Undergraduate & Masters Education Recovery Tactical Team

Current StatusOperationalized

Charge

As UTSA looks to the future, a rich instruction delivery mix is envisioned, where the full pedagogical modality range from completely face-to-face to completely online is embraced. We aspire to be recognized for instructional excellence and leadership on the state and national level, especially in reinforcing our HSI identity and our unparalleled role in preparing a broad, inclusive mix of learners for the 21st-century workforce in Texas through a UTSA learning environment driven by innovation and personalized, engaged, future-focused learning experiences. Our collective experience with remote instruction during the spring term and our decision to remain in that mode for the summer term has accelerated UTSA’s progress towards that future and created an intensified sense of momentum and enthusiasm amongst our students and faculty. 

This Tactical Team for Undergraduate and Masters Education (UME) will embrace our institutional momentum and enthusiasm to build recommendations for Fall 2020 as a stepping stone toward our three-year horizon and beyond. The highest priority recommendations will focus on pedagogical and technical approaches from the full modality range for instruction delivery for courses that range in size from a few tens to approximately 2000. Recommendations will cover courses with highly experiential components (e.g. science labs, creative arts instruction, studios, engineering practicums, in-situ educator and clinician training, etc.). By necessity, these recommendations will be shaped by the realities of public health operations necessitated by the current pandemic following the recommendations and guidelines of the recently formed UTSA Public Health Task. Discussion and recommendations will also be presented about how to personalize the student learning experience to solidify students’ identities as Roadrunners with a strong affinity for UTSA during this pandemic. All delivered recommendations should be provided as first stops in a roadmap to Fall 2023 and beyond.

»  View the Tactical Team Report


Strategic Plan Midpoint Update (Fall 2022)

UTSA’S Tactical Team for Undergraduate and Masters Education Recovery completed its final report on July 7, 2020. The Tactical Team was co-led by David R. Silva, Dean, College of Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and Melissa Vito, Vice Provost for Academic Innovation. The team included working groups focused on lower-division courses, experiential courses, upper-division and masters courses, infrastructure, student success, technology, student groups, and faculty and staff groups.

The report included practical recommendations to ensure the highest quality experience for students and faculty in an environment overshadowed by an evolving public health pandemic. The team recommended that UTSA set the expectation that all courses would be developed to accommodate online learning and that support be increased for both students and faculty to accommodate unprecedented need levels.

 By fulfilling its primary objective of delivering a set of recommendations, this Task Force enabled UTSA to deliver mission-critical operations while prioritizing the health, safety, and wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff.


This Initiative Supports Strategic Destinations

David Silva 
Dean of the College of Sciences

Melissa Vito 
Interim Vice Provost for Academic Innovation

Lower-Division Courses (non-experiential) Working Group 

Heather Shipley, Co-lead 
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean, University College

Marcela Ramirez, Co-lead 
Executive Director of Digital Learning

Mark Appleford
Associate Dean, College of Engineering
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Tom Cannon
Professor in Practice, Marketing, College of Business

Taylor Edwards
Student Government Association President

Belinda Flores
Associate Dean, College of Education & Human Development
Professor, Bicultural-Bilingual Studies

Chad Mahood
Chair, Faculty Senate
Associate Professor, Communication, College of Liberal & Fine Arts
Rita Mitra
Associate Professor in Practice, Information Systems, College of Business
Sandra Morissette
Interim Department Chair and Professor, Psychology, College for Health, Community & Policy
Angela Speck
Department Chair and Professor, Physics & Astronomy, College of Sciences

Experiential Courses Working Group 

Jill Fleuriet, Co-lead 
Acting Dean, Honors College

Claudia Arcolin, Co-lead 
Director, Digital Learning

Alberto Cordova
Interim Assistant Dean, College for Health, Community & Policy
Associate Professor, Health & Kinesiology

Tracy Cowden
Department Chair and Professor, Music, College of Liberal & Fine Arts

Sedef Doganer
Associate Dean, College of Architecture, Construction & Planning
Department Chair and Associate Professor, Architecture

Belinda Flores
Associate Dean, College of Education & Human Development
Professor, Bicultural-Bilingual Studies

Rita Mitra
Associate Professor in Practice, Information Systems, College of Business

Jodi Peterson
Lecturer III, History, College of Liberal & Fine Arts

William Jeffery Schaefer
Learning Support Specialist, Digital Learning

Garry Sunter
Department Chair and Professor, Biology, College of Sciences


Upper-Division and Master's Courses Working Group 

Jason Yaeger, Co-lead 

Associate Dean, College of Liberal & Fine Arts
Professor, Anthropology

Jonathan Gutierrez, Co-lead
Instructional Designer, Digital Learning

Amy Chanmugam
Department Chair and Associate Professor, Social Work, College for Health, Community & Policy

Sedef Doganer
Associate Dean, College of Architecture, Construction & Planning
Department Chair and Associate Professor, Architecture

Janis Bush
Associate Dean, College of Sciences
Department Chair and Professor, Environmental Science

Juliet Langman
Senior Associate Dean, College of Education & Human Development
Professor, Bicultural-Bilingual Studies

Anson Ong
Associate Dean, College of Engineering
Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Joanne Ford Robertson
Lecturer III, Sociology, College for Health, Community & Policy

Juan Manuel Sanchez
Associate Dean, College of Business
Professor, Accounting

Rebecca Weston
Associate Dean, Graduate School
Associate Professor, Psychology, College for Health, Community & Policy


Infrastructure Working Group 

Josh Gerken, Lead 

Senior Director, Space Management

 

Eric Cooper – core team
Associate Vice Provost, Strategic Enrollment

Brian Cordeau – core team
Assistant Vice Provost, Institutional Research

Paul Goodman
Associate Vice President for Facilities

Lorenzo Sanchez
Director, Business Continuity & Emergency Management

Joe Tobares
Director, Learning Technologies

 


Student Success Working Group 

Tammy Wyatt, Lead
Vice Provost, Student Success

 

Brandy Barksdale
Senior Academic Program Advisor

Suzana Diaz-Rosencrans
Assistant Vice Provost, Online Programs


Technology Support Working Group

Jenell Bramlage, Lead
Senior Associate Vice President, University Technology Solutions

 

Barbara Jakubowski
Associate Dean, Libraries

Joe Tobares
Director, Learning Technologies


Student Groups Working Group

Brian Rendell, Lead
Specialist, Air Force ROTC, University College

Colin Howlett
Student Representative


At-Large Faculty and Staff

Tom Cannon
Professor in Practice, Marketing, College of Business

Mary G. Hernandez
Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs Administration and Operations

Jodi Peterson
Lecturer III, History, College of Liberal & Fine Arts

Joanne Ford Robertson
Lecturer III, Sociology, College for Health, Community & Policy