Academic Affairs

Submitted by: Jennifer Brewer, jbrewer1@uca.edu on 10/20/2025

This week’s Faculty for Successful Students focus is: Provide Individualized Support.

Slide:

This theme aligns with the student campaign emphasis: Ask for Help.

Providing individual support to college students is vital for their academic success. Tailoring assistance to each student’s needs helps clarify misunderstandings, strengthen student-teacher relationships, and offer targeted resources. This personalized approach improves performance, builds confidence, and enhances overall academic achievement.

Faculty Tips to Reinforce Success
Here are a few simple ways you can encourage these habits in your classes:

• Complete progress reports.
• Consider scheduling conferences or short check-ins with students; you may want to devote a class period or time during your office hours to meet with students about the course or other topics.
• Keep a file of commonly-used grading comments so that you can quickly customize substantive and meaningful feedback for students on graded assignments.
• Promote Tutoring Services, the Center for Writing and Communication, and Peer Success Coaching in class.
• Remind students that office hours are for them – make yours welcoming.
• Share examples of times you asked for help to normalize the behavior.
• Direct students to support services when you see them struggling.

Resources for You:

• Faculty for Successful Students Webpage
• Faculty Slides for Classroom Use

When we work together, we make it easier for students to grow, thrive, and succeed here at UCA. Thanks for all you do to support them!

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Academic Leadership & Student Success Services

https://uca.edu/cetal/faculty-for-successful-students/

Submitted by: Michelle Wynn, mwynn@uca.edu on 10/20/2025

University of Central Arkansas Receives the Governor’s Award for International Impact in Education

The Arkansas District Export Council (AR DEC) announced the 2025 Governor’s Award for
Excellence in Global Trade winners at a luncheon in Little Rock on October 17, 2025.

The University of Central Arkansas’ Center for Global Learning and Engagement was awarded the “International Impact in Education” award for its efforts to recruit, admit, and support international students all over the world. In 2023-24, 5,776 international students in Arkansas contributed $146.9 million to the economy and supporting 910 jobs, according to NAFSA.

The Center for Global Learning and Engagement welcomed 98 new international students from 70 countries in fall 2025 bringing its total international student enrollment to 321 students. The Center is responsible for all immigration reporting required by the US government and manages semester study abroad opportunities at more than 20 partner universities on five continents and National Student Exchange Study Away semester exchange throughout the U.S. and Canada. UCA’s “Global Classroom” initiative provides UCA students and faculty to participate in Collaborative Online Learning with partners around the world.

Dr. Phillip Bailey, Associate Vice President for Global Learning and Engagement, said “I am very proud that the good efforts of my colleagues in international admissions, recruiting and student services have been recognized with this award. We work closely with Education USA advisors in countries around the world and last year were pleased to receive the support of Richard Duda in the US Commercial Office in Little Rock.”

UCA Provost and Executive Vice President Michael Hargis explained that having international students on campus and in the classroom allows the university to increase the opportunities for all students to develop global perspectives and knowledge that will prepare them to work and live well in their communities.

 

Submitted by: Bailey Fairbanks, bfairbanks@uca.edu on 10/15/2025

Dear Students,
Looking to go behind the scenes in the city where history is made? Join UCA’s partner, The Washington Center, for the Inside Washington Seminar!
Spend a week in Washington, D.C. with college students from across the country as you explore hot-button issues in policy, media, business and politics. You’ll interact with experts and public figures, discover new career paths and go behind the scenes of organizations throughout the city.
This program will be held in Washington, D.C.and will take place January 6–14, 2026. As part of the program, you’ll:
●Hear from thought leaders and political experts on hot-button issues.
●Go behind the scenes of government agencies, think tanks, embassies and media outlets.
●Connect with other students through small group discussions.
●Have an opportunity to earn three credit hours for PSCI 4340: Special Topics in American Politics or PSCI 4393: Experiential Learning.
Students outside of the Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies need to contact Dr. Fairbanks (bfairbanks@uca.edu) to determine other academic credit available for your major/program.

Scholarships and support are available for a limited number of Arkansas in-state residents! Other funds may also be available to support student travel and tuition for this opportunity.
Email Dr. Fairbanks (bfairbanks@uca.edu) for information about the upcoming seminar and see how you can participate. If you have any questions about the program, feel free to reply to me, stop by my office (Irby Hall 217) or contact info@twc.edu.

The deadline to apply for this trip is Friday, October 24th, 2025!

You can begin your application here: https://washingtoncenter.my.site.com/s/login/
You can also explore The Washington Center’s other academic offerings including semester and summer internships, short term programs like Inside Washington, and their career accelerator programs in cyber security, Non-profit and advocacy, and health policy immersion here: https://twc.edu/find-program

https://washingtoncenter.my.site.com/s/login/