Annual Reports
2023
(July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023)
- Hired Deans of the Graduate School (started 9/1/2022) and Herff College of Engineering
(started 1/1/2023)
- Hired Interim Deans of the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Communication
and Fine Arts, Fogelman College of Business, and Herff College of Engineering
- Onboarded four deans and four interim deans to their new roles
- New faculty orientation program for 71 new faculty in August 2022
- Reviewed promotion and/or tenure dossiers with the followed outcomes:
- Tenure upon appointment: 3 (1 approved by Board of Trustees September 2022, 2 approved June 2023)
- Tenure: 1 (approved by Board of Trustees June 2023)
- Tenure and promotion to associate professor: 25 (approved by Board of Trustees June 2023)
- Promotion to professor: 18
- Promotion to associate professor of teaching: 66
- Promotion to professor of teaching: 6
- Promotion to clinical associate professor: 2
- Promotion to associate professor of practice: 4
- Hosted 2023 Faculty Awards Luncheon recognizing recipients of the 2023 Willard R.
Sparks Eminent Faculty Award, 2023 Distinguished Research Awards, 2023 Distinguished
Teaching Awards
- Presented the TIAA Excellence Award for Academic Affairs at the 2023 Employee Excellence
Awards Ceremony
- Served on THEC task force to improve post-approval degree program monitoring process/metrics
- Charge an academic integrity task force to work on mechanisms to promote and support
a culture of academic integrity
- Comprehensive academic affairs policy updates resulting in
- 29 published updated policies
- 3 updated policies in collaborative revision stage
- Offered two promotion workshops (one for assistant professors in teaching, clinical,
practice, and research tracks, one for associate professors in all tracks) and one
promotion and tenure workshop
- Updated all promotion and/or tenure forms and rearranged dossier contents to clarify
which parts of dossier are needed based on workload distribution
- Updated all promotion and/or tenure forms and rearranged dossier contents to clarify
which parts of dossier are needed based on workload distribution
- Established 2023 professional development theme of cultural responsivity, with resource sharing website
- Nominated team of six (three faculty, three staff) to participate in the Student Experience
Project (SEP) Institute, supported team proposal to launch SEP Community of Practice
(starting with faculty fellows in chemistry, mathematics, and management information
systems)
- Updated PDA policy: all full-time faculty now eligible
- Provided guidelines to faculty on annual report content and to faculty supervisors on constructive and
meaningful performance evaluation
- Created a culture valuing annual feedback through the annual performance evaluation process that resulted in 100% of faculty evaluations completed for the first time in known institutional history.
- Charged a transfer task force to consolidate all transfer policies/practices, improve
value proposition/marketing for transfer students, and define how the University of
Memphis can become the most transfer-friendly institution in the country: key outcome
– Max Credit Pledge and pending acquisition of TESS (transfer equivalency tool with
degree planning for transfer inquiries)
- Established Earned Admissions options for undergraduate applicants not meeting admission
standards
- Option 1: Earn 15 transferable credits from another academic institution with a 2.75 GPA to
automatically earn admission as a transfer student. Efforts started to reduce transfer
barriers by direct transfer of student records between One Step Closer partner institutions
and the University of Memphis.
- Option 2: Tiger Prep Academy pilot program: adapt the LiFE Prep Academy online self-paced program
that teaches skills for academic success, life in general, and professional development
to a recent high school graduate audience, offered to waitlisted applicants at no
initial charge, with 12 pre-assessed experiential learning credits awarded upon completion
for $75/credit hour (fully or partially covered by scholarship for timely completion
to be ready for fall or spring admission)
- Option 3: Earned Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree
- Option 4: Take a dual enrollment course with the UofM during the senior year of high school
(admission for dual enrollments meets undergraduate admission standards)
- Option 5: Complete the four Tiger Prep Dual Enrollment courses prior to high school graduation
- Option 1: Earn 15 transferable credits from another academic institution with a 2.75 GPA to
automatically earn admission as a transfer student. Efforts started to reduce transfer
barriers by direct transfer of student records between One Step Closer partner institutions
and the University of Memphis.
- Initiated Review of degree program CIP codes to identify programs that might be converted
to an appropriate CIP code on the STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) list (international
recruitment benefit due to extended timeframe allowed for STEM OPT visa)
- One Step Closer partnerships signed with Southwest Tennessee Community College and
Northwest Mississippi Community College (adding to prior partnerships established
with Dyersberg State Community College and Jackson State Community College in fiscal
year 2022)
- MOU signed with Ghana Scholarship Secretariat that pairs stipend support from Ghana
Scholarship Secretariat with tuition/fee contribution from STEM graduate programs
for Ghanian doctoral students or with tuition/fee contribution from fundraising efforts
for Ghanian undergraduate student in any discipline
- First ever medical school admissions guaranteed Interview Agreement signed between
the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee Health Science Doctor of
Medicine Program for University of Memphis students
- Engaged Ruffalo Noel Levitz to perform a comprehensive enrollment services analysis, leading implementation of recommendations
- Immunization requirements decoupled from registration – We have worked around the
TBR mod to allow students to register full time regardless of their immunization status.
Big impact on NSO and huge enrollment barrier removed for students.
- Repeat addendum – For English, if a student retakes 1010 or 1020 and they score lower
than the original attempt and now must repeat it, the registrar’s office has authority
to reverse the repeat to honor the original attempt. This helps with credit coming
in later where a student could have been unsure of credit they will receive or if
they make a mistake and retake. This addendum was added to catalog.
- Drop date extended from 50% to 75% of term – This stops the manual work and student
run-around. Students can make better informed decisions about whether to drop or remain
registered after reviewing midterm grades. Policy was updated to clean up language
and reflect this change.
- Incomplete deadlines – Incomplete deadlines were moved from 45 days / 90 days for
UG/GR to one major term to minimize extensions and give students more time to complete
if instructors agree. The catalog was updated to reflect this change and provide authority
to instructors that they can provide less time than policy if they choose.
- WN and FN grading – Two new grades will indicate if a student has stopped out or never
showed. FN will be used for first part of term summer grading and WN will be used
for second part of term summer grading.
- Preferred name – Preferred name will be used for Campus ID cards starting in July,
currently showing in Canvas, and will be showing in Banner 9 Faculty Grading for first
part of term summer. Collaborated with HR to extend usage for faculty and staff.
- Pronouns – Created a list of pronouns that can be used by students. This will be collected
in next application cycle. A process was created in the Registrar’s Office for collecting
current student pronouns.
- Pre-requisite bursts to students – Registrar’s office is working on a process to notify
students when they have a missing prerequisite instead of only sending to departments
- Residency requirements – Under review to be more transfer friendly (removing the 30
of last 60 and changing to a major percentage as Arts and Sciences does)
- Emergency contact dashboard – Registrar’s office is working with OIR on a dashboard
to help when emergencies arise and we need to contact individuals in a building, by
time, by course, etc. This will provide a better mechanism to offer guidance to both
faculty and students impacted by events on or around campus.
- Registration windows – These were shortened to have students register sooner which
is critical especially before winter break.
- Winter intersession – Collaborative input collected on the feasibility and logistics of a winter intersession (to be a part of term within the spring academic term) - implementation decision to be made by September 1, 2023