Virginia Tech® home

Week of December 5-9

2022

University Rankings: Email to participate in THE Global Academic Reputation Survey 

The Times Higher Education (THE) Global Academic Reputation Survey remains open through the end of the month and email invitations to participate continue to be sent to Virginia Tech faculty. The results of this survey factor into the university’s overall THE World University Ranking which President Sands has set as a priority in the Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries strategic plan.

Emails will come from profilerankings@timeshighereducationemail.com and those who receive it are encouraged to respond. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete, and faculty are asked to check their inboxes (and spam folders) periodically for this invitation. Thank you in advance for your consideration and participation.

CETL: Resources available for faculty preparing for spring 2023 instruction

For faculty and instructors who are developing their plans and materials for spring 2023 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.

Course syllabi requirements, per the Virginia Tech Faculty Handbook, include the following:

While not required, faculty and instructors may also consider additional information in the syllabi such as promoting student success, inclusion and diversity, creating a sense of belonging, and clear communication regarding expectations.

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:

In addition to course content and expectations, some instructors may choose to share their teaching philosophies, student resources available across the university, suggested readings, or policies that relate to their specific disciplines or course needs. Additionally, some instructors opt to include syllabus acknowledgement statements for students to sign that they have read the syllabus and understand the course policies.

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

Equity and Accessibility: Include accommodation statement in event notices

Virginia Tech is committed to ensuring that programs, services, events, and activities are accessible to individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Through the Office of Equity and Accessibility, the university’s goal is to proactively plan events free of physical, communication, or other barriers so all individuals may participate.

Accommodation statements

All institutional and departmental publications that describe or invite public participation or attendance in programs at the university, and all university-sponsored events held off campus, are required to contain a disability accommodation statement.

The statement must be in the invitation or announcement of the event. It should provide an event contact, email, and phone number. The accommodation notice will enable the event planner to arrange reasonable accommodations in advance.

A comprehensive description of the event should include location, environmental conditions, availability of captioning or ASL interpreting, and accessibility features of overnight lodging, if applicable.

Response to accommodations requests

When responding to a request for accommodation, event planners should focus on the accessibility issue and the requested accommodation. Respond as quickly as possible to a participant requesting an accommodation because it may take several communications to work through the details of a particular request. The preferred accommodation from the participant should be given primary consideration.

If the preferred option proves difficult to provide or if there are questions, please consult with ADA and Accessibility Services in the Office for Equity and Accessibility for employee and visitor requests or the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities in Student Affairs for student requests.

For additional information and resources, please read this campus notice or visit the Office of Equity and Accessibility website.

Faculty Affairs: Invitation to join colleagues at Winter Faculty Writing Retreat

The Office of the Provost and Faculty Affairs invites Virginia Tech faculty to spend three days immersed in writing. Each day includes hands-on workshops and plenty of time to write independently in a comfortable, relaxed space among fellow writers.

Faculty are invited to join colleagues from across the campus Monday, January 9 through Wednesday, January 11 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. each day at The Inn at Virginia Tech. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided each day.

The retreat offers dedicated time to make progress on a project, meet other writers from other colleges and departments, and learn helpful strategies for building a sustainable writing practice. Facilitated by Monique Dufour, sessions are designed for writers working on any topic or genre, at any stage of completion. One-on-one consultations will also be available.

Faculty may attend free of charge, but space is limited to 35 participants. A brief application is required. Registration will remain open until December 15. Participants will be notified no later than December 20. If you apply and are accepted, please plan to attend all three days and be willing to participate in the facilitated portions of the retreat.

All Virginia Tech instructional faculty (tenured or tenure-track, collegiate, continued appointment or continued appointment track, research, extension, clinical, instructors, adjuncts) are eligible to participate.

For more information, please read this campus notice or visit the Faculty Writing Retreats website. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please email Catherine Piché during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.

ICYMI: Provost’s message on inventory, strengthening of IT security controls

Institutions across the country are experiencing continuous cyber-attacks. Virginia Tech is no exception. Considering the critical role of computing in accomplishing the university’s mission, it is necessary that all academic units comply with rigorous IT security standards.

As part of the university’s IT Transformation Program, we are in the process of strengthening IT security controls. A key first step is to conduct an inventory of university-owned IT systems and software. Many units have started this inventory already, but we need to accelerate the effort, so I am asking all academic units to complete this inventory, using a risk assessment tool, no later than March 3, 2023.

This work is being supported by the university’s IT Security Office and you or your IT personnel are encouraged to seek assistance by emailing them at itso@vt.edu. We will share an update on our progress at the next Virginia Tech Board of Visitors meeting.

In addition, please be reminded that all university-owned computers must be secured in accordance with University Minimum Security Standards and administrator privileges must comply with the University Computer Administrator Access Standard. As a best practice, computing assets that are no longer used or required should be decommissioned and transferred to Virginia Tech Surplus Property.

Should any questions arise concerning IT security compliance, cybersecurity risk assessment, administrator privileges, or decommissioning of non-essential IT assets, please contact college/department IT administrators and/or the IT Security Office. I realize that this work is both complicated and burdensome, but it is necessary to secure our ongoing ability to achieve our university mission.

Thank you for your support in accomplishing this important task.

Additional Resources and Updates

If you have comments or recommendations for how we can improve the Weekly Communications Update or suggestions for specific information and topics that should be shared with faculty, staff, and academic program personnel, please provide them through this Google form or email Provost Communications.

Please visit VT Ready and the Provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VTx Daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.