Weekly Newsletter: Tuesday Is News Day

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

A quick note about the Data Summit, scheduled for March 27 (10 AM-2 PM ) and happening at the HEB Center.  First and most importantly, ACC campuses will be open on March 27.  Full-time faculty are required to attend the Data Summit.  Those full-time faculty that are scheduled to teach on March 27 should request a sub or plan an asynchronous activity.  Adjunct faculty are encouraged to attend, but are not required to attend.  Adjuncts who would like to attend can request a sub or plan an asynchronous activity for the day.  Adjuncts who do attend will receive Professional Development hours from CLS. Unfortunately, adjuncts who are teaching in high schools will not be able to request a sub.  

CLS is hoping to add more Hyflex sections to our schedule! If you are at all interesting in teaching Hyflex classes in summer or fall, remember to register for the upcoming Hyflex Training by Feb 16.  

Don't forget to promote events to our students! This week students can attend a Great Questions Community (Feb 7) or a Scholarship Application Workshop (Feb 7 or 8).  Next week students can get a free dinner while learning about the transfer process (Feb 13) or enjoy poetry and music with the Creative Writing Department (Feb 15).  Details for all events below.  

Big thank you to Amber Luttig-Buonodono  for hosting our first ever Peer Dialogue On Demand (PDOD? IDK--that's not sounding so great. I can do better. Taking naming suggestions!) It was on AI, and the link to the recording Is below if you missed it and want to listen. If YOU have a topic of Interest that you would like to Dialogue about with your Peers, just email me. We will get it on the calendar and promote It here. 

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Deadlines! 

February 7 

Apply for DCAA (Dual Credit Annual Appointment) 

February 8/9

Estaffing phase 2: Enter summer 2024 preferences 

February 8 

Textbook nominations for English 1301 

February 16 

Register for paid Hyflex Training (happening Feb 24)

February 23

Register for CLS Curriculum Conference 

March 27

Data Summit (Full-time faculty required; adjunct faculty and staff encouraged)

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CLS Announcements

Reporting Professional Development for Evaluation

Here's a recap of Wendy's email to the department (Feb 3): 

The problem: Workday does not currently provide our Evaluation Committee with a clear and accurate record of your professional development.  As a result, it may appear that some faculty are incomplete for their professional development when they have, in fact, completed their professional development. 

The good news: The CLS Evaluation Committee are not robots and noticed the problem (thanks to Brian Fonken, Anne Fletcher, and Heidi Juel for finding the glitch). No one is going to be penalized/marked down for missing PD.

The solution: All faculty should report professional development hours on their Faculty Reflection Forms.  When the time comes, include the PD and the hours. This will give our Evaluation Committee accurate data until ACC can fix the issue in Workday.  We'll remind you again in May when it's time to fill out Faculty Reflection Forms. 

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Dual Credit Annual Appointment (DCAA), Submit by Feb 7

If you are interested in applying for a Dual Credit Annual Appointment (DCAA), for the 2024-25 school year, please complete this 2024-25 DCAA Interest Form. The five-member committee will review applications beginning February 9th, so please complete the interest form by February 7th. Should you have questions, contact one of your DC Liaisons - Kari Conness, Chris Gardner, or Sarah Stayton

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Textbook Nominations: English 1301, Due by Feb 8

It's time to nominate ENGL 1301 textbooks! 

Nominating Instructions:

• Email your Comp I textbook nominations to Diane Whitley Grote (dbogard@austincc.edu) by 5:00 pm, Thursday, February 8.

• You may nominate more than one textbook.

• Textbooks currently on the Approved Textbooks Link will be automatically nominated.

If you were unable to attend the Book Fair, Diane provided a great list complete with links to the books promoted by the book representatives. You can find all that information in an email titled "LAHC CLS: Fwd: 1301 Textbook Nominations" sent January 30. 

Also, keep an eye out for the Textbook Voting Ballot, which will be ready the week of February 12. 

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Please Promote: Elite University Transfer Panel and Dinner, Feb 13

Please share this Transfer Week opportunity with your students: 

As part of Transfer Week, the Honors Program is partnering with Transfer Services to feature a panel of ACC Honors Program alumni who have transferred to elite institutions: Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers. Want the inside scoop on how they did it? Join us on February 13th from 6:00-7:00 pm as we discuss transfer tips, scholarships, and more.

We can accept up to 40 participants for this event at Highland Campus, and we’ll even provide dinner! Register here. Attending remotely? Zoom registration is here. For questions, contact honors@austincc.edu

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Please Promote: Coming Back From Far Away, Feb 15 

ACC's Creative Writing Department presents 

Coming Back from Far Away: Poems and Music for the Journey

Readings by Naomi Shihab Nye & Prudence Arceneaux

Accompanying Music by Darrel Mayers 

February 15, 7pm 

Highland Campus, Building 2000, Room 2560

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Textbook Selections for Summer 2024 (Adjunct Faculty)

We've created a new Textbook Selection Form for adjunct faculty, and we'll be rolling it out in the next two weeks as adjuncts accept their summer 2024 assignments in eStaffing.  This form is (hopefully) less clunky than last year's but will still email you a receipt of your selections. 

Here's the link to the Textbook Selection for Summer 2024 Form. 

How to use the form:

1. Type in your name.

2. List the courses/sections you're scheduled to teach (include a note about First Day Access if needed).

3. Choose texts for your scheduled courses from the dropdown options.  

   • Ignore the dropdown options for courses that you are not scheduled to teach; no response is required.  

   • If you need to review review textbook options and ISBNs, here's the CLS Textbook List.

4. Include any notes that will help us assign the correct texts.

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Recording: AI in the CLS Classroom

Amber Luttig-Buonodono hosted a virtual discussion about AI in the CLS classroom on February 1.  If you were unable to attend, here's a recording: CLS AI Peer Dialoague  (Passcode: *GgL9mY%)

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CLS Curriculum Conference Registration, Submit by Feb 23

Please join us for the first-ever CLS Curriculum Conference 

When: Friday, March 1, 2024    12p - 4pm 

Where: Highland Campus with Hyflex options

Explore session details at the CLS Curriculum Conference Website

And register to attend by February 23 CLS Curriculum Conference Registration 

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People's Literary Festival, Feb 22-24 in Corpus Christi, TX

Sarah K. Lenz, chair of the People's Literary Festival and assistant professor at Del Mar College, extends this invitation:

People’s Literary Festival

You are invited to the 9th Annual People’s Literary Festival in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 22-24, 2024. 

People’s Literary Festival celebrates and supports writers–both new and established–by bridging literary borders and genres. We bring writers and readers into dialogue, honor self-expression, and inspire creativity in our readings and workshops.  

This free, three-day event includes 19 literary showcase readings in fiction, memoir, and poetry, 8 creative writing workshops, and 20 book fair vendors. A total of 72 poets, writers and literary arts educators will be presenting their work. I hope you can join us!

You can find the complete schedule of the festival’s events and locations at https://peoplesliteraryfestival.com/

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Read What Our Faculty Have Published In 2024

Eli Ryder published “Which Horror Villain You Are (According to Your Favorite Taylor Swift Song” (The Lineup, 30 January 2024).