learning

  • Two Learning Management System vendors that submitted proposals in response to UVM’s call for proposals will be conducting virtual presentations (via MS Teams) for students and faculty:

    • D2L (Brightspace) - Faculty sessions: Oct 29, 8:30 - 10:30 am; 2:15 - 4:15 pm (same session offered two times)

    • Instructure (Canvas) - Faculty sessions: Nov 3, 8:30 - 10:30 am; Nov 5, 2:15 - 4:15 pm (same session offered two times)

The vendors’ demonstration information, including presentation links, is available here. Staff are invited to attend any session of interest.

  • CELO and CTL will be offering a joint workshop Rethinking Grading in Community-engaged Courses. The workshop will explore the implications of "ungrading" and contract grading for community-engaged pedagogy. Please email celo@uvm.edu if you are interested. The workshop will be set up around the schedule of an interested cohort.

  • CELO is starting a reading group: Sexual Citizens: Sex, Power and Sexual Assault on Campus. Following up on CELO’s Summer Pedagogy Institute, which focused on designing community engagement to prevent sexual harassment, they are convening a reading group to explore this recent ethnographic study to understand the context students bring to courses. All faculty and staff are welcome; email celo@uvm.edu if you are interested.

Important Reminders

  • The last day to withdraw from classes is November 1. As you complete midterm grading, please use Academic Alerts to keep students who are in danger of receiving a D or F aware of their situation. Academic alerts are automatically sent to the student’s advisor as well.

  • As you prepare for Spring 2022 registration advising appointments, we recommend using a Navigate appointment campaign to connect with your advisees. Detailed instructions on how to create a Navigate appointment campaign are available on the Navigate for Advisors page.

  • Per CBA Article 16.19, all faculty members are required to develop and post Expanded Section Descriptions (ESD) for courses they will be teaching. ESDs may provide a more in-depth description of courses than that listed in the University Catalogue and should be available no less than two weeks prior to the first date of registration for the succeeding semester, which is November 15.

  • A reminder that we’ve updated the display case adjacent to room 300 Waterman and are devoting it to faculty research, scholarship, and the creative arts. If you have a book, CD, exhibition catalogue, or publicity materials you would like us to feature, please send your submission to room Lori Desotell, Office of the Provost, 304 Waterman Building. We will change the display each month and will return materials to you via campus mail.

Thank you again for the support you are providing to our students to ensure their success inside and outside of the classroom.

Warmly,
Patty