Academic updates

Academic leaders,

Through this weekly newsletter, we share information of interest to the academic community.

To assist with academic planning for the end of the semester, Provost McPheron has clarified three issues that academic leaders have raised about campus activity after Thanksgiving.

• Academic buildings will remain open after Thanksgiving. While in-person instruction will end Nov. 25, academic buildings will remain open for the remainder of the semester.
• Faculty may use classrooms for virtual teaching. Faculty may continue to use classrooms and other academic spaces for virtual teaching after Thanksgiving. There should be no in-person instruction after Thanksgiving, but faculty may use these spaces to record or stream classes.
• Student employees may continue to work on campus. Student employees may continue to work on campus after Thanksgiving as needed. As they would during traditional campus breaks, managers can engage with student employees to determine their availability and interest for in-person work.

At the University Senate meeting last Thursday, President Johnson announced that Ohio State will be increasing graduate student stipends by $4,000 over the next two years. This initiative will bring the university's minimum stipend for nine-month, 50% appointments to $21,280 by fall 2021.

The university will provide central funding to cover the cost of these increases through the 2021-22 academic year. Colleges and units will assume responsibility for continuing to fund graduate positions at the increased rates as of autumn 2022 (FY23).

Additional details about the implementation of the increases are being finalized.

The Senate also approved two departmental name changes. If approved by the Board of Trustees next month, the new names will be:

• The Department of Theatre, Film and Media Arts (currently the Department of Theater) in the College of Arts and Sciences
• The Department of Opthalmology and Vision Sciences (currently the Department of Opthalmology and Vision Science) in the College of Medicine.

The proposals are detailed on the University Senate agenda for the Oct. 22 meeting.

Instructors can register through Wednesday (Oct. 28) for the eighth annual university assessment conference, which will focus on Community and Conversation, Tools and Techniques. The conference is on Nov. 6.

This virtual conference will cover next steps involving assessment in the new General Education program, workshops on assessment tools and the connections between assessment and student progress. Hosted by the Office of Academic Affairs, the conference is designed to support ongoing conversations about assessment throughout the rest of the academic year.

Coordinator sought for misconduct office

The Office of Academic Affairs is seeking candidates for a coordinator on academic misconduct. Tenured associate professors and professors are eligible to apply for this position. Applications are due by Nov. 23. Learn more.

The following virtual events are planned this week:

• At 11 a.m. Tuesday (Oct. 27), graduate teaching associates are invited to a GTA Toolkit workshop on strategies for collecting high quality, useful feedback from their students. Participants will also practice interpreting, analyzing and prioritizing samples of student feedback.

• At 1 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 27), the Calling In: Turning Discomfort into Generative Moments workshop will discuss how channel difficult moments in class into productive conversations; tactics for redirecting and anchoring lessons; and how to plan around such moments.
• On Friday (Oct. 30), the Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning will offer two time slots for a writing workshop to assist instructors interested in preparing an instructional redesign portfolio.   The "Instructional Context and Pedagogical Approach" workshop will provide participants with guidelines and tips to make the portfolio production process clear and efficient. Register for the 9 a.m. session or the 3 p.m. session.

Learn about other upcoming events for faculty and other instructors through the Drake Institute and the Keep Teaching website.