Please be mindful of the policies below for final examinations, assignments, and assessments during the final weeks of the semester.
Final examination policy
A final examination schedule is produced each semester by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction. No time and date departures from the examination schedule should occur without prior approval of the dean of the school or college and the vice president for instruction. Similar advance approval also must be obtained to administer standardized, departmental “mass” examinations to groups of students enrolled in the same course.
Although there are special courses where a final examination of the regular type may not be appropriate, each student must be provided the opportunity to stand for a final examination as part of the completion of a full instructional term. Each instructor has the authority to design and administer the final examination in whatever manner is appropriate. Additionally, the instructor has the authority to structure the course syllabus and content so that the final examination may be a summative evaluation of the entire term’s work or a portion of the term’s work. Take-home exams are permissible as long as the exams are not due earlier than the final examination time slot as assigned by the University.
Final examination schedule conflicts
With the consent of the academic department, the individual faculty instructor has authority to manage students who have conflicts with the final examination schedule. A student with three final examinations scheduled within a 24-hour period or two examinations at the same time may petition to reschedule one exam to a different time or day. If one of the conflicting final examinations is a mass exam, then it will be rescheduled for that student. The instructions for rescheduling are located on the Office of the Registrar website.
Policy on mandatory assignments, tests, and quizzes during Reading Days and the final instructional day of a course
- Reading Days: Reading Days are designed to provide time for students to prepare for final examinations. No mandatory assignments scheduled for completion during the Reading Days, either for course work or extra-curricular or co-curricular activities, shall be given to students by University personnel. Exceptions for good cause can be made to this policy by the vice president for instruction. Nothing in this policy limits the ability of instructors to schedule optional study reviews for their students during these days.
- Final instructional day: No tests or quizzes are to be administered on the final instructional day of a course, unless the course has not been assigned a final examination time slot by the University. All labs may administer tests or quizzes on the final instructional day. For purposes of this policy, student presentations to the class in a seminar or graduate course shall not be considered a test or a quiz.
- Submission deadline: Monday, Dec. 9
Nominations are now open for the Dawn D. Bennett Alexander Inclusive Community Award. This award is presented to a faculty member who has contributed considerably to promoting a culture of inclusion within and beyond the classroom at the University of Georgia. The honoree will receive a $1,000 cash award. For a faculty member to be considered, all components of the dossier must be submitted by the deadline. This award is open to all UGA faculty.
Each dean, director, department head or vice president of a school, college, or other unit may nominate up to two faculty members annually for the Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander Inclusive Community Award.
A complete nomination includes a dossier of the following items:
- Letter of nomination from dean, director, or vice president
- Nominee’s CV
- 1-3 page narrative written by the nominee that outlines their contributions to fostering a culture of inclusion within and beyond the classroom at UGA (the narrative should also include examples of their commitment to inclusive excellence while fulfilling the institution’s tripartite teaching, research, and service mission)
- Additional artifacts include relevant publications, presentations, syllabi showcasing innovative curricula, and examples of institutional engagement
A committee of three faculty members, one staff member from the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and one student will review all submission materials. Only one person is selected each year to receive the award.
All materials should be submitted to coefss@uga.edu by Monday, Dec. 2. Any questions about the nomination process can be directed to associate dean Ed Delgado-Romero.
- Letters of intent deadline (optional but encouraged): Thursday, Dec. 12
- Full application deadline: Friday, March 7, 2025
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is requesting applications to its Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (84.350B). Please view the request for applications for program descriptions and guidelines.
Since 2004, IES has invested in training programs to prepare individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant education research that advances knowledge in the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners. Through these programs, the National Center for Education Research seeks to fund new approaches to train and mentor students and researchers from diverse backgrounds to encourage their entry into and success in education research careers. These efforts seek to improve the quality of education research and encourage new ideas, approaches, and perspectives.
Below are the IES training programs for FY25:
- Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research
- Pathways to the Education Sciences Training Program
- Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in the Education Sciences
- Methods Training for Education Researchers
Please contact the Office of Research and Graduate Education pre-award team if you are interested in applying for any of these opportunities and prior to completing the LOI.
- Intent to apply deadline: Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at noon (CT)
- Full proposal deadline: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at noon (CT)
The Spencer Foundation’s Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers: $125,000-$250,000; $250,001-$375,000; and $375,001-$500,000.
This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education.
To learn more about the Large Research Grants on Education and instructions for writing the application, please visit the Spencer Foundation website. If you are interested in pursuing this opportunity, please contact the Office of Research and Graduate Education pre-award team.
- Submission deadline: Monday, Jan. 6
The Office of Student Engagement is calling for recommendations for membership into the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Student Ambassador program. The application for the 2025-26 ambassador class opens on Sunday, Dec. 1. Both intended and admitted students in the College are eligible to apply. This application cycle is open to undergraduate students who can commit at least one full academic year (fourth-year students are ineligible unless taking a fifth year).
If you have students you’d like to recommend, please fill out the recommendation form by Monday, Jan. 6. We will send a personal invitation to each recommended student with details regarding the info sessions. The form allows for three recommendations, but feel free to fill it out multiple times.
The committee reviewing the role of the DEI Office created a survey to solicit input from students, staff, and faculty. Please complete the survey by Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The survey also asks for volunteers to participate in focus groups.
Under FERPA, educational institutions must obtain written consent from students before sharing their education records with third parties. Whether it’