In observance of Labor Day, the RAC will be closed on September 7, 2026.

Hey everyone! We hope you are having a great second week of school! 

Feel free to stop by our table during Involvement Fest TOMORROW (9/2) from 12-2pm! We will be located at North Lawn, which is outside on the grass between the north entrance of the Commons and the library. 

Hope to see you there! 

To all chip users,

We are pleased to announce that the High-Performance Computing Facility (HPCF) is launching new drop-in office hours to provide more direct support for the chip cluster community. Whether you are troubleshooting job failures, navigating Slurm, or need advice on optimizing your research workflows, our team is here to help.

New Office Hours Schedule

Starting this month, you can find us in Engineering 233I. You can find a list of all upcoming office hours here, or note our recurring schedule:

First and Third Wednesdays from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Second and Fourth Thursdays from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

How to Prepare

To help us assist you as efficiently as possible, we recommend coming prepared with the following information:

• A clear description of the issue: Be ready to explain what you are trying to achieve and where the process is failing.

• Documentation: Have your job scripts, error logs, or specific error messages ready to share.

• Active Tickets: If you have already submitted a support request, please bring the ticket number or any previous correspondence.

Additional Resources

As a reminder, you can always access support and technical documentation through our primary portals:

• Submit a Support Ticket:Research Computing Support Form

• Online Documentation:UMBC HPCF - chip Wiki

We look forward to seeing you in Engineering 233I and helping you advance your research on chip.

Best regards,

The HPCF Support Team

You launched the Ally course accessibility report, worked through the flagged issues, and watched your score climb to 85% or higher. Green across the board! It feels like the job is done.

But a few weeks into the semester, a student reaches out and tells you they couldn't get through to the reading you linked from the library database, or the lecture video you just posted had no usable captions. How is that possible if Ally said everything was great?

Ally is a powerful tool, but not a complete accessibility audit. It's built to catch specific, well-defined accessibility issues in specific kinds of content uploaded to your course. Ally is transparent about the fact that a lot falls outside that scope. Knowing where those edges are is just as important as knowing how to use the tool itself. Here's what Ally can't see, can't fix, or doesn't fully resolve, and what you can do about each one.

1. Anything Linked or Stored Outside Blackboard

Ally only scans files that actually live inside the course, content you've uploaded or built directly in Blackboard. If you've linked out to a file in Google Drive, OneDrive, or Box, Ally has no way to see inside it. That means those linked files don’t get a meter, a score, or a fix suggestion no matter how inaccessible it is. 

• For linked or external files, the fix has to happen at the source. Use accessibility checkers built into Microsoft Word or PowerPoint before sharing. 

• Google Docs and Slides do not have an accessibility checker; however, activate Gemini and run this prompt: “Please check this file for accessibility using WCAG 2.1 AA as the guiding standard.” The result should give you some feedback and guidance for improvements.

2. Publisher and Library-Integrated Content

Course materials delivered through a publisher's LTI tool, a textbook platform, or a library database link are similarly invisible to Ally. These integrations pull content into your course from outside systems that Ally doesn't have access to.

• If a student reports a problem with a publisher's homework platform or an e-reserve reading, that's a conversation with the publisher or the library, not something Ally will flag or fix.

• If you need additional information about the accessibility of a specific tool we license, please ask DoIT or Instructional Technology. 

3. Content Outside the Main Course Area

Depending on how your course is structured, Ally's scanning focuses on uploaded files and content created in the course content area, not necessarily everything you build in Blackboard. Announcements, discussion prompts, and assignment instructions may not get the same scrutiny as an uploaded PDF or Word document. Yet they still require a close review to ensure accuracy, accessibility, and readability.

• If you're writing a long, image-heavy announcement or a detailed set of assignment instructions directly in Blackboard's editor, treat it with the same care as an uploaded file. This includes clear headings, real alt text, and no walls of unbroken text (i.e., consider shorter paragraphs, bulleted lists, and white space).

• When in doubt, check whether that piece of content has an Ally indicator next to it at all. If not, it's likely not being scanned.

Image: When editing in YuJa, request auto-captions and ensure the Language Set selected is English. 

4. Video, Audio Content and “Fixed” Captions That Aren’t Really Fixed

With the exception of linked YouTube videos, Ally does not check the accessibility of video or audio content. At UMBC, that responsibility lives with YuJa, our video platform, not with Ally. YuJa provides its own AI-based captioning, typically in the 90 to 95% accuracy range.

• Auto-generated captions are a starting point, not a finish line; they need a human review to catch misheard names, technical terms, and punctuation before they're reliable and usable.

• If embedding a YuJa video into Blackboard, don't assume a good Ally score on the surrounding content means the video is accessible. It's a separate check, in a separate system.

When it comes to captioning and Ally flags an issue, having an available caption (even auto-generated) doesn't mean it’s an accessible caption. 

