ÿմվ

ÿմվ Inform

Main navigation

Faculty for Successful Students is Back! Week 1: SHOW UP

Submitted by: Jennifer Brewer, jbrewer1@uca.edu on 08/24/2026

We’re back! The Faculty for Successful Students campaign is returning for its third year!

CETAL, in collaboration with Student Success Services, is once again sharing simple, practical ways faculty can help students develop the habits that contribute to academic success – especially during that sometimes bumpy first year.

And NEW this year: Brightspace tips! Each campaign message will include a quick Brightspace idea you can share with students or use in your own course. Because we’re all still getting acquainted with our new LMS, and a useful tip now may save a “Where do I find that?” email later. We make no promises, but we like the odds.

Throughout the semester, each message will include:

  • The current çstudent success theme
  • A few practical ways to reinforce that habit in your course
  • A Brightspace Byte you can use or share with students
  • Links to corresponding classroom slides and resources
  • And, when the calendar cooperates, a Bear Bites lunch where we can continue the conversation (That’s a hint!)

The slides are designed to be easy: project the appropriate one as students arrive in class or include it in your weekly messaging in an asynchronous course.

(Students read these! I’m telling myself that as much as I’m telling you.)

This Week’s Focus: Foster Engaged Attendance

The message students see:

This is a great time to establish that simply being there, physically and mentally, matters.

A few ways to Reinforce Success:

  • Take attendance and briefly explain why attendance matters in your particular course.
  • Create at least one opportunity for students to actively participate during each class.
  • Help students see that their presence matters to their classmates, too – not just to their attendance grade.
  • Try a quick exit ticket asking students for a takeaway, question, or reflection from the day’s class.

 

Brightspace Bytes:

  • Encourage students to turn on notifications for announcements, due dates, and feedback
  • Remind students to check the Calendar regularly
  • Ask students to take a quick look at Brightspace before class so they know what’s coming.

A 30-second reminder about Pulse during the first week may prevent at least a few future variations of “But I didn’t know that was due!”

Again: No promises. We’re instructional designers, not magicians.

Bear Bites Logo

Speaking of time…join us for Bear Bites!
(This is the hint!)

Beat the Clock – Helping Students Plan for Success
When: Tuesday, September 1 | 12:15 p.m.
Where:Christian Cafeteria Executive Dining Room
Facilitator: Amy Baldwin

“I didn’t have enough time.”

If you teach, chances are good you’ve heard that sentence once. Or twice. Or 847 times.

Join us for lunch and conversation about practical ways to help students plan their time, manage priorities, estimate how long coursework will take, and make more realistic decisions about their schedules.

Bring your own ideas, hear what colleagues are doing, and pick up a few strategies you might want to try with your students.

Keep These Handy

Faculty for Successful Students Webpage

Thanks for all the small things you do to help students find their footing and become more successful at ÿմվ. Those small things add up!