University Center
for Teaching and Learning
2021-22 Annual Report
Greetings from Michael Bridges, Interim Executive Director, University Center for Teaching and Learning
The changing face of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the University Center for Teaching and Learning with some of the most significant challenges we have faced. Our Center was called upon to respond to rapidly changing circumstances and unpredictable teaching and learning environments. As the university returned to the in-person classroom, many of those challenges still loom and questions persist regarding what the post-pandemic learning environment will look like. Throughout these difficult times, the Teaching Center has steadfastly supported faculty and students in ways that continue to amaze me. Our team members have been innovative, creative, and tireless in their efforts during the pandemic and remain even more dedicated to helping faculty create the very best learning environments for our students as we navigate our way back to the in-person classroom.
While this report highlights some of our key accomplishments, it only scratches the surface as to how the Teaching Center supports, facilitates, and contributes to the success of the university.
As the University transitioned back to teaching and learning in our classrooms, we adjusted our work to again support in-person learning, while retaining the flexibility and remote learning offerings as part of a broad toolkit to support the wide variety of scenarios that faculty and students encountered this year. Some highlights of our work included …
- Transitioning our support to provide more customized technology configurations in campus classrooms, one-on-one technology training, equipment loans, and personal consultations.
- Lecture capture and video conferencing services to supplement classroom learning.
- Digitizing physical media to support student remote viewing.
- Expanding our inventory of video conferencing devices.
- Facilitating classroom technology demonstrations at the start of each term.
Assessment of Teaching
- ~300 hours of support for the assessment of teaching initiative
- ~150 attendees at the Assessment and Teaching Conference
- ~75 attendees at custom workshops
Badging, Credentialing, Seminars
Badges were integrated into the Open Lab’s online training course, providing learners with incentivized achievements for completing stages of training on our lab equipment. More than 700 learners have engaged with the course and 400 badges have been issued.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum
- Dr. Sera Mathew was hired as the new Director of Equitable and Inclusive Teaching.
- 15 DEI workshops offered for Pitt faculty, with 155 instructors attending.
- Two iterations of the Anti-Black Racism Course were offered, reaching ~6,000 students over the same period.
- The 2022 Provost’s Diversity Institute for Faculty Development included six workshops attended by dozens of faculty.
- Five faculty received the Provost’s Award for Diversity in the Curriculum:
- Benjamin Brand, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, German Department,
- Paul T. Harper, Pitt Business
- Alaina James, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology
- Robert Kerestes, Swanson School of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Jennifer White, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy
- We launched the Teaching for Justice Initiative, focused on facilitating critical engagement in the teaching of war and conflict.
Teaching Surveys
- Expanded the midterm course survey option to allow faculty more question and date customization options. A total of 595 surveys were requested.
- A total of 14,805 surveys were administered during AY21-22.
Canvas Support
Over 5,500 fall 2021 courses were published on Canvas and we averaged nearly 50 million monthly views across the system during the spring 2022 term. We closed nearly 2,400 support tickets, which represents a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Classroom Technology
- 41 classroom technology upgrades have been either completed or are currently in progress. This work spans 10 different campus buildings, including the nationality rooms in the Cathedral.
- Classrooms in Posvar Hall, Barco Law Building, David Lawrence Hall, Information Sciences Building, and the Cathedral of Learning were equipped with new technology setups for experimentation and to determine their viability for permanent installation.
- 11 classroom renovation projects have either been completed or are currently in progress. This work spans 9 different campus buildings.
Digital Media
- Media producers completed 57 unique video projects on behalf of 34 University constituents, totaling several hundred individual videos. Eleven of these video projects supported the creation of brand new Pitt Online courses; and
- supported 133 academic events held on campus, in hybrid formation, or entirely online. Most notable were the 10th annual Assessment of Teaching Conference, memorial services for Dr. Freddie Fu and Board of Trustees Chair Tom Richards from Heinz Memorial Chapel, as well as freshmen convocation and commencement activities.
Online Programs
- Pitt Professional: Enrollment in Pitt Professional nearly doubled this past year to 2,383 learners.
- Pitt’s Master’s in Nursing program, supported by Pitt Online Services, was ranked number one in the US News and World Report 2022 Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs.
- University of Pittsburgh students, faculty and staff access to nearly the entire Coursera catalogue of 3,800 courses built by Coursera partner institutions
- Pitt students, faculty, and staff had access to ~3,800 courses in the Coursera catalogue, resulting in ~3,400 hours spent in 634 unique courses.
Testing Services
Students receiving testing accommodations through the Office of Disability Resources and Services have become the primary student population for testing services. We administered over 6,300 accommodated exams this past year and hosted 1,705 exams during finals week, a 355% increase since testing services began administering accommodated exams for students in 2012.
New Faculty Essentials
In support of a reimagined New Faculty Orientation in 2021, we launched a new initiative: New Faculty Essentials. This program welcomed 327 new faculty to the University community.
Workshops, seminars, faculty learning communities, and other professional development activities were held in order to help new faculty acclimate themselves to Pitt.
Outreach & Events
- Newsletter recipients have grown to over 11,000.
- 286,000+ website views during the academic year.
- Twitter audience grew to more than 1,100 followers, while receiving 21,000 impressions.
- In support of a reimagined New Faculty Orientation in 2021, we launched a new initiative, New Faculty Essentials, to welcome new faculty to the university community.
- New Faculty Orientation remained in a hybrid format. Nearly 160 faculty registered.
- Demand for our teaching and technology workshops and events remained strong, with over 1,000 attendees spanning over 80 workshops/events respondents indicated that they relied on the Teaching Center newsletter as a source of information for COVID-19 updates.
