Academic Affairs Initiatives Update
Editor's note: This message was shared in an email to all faculty and staff within Academic Affairs from Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley.
Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we move through the summer months, I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our students and to UTSA’s strategic destinations. We’ve made strong progress on several key Academic Affairs initiatives that I announced last fall.
- Advancing Open Educational Resources (OER): The OER Task Force, led by Vice Provost and University Librarian Dean Hendrix and Vice Provost for Academic Innovation Melissa Vito, has been working on recommendations aimed at reducing textbook costs and expanding access to high-quality instructional materials. These include integrating OER into college-level goals, improving communication and course markings, incentivizing faculty adoption, exploring AI-supported content development and deepening collaboration across the UT System to support long-term adoption and instructional innovation. View the OER Task Force report.
- Enhancing Well-being: Led by Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Students LT Robinson and Senior Vice Provost for Student Success Tammy Wyatt, the Well-being Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of student wellness needs, informed by listening sessions and campus-wide engagement. The task force identified key supportive factors and barriers to well-being, including academic stress and limited awareness of resources. Recommendations will focus on updating policies such as attendance and the academic calendar, introducing a Fall Break, revising syllabi to include well-being content, improving access to existing programs and launching a campus-wide Well-being Day, and developing a unified referral system and communication strategy to better connect students with support services. View the Well-being Task Force report.
- Expanding Peer Mentoring and Leadership Programs: UTSA continues to lead among peer institutions with one of the most comprehensive and integrated peer mentoring models, offering structured, scalable support aligned with academic, well-being and career success. The Peer Mentoring and Leadership Task Force, led by Senior Vice Provost for Student Success Tammy Wyatt and Vice Provost for Honors Education Jill Fleuriet, has explored opportunities to strengthen leadership development through improved program tracking, deeper integration with UT Health San Antonio and alignment with the Carnegie Leadership for Public Purpose framework. Leadership initiatives are closely tied to civic engagement and career readiness with future opportunities focused on standardizing definitions, enhancing evaluation and expanding UTSA’s national leadership in this space. View the Peer Mentoring and Leadership Task Force report.
Academic Affairs leadership is reviewing final reports from each task force and determining next steps to move the recommendations forward. These reports are an important step in our ongoing efforts to improve the student experience and expand access to high-impact academic and co-curricular opportunities. I encourage you to review the reports at the links above and reflect on the important role you’ve played in our progress and the opportunities ahead. We will continue to communicate updates throughout the summer as appropriate.
Thank you again for your dedication, and a special thanks to the task force members whose insight and collaboration have helped drive this work forward. I look forward to building on this progress as we continue shaping our university’s future together.
