December 5
December 5, 2022
Upcoming Deadlines for Award Nominations
A reminder that nominations for the Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship in Teaching award and the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising are due on December 9, 2022. Details regarding submitting a nomination can be found on the respective award webpage.
Religious Accommodations for Upcoming Holidays
As instructors finalize their syllabi for spring semester, they may wish to add a statement about the University’s Religious Accommodation for Students Policy 409. This policy authorizes a minimum of two excused absences each academic year for religious observances required by the faith of a student, and provides the opportunity for a student to make up tests or missed assignments. Students must provide instructors with written notice of requested accommodations for upcoming religious observances as far in advance as possible, and for excused absences, no later than the 10th day of instruction for the semester. The instructor and the student should then discuss what a reasonable accommodation should be in the given case and then document this agreed-upon accommodation. The policy provides more details about this procedure. The Office of Civil Rights and Title IX is available as a resource if students or faculty have questions about the process.
Please be mindful that some students may be fasting during upcoming religious holidays (such as Ramadan) and may request accommodation for a different exam time since they may not perform at their best during times of fasting. In most cases, the University would consider this a reasonable accommodation. The University maintains a list of religious and cultural holidays that have particular significance to some traditions represented on campus. For students observing fasting during religious holidays, Dining Services provides a variety of options for students.
LSP Seeks UNC Charlotte Representative for NOLS Expedition
The Levine Scholars Program (LSP) is seeking two members of the UNC Charlotte community to accompany the incoming first year class on a 23-day expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The campus representative will travel with the students on the round-trip flight from Charlotte to the site of the expedition (Lander, Wyoming) and be a full participant on the backpacking expedition. The trip is scheduled for July 9-August 4, 2023 (dates include round-trip travel). Requirements for the liaisons include full-time employment at UNC Charlotte and working knowledge of academic programs across the University. Representatives must possess a high level of familiarity with the student culture on campus, and both academic and extracurricular opportunities available to undergraduates. LSP is seeking a campus representative who is interested in establishing an ongoing mentoring relationship with students in the Levine Scholars Program. Individuals with backpacking experience and a high comfort level being in close interaction with students over a protracted period of time are best suited for this opportunity. The Levine Scholars Program will cover all programmatic costs required for participation in the expedition. To apply for the liaison position, please submit a letter of interest and resume by noon on Wednesday, December 21 to Diane Zablotsky.
Seeking Internship Sites for Graduate Higher Education Students
The Higher Education Program at UNC Charlotte will begin offering an academic credit-based internship in Spring 2023. We are currently recruiting UNC Charlotte offices/departments that would be willing to host and supervise one (or more) interns. If your office is interested in being an internship site for Spring 2023, please complete the interest form by Friday, December 23.
Interlibrary Loan Announcement
Atkins Library will be closed December 23 through January 3 and the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system will not accept new requests during that time. The Library will reopen and begin processing ILL requests again on January 4, 2023.
Departmental Support for Gen Ed Competency Integration
Get support from the Office of Undergraduate Education as you integrate the new general education core competencies into your major(s). The focus this academic year is on Communication and Critical Thinking. Departments can adopt a four-stage process and a competencies plan template to identify how they already integrate these competencies into their curricula and plan for development. Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC) is available to consult with departments at any point in the process, and departments that engage in this process can request resources for curriculum development. Visit the New Gen Ed Implementation and Competencies in the Majors website for more information. You must be signed into your UNC Charlotte Google account to access this site.
Center for Teaching and Learning Workshops
Canvas Assignments and Gradebook
Ensure your Canvas assignments and gradebook are organized so students can track their grade throughout the semester and learn tips and tricks to make grading easier. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to use the Canvas Assignments page to set up your Gradebook to calculate course grades. You’ll also learn how to create and grade assignments, enter grades with SpeedGrader, and use rubrics for communicating expectations of quality.
- Tuesday, December 6, 1:00 – 2:00 PM (Register)
Instructional Video Part 3: Creating In-Video Quizzes Using Kaltura
This is the third course in a three course series on Instructional Video use in Canvas. This workshop covers how to use Kaltura’s in-video quizzing tool (IVQ) to embed quizzes in your videos and create video quiz assignments that self-grade and pass-back to the Canvas gradebook. This workshop will also cover how to utilize video analytics to see if and how much of your videos students are watching.
- Wednesday, December 7, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Register)
New Canvas Quizzing
This workshop will teach you the basics of creating quizzes in Canvas for assessments using the New Canvas Quizzing Tool. We will also show you how to migrate classic quizzes to new quizzes. We recommend it for anyone new to quizzing in Canvas or creating new quizzes from scratch.
- Wednesday, December 7, 2:00 – 3:00 PM (Register)
Teaching with Poll Everywhere
This workshop will introduce faculty/staff to Poll Everywhere, and how to use the student response software in classroom and other learning spaces. During the workshop participants will explore how to get registered and create polling content within Poll Everywhere. We will guide you on downloading your class roster from Canvas into Poll Everywhere and how to export grades from the polling responses into Canvas.
- Thursday, December 8, 1:00 – 2:00 PM (Register)
Syllabus 101: Roadmap to Success
Your course syllabus serves as an agreement between you and your students about your goals for the course and your expectations for your students. This session will provide information about the components of a syllabus, ways in which you can enhance your course syllabus, and strategies for using your syllabus as a learning tool. This workshop counts towards the Essentials of Teaching and Learning Certificate.
- Monday-Wednesday, December 12-14, Asynchronous, Facilitated (Register)
Faculty News Council
Please visit the Faculty Governance website for the latest news from the Faculty Council including:
Dissertation Defense
The dissertation defense is one of the ways a new scholar demonstrates readiness to join the academy and is an opportunity to share their research widely. View All Dissertation Defense Announcements.
Latest AA News
For up-to-the-minute news from Academic Affairs (faculty awards, research, recognition, initiatives), visit the Academic Affairs Division News webpage.
To have items included in the digest, complete the NEWS DIGEST REQUEST FORM.
Deadline for submission is 11:00 a.m. every Friday.