Dear Faculty:
Greetings and welcome to the new academic year and this Fall semester! I hope you are as excited as I am for the Fall semester and this coming year. I know we are going to do great things together and I cannot wait to meet you! As we get started I wanted to share with you some reminders and resources that hopefully will be helpful as you start the semester.
Syllabus
As you put your syllabus together, please remember there are a number of resources available including theCreating a Syllabus page from the Faculty Development Center. Please be sure to also consult the website of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights forsyllabus language.
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing education and the Faculty Senate and the Graduate School are reviewing theGraduate Student Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedures and theUndergraduate Student Academic Conduct Policy. While these policies are being reviewed and revised to include language relevant to the use of generative AI tools, I ask you to state clearly in your syllabus what use (if any) of generative AI tools you allow in your classroom. Example statements are available from a number of universities (e.g.Texas Tech,MSU Denver).
Supporting Students and Managing Classroom Behavior
I want to make sure you are aware of UMBC’s faculty and staffdisruptive student behavior guide, which also pertains to managing your classroom. John Fox is serving as the inaugural Dean of Students in the Division of Student Affairs, and ensuring all students can thrive without disruption is a key responsibility of the Dean of Students Office. Supporting all students is key in all the work you do as faculty and the university has a number of resources available including theAcademic Success Center, the Office ofStudent Disability Services,Retriever Integrated Health, Retriever CARE,Retriever Essentials and Connections and theOffice of Equity and Civil Rights. Please make sure students are aware of this information. International students in your courses may face unique challenges, particularly during their first semester, and I encourage you to direct them to the dedicated resources and services offered bythe Center for Global Engagement. I also encourage you to regularly check in with your students to see how they are doing and ensure you guide them to resources on campus.
UMBC Policies and Procedures
A comprehensive list of USM and UMBC policies and guidelines is available atUMBC Policies, and resources for faculty regarding academic integrity are available atAcademic Integrity Resources for Faculty.
Campus Closures
Please be sure to sign up for text alerts so you are aware of campus emergencies and weather-related campus closures.
Upcoming Events
I hope to see you this coming week at one of several campus wide events including Convocation (8/27) and Meet and Greet with the Provost (8/28).
Finally, thank you for all you do for UMBC. You are at the heart of student success and helping UMBC students become the best version of themselves.
Sincerely,
Manfred van Dulmen
Provost
