The UGED Bulletin
The Undergraduate Education (UGED) Bulletin aggregates announcements, highlights, and reports from across the Division of Undergraduate Education. Published on a biweekly basis during the academic year and monthly in June and July, the UGED Bulletin is a great way to learn about the many ways the Division of Undergraduate Education is supporting student learning and success. If you'd like to be added as a recipient of the Bulletin, please fill out this subscription form.
Fall 2026
The table below shows the submission deadline, publication date, and headline for every anticipated UGED Bulletin issue of the Fall 2026 semester. Once a Bulletin has been published, a link to that issue will be embedded in the publication date.
| SUBMISSION DEADLINE | PUBLICATION DATE | HEADLINE |
|---|---|---|
| August 07 | August 11 | Welcome message from Amy Kimme Hea, Interim Vice Provost of Academic Affairs |
| August 21 | August 25 | |
| September 04 | September 08 | |
| September 18 | September 22 | |
| October 02 | October 06 | |
| October 16 | October 20 | |
| October 30 | November 03 | |
| November 13 | November 17 | |
| November 25* | December 01 | |
| December 11 | December 15 |
*This submission deadline is on Wednesday in observation of the 2026 Thanksgiving Break.
Fall 2026 Highlights
Coming soon!
Spring & Summer 2026 Highlights
People
VIP Program Coordinator Kay Orzech participated in C-STAR Panel at HSI Forum
The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program brings together 70+ research, design, and creative inquiry teams from across multiple campus units at the U of A, serving approximately 400 students per semester. On March 23rd, on the C-STAR internal grant recipient panel, Kay Orzech discussed how Assessment & Research is investigating VIP student outcomes. Undergraduate students who participated in VIP during the last five years (n=737) are being compared with a matched sample of U of A main campus students to understand the program’s impact on retention, graduation, and overall student success.
Congratulations to the nominees and winners of the 2026 Transformative Mentorship Awards in Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity!
Twenty nominees and five final awardees were honored by students, faculty, and staff who wished to recognize their dedication to providing Undergraduate Research experiences for U of A students. These mentors make research accessible for underrepresented students, foster inclusive and supportive environments for growth, and guide students in developing the skills and confidence to contribute meaningfully to their fields at national and international levels. We extend our sincere thanks to Provost Patricia Prelock and to Tara Chandler, Assistant Director for Mentoring Initiatives, for helping us recognize these outstanding mentors.
Read more about the nominees and final award winners
Amanda Parkman featured in Faculty Digest as part of APIDA Heritage Month
Amanda Parkman was featured in the Faculty Digest in celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month. Amanda serves as the UNIV 101/301 course director, where she oversees the 'bookend' courses that frame the General Education experience, supporting students at both the beginning and the culmination of their academic journey.
UNIV Professor Aurora Sartori and team win prestigious CUES Spanning Boundaries Challenge grant
Congratulations to UNIV Professor Aurora Sartori and team (Dr. Rebecca Crocker, PI) for receiving the 2026 Center for University Education Scholarship (CUES) Spanning Boundaries grant!
According to Dr. Guadalupe Lonzano, Director and Endowed Chair (CUES), the Spanning Boundaries award is "an opportunity to creatively influence innovation and scholarship in university teaching and learning grounded on this year’s SB theme—Land, Heritage, and Place Attunement across disciplines—alongside a growing community of CUES Distinguished Fellows and SB Grantees on our campus and beyond."
The award includes two years of funding to carry out the project, Tumamoc Rising, as well as a commitment to participating in a grantees/faculty learning community on advancing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to be offered in the Fall of 2026 and possibly into the Spring of 2027.
Sarah Kyte published two papers on student belonging and advising in May
Congratulations to our colleague Sarah Kyte, Senior Research Scientist and Faculty Affiliate with the Center for the Study of Higher Education: Sarah published two papers in May on the topics of student advising and advising. You can read the articles below!
Jordan, A. C., & Kyte, S. B. (2026). Enhancing belonging through inclusive teaching: The amplified impact on first generation students. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 37(2), 35-47.
Collins, E., & Kyte, S. (2025). Tempered Radicals: Advising, Professional Values, and Institutional Pressures. NACADA Journal, 45(1-2), 34-49.
Programs
Center for Career Readiness Receives Lumina Foundation Grant
The Lumina Foundation has selected the University of Arizona Center for Career Readiness as one of 16 institutions nationwide to advance career-connected high-impact practices. The selection recognizes CCR's distinctive approach to transforming student employment into a catalyst for career readiness, belonging, and student success.
The two-year grant will support CCR's work with supervisors of student employees, deepening how students connect their day-to-day work experience to transferable skills that serve them throughout their academic journey and beyond. The effort is led by Annie Kurtin, director of experiential learning, and Katie Beauford, senior student employment specialist, with support from Emily McCarthy, executive director, and Megan Forecki, Ph.D., lead institutional assessment professional.
Learn More About the Award
Learn More About the Initiative
A Student's Journey recognized by Tribal College Journal
A Student's Journey (ASJ) is an internship-based program for tribal college students interested in transferring to a university to pursue a four-year degree. Recently, Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education highlighted the ways that ASJ has helped students transfer to the U of A.
