UCI Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence (FATE)

The UCI Faculty Academy for Teaching Excellence (FATE) is a means for the campus to highlight the contributions of faculty that have a demonstrated record of creating learning environments that foster the growth of all students, have continued to develop their pedagogy by participating in professional development opportunities, and have been recognized by their peers as model educators. Through FATE, the Office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning aims to create a community of individuals with a shared desire to promote student success. Membership is an honor bestowed on the FATE Fellows, who pledge to continue growing in their roles as educators and mentors.

2024-25 Class of FATE Fellows

• Christine King (Engineering)
• Eric Lindsay (Arts)
• Sergey Nizkorodov (Physical Sciences)
• Kylie Peppler (Education)
• Jenny Rinehart (Social Ecology)
• Gregory Scontras (Social Sciences)
• Ian Straughn (Social Sciences)
• Catherine Vimuttinan (Humanities)
• Jacqueline Way (Humanities)
• Lawrence Wilk (Business)

2024-2025 FATE Projects and Project Reports

• Experiential Learning: It is often noted that experiential learning programs are very beneficial to students, yet very hard to scale, particularly at a large research university like UCI. We would like members of this group to consider how to better scale experiential learning on our campus. This may also include an assessment of existing programs. Download the final report here.

• Faculty Community Building: DTEI is currently brainstorming a new program that will help faculty participate in a pedagogy-focused peer support and feedback program. We envision this as a means to build greater community amongst faculty while also providing valuable insights and potential means to bolster their merit and promotion files. This group will help develop this program for deployment in the 2025-26 academic year. Download the final report here.

• Generative AI in the Classroom: There are numerous potential opportunities for leveraging Generative AI in the classroom to support student and faculty success. We ask this group to specifically consider and provide recommendations for means by which faculty can become more efficient in their teaching with Gen AI, saving both time while also promoting student learning. Download the final report here.

• Easing the High School to College Transition: This group will provide individual faculty and the university as a whole with recommendations to support Freshman student success. This can include creating a primer for faculty teaching gateway courses but also providing recommendations for programs or policies. One such example that has been considered recently is creating a Pass/Not Pass system for first year courses. Download the final report here.

2022-23 Inaugural Class of FATE Fellows

• Brett Sanders (Engineering)
• Brian Sato (Biological Sciences)
• Kelli Sharp (Arts)
• Paul Spencer (Humanities)
• David Trend (Arts)
• Joel Veenstra (Arts)
• Mark Walter (Engineering)
• Adrienne Williams (Biological Sciences)
• Jennifer Wong-Ma (Information and Computer Sciences)
• Ted Wright (Social Sciences)
• Joanne Zinger (Social Ecology)

2022-23 FATE Projects and Project Reports

• Instructional Models for the 21st Century: As we face a new world of higher education, what are the various instructional team models (combinations of ladder-rank faculty, professors of teaching, unit-18 lecturers, graduate students, and learning assistants) that make sense to maximize student success, promote the incorporation of evidence-based pedagogies, and develop inclusive learning environments? How do these models differ by instructional modes (online, in-person, hybrid) and course types (introductory classes, labs, etc.)? How can the campus best support faculty so they can serve as leaders of these teams? This group will engage with these questions and develop policies and best practices to guide the campus moving forward. Download the final report here.

Campus Action Plans:

• Facilitate the increased adoption of LAs
  • Vice Provost Dennin and DTEI have provided guidance to school administrators on managing LAs for their faculty. LA Faculty Advisors continue to be key contributors to this work with some schools transitioning management to a centralized staff member.
  • The campus’ LA training course (University Studies 176) has expanded enrollment and DTEI has incorporated content centered around working with LAs into both its faculty and TA trainings.
• Standardization of terminology used for different instructional support roles/positions
  • DTEI has generated online web resources and held regular update meetings with Associate Deans and other Department Administrators.
• Support the use of tutors in academic programs/courses
  • The LARC team is working with schools to train their tutors and organize their tutoring programs to support student success
• Accommodate the increasing demand for active learning spaces
  • The campus is actively converting traditional classrooms into active learning spaces (most recently DBH1427)

• Helping Faculty Construct Courses that Promote Inclusion and Well-being: This project has two primary objectives (1) To develop messaging to highlight the value in promoting inclusion and well-being while also maintaining high standards and rigor and (2) To construct policy recommendations and teaching materials that faculty and graduate students can leverage to better support inclusion and well-being in the classroom. Download the final report here.

Campus Action Plans:

• Enable faculty to create their own goals to focus on during each review cycle
  • It is already permissible for faculty to consider spending more time on research, teaching, and/or service for a given dean-delegated merit period. In conjunction with the Office of Academic Personnel, OVPTL is constructing guidelines for schools and department to support their faculty interested in this shift.
• Disseminate committee findings to faculty and graduate students
  • DTEI’s Institute for Pedagogical Wellness was created in part as a vehicle to disseminate the FATE findings/recommendations.

• Alternative Assessment Strategies: Practical concerns brought up by recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic and research highlighting inequitable course outcomes produced by traditional assessment methods have made clear the need for assessment options beyond high-stakes exams and other competitive grading schemes. This group will identify alternative assessment strategies (e.g., group exams) or grading models (e.g., specifications grading) that the campus should recommend, along with viable strategies to encourage adoption. Download the final report here.

Campus Action Plans:

• Support faculty in the development of alternative assessments
  • The 2023 and 2024 DTEI Graduate Scholars program calls for applications included an alternative assessment track.
  • DTEI’s new Course Design Essentials Program includes discussions on alternative assessments.
• Provide a space for faculty to incorporate assessment beyond the classroom
  • The campus is currently piloting a Testing Center (Winter and Spring 2026), to better enable courses to offer non-traditional exam opportunities