Provost's Messages

January 13, 2021  |  Three Quick Spring Updates

Dear Faculty and Staff in Academic Affairs: 

Good morning! This email provides information related to some student success activities. 

  1. Friday’s Forum on Student Success. Along with the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and the Office of Undergraduate Studies, I am pleased to be co-hosting a forum on undergraduate student success this Friday (1/15) at 11:00 am. The title for the forum isSupporting Students in the Time of "Now What?!": From Data to Delivery.  Presenters will share data they have collected on the student experience this past fall, including data on student performance, student satisfaction, and students’ perceptions of different course modalities, among others. CTE will also provide insights into strategies faculty can implement this spring to further support student learning. Here are the Zoom details for the forum:

https://uncw.zoom.us/j/85996329708?pwd=dUtMKysvcytUYmRWSmMzS1l4WGc2dz09
Meeting ID: 859 9632 9708
Passcode: 509504
One tap mobile
+13017158592,85996329708# US (Washington D.C)
+13126266799,85996329708# US (Chicago)

  1. Withdraw/Passing Deadline Extended. In keeping with System Office guidance and our own desire to offer students academic flexibility during the global pandemic, we will extend the Withdraw/Passing deadline this Spring to April 21st (the date that grading opens). After that date students can contact their dean if they need a Withdraw/Extenuating Circumstances. We are in the process of updating the academic calendar with this new information, and we will inform students of the revised date asap.
  1. Starfish. As we begin classes, please be on the lookout for communications related to Starfish, our student success and advising tool, asking you to verify that the students on your roster are indeed the students attending your class. In addition, I really urge faculty to use Starfish as much as possible this semester to raise “alerts” for students who seem to be struggling or who are not actively engaged in your class. These alerts not only inform students about their standing in a class, but also inform advisors – and if multiple alerts are received for a particular student, the advisor can follow up with that student to offer support. This is a particularly important feature of Starfish given the various challenges our students are facing, and it provides us an opportunity to flag “at-risk” students for early intervention. (There is also a lot of other cool stuff that Starfish can do -- if you have questions about Starfish, please contact Melissa Friddle.)

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the above. Take care and have a great day!

Yours,

Jamie

James J. Winebrake, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of North Carolina Wilmington
E: winebrakej@uncw.edu
Pronouns: he, him, his