Office of the Provost
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Welcome Back! Academic Updates & Reminders

September 27, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to a new academic year! Campus has once again come alive with fall term classes and events, and with it a chance to reconnect to the sense of purpose that brought us to Drexel. Personally, I’m inspired by the way our efforts across this University fuel a better, more valuable experience for our students, and I am deeply grateful to the faculty and professional staff who bring their passion and expertise to make the incredible work of this University possible.  

I hope to see many of you at Thursday’s 10:30 a.m. Convocation, where we will hear from three keynote speakers — faculty in Kline School of Law and the College of Nursing and Health Professions and a student from the College of Engineering — who are tackling complex societal challenges through their work here at Drexel.

Meanwhile, academic initiatives are in full swing across the University. With so much happening, I wanted to share a few updates and reminders as we kick off the term:

Academic Strategic Initiatives

  • Pilot activities in Drexel's Areas of Excellence & Opportunity (AEOs) will ramp up this academic year, with some convening events in the works for the fall quarter. We will continue to share updates.
  • Feasibility studies arising from the recommendations of the University Advisory Committee (UAC) on Academic Structure will begin this term, as shared by President Fry. Charges for those studies will be shared, along with an update on feasibility teams, next week.
  • July marked the first fiscal year of full implementation of the Responsibility Center Management (RCM) budgeting model. An RCM Advisory Committee is currently being established and will be charged with ongoing review and improvement, as well as identifying any unintended impacts resulting from the model.

Teaching & Learning

  • A Council for Innovation in Teaching & Learning has been established to better align Drexel’s deep and diverse resources and units that support teaching and learning. More to come as the Council kicks-off for the first time this fall.

Research

  • The CAA Academic Alliance is soliciting applications from faculty and staff for its Innovate/Collaborate (IN/CO) grant program, which will award up to $80,000 to projects that positively impact student success, advance scholarship and promote the dissemination of best practices, with a focus in priority areas of academic intelligence and higher education; mental health/wellness; and pandemic impacts on admissions and academics. Applications are due December 1 at 5 p.m.
  • As part of its Clarity Project, the Office of Research & Innovation is working to streamline all aspects of its research support services and intersections with faculty, academic and administrative units. This multi-year project includes an extensive review of businesses processes, with a lens to reduce administrative burden, that will lead to new and updated policies, procedures and guidelines, training and education, and tools and systems.

Policy Updates

  • Last week, I shared resources related to Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence, as well as a draft policy that is expected to be approved by the end of October.
  • The Initial Course Participation pilot process is continuing this term in credit-bearing fall quarter courses.
  • To further align the student co-op and course timelines, Co-op Withdrawal will have the same timeline as course withdrawal beginning with the current fall/winter cycle.

Recent News

  • Drexel advanced in several rankings, placing 54th in the Wall Street Journal’s list of Best U.S. Colleges and in the top 100 of U.S. News Best Colleges, where it also ranked 18th “Most Innovative.” While ranking and classification systems are imperfect, it’s promising to see major rankings organizations elevating measures of social mobility and student outcomes, which align closely with Drexel’s mission and Strategic Plan.
  • This opinion piece in Nature from College of Engineering Professor Franco Montalto beautifully captures the power and potential of Drexel’s academic model: “In an era of accelerating climate risks, rapid biodiversity loss and rising economic inequality, I feel that higher education needs to help young people to see themselves not just as individuals, but as members of interdependent groups with common interests that need each other to thrive. I don’t know how to teach this other than by plunging students into communities and real-world problems.”
  • Drexel’s LeBow College of Business received a $10 million gift from the Wilbur C. and Betty Lea Henderson Foundation to establish the Wilbur C. Henderson Real Estate Institute, which will serve as a hub of research, teaching and community engagement.

Please feel free to reach out to provost@drexel.edu if you have any questions about these or other ongoing initiatives. I look forward to connecting with many of you at Convocation on Thursday and at upcoming college/school town halls.

I wish you all the best for a strong start to the academic year!  

Sincerely,

Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost