Each Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

Several faculty members have reached out to ask about some model language for syllabi, regarding absences and illnesses related to COVID-19.  Others have asked for some model language for syllabi, regarding absences and illnesses related to student mental health challenges. These are welcome questions, and they offer an opportunity to ‘think out loud’ a bit about what we’ve learned over the past two years—and how that learning might show up in course policies and syllabus language.

There isn’t any one perfect way to establish norms and expectations around class attendance and late work—though I tend to favor kindness and clarity.  There are, though, questions we can ask ourselves, when thinking through how to communicate with students about our course policies regarding attendance and assignments.

1.  How important is it that students attend and participate?  If it is very important (and I think it likely is) are we designing classroom interactions that reinforce that – are we creating spaces where their voices and contributions matter? Are we signposting the learning that goes on in class conversation?
2. How important is it that students turn work in on time?  If it is very important (and I think it likely is), are we explaining why? Are we designing assessments and assignments that build on each other? Are we offering multiple low-stakes opportunities for demonstration of learning? Are we offering a chance to improve on work already turned in?
3. How important is it to know students’ reasons for missing, or for turning work in late?  If it is important, *when* is it important (before class/missing? within a week after?)?  How much detail do we want and need?  And, is this an email, an office hours conversation, or a ‘grab me after class’ situation?
4. What are the worries about making ‘exceptions’ to students?  Are they around fairness? Are they around equity (and, have we thought about the difference between equality and equity in our teaching?)? Are they around workload? Are they around preparing students for jobs once they leave Drake?  Do our policies reflect good answers to those worries/concerns?
5. What are colleagues doing?  Is it important to have consistent practices across sections of the same course, or within a department or school?  How can we have unit-level conversations that surface these expectations, variations, and similarities?

The past two years have reminded us that students live complicated lives—lives that are stressful, joyful, full of disruption, and sometimes difficult to manage.  COVID-19 also reminded us that we faculty live complicated lives—lives that are stressful, joyful, full of disruption, and sometimes difficult to manage.  This has always been true—but COVID put that truth into high relief.

I would advocate that we take account of these human existences, in our syllabi and course policies.  This means balancing student needs with our needs with the learning objectives we’ve defined for the course.

As we enter the 2022–2023 academic year, we all hope it will be a bit more like years we vaguely remember—the slightly easier years—the years not disrupted by a global pandemic.  We also all know, I think, that we are likely to face challenges that we hadn’t anticipated, and to need to help students cope with things they might never have been asked to deal with, in previous years.  This generation of students is exceptionally good at advocating for themselves and their needs;  hope we celebrate these skills—and that we design course policies and language that ask them to recognize the importance of hard work and clear communication, while providing them the grace and wiggle room they might need, as they prioritize their education amidst a panoply of competing demands on their time, attention, and health.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

Each Tuesday in OnCampus the Deputy Provost shares two articles with a read time of 10 minutes.

Call for Applications: Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence

Full time Drake faculty (continuous term, tenured, and tenure-track) are invited to apply to be the next Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Drake University. The Director of the CTE will work closely with the office of the deputy provost to deliver essential pedagogical support to Drake faculty and staff.

Job description:
Drake’s Center for Teaching Excellence supports the ongoing work of providing an outstanding Drake education for all our students. Working closely with the deputy provost, as well as other campus partner, the Director of the CTE will develop, initiate, and assess programming to support the effective delivery of the Drake Curriculum – from FYS to the capstone experience – as well as excellence in teaching across the disciplines in every modality.

The CTE director will, in consultation with the Deputy Provost:
Define the scope of, reason for, and impact expected by the Center for Teaching Excellence. The Center was developed and launched just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and much of the work in these early years centered on our move to online teaching and learning. The new CTE director has the opportunity to shape the vision of the Center and articulate a passionate and visionary purpose for its role on campus.

Collaborate with University partners to create, initiate, and assess pedagogical support programming around the Drake Curriculum; teaching across the disciplines; and serving our commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our curricular spaces.

Serve as a liaison with Instructional Technologists and Course Designers to develop robust use of our Learning Management System, as well as classroom technology, and to support the creation of online coursework in the undergraduate curriculum;

Reinvigorate and launch a peer-to-peer course observation program;

Support effective teaching in our First Year Seminars by facilitating the FYS Learning Community in collaboration with the Director of the Writing Center as well as library faculty teaching within the Informational Literacy AOI.

Champion student-ready instruction and partner on initiatives related to retention and persistence;

Revitalize the CTE website, and write articles to share pedagogical resources for placement in OnCampus and on that site;

Collaborate on developing New Faculty Orientation and Onboarding opportunities.

The Director of the CTE will serve a three-year appointment, beginning January 1, 2023, with a professional development obligation in late Fall 2022. The Deputy Provost and CTE Director will engage in an annual review each fall, with the director eligible for two terms of appointment (6 years total) before a University-wide call is circulated, at which point the director is welcome to reapply.

Resources for the work:
Compensation for the Director of the CTE will include:

Dedicated and directed professional development funding, to attend the POD Network annual fall meeting (mid-November) twice per three-year term, and to attend the New Educator Development Institute (summer) once per three-year term;

A $5,000 stipend paid each summer (this stipend applies for both 12- and 9-month faculty);

Up to two funded course reassignments per academic year.

The Director of the CTE will work with the office of the deputy provost to determine a budget that facilitates appropriate funding support for faculty pedagogical development opportunities; the Deputy Provost will support CTE workshops with funding for hospitality, stipends for participants, and material costs.

Application Process and Timeline:
The Deputy Provost will convene a hiring committee in early Fall 2022. The committee will seek applicants who: have a record of excellent teaching; demonstrate an understanding of the Drake curriculum and its intersections with our majors and minors; evidence good relationships with faculty and staff across the institution; are committed to interdisciplinary work as well as the work of equity and inclusion; and are well-organized, innovative, and ethical leaders.

Please submit a cover letter indicating interest in the position, qualifications for it, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and a vision for the CTE, along with a cv, to renee.cramer@drake.edu (cc:ing nicki.kimm@drake.edu) by Wednesday, Sept. 14. Please use the subject line: CTE Director Application, on your email.

The hiring committee will meet to review files during the weeks of Sept. 19 and 26, and will make a recommendation for interviews by Sept. 30. The committee will complete interviews by Oct. 15 and deliver to the deputy provost an evaluation of the interviewed candidates in time for an offer to be communicated by Oct. 19.

— Renée Cramer, Deputy Provost

The results of this year’s Great Colleges to Work For employee survey are available. View the results. Thank you to the 578 employees who participated. 

We believe sharing this information is both important and consistent with our Core Values; embracing transparency and communication. The results also serve as a powerful resource as we reflect on what is working well and what needs improvement.

These results serve as a reminder for what’s going well: dedication to our students, flexibility, supportive colleagues, and more. The results also help focus our efforts on areas for improvement. It serves as a continued reminder that we’re all part of creating a great workplace culture.

As you look through the results, you’ll see that overall scores from across multiple benchmarks in higher education have declined from the prior year. While this does show that there are issues bigger than Drake at hand, it does not preclude us from taking action.

To fully understand these results and to determine action areas, every campus unit leader participated in a two-hour session dedicated specifically to these results. As we start a new fall semester, the prior COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and we will have a more ‘normal’ campus experience than we’ve had since the fall of 2019. It’s with this opportunity for reconnection, that you’ll also be invited to participate in a listening session with President Martin. These are being scheduled for every campus department. We all have an opportunity to (re)engage in the vibrant campus culture we strive to be a part of.

All unit leaders have the detailed survey results for their respective areas. In addition to University-wide responses, unit leaders are adopting goals to address the specific results from their areas. In this way, the Great Colleges to Work For survey is particularly helpful—it provides big picture feedback for institutional efforts, while also drilling down into the unique circumstances of individual units.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, reach out to Nate Reagen or Maureen De Armond.

— Nate Reagen, President’s Office; and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Drake is establishing an affiliate relationship with the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) that will strengthen our on-campus diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

You are invited to join the team of trainers being created to lead this collaborative campus-wide, culture shifting initiative!

The Office of Equity and Inclusion is in the process of identifying 35 people interested in becoming NCBI trainers. All Drake staff (exempt and non-exempt) and faculty are eligible to participate in a three day Train-the-Trainers learning experience.

The training will take place in person on September 21, 22, and 23rd. Trainers will learn to co-facilitate two modules: “Welcoming Diversity” and “Controversial Issues.”

To be eligible for this 3-day training, you must participate in an all-day Exposure Workshop (virtual) on August 10th.

All NCBI trainers will be provided a $500 stipend during the 2022-23 academic year to acknowledge and appreciate this vital work (both exempt and non-exempt employees). The commitment includes the 3-day training, along with agreement to co-facilitate three trainings during the 2022-23 academic year. All trainers will be directly supported by the Office of Equity and Inclusion. More details will be disseminated to interested parties after the August 10^th Exposure Workshop.

If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity or want more details, please contact both Jen Harvey (Jennifer.harvey@drake.edu) and Drinda Williams (drinda.williams@drake.edu).

— Jen Harvey, Associate Provost, Campus Equity and Inclusion