• Auto-generated captions are not considered valid on their own because they're not reliably accurate enough to meet accessibility standards.

• Budget time to review, correct, or clarify auto-captions, especially for technical vocabulary, names, or acronyms specific to a discipline.

5. Very Short or Unusual Files

Some of Ally's checks only apply above a certain file size or in certain formats. For example, one common PDF accessibility check -- headings -- only applies to PDFs with at least three pages, while the same check in Word documents applies only to files with at least 12 paragraphs. As a result, Ally may not flag missing headings in shorter PDFs or Word documents.

• Don't assume a shorter document is fine simply because Ally didn't flag anything. 

• Give those shorter files and images the same manual glance you'd give longer files.

None of this means Ally isn't worth using. It catches a huge share of the most common issues, automatically, without asking you to become an accessibility expert. But "green meter" and "fully accessible" aren't quite the same thing. The most reliable and accessible courses combine what Ally flags with a critical human review of content, tools, and areas it can't reach.

If you’ve followed the guidance and the issue persists, or if you’re working with a complex document type you’re not sure how to fix, Instructional Technology is here to help. You can reach us via RT to submit a ticket or schedule a 1:1 consultation.

REGISTER

The rise of next-generation Quantum Computing has attracted the attention of academia, industry, government, and state agencies. However, Quantum Computers are still in their infancy, and their adoption remains slow. This is in part because the development and adoption of Quantum Computers still requires overcoming qubit decoherence and applying Quantum algorithms to commercial or scientific-scale problems. Moreover, there is a lack of involvement from both developers and researchers with established experience in Physics, AI systems, and Security. In addition, there are several challenges in Quantum research, such as scalability and interoperability. Different challenges will also arise when deploying in different applications. 

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

•  Keynotes & Technical Talks: Insights from UMBC academic leaders. 
• Federal Panel: A comprehensive view on challenges and adoption needs.
• Collaborative Breakout Sessions: Exchange ideas and identify new research directions.
• Networking: Connect with peers across UMBC and government sectors. 

As a result of the Symposium, we will offer participants a comprehensive update of both AI and Quantum near term technology readiness and the status of coupled AI-Quantum relevant applications. In addition, we will summarize the research challenges and future directions, and specify potential application areas that offer near term scientific and commercial benefits.

The symposium is organized by CARTA Center, QSI Center and AI Institute.   Please visit the event webpage for an agenda and to register.

We thank our sponsors: UMBC’s Office of Research and Creative Achievements (ORCA), the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CNMS), the Information Systems Department, and the CSEE Department.

Hi alll, does anyone have any floor or desk lamps they are looking to get rid of?

Have you ever considered a career in elder law, or wondered how attorneys use law, policy, and advocacy to support older adults and their families?

Join the Erickson School of Aging Studies, UMBC Pre-Law Advising, and The International Academic Honor and Professional Society in Gerontology, Sigma Phi Omegafor Careers in Elder Law: Where Law Meets Aging, a virtual career webinar featuring practicing attorneys working in different areas of elder law.

Students will hear directly from professionals about what their work actually looks like, the paths that brought them into the field, and the skills and experiences that can help students prepare for careers at the intersection of law and aging.

You’ll also learn how you can begin building that foundation right here at UMBC.

Through the Erickson School of Aging Studies, students can develop interdisciplinary expertise in aging, policy, health, services, and issues affecting older adults, while UMBC Pre-Law Advising can help students explore legal careers and prepare for the path to law school.

Tuesday, October 20 | 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Webex

Registration is required. Register to receive the webinar information!

Registration link: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGsQsy2YbeH8LJWXaL_W38JRZu7zFy6RqZzgFdHLMrBA7m_A/viewform

Questions? Contact Molly Timko, Pre-Law Advisor at mtimko@umbc.edu or Rumsha Khan, Erickson School of Aging Studies, Student Pathways & Engagement Coordinator at rumshak1@umbc.edu.

Have you ever considered a career in elder law, or wondered how attorneys use law, policy, and advocacy to support older adults and their families?

Join the Erickson School of Aging Studies, UMBC Pre-Law Advising, and The International Academic Honor and Professional Society in Gerontology, Sigma Phi Omega for Careers in Elder Law: Where Law Meets Aging, a virtual career webinar featuring practicing attorneys working in different areas of elder law.

Students will hear directly from professionals about what their work actually looks like, the paths that brought them into the field, and the skills and experiences that can help students prepare for careers at the intersection of law and aging.

You’ll also learn how you can begin building that foundation right here at UMBC.

Through the Erickson School of Aging Studies, students can develop interdisciplinary expertise in aging, policy, health, services, and issues affecting older adults, while UMBC Pre-Law Advising can help students explore legal careers and prepare for the path to law school.

Tuesday, October 20 | 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Webex

Registration is required. Register to receive the webinar information!

Registration link: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGsQsy2YbeH8LJWXaL_W38JRZu7zFy6RqZzgFdHLMrBA7m_A/viewform

Questions? Contact Molly Timko, Pre-Law Advisor at mtimko@umbc.edu or Rumsha Khan, Erickson School of Aging Studies, Student Pathways & Engagement Coordinator at rumshak1@umbc.edu.

University of Baltimore School of Law Fall Open House

Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2026 

Time: 6:00pm-8:30pm 

Location: In-Person at UBalt Law

Angelos Law Building, 1401 N. Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland

Experience a mock class, admissions presentation, student panel and tour!
Register Today!

Attendees will receive an application fee waiver.

This September, the Division of Institutional Equity has a full lineup of events and opportunities for the UMBC community. All events and opportunities across the division are open to full participation by all community members. Here’s how you can get involved!

September 2 | 11:00 am - 2:00 pm | Math/Psychology: 222
Office of Disability Access & Resources: Fall 2026 Open House

Join the Office of Disability Access and Resources for its Fall 2026 Open House to learn more about the people, programs, and resources that support accessibility and disability inclusion at UMBC. Meet the DAAR team, discover resources for students and employees, ask questions about accommodations and accessibility, and enjoy a scavenger hunt, free snacks, and swag.

September 2 | 12:00 pm | Math/Psychology: 222

Accessibility Tour: Wayfinding, Skywalks, and Resources

Join the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services for a guided tour of UMBC’s “Campus on a Hill”. Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, and this is a great opportunity to learn about campus accessibility features, challenges, and how you can be an effective Accessibility Ally! 

September 3 | 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Library and Gallery: Albin O. Kuhn 

The Woman of Color Reception

Join the Women’s, Gender, & Equity Center for its annual Woman of Color Reception, in coordination with the Women of Color Collective and Women and Gender Minorities in STEM discussion groups. This gathering offers an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to connect, network, and hear from a panel of successful Women of Color about their educational and professional journeys. Light refreshments will be provided.

September 22 | 11:00 am - 1:00 pm | University Center: 312

Your Story Belongs Here (Faculty/Staff Edition) 

Join us for Your Story Belongs Here!, a storytelling experience featuring short videos from UMBC faculty and staff sharing real moments of doubt, discovery, and belonging. Participants will reflect on their own experiences, engage in guided small-group dialogue, and connect with colleagues across campus while building community. Limited seats are available, so be sure to register in advance.

September 24 | 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm | Fine Arts: 118 

Culture Builders Keynote: Building Beloved Community

Join the Office of Community and Culture for a special keynote conversation exploring beloved community, revolutionary love, and the work of cultivating more connected, inclusive, and humane campus communities. This campus-wide event invites students, staff, and faculty to reflect on how we care for one another across differences and imagine new possibilities for belonging and collective flourishing at UMBC.

September 29 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am | The Commons: 318

The 80/20 Principle: Restorative Practices knowledge, capacity, and community building : Building Before Breaking: RP Foundation

This fall, DOIE invites the UMBC community to deepen their restorative practices skills and strengthen community connection through two complementary series of The 80/20 Principle workshops. The first, Building Before Breaking: RP Foundations, offers interactive learning on the foundations of restorative practices, featuring a guest speaker from UMD.

September 30 | 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Retriever Activity Center: 106

Circles for Beloved Community: UMBC Then and Now

Circles for Beloved Community series creates space for participants to share openly, build trust, and reflect. This session invites the community to explore shared experiences and imagine what belonging and community can look like at UMBC.

Discussion Group Meetings

Join the Women’s, Gender, and Equity Center this month for weekly discussion group meetings! Connect, share, and grow through spaces such as Grad Connect, We Believe You, Rebuilding Manhood, Spectrum, Women of Color Collective, Women and Gender Minorities in STEM, Returning Adult Learners, Athletics Group, Between Femmes, and Head Space. Visit https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/womenscenter/events?mode=upcoming&page=1 for more information and schedules for each group.

Student Mandatory Annual Online Training

In August, students received an email from “Vector Solutions” with instructions on how to access and complete mandatory annual online training from UMBC’s Office of Equity and Civil Rights. All students must complete the online training by the deadline of September 16, 2026, to ensure enrollment eligibility for future terms. Please note that students who have been personally affected by sexual or interpersonal violence and are concerned they may not be able to complete the training in this format can request an exemption from the training. Students who submitted a training exemption request form to ECR in Fall 2024 or 2025 do not need to submit the form again. Additional information about the training can be found on the ECR website. Please send any questions about the training to ecrtraining@umbc.edu.

Annual Mandatory Training for Employees

Please stay tuned for instructions to complete this year's annual mandatory employee Title IX training. Instructions will be posted to ECR's website soon.