Hack AZ Named a "Best New Student Organization" at ASUA Awards event
Please join us in congratulating the Hack AZ team for receiving a "Best New Student Organization" award through the Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA). The award comes with a $500 reward to help facilitate the mission of Hack AZ, the premier hackathon event in the Southwest.
TIMESTEP Internship Program prepares students for high-tech careers
The TIMESTEP Astronomical Software Engineering Internship engages qualified juniors and seniors in a collaborative, interdisciplinary astronomy project. Interns gain valuable experience while working closely with U of A and international researchers in astrophysics, software engineering, and artificial intelligence. TIMESTEP adds value to participating students' degrees by immersing them in cutting-edge practices and technologies; additionally, TIMESTEP interns actively participate in groundbreaking research on black holes. The internship is a win-win for students and researchers alike, representing an exciting new opportunity for Wildcats.
Events
The Bilingual Initiatives Symposium Wraps Up Another Amazing Year
This year, the Bilingual Initiatives Symposium (BIS) counted 125 in-person registered participants, a 300% increase from the inaugural BIS and a 40% increase from the second BIS. BIS opened its very first online streaming, with 80 additional spots for online-audiences (unofficially 40+ Bilingual Advocates for a total of 160+ participants!). Some of our new participants included the newly Bilingual HSIs Advocates affinity group that was brought together in the Alliance for Hispanic-Serving Institution Educators – AHSIE 18TH Best Practices Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, March 8th to 11th, 2026.
Learn more about the Bilingual Initiatives Symposium!
U of A rocks the Conference on Learning And Student Success (CLASS)
The 2026 CLASS conference took place April 15-18 right here in Tucson! The Division of Undergraduate Education was well-represented at this year's conference, a testament to the ongoing dedication and engagement of our colleagues.
Hack AZ brings the heat!
Between April 25 and April 26, over two hundred students attended Hack AZ to learn more about coding, meet important industry leaders, and participate in various challenges. Attendees got to learn from the best: Representatives from GitHub and Amazon presented on cutting-edge industry practices and gave advice about product development, the user experience, and effectively troubleshooting common problems. According to the 2026 Proclamation, "[t]he event continues to serve as a platform empowering students to explore technology, develop skills, and contribute solutions to real world challenges."
The 2026 Academic Advising Conference was a high energy event!
More than 200 academic advisors and campus partners gathered at the Health Sciences Innovation Building on May 19–20 for the 2026 Academic Advising Conference. Centered on the theme Building Bridges: Advisors as Connectors for Student Success, the event offered a dynamic mix of professional development, networking, and collaboration designed to strengthen advising practices across campus in support of Student Success in the Strategic Imperatives.
Center for Career Readiness Co-Hosts 2026 Arizona Statewide Career Services Conference
The University of Arizona Center for Career Readiness and Pima Community College co-hosted the 2026 Arizona Statewide Career Services Conference on June 3 and 4, bringing together career development professionals from across Arizona to address the forces reshaping work, learning and career pathways.
The program examined four themes at the forefront of higher education and workforce development: artificial intelligence and emerging technology, equity and access, student success and career readiness, and leadership and strategy.
Papers, Presentations, & Reports
Summary of the January 2026 UGED Retreat
A division-wide day-long retreat was hosted by the Division of Undergraduate Education on January 15, 2026, and included approximately 45 people.
Jordan, A. C., & Kyte, S. B. (2026). Enhancing belonging through inclusive teaching: The amplified impact on first generation students. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 37(2), 35-47.
Collins, E., & Kyte, S. (2025). Tempered Radicals: Advising, Professional Values, and Institutional Pressures. NACADA Journal, 45(1-2), 34-49.
Conference on Learning and Student Success (CLASS) Presentations, Roundtable Discussions, & Posters
"Assessment as a Driver for Collaboration: General Education Assessment at the University of Arizona." Presented by Elaine Marchello and Yvonne Zhang.
"Student Perspectives on Civic Learning / Civic Knowledge." Poster by Yvonne Zhang and Elaine Marchello.
"Using a Mixed-Methods Approach to Turn Assessment Data into Institutional Action." Poster by Laurie Sheldon and Elaine Marchello.
"Measuring What Matters: A Learner Self-Assessment." Presented by Amanda Parkman, Matthew Austin, Keisha Fuller, Jhonatan Henao-Muñoz, Jeri Heileman, and Angelina Serratos.
"Onboarding as a Function of Care: Creating Connection in an Online Employee Onboarding." Presented by Chris J. Rosales, Jeri Heileman, and Tom Murray.
"Faculty Collaboration to Support Student Well-Being in Classes." With Jessica Hill, Lisa Elfring, and Jim Hunt.
"Listening Bravely, Designing Boldly: Lessons Learned from Redesigning Curriculum with Students." Presented by Devon Thomas Jones and Robert Stephan.
"Virtual Exchange/COIL and General Education: Why Strong Alignment Isn’t Translating to Scale." Presented by Megan Allen, John Pollard, and Devon Thomas Jones.
"Preparing Students for Lifelong Learning: Leveraging High-Impact Practices to Center the Student Experience in a Novel General Education Curriculum." Presented by Katie Southard, Audrey Tocco, Treya Allen, and Ryan Winet.