Weekly Newsletter: Tuesday Is News Day

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Veterans -- CLS thanks you for your service! 

Keep in mind that many of our students are experiencing uncertainty about food, healthcare, child care, and financial aid due to the US government shutdown.  Please share the update from Student Affairs (below) with students.  

Wondering who to contact with a CLS question?  Please use the CLS email for sub requests, staffing questions, and general departmental inquiries. ✨ cls-office@austincc.edu ✨

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Important Dates! 

November 14

CLS Curriculum Meeting [virtual; Zoom link]

November 21 

Town Hall, 9:00am - 10:30am [submit questions and concerns here]

December 5 

CLS End-of-Semester Meeting, 11:00am - 12:30pm [virtual & in-person at RGC; links to come]

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CLS Announcements 

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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Coreq Summit: Dr. Ursula Parker's Reflections

Hello CLS,

Thank you to those who attended the Coreq Summit 25- Start Strong in Literacy

on Friday November 7th. It was great to see our partners across the disciplines. After such a full day, I want to share my reflections.

Dr. Emily Suh’s keynote articulated a powerful affirmation of who we are as educators. She voiced what many of us have long felt: that Integrated Reading and Writing (INRW) faculty are deeply grounded in scholarship and pedagogical expertise. We hold advanced degrees or graduate coursework in literacy, reading, writing, and developmental education, and we bring that depth of knowledge to every classroom interaction.

Despite national and state-level challenges that try to undermine or minimize our field, ACC INRW faculty remain resilient. We advocate for our students not only within our courses but across institutional and departmental partnerships with a long-term vision for their academic and personal success.

Our luncheon speaker brought a perspective outside of our experience and philosophy. Their perspective nonetheless offered a valuable opportunity to understand how other folks sometimes see INRW courses and practices. It’s often good to learn different perspectives, which may help us renew our own drive and purpose. 

 At ACC, the two-instructor model of corequisites stands as a best practice, fostering collaboration and preventing disciplinary silos. We honor and value cross-disciplinary partnerships that enrich both faculty development and student learning. And, you who attended—you are a huge part of what makes us so successful.

Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you at Coreq Summit 27!

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November 14 CLS Curriculum Meeting

Join us to talk about all things CLS Curriculum!

Fall CLS Curriculum Meeting

When: Friday, November 14, 2025, 11:00am-12:30pm. 

Where: Zoom: https://austincc.zoom.us/j/81822168960?pwd=HB7jXtHkTEQZnuac5qWKCPpItX1g7a.1 

Got something you want to put on the agenda?  Email Susan Meigs (smeigs@austincc.edu) by Wednesday, November 12. 

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Please Attend! Sigma Kappa Delta Induction, Nov. 20, 6pm 

Please stop by the Sigma Kappa Delta Induction ceremony to support our ACC students as we welcome them into the National Honor Society for Two-Year Colleges. 

When: Thursday, November 20 at 6pm 

Where: HLC (room to be announced; check back next week)

Contact Alana King to RSVP or just to offer support for all of the amazing work Alana's done get Sigma Kappa Delta up and running at ACC.  Also, check out SKD at ACC

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Save the Date: Salon 2, Nov. 20, 6pm 

From Dean Stewart, Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Please "Save the Date" for the faculty-led Salon Two on November 20, 2025, @ HLC in room 2.1409 There will be a light snacks and socializing from 5:30 - 6:00 pm. The main discussions will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. 

Salon Two is open to all Liberal Arts faculty. Attendance at Salon One is not required. Salon One focused on identifying and discussing the legislation that is shaping the higher education landscape and impacting Liberal Arts Classrooms The room was packed, the discussion was robust, and what we heard from faculty was that a part two was needed. Part Two will focus more on identifying challenges, solutioning and faculty-to-faculty sharing of classroom practice and strategies.

 A calendar invite will be sent out in the next couple of days, with a link to a three question survey to help shape the event.

