March 24, 2015
Yesterday, I announced the reorganization of Academic Affairs to better align our division with UCF’s mission and goals, while clearly defining our roles and responsibilities in serving the university community.
In sharing this new structure with you, I hope it will answer many of your questions about the resources available to you and the right people to contact.
UCF is a place where academic curiosity and excellence thrive, and I am very excited about what the future holds for us. This reorganization is a part of that future. It is the result of a comprehensive operations review, which UCF Human Resources recently completed with the help of feedback from many of our staff.
These changes affect six areas under Academic Affairs – five to focus on university priorities and advance our academic mission and a sixth that will handle daily operations and strategic initiatives and ensure superior service from our division. Other areas, such as Student Development and Enrollment Services and the Office of Research and Commercialization, remain unchanged.
You can find a list of the new areas and an organizational chart on the Provost’s Office website.
These new areas include:
Academic Program Quality, which will lead university efforts to ensure the quality and relevance of all academic programs; oversee UCF’s accreditation, program assessment and institutional effectiveness; and evaluate existing and new academic programs.
International Affairs and Global Strategies, which will lead UCF’s efforts in international activities, to include strategic partnerships that extend, enhance and integrate a rich network of international relationships in research, teaching and learning.
Faculty Excellence, which will lead university-wide initiatives and programs that strengthen faculty support; encourage interdisciplinary collaboration; and recruit and retain faculty as part of our hiring campaigns and faculty development programs.
Information Technology and Administration, which will provide vision and leadership to advance UCF’s mission through technology, including distance learning and enterprise IT initiatives, to support all modes of learning and research, as well as space planning and allocation.
Teaching and Learning, which will lead curricula innovations and apply research-based solutions to expand learning and instructional best practices across UCF; work with Information Technology and Administration to develop innovative learning spaces and work with International Affairs and Global Strategies to internationalize our curricula.
The Provost’s Office Operations Team includes strategic planning, communications, Institutional Knowledge Management, administrative services, and budget and personnel. This group will be responsible for the daily and business operations of Academic Affairs and will work closely with University Budget, Planning and Administration on resource planning for the university and for Academic Affairs.
Leadership and points of contact also are listed on our website in each of the six areas.
Together, these units and our Academic Affairs leadership team will innovate our academic offerings, strengthen our faculty and enhance students’ educational opportunities through new teaching methods, learning spaces and programs.
I hope you will reach out to them and to me with questions, feedback and suggestions, and I look forward to future collaboration among Academic Affairs and all our divisions across campus.
Thank you for your continued commitment to excellence.