Recommendations Incorporated into Existing Efforts of Other Units in UIC

Instruction and Curriculum

Recommendation

Information

Courses with High DFUW Rates
Courses with high enrollment and DFUW rates are being evaluated and reformed to increase student success.

Clear 4-year Pathway and
Degree Requirements
Address roadblocks that affect students’ academic progress: 1) course availability, 2) credit hour requirements for some majors and minors, 3) reduce five-credit-hour courses, 4) optimize course requirements that delay or complicate student progress to degree.

Enforce Course
Pre-requisite Checking
Assess current course prerequisite requirements and promote an expansion of BANNER enforced prerequisite checking.

Enhance Training for
Teaching Assistants
Enhance training of TAs teaching first-year courses through programs in the Graduate College, colleges, and departments, in collaboration with TLC. grad.uic.edu/assistantships

Streamline Review and
Approval Process of
New Courses
A university-wide committee on Academic Program Approval Process was created to review the processes by which new academic programs are established, terminated, and revised in order to recommend a more streamlined process than currently used.

Enhance New Faculty
Orientation
The new faculty orientation has been enhanced by providing a stronger focus on teaching excellence and student success. faculty.uic.edu/new-faculty/

Strengthen the Value of
Teaching, and Mentoring
in the P&T
Teaching excellence is emphasized and discussed during the all-campus promotion and tenure deliberations process for the faculty. faculty.uic.edu/promotionandtenure/

Implement Online Instructor Evaluation
The Office for Faculty Affairs has implemented an online student evaluation of teaching. faculty.uic.edu/

Establish Syllabus Guidelines
and Clear Attendance Policy
A syllabus policy has been established, along with a syllabus template. The guidelines encourage instructors to develop an attendance policy for their courses. tlc.uic.edu/syllabus-policy/

Faculty’s use of Technology
for Enhancement of
Assessment, Learning,
and Communication
In partnership with ACCC-LTS, TLC has provided extensive programming that supports faculty efforts to infuse technological innovation into their teaching. tlc.uic.edu/resources-2/

Student Learning

Recommendation

Information

Reform and Review of Learning Centers with Respect to Student Success Outcomes
Improvements to the learning centers are being made to increase tutoring hours, access, and space. flamestutoring.uic.edu/

Midterm Grades for Students in 000 and 100 Level Courses
Faculty who teach 000- and 100-level courses are required to report midterm grades. They receive an email from the Registrar with instructions on how to enter mid-term grades. tlc.uic.edu/midsemestergrading-policy/

Promote Early Alerts
Early Alerts are coordinated through the Office for Advising Development and will be further expanded and automated when the IPAS system goes live. advising.uic.edu/early-alerts/

Evaluate and Update Admission Criteria

A pilot is underway (Access) to evaluate admissions criteria based on the research of non-cognitive factors that allows students who are prepared for college but who are not initially selected for admission through another admission pathway. aes.uic.edu

Degree Progress Software
u.achieve, a degree audit system and an upgrade/replacement for DARS, is being considered for implementation.

Transition Coaching

The transition coaches help select students make the transition from high school to college and guide them through UIC’s complex, decentralized system of student and academic support. The transition-coaching program is housed in the Office of First-Year Initiatives (OFYI). ofyi.uic.edu/

Summer College

Summer College has expanded marketing efforts and enhanced course offerings. summercollege.uic.edu/

Identify Contributing Non-Cognitive Factors in Student Success
The Office for Research on Student Success (ORSS) conducts translational research, seeking to answer specific questions about how students might excel at UIC, and where they might stumble. Those research findings inform the development of programs and initiatives to address issues related to student success. orss.uic.edu/

A Central Office for Advising Development
The Office for Advising Development (OAD) is responsible for providing professional development and training for advisors across the university, as well as administering Early Alerts. advising.uic.edu/

Exit Surveys and Research on Retention Factors
Projects to optimize the use of exit surveys that aim to understand graduation and retention factors are currently being coordinated through the efforts of OVPUA, OIR, and OVPAES.

Appropriate Institutional Data Shared with Academic Units
Campus access to data through a user-friendly online platform has been established (Tableau). Access to data will support the evidence-based decision making in curricular reform and planning. oir.uic.edu/

Entering Students Survey
The Entering Student Survey (ESS) is administered annually. The results are now available on the OIR website. www.oir.uic.edu/?q=ESSDashboardPage

Campus Life

Recommendation

Information

Develop a Line of Communication to Receive Feedback about Ineffective Practices
The Office of the Provost has established an online tool to seek input from members of the UIC community about specific policies and practices that are inefficient, redundant, or not functioning effectively. provost.uic.edu/

Establish a Centralized Unit to Coordinate Student Success Initiatives
The Office of Project Management for Student Success Initiatives (OPMSSI) was established to coordinate and facilitate projects that aim at increasing retention and graduation rate, while collaborating across Academic Affairs and Student Affairs. opmssi.uic.edu/

Utilize Student Data for Student Affairs Activities

A working group is exploring ways to centralize, visualize, and disseminate student engagement data through Tableau-based dashboards. vcsa.uic.edu/student-affairs-assessment/

Campus Environment Improvement

Plans to improve campus signage alongside with the branding efforts to create a more welcoming environment have been initiated. Plans are underway to improve Facility Management services both in terms of quality and responsiveness. fmweb.fm.uic.edu/Home/default.aspx

UIC Website Redesign

UIC website has been redesigned. It is a more user-friendly source of information for prospective, admitted, current, transfer, international students, and their parents. pga.uic.edu/

Upgrading and Adding Spaces for Students to Study On-Campus

 
Renovation of spaces that enable community learning and engagement with students and faculty outside of the classroom has been expanded. Electric outlets, charging stations, lockers, Wi-Fi. Limited-time computer hubs for quick use by students have been added. ocle.uic.edu/home/

Adopt Universal Design in Classroom and Campus Accessibility
The university incorporates the guidelines of Universal Design when considering accessibility and usability at the start of any project. drc.uic.edu/universal-design/

Managing College Costs

Recommendation

Information

Enhance the Communication Tools for Cost-related Matters for New Students

Online communication for UIC students regarding cost of education and managing finances has been improved. The efforts by the SSI “Billing Procedure” project team to move up the dates for the billing notifications will complement the improved online tools. admissions.uic.edu/undergraduate/tuition-financial-aid paymybill.uillinois.edu/

Encourage More Degree-Related Employment Opportunities for Students on Campus and Off Campus
On campus employment opportunities have increased. In November 2016, the minimum wage was increased by $1 per hour, correlating with an increase in the median and average pay at UIC.

studentemployment.uic.edu/job_listings.shtml