As UB solidifies its place as one of the nation’s premier public flagship universities, we are focused on developing a coordinated, student-centered culture with student success at the core of our decision-making. The following goals and initiatives encompass campus-wide collaboration, with assessment and support continuing past initial implementation.
Artificial Intelligence plays a role in many facets of higher education. As advancements in AI continue, it is critical for UB to be at the forefront of the impact and influence generative AI has in pedagogical realms. Academic Affairs has numerous projects underway to support our faculty as they work to integrate generative AI into course and curricular redesign, helping to facilitate teaching and learning. In the fall of 2023, a group of faculty and staff were charged with investigating and making recommendations about the use of Generative AI throughout the curriculum across all schools and programs at all levels of study. The report from the Task Force on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning will guide our future initiatives and collaborations.
Through the Curriculum Management Transition project, Academic Affairs is transitioning its legacy curriculum management system to an enterprise, best-in-class system that provides consistency and transparency to the curriculum creation and revision processes for faculty and administrators and provide catalogs for undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, supporting students’ academic journey. The project also includes the development of an undergraduate academic programs website and an enhanced graduate programs website.
Academic Affairs is committed to cultivating an inclusive environment where everyone in our community feels welcomed, valued and has a sense of belonging. Through initiatives such as the Academic Affairs Racial Equities Task Force, community building series, staff mentoring program and implementation of select PACOR recommendations, Academic Affairs is working to create a just culture, eliminate barriers and implement fair and equitable practices and policies that provide opportunities for all to flourish and reach their highest potential.
Designing classrooms, studios, labs, learning landscapes and other learning environments involves multiple goals and stakeholders. With an ambition to be a national leader in place-based learning, Academic Affairs is facilitating the planning, design and construction of learning spaces. UB’s learning spaces will create a continuum of educational environments that reflect UB's values of inclusivity, innovation, and student success, improving the classroom experience for students and enabling pedagogical innovation.
An intuitive, accessible and responsive online learning environment is paramount to the success of our students and faculty. A university’s Learning Management System (LMS) plays a critical role in ensuring and delivering the highest quality academic experience to students. The implementation of the Brightspace learning management system provides our community with a digital learning environment made for 21st-century learners.
Enhancing the education of the next generation of scholars and researchers is paramount at UB. Through the PhD Excellence Initiative, UB is investing in its commitment to recruiting the very best PhD students and providing them with transformative academic programs that prepare them for future success, ensuring our PhD programs remain among the strongest in the world.
UB is committed to providing an engaging and empowering environment where all students have the framework, options and support they need to persist, succeed and graduate. Academic Affairs plays a leading collaborative role in developing the strategy to assess our educational experiences and outcomes, address institutional and financial barriers, and develop collaborative action plans to support student learning and success.