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Week of December 16 - 20

2024

OIA: Technical Assistance Program links faculty expertise, industry innovation

Virginia Tech’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP), housed in Outreach and International Affairs’ Office of Continuing and Professional Development, connects companies with university researchers who can validate technologies, improve processes, and solve complex problems.

TAP represents a strategic opportunity for faculty to extend their impact while advancing Virginia Tech’s commitment to service and innovation. Through focused, short-term engagements, the program builds bridges between academic expertise and industry needs, creating value for our faculty, partners, and communities.

TAP basics:

  • Projects capped at $50,000
  • Short-duration engagements 
  • Focus on applying existing knowledge to specific challenges 
  • No new intellectual property generation 
  • Managed by Continuing and Professional Education

Opportunities for faculty:

  • Collaborate directly with companies to define project scope 
  • Expand their professional impact beyond academia 
  • Build relationships that can lead to future research collaborations 
  • Support regional economic development

For more information, read this campus notice, visit the Technical Assistance Program webpage, or email Alyssa McKenney in CPD. 
 

University Libraries: Virginia Tech Experts profile can boost scholarly presence, attract collaborators

Virginia Tech Experts is a searchable online profile system managed through University Libraries that provides a public-facing view of researchers, scholars, and educators at Virginia Tech, along with their publications, research interests, teaching, and additional scholarly activities.

Faculty can easily set up an Experts public profile so their research and expertise can easily be found by Virginia Tech colleagues and potential collaborators around the world. Activate your profile by using the Elements database system with a few simple steps and boost your online scholarly presence.

Virginia Tech Experts supports identifying potential collaborators and discovery of research, scholarship, creative works, and areas of specialization and expertise across disciplines. Currently profiles are only available for Virginia Tech faculty and graduate students.

For more information including overview slides, workshops, and a video guide, visit the Virginia Tech Experts website.
 

CETL: Resources available for faculty preparing for spring 2025 course instruction

For faculty and instructors who are developing their plans and materials for spring 2025 course instruction, Section 9.6.1 (Syllabus and Performance Expectation) of the Faculty Handbook offers guidance for providing students with course syllabi that effectively communicates information about course content, class schedules and attendance, grading scales, and overall expectations of the instructor.

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) has developed a number of useful resources for further helping faculty prepare or update course documents in order to provide students with the necessary information and resources to successfully complete the course. These resources include the following:

For more information and resources on developing/updating course syllabi, access the Faculty Handbook or visit the CETL website.
 

Hokie Wellness: Mental health services for faculty, staff available during the holidays

The holidays can be challenging times. Extra stress, unrealistic expectations, or even sentimental memories that accompany the season can be a catalyst for the holiday blues, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Through Hokie Wellness, Virginia Tech offers faculty and staff a number of mental health resources and support services during the holiday break.

  • TimelyCare offers employees three services:
    • TalkNow, an on-demand service available 24/7 that connects an employee with a mental health professional to address issues promptly by telephone or video. 
    • Twelve scheduled counseling appointments per academic year with counselors licensed in the state where the employee is located. 
    • Unlimited health coaching appointments providing information and guided sessions on well-being topics such as dealing with conflict, time management, exercise, sleep, nutrition, weight management, tobacco cessation, mindfulness, and more.
  • Employee Assistance Program available through Anthem (855-223-9277), Aetna (888-238-6232), Kaiser Permanente (866-517-7042), or Optima Health Vantage HMO (866-846-2682).
  • Hokie Wellness can help you connect to and navigate these and other resources. Call 540-231-8878 (employees) or 540-231-2233 (students).

For more information, read this campus notice or email Hokie Wellness. Be sure to take extra care to tend to your overall health and wellness during this time. You don’t have to feel alone during the holidays.


ICYMI: Timeline announced for Microsoft storage changes

In August 2023, Virginia Tech announced its plans to cap Microsoft storage allocations across the university following Microsoft’s decision to move to a consumption-based storage cost model starting in 2025. The university is now taking steps to prepare for these Microsoft storage changes, which will affect students, employees, and those retirees who receive Microsoft services.

Please be aware of the following dates and changes:

  • April 21, 2025: departmental Microsoft storage plans for employees take effect. Employees will receive a minimum baseline storage amount (25 GB, in most cases) to use within Exchange Online and OneDrive; departments may allocate additional storage for individual employees. 
  • June 2, 2025: Microsoft storage caps for students and retirees take effect. Students, retirees receive 10GB to use in Exchange Online and OneDrive. 
  • June 2, 2025: all Microsoft shared resources (Teams, SharePoint sites, and Groups) must be claimed by a department to remain active. Unclaimed shared resources will no longer be accessible after this date. Starting in February, employees can use the MyCAT Tool to indicate which of their shared resources should be kept and claimed by a department. 
  • July 14, 2025: Unclaimed Microsoft shared resources will be deleted. 
  • Departmental approval is now required for employees to create new Microsoft Teams sites, SharePoint sites, or Groups (as of August 16, 2024).

For more information about these changes, read this campus notice or visit the Microsoft Storage Changes at Virginia Tech website. 


Additional Resources and Updates

Newsletter Spotlight: Virginia Tech Engaged (Office of Engagement)

Please submit a Google form or email Provost Communications for comments or recommendations to improve the Weekly Communications Update or to share faculty, staff, and academic program personnel information.

Visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VT News daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.