Weekly Newsletter: Tuesday Is News Day

CLS Quick Links

CLS Evaluation Materials

2025-2026 Evaluation Deadlines Full Calendar

Academic Year 2025-2026 Collection Form

This form is created and maintained by the Assistant Department Chair for CLS's Evaluation Committee (Beth Frye).  Use this form to submit syllabi, Faculty Reflection Forms, and self-reported mandatory training for Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026. 

Submit Syllabi by the second week of classes (varies by session; Sept. 5, 2025 for 16 week)

Submit Faculty Reflection Forms (Jan 30, 2026; Jun 12, 2026; Sept 4, 2026)

Submit self-reported Mandatory training (May 29, 2026)

CLS K.I.S.S Spreadsheet

CLS K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Sweetheart) 

This spreadsheet allows CLS faculty to see and understand all required professional development tasks as well as several optional PD opportunities.  

CLS Faculty Handbook

CLS Faculty Handbook

The Faculty Handbook can answer many questions about CLS policy, staffing, evaluation, and more! Plus, you can find instructions for badge requests and grade changes.  The easiest way to navigate the CLS Faculty Handbook is the search field.  Look for the magnifying glass 🔍in the upper right corner of the homepage and type your keyword (badge request or change eligibility).

Conference Travel Request Form

LAHC Travel Expense Request 

File this Travel Expense Request with the LAHC Dean's office to request money for upcoming conference travel and attendance.  

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📣Shout Outs 📣

Congratulations to Erica Bertero, Carla Coleman, Maribel Lujan, David Rice, and Diane Whitley-Grote who  received Kudos in a recent student survey conducted by Student Accessibility Services.  That means that these amazing CLS faculty were called out, by name, when students were asked which faculty members did an exceptional job. And--I learned that CLS had THE MOST faculty celebrated by the SAS survey than any other department. We--I mean y'all--rule! Woot! woot! and Huzzah!  to each of you for making a memorable difference in the student experience! 

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Spring 26 Textbooks (For Adjuncts)

Throughout September, CLS Adjuncts will be going through the staffing process for Spring 2026. Once you accept classes in eStaffing or by email, please submit your textbook requests using the Google Forms below (even if you go Zero Textbook Costs or use Open Educational Resources). 

ENGL Textbook Selection: Spring 2026 

OR 

INRW Textbook Selection: Spring 2026 

The CLS department tracks and enters textbook info for all faculty, so you can ignore the emails from the bookstore.  In the lead up, please look over the CLS Textbook List, the OER Resources (ENGL), the OER Resources INRW, or the Bedford Bookshelf (an inexpensive way for students to access a variety of Bedford texts)!

Full-time faculty should have added their textbooks to their campus batch files in early September.  (Ahem!)

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CLS–English Staffing Outline

So, I have been working on a document to explain how we staff English classes. You'd think it would be a simple, elegant affair. It's complicated--but I think it is fair. When all is said and done, I will add this to the CLS Faculty Handbook. But for now, email me at Wendy Elle and let me know what's confusing and any questions you have! 

Quick add from Anja: I'll start sending out emails to our Dual Credit specialists this week.  Look for an email about Spring 26 staffing if you are a phase 2 Dual Credit specialist.  If you are wondering when that email might come, you can see where you are in the draw order by logging into estaffing, going to Reports, and clicking English.

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Support for Faculty in this Current Moment

If you are concerned about the ways that current events may affect your ability to do your job, check out the support that can be offered through AAUP and AFT.  

The American Association of University Professors.  This is a great option for full-time and adjunct faculty; they scale membership fees by how much you earn, and you self-report that. Once you've been a member for a month, you have access to AAUP legal protections should you need them.  Find out more about those legal protections here. Definitely worth the peace of mind, and they are doing good organizing on the ground as well. 

AAUP partners with the American Federation of Teachers - find out more about our local AFT chapter here. 

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Temporary Pause in Compliance Training

The compliance training in Workday has been temporarily paused until the new and updated courses for FY26 are available. 

We will send out the course information and deadlines when the courses are ready.

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Apply: Character Education Curriculum, Deadline Sept 30

Austin Community College (ACC) is launching a new, three-year, grant-funded initiative to formalize character education in the general education curriculum, and we’re looking for eight faculty members to help lead the way. Both adjunct and full-time faculty are eligible to apply.

Selected participants will receive a stipend or spring 2026 (six LEH) and fall 2026 (three LEH) course releases to:

• Collaborate across disciplines

• Help more students highlight meaning in their general education course requirements

• Refine ACC’s character education model

• Develop learning toolkits and reflective assessments

• Lead conversations with fellow faculty in the fall 2026 semester

• Shape the first-year experience for students within the context of courses required for most degrees

Apply by September 30, 2025.You’ll submit your CV, teaching philosophy, and brief responses about your interest in character education.

Decisions announced October 31, 2025.

Questions? Contact Arun John (ajohn@austincc.edu), Ted Hadzi-Antich (thadzian@austincc.edu), or Kelly Greenwood (kgreenwo@austincc.edu).

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Register Now: 2025 Corequisite Summit, Nov 7

Calling all English and INRW faculty! We are proud to announce our 2025 Corequisite Summit: Start Strong with Literacy!

When: Friday, November 7, 2025  @  9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Where: Rio Grande Campus (RGC); 1212 Rio Grande Street, Austin, Texas 78701

Conference Information: Website 

Registration here (deadline October 17)

Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1APsDuUusb5W7nrb7UbT-EtK7kIN0iqF9/view?usp=sharing

Registration is limited so register quickly. Also, attending this event gives you 6 hours of PD. Breakfast and lunch will be served, and there will be treats and sponsors to visit. Dr. Emily K. Suh will be our morning keynote speaker, and Jenny Billings will discuss coreq'ing issues and how to overcome them. Our last Summit was a blast, and we cannot wait to see what this year's Summit brings. 

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Training: ENGL-2351, Mexican American Lit, Oct 3

All faculty interested in teaching ENGL-2351 Mexican American Literature are invited to complete this interest form for an upcoming in-person training on Friday, 10/3 at Highland campus. If you have ever wanted to teach Gloria Anzaldúa, Sandra Cisneros, or Rudolfo Anaya, now is your chance to join this cohort!

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Committee for Faculty Innovation and Development (CFID) Seeking Members

The Committee for Faculty Innovation and Development (CFID) is a primarily faculty-driven group that ensures that the work of the FCLI and FacDev represents faculty in the creation and administration of innovative faculty initiatives, activities, and services.

CFID members are appointed to:

• Engage in advising, promoting, and participating in programming

• Ensure the development and implementation of initiatives, activities, and services represent our Faculty Values

• Provide insight and expertise on opportunities for faculty to grow, based on evidence-based practices

• Provide support and advocate to and for faculty in the spirit of lifelong learning

• Be the voice of faculty for faculty

You can express your interest in joining CFID by completing this form by October 15.

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Attend NISOD's Fall Virtual Conference FOR FREE!

NISOD’s Annual Fall Virtual Conference (October 22-23, 2025) brings together full- and part-time faculty members, librarians, and student support services personnel to share best and promising practices that increase student success at community and technical colleges. And you can attend for free using ACC's Institutional Registration! Learn more about the Fall Virtual Conference and Register Here. Simply log in or create your account to claim your free registration today.

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Call For Presenters: CLS Curriculum Conference

Austin Community College's CCCs (CLS Curriculum Conference) will take place on Friday, March 6, 2026, from 12:00-4:00 PM at the Highland Campus (HLC) in Austin, Texas. 

The CCC is creeping closer by the day (March 6th!), and we're still calling for presenters and panelists who are doing innovative and meaningful work with students. Even though we have several planned topics (trauma informed pedagogy, multicultural curriculum, service learning, applying college values, reducing reliance on AI, and teaching students how to do research), we welcome unlisted topics that showcase your unique pedagogy, strengths, or investigations. So please, consider sharing your aura with us by presenting independently or with co-presenters! 

Complete this Proposal Form if you feel inclined to share your brilliance with the department. All the cool kids are doing it. December 12, 2025 is the deadline for proposals. 

Questions?  Contact Rob Crowl, assistant chair of Professional Development, Research, and Service.

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Job Opportunities: Full-Time Faculty, INRW and English (Dual Credit), deadline Oct 26, midnight

Check out full job descriptions and apply through the links below (Workday login required):

INRW: https://www.myworkday.com/austincc/d/inst/15$392530/9925$15011.htmld 

English (Dual Credit): https://www.myworkday.com/austincc/d/inst/15$392530/9925$14956.htmld 

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CLS+ Fall Book Club 📚 (Last Call!) 

We'll begin selecting our text and times next week. Please chime in before the weekend if you'd like to join us! Details below.

In the fall, we read non-fiction. Please sign up for our interest list to be added to email announcements and recommend a non-fiction text if you have one in mind. 

We'll meet at Easy Tiger at the Linc at a date to be determined to discuss, drink, and swap the best books we're willing to part with. 

And 100% yes of course you can come even if you: 

1. never signed up

2. haven't read the book

3. don't plan on reading the book

4. just want to pillage a stack of "up for grabs" books people bring for your book exchange

Two Additional Reminders: 

1. We are an open group. The invites go out to CLS, but you can always bring a +1 or forward this to interested parties. 

2. Book Club will be paired with a book swap. Bring a book or books you are willing to part with, and let's spread some stories around. 

Happy reading, readers. Hope to see you there!

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Free Shakespeare Event! Oct 13, 7pm 

Join Walking Shadow Shakespeare Project, for a presentation of Shakespeare’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” performed in different languages by multilingual members of our community, enjoying drinks, snacks, and games!​

Free Admission (registration required, space is limited!)

Doors at 6:30 pm

Event: 7pm-9 pm Topfer Lobby, ZACH Theatre

Follow this link for your free tickets 

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Please Promote: Equinox Call for Student Submissions

Equinox, a student-run journal of contemporary literature and art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is currently accepting submissions from undergraduate students across the United States. For fifty years, we have been publishing creative writing from the Arkansas region and beyond. Each year, Equinox awards the David Jauss Fiction Prize and the Jo McDougall Poetry Prize to best work. Please visit our submissions page at https://ualr.edu/english/equinox/submit-to-equinox/ for more information.  

The deadline for submissions is February 1st 2026.

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Trouble with Blackboard Ultra? You're not alone!

If you have questions about BB Ultra or need assistance, here are a few resources:

After hours call-in support via Anthology (Spring break 2025 through December 2025)

• • • • • 866-992-5190

In-house support 

• email blackboardultra@austincc.edu to request help

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Accessibility in Blackboard Courses

Please check your BB accessibility score at the beginning of the semester and as you add new items to your courses throughout the semester (video to demo Accessibility Reports).  

If you need help fixing the accessibility of your Blackboard courses, check out the resources below!   

• Instructional design support offers DE Accessibility Training.  

• TLED has great resources on its Accessibility information page. 

• Materials from Trent Griggs' ADA Blackboard Compliance Training at the 2025 CCCs:

Distance and Alternative Learning Website 

Accessibility Quick Guide

Blackboard Accessibility Orientation

Common Errors

Examples of Reasonable Accommodations

How to use Blackboard Ally

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