Leading Change in Public Higher Education

In his October 18, 2012 Annual Address, President Young launched his Tomorrow's University Today initiative, highlighting the need to focus on major changes sweeping higher education and for the UW to be at the forefront.  He also stressed our role in meeting society’s most challenging issues through collaborative research (video of address).

Recent activity from the Two Years to Two Decades Initiative (2y2d) does just this, developing new tools and services that are working to transform teaching and learning for the digital age, foster research and teaching collaborations, and increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency in administrative groups to enable us to devote more of our resources to our core missions of teaching, research, and service. 

Collaboration Tools & Services

On the new Office of Research Fostering Research Collaboration website, researchers can access a host of tools, templates, databases, and other resources, as well as view profiles of all UW Research Centers.

• Faculty connect & collaborate using new searchable databases, including UW-specific information on faculty expertise, abstracts, and citations. More information on the databases listed below is available on the 2y2d Resources Page
  • Scopus
  • Husky SciVal Experts
  • Husky SciVal Experts for Members


• New group supports development of complex grants. The Office of Research’s Complex Proposals Management Group provides staff support for large, multi-institution projects, including budget and proposal development.


•  SciVal Funding connects faculty with funding opportunities.  The database includes funding opportunities from more than 3,000 international sponsors.


• The Guidelines for Establishing Organized Research Units provides policies and procedures required for setting up a new center.
  
  
• The Handbook for Leaders of Organized Research Units (ORUs) or Collaborative Research Teams provides detailed guidance, best practices, and tools for leaders and administrators who are setting up an ORU.

On the 2y2d website, tools for fostering collaboration include:

Maps of connections between units—joint appointments, joint courses, and multiple majors. The map at right displays joint faculty appointments UW-wide. Detailed maps for all UW Schools and Colleges were shared with deans to inform decision making, and are available on the 2y2d website.

Teaching & Learning Tools & Services

Faculty share teaching techniques in new resource videos on lecture capture and writing exercises that increase understanding of complex topics.

New, integrated technologies are available for teaching & learning. T&L tools are available online from UW-IT. The Canvas learning management system makes assignment submission and grading more efficient and supports faculty innovations such as holding online office hours or recording audio feedback on assignments. The Tegrity lecture capture and presentation tool enables self-paced learning. A pilot of eTexts (online textbooks) is underway.

Faculty share ways to use technology to enhance student learning in UW-IT Ignite talks. In the October 2012 Ignite! session, topics included online tools to facilitate:

• Using free social and open tools to engage learners
• Team-based learning
• Maintaining class momentum and discussions during inclement weather
• Homework and assessment, including systems that use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide individualized assignments and feedback to chemistry students

Faculty experiment with “flipping the classroom.”
Tools like Tegrity make it possible to have students view lectures at home, freeing up precious class time for problem-solving and collaborative work. A Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)-led learning community brings faculty together to explore potential pedagogies. Faculty interested in joining a Winter or Spring learning community on "flipping" can contact bnulty@uw.edu.

Faculty get help using new technologies to achieve learning goals. UW-IT provides implementation support, workshops, and online training modules for Canvas and Tegrity, while the CTL offers guidance on using these tools to meet course goals and increase student learning. A new 2y2d resource video describes how faculty are using lecture capture technologies, including Tegrity.

Faculty share experiences in learning communities organized around topics such as

• Engaging students in larger classes
• Using social media for learning
• Managing courses with Canvas and Tegrity

Tools & Services to Improve Organizational Effectiveness

Organizational Effectiveness Initiative (OEI) is helping units save money and improve services with free consulting services available to UW groups. Through November 2012, 44 UW units have partnered with OEI to improve administrative functions. Savings in 2012 have resulted in a return on investment (ROI) of 2:1. Projects currently under way are on track to produce an ROI of 10:1, saving nearly $4 million.

Campus units, such as the UW Police and Libraries, access OEI services, which include consulting, facilitating, and training in organizational needs assessment, strategic planning, process improvement, change management, and metrics development. To request services, contact OEI.

Self-access online training helps UW teams help themselves.  Additional resources available include self-assessment tools and templates.  Customized, unit-specific solutions are also available for groups working with the OEI team.

Learn what’s working for colleagues. A searchable database contains information on efforts to improve quality and efficiency across campus. UW community members can upload and view both academic and administrative efforts on The UW Activities & Improvements sharing website.

As part of leading change in public higher education, we invited Dr. James Duderstadt, a visionary educational leader and former president of the University of Michigan, to visit the University of Washington on November 2, 2012, as a Jessie and John Danz lecturer. His talk, “Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Imperatives, Regional Challenges, National Responsibilities, and Emerging Opportunities,” discussed the challenges and opportunities facing major research universities, who are increasingly “privately-funded but publicly-committed.”

During his visit Dr. Duderstadt met with groups across campus, including the members of the Sustainable Academic Business Plan steering committee and 2y2d Teaching and Learning committee and work groups (at right).

Professor Duderstadt’s vision was set out in a 2011 paper in which he encouraged institutions of higher education to face the challenges of our time; like President Young, he is convinced that “the future belongs to those who face it squarely.” 

You can read the complete paper or a short synopsis of key points in the first of a series of reports by the Provost on trends and issues in higher education (see next news item for more information).

Provost Reports on
Leading Change in Public Higher Education

This year, the provost is beginning a series of reports on trends and issues affecting higher education today. The goal is to create a common understanding of the challenges and opportunities we face as we work to lead change in public higher education. Reports are sent via email to the UW community and will be archived on the provost's website. The first report summarized James Duderstadt's report on global imperatives in higher education.

Fall 2012

Table of Contents

Leading Change

Collaboration

Teaching and Learning

Organizational Effectiveness

Duderstadt Visit

Provost Reports

Resource Videos

A new 2y2d resource video describes how faculty are using lecture capture technology, including Tegrity, to "flip" the classroom, freeing classtime for group work and other types of active learning.

Haideh Salehi-Esfahani first used lecture capture technology when she was confined to home with an ankle injury, then made it a regular part of her teaching.

Students say they appreciate the ability to view and review lectures at their own pace.

In a new 2y2d resource video, Mary Pat Wenderoth discusses how depth of learning increased among her biology students as they regularly wrote paragraphs reflecting on topics covered in class.

2y2d Timeline

 Detailed timeline table

2y2d priority initiatives for 2012–2013

Teaching & Learning in the 21st Century

Fostering Collaboration in the 21st Century

Organizational Effectiveness

Visioning Documents

• UW of the 21st Century
• Fostering Collaboration the 21st Century
• Teaching & Learning the 21st Century
• Administration for the 21st Century
• The Campus of the 21st Century

Visioning Data

"Society's most pressing issues" the UW can address, as determined by 2y2d focus groups.

Leadership

2y2d Organizational Chart

Steering Committees and Working Groups

Danz Lecture

Danz lecturer James Duderstadt visits the Research Commons in Allen South Library with Dean of UW Libraries Lizabeth Wilson (center) and  Librarian Lauren Ray (right).

Prior to the Danz lecture by James Duderstadt, attendees view posters on 2y2d Initiatives.

uw2y2d@uw.edu