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Boost Student Evaluation Response

Getting students to respond to Course Evaluations can be hard, but a variety of responses can really help during the Faculty Evaluation process! As those Course Evaluations go live in the next few weeks, consider scheduling a class visit from a student in the Office for Faculty Evaluation. 

Here's three options for scheduling a student visit or presentation: 

• Visit this link to schedule a Zoom presentation. Choose a time and share your class meeting link on the booking page.

• Visit this link to schedule an in-person presentation at Highland Campus on Wednesdays. Choose a time and share your class location on the booking page. 

• If no in-person or Zoom times work for your class, please fill out the Promotional Video Request Form. We'll send you a video that you can share with your students or play in your classroom.

As a token of appreciation, faculty members who participate will receive a swag item. Students who submit a course evaluation will be entered into a drawing for an Amazon gift card.

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Faculty Evaluation Summaries: Be on the lookout!

Our CLS Faculty Evaluation Committee and Department Chair, Dr. Wendy Elle, have been working their way through faculty evaluations. Individual faculty will receive an email notification when it's time to review and sign their Evaluation Summaries. 

When your evaluation summary is ready to review,  you will receive an email from Faculty Evaluation Summary directing you to sign into the My ACC app and find the link for Faculty Development and Evaluation.  After you review, be sure to follow the directions to sign and submit. If you want to have a conference with Wendy Elle to discuss your evaluation, you can make that request, and she will reach out to you with a few dates to confer via Zoom. Some of you have already received and signed your evaluations; thank you for your prompt attention! 

All faculty should receive their Evaluation Summary by November 7, and they need to be signed and returned by November 21.  Please be on the lookout for the email!

And a note from Wendy here: Beth Frye and Anja Ketcham and the whole Fac Eval Committee have been working so hard on getting these out. I cannot tell you how much smoother and more efficient the process has been because of them. Please send virtual huzzah's to our fearless Fac Eval Committee!!

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Tell Your Truth! Faculty Surveys

Your truth deserves a place in the ongoing conversations about change at ACC.  Share your experiences in the survey below. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE--OMG--PLEASE FILL THIS OUT. It matters. It really matters. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. --Wendy

1. The Faculty Center for Learning Innovation developed the Faculty Support and Professional Development Survey to learn more from you about the support services that you use and how we can strengthen those supports.  This survey is open through November 21.  For questions about this survey, please email fcli@austincc.edu

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Please Promote: Summer '26 Study Abroad in England

British Literature I & II, Study Abroad, England, Summer 2026

Walk the London city streets where Charles Dickens’ set Oliver Twist, witness a Shakespearean drama from the eyes of a 17th-century commoner at the reconstructed Globe Theatre, hike the wild moors outside Haworth where Charlotte and Emily Brontë played as young girls, stroll through Lexington Gardens where JM Barrie first entertained the family of young boys who inspired his Peter Pan, and even visit Canterbury Cathedral, the destination of Chaucer’s famous storytelling pilgrims! I’m excited to offer this up-close-and-personal experience of the cultural/historical context for so many powerful and influential staples of British literature. 

After laying the groundwork during in-person classes here in Austin, we will spend the second half of the 5-week summer session in London and several surrounding cities, touring cathedrals, museums, stately homes, and libraries, watching live performances, and visiting historically significant sites. During these two plus weeks in England, we will see literature in a new light through a deepened understanding of the life and times of great authors, including their original audiences, purposes, and cultural, religious, and political influences. Moreover, we will explore how these authors influenced and engaged with each other across centuries and how their lasting legacies continue to shape our stories and media today. Combining the theoretical and the practical, we will finish the course with collaborative on-the-ground projects that draw from our reading, research, and travel experiences, taking personal inspiration from literature, architecture, fashion, landscape, and more.   

-Ryan Lopez, CLS, ryan.lopez@austincc.edu

If you're interested, see details in this brochure and on the Study Abroad Programs webpage. Accepting applications now!