UTSA Academic Affairs updates progress on task forces to advance undergraduate studies, other areas

(May 21, 2018) -- As the spring semester comes to a close, the UTSA Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shares the following updates on task forces initiated in the past year by Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs C. Mauli Agrawal.

University College Task Force
Chair: Heather Shipley

The charge of the Task Force was to review the current structure and responsibilities of the University College and make recommendations based on the current goals of the institution in regards to undergraduate education. The group reviewed the organization of undergraduate education at a number of peer and aspirant institutions and conducted site visits at several. Chief among the task force’s recommendation is to update the mission and goals of the University College to better reflect its responsibilities and mission to support all undergraduate education, and to restructure the unit into key areas: Engaged Learning and Research, Undergraduate Standards, and Academic Programs and Support.

Additionally, the task force recommended reviewing existing pre-majors with the colleges to consider discontinuing them and admitting first-year students directly into their college if they qualify. Other recommendations included strengthening the pre-law and pre-health programs and reviewing the B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies program and ROTC programs.

Diversity and Inclusiveness Advisory Council
Co-chairs: DeBrenna Agbenyiga and Jesse T. Zapata

The charge of the Diversity and Inclusiveness Advisory Council is to inform and advise the provost on issues pertaining to diversity and inclusiveness at UTSA and to help formulate best practices and policies to encourage and support all types of diversity on its campuses. In November 2017, the council administered a campus climate survey on diversity to all UTSA faculty and staff, the results of which were released in February. A similar survey was administered to student this spring; those results now are being compiled. As follow-up to the diversity survey, the university created a new position of Vice President for Inclusive Excellence; a national search to fill that position now is under way.

Additionally, the council was tasked with drafting a new institutional statement affirming UTSA's commitment to diversity and inclusion to display alongside the institutional mission, vision and core values. This draft will be shared broadly for campus input. Finally, a sub-committee of the council is focused on developing recommendations on strengthening UTSA's faculty recruitment process so that the university is able to recruit exceptional faculty that represent the multicultural demographic of its students.

Multi-Cultural and Gender Studies Task Force
Co-chairs: Margo DelliCarpini and Rogelio Saenz

The task force developed a proposal to create a Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality Studies within the College of Education and Human Development. The new department would house the existing programs for African American Studies, Mexican American Studies and Women’s Studies, which the group recommends should be changed to Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. The proposed recommendation to position the interdisciplinary studies of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality in one department aligns with the university’s strategic vision to provide students with the “intercultural knowledge they need to succeed as future leaders.”

Further, the task force outlined a five-year plan to add new degree programs, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in African American Studies; a master’s degree in Women’s Studies; bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Native American/Indigenous Studies; and a concentration of Chicana/o Studies within the master’s degree in Bicultural-Bilingual Studies. The proposal is under review at the university level.

Task Group for Women Faculty
Co-chairs: Joann Browning and Heather Shipley

The group discussed issues related to women faculty at UTSA especially in the areas of recruitment and retention. A major outcome of the group thus far was the creation of a draft HOP policy, Modified Workload for Faculty with Dependency-Changing Event, which is intended to support new parents by providing options other than or in addition to taking FMLA.

Under the draft policy, full-time benefits-eligible faculty (tenured and tenure-track) who experience a qualifying event such as the birth of a child, adoption or new single-caregiver status, would be able to request a modified workload agreement that would release them from teaching duties for up to one long semester.  An approved modified workload agreement would also automatically extend by one year the tenure process for a tenure-track faculty member.  The draft policy now is under review by the HOP Committee.

— Rebecca Luther

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