Initiatives & Special Projects
Four-Credit Transition Initiative
The goal of the Four-Credit Transition Initiative is to move faculty from teaching three 3-credit courses a semester to two 4-credit courses, thus ultimately freeing up faculty time to focus on research, course development, implementing innovations in teaching or developing new programs.
KCP Visiting Professors Program
The Martin Luther King, Jr. • César Chávez • Rosa Parks Visiting Professors (VP) program was created by the Michigan State Legislature in 1986 as part of the larger King-Chavez-Parks Initiative, designed to stem the downward spiral of college graduation rates for students underrepresented in postsecondary education. The purpose of the VP program is to increase the number of instructors in the classroom to provide role models for academically or economically disadvantaged students.
Open Education Campus Committee
The charge of the Open Education Committee (OEC) is to explore, learn about, and support all things Open in the disciplines and fields in higher education. This includes Open Educational Resources (OERs) as well as Open Pedagogies and Open Practices.
Practice-Based Learning (PBL) Across Campus
PBL encompasses curricular and co-curricular experiences that require students to apply, analyze, evaluate, or create knowledge often in collaboration with others and across disciplinary boundaries. The aim of PBL is to promote a deeper understanding of core concepts through their application, and to provide students with the opportunity to assess and learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes. PBL coursework is built upon student centered projects often associated with complex, authentic problems.
Provost Fellows
The Provost Fellows program of the University of Michigan-Dearborn provides faculty members with an opportunity to experience both the challenges and rewards of administration in higher education. Open The Provost Fellows program of the University of Michigan-Dearborn provides faculty members with an opportunity to experience both the challenges and rewards of administration in higher education. configuration options. The program furthermore provides the Office of the Provost with ongoing faculty involvement, advice, and counsel.
Completed Projects
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted nearly every facet of higher education. In order to continue to effectively care for and support our students, we must also care for ourselves, our dependents, our communities, and each other.
The Future of Work Task Force's charge is to develop principles and recommendations that will support workplace models for employees on the Dearborn Campus. The group’s work is intended to create an institutional framework to aid colleges and units with decision-making, as well as provide tools, resources, and training to support them. In addition, the group will identify key success indicators necessary, post-pandemic, to sustain workforce excellence through the balance of flexibility, accountability and inclusivity.
In Spring 2022, UM-Dearborn was one of the 4 Michigan postsecondary institutions selected to participate in the Curriculum and Courses in Urban Ecosystems (CCUE) program. This program represents a partnership with the John N. Gardner Institute to improve students outcomes in high-risk courses.
The inaugural Provost Roundtable event was held on December 1, 2022 and our colleagues presented their research and insights on the very important topic of mental health.