Initiatives

• The Faculty Senate recommended that Fall Break be moved earlier in the semester. The recommendation was accepted by the Provost and future academic calendars will place Fall Break before the last week of October. This recommendation aimed to enhance the academic experience of students.
• In a joint effort with OAA to increase faculty participation in commencement, the Faculty Senate recommended that Fall and Summer commencements be moved from Saturday to Friday. The recommendation was accepted and has been implemented for future commencements.

Since 2023 the Faculty Senate has collaborated with OAA and OIRA to work toward the following goals related to SOIs:

• Create a unique survey for online courses (target launch date of May 2027).
• Deemphasize SOIs as the primary method for demonstrating effective teaching.
• Educate chairs on alternative methods of demonstrating effective teaching.

At the request of the Faculty Senate, in the Fall of 2023, the Office for Academic Affairs (OAA) launched the UA Subvention Grant Program to promote the scholarly activities of UA faculty and partially defray such subvention costs. Academic publishers are increasingly requiring authors to provide financial support (i.e., subvention) to cover the costs of production and/or permissions associated with their books, scholarly publications and/or creative works in the visual and performing arts. Subvention grants are available to eligible faculty who have a formal and accepted contract or invoice detailing expenses dated November 1, of the previous year or thereafter from established university presses, established professional societies, or established publishers for a peer-reviewed work

The Faculty Senate is actively working with PSA and OCTSA to advise UA regarding the expansion of their Employee Education Benefit.

The Faculty Senate has a history of working closely with administration  to expand childcare for Faculty, Staff, and Students. In August 2024, UA opened the Capstone Learning Academy, serving children between the ages of 6 week and 5 years.