CAE: After School Week

The Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) is excited to invite you to our annual "After School" Week, taking place May 19-23! This week-long professional development opportunity offers a variety of workshops and sessions designed to enhance your teaching and learning experiences.

Join us for workshops including Blackboard Ultra training on Monday, our two-day Course Design Institute on Tuesday and Thursday, a full-day "Mission Over Moment" dialogue on Wednesday focused on advancing inclusive learning, and a Writing Retreat with Tech Drop-In sessions on Friday.

Whether you're looking to master Blackboard Ultra, redesign your courses with innovative practices, explore inclusive pedagogy aligned with our mission, or make progress on writing projects, there's something for everyone.

Lunch will be provided for participants Tuesday - Friday.

Detailed descriptions of workshop descriptions are below. Please register here: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6828819/cae-after-school-week-spring-2025

Monday, May 19 - Blackboard Ultra & Workday, Zoom
Zoom links will be included in calendar invites

Preparing for Fall with Workday Student: Teaching Dashboard Overview and Q&A – 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Join the Workday Student team to learn more about the functionalities of Workday Student. This session will feature a guided Q&A segment and an overview of the Workday Student Teaching Dashboard, along with the tools available to help you prepare for Fall 2025.

Blackboard Ultra 201: Assessments and Grading - 10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Leverage Blackboard Ultra for collecting and grading student work. In this workshop, we'll learn how to create tests (with or without Respondus Lockdown Browser), individual and group assignments, and set up discussions to engage students. Then use the gradebook to provide personalized feedback, track student progress, and send early alerts for at-risk students.

Blackboard Ultra 301: What’s New in Ultra? 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Blackboard Ultra releases updates on a regular basis, and in this workshop, we'll cover some of the more innovative features available to you. Explore the latest tools and functionalities that Blackboard Ultra Course View has to offer, empowering you to create engaging and effective learning experiences. This workshop will also include how to integrate AI Blackboard features into your courses.

Blackboard Ultra 302: Beyond the Blackboard Ultra Basics 2:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Take your Blackboard Ultra course to the next level by integrating innovative tech tools that foster collaboration, critical thinking, and deeper learning. In this session, we'll explore how AI and third-party tools can enhance student engagement and streamline your teaching. Discover practical strategies to seamlessly incorporate these tools into your course.

Tuesday, May 20 & Thursday, May 22 - Course Design Institute, In-Person
The Center for Academic Excellence is pleased to offer our in-person course design institute (CDI) to assist faculty in developing and revising their courses. The CDI will run in person from 10 am to 3 pm on Tuesday and Thursday, with lunch provided. The CDI is designed so that participants attend both in-person days, with independent work on Wednesday. The CDI engages participants in a collaborative and hands-on process for rethinking or designing their courses from their objectives to their assessments. During the institute, participants will have the opportunity to explore and apply a range of innovative practices in their course development. These include considerations for anti-racist and inclusive pedagogy, as well as strategies for active learning, authentic assessment, and effective technology integration. On the afternoon of May 22, we will have representatives from the Magis Core Signature Element Committees (SJ, WAC/WID, ID) to assist participants to envision how their courses can gain signature element designation and become part of the Magis Core. Lunch will be served for participants on both days.

Wednesday, May 21 - Our Mission in This Moment: Advancing Inclusive Learning in a Time of Pushback, 10 am to 3 pm
A Day of Dialogue, Reflection, and Mission-Guided Action for Faculty and Staff
At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are being challenged across the nation, our responsibility as educators and practitioners at a Jesuit-Catholic institution calls us to lean more deeply into our mission.
Our Mission in This Moment is a full-day event featuring interactive workshops and conversations designed to support faculty and staff in advancing inclusive teaching and community-building practices rooted in our shared values of justice, human dignity, and care for the whole person (cura personalis). Together, we will explore practical strategies for fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom and across campus, reflect on how Ignatian principles can guide our responses to this cultural moment, and recommit to the work of forming students and one another for lives of meaning, leadership, and service.
Whether you’re just beginning to consider these questions or have long been engaged in this work, this day is for anyone who believes that inclusive learning environments are essential to our educational mission, not optional add-ons.
Join us as we re-center our shared purpose and build community in pursuit of living our mission.

Friday, May 23 - Writing Retreat, Syllabus Drop-In, Tech Drop-In
Writing Retreat In-Person
Join the CAE and a community of colleagues for a day-long in-person writing retreat from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Plan, begin, revise, or complete writing projects (e.g., manuscripts, books, syllabi, reports, portfolios/dossiers). Share and report on your writing goals, consult with peers or CAE staff about any stage of your writing process or use the time for some solo writing. Lunch will be served for writing retreat participants.
Syllabus Drop-In and Tech Drop-In In-Person and Zoom (registration not required)
Academic Computing will also be available for drop-in conversations around Blackboard Ultra from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm.

Register Here: https://form.123formbuilder.com/6828819/cae-after-school-week-spring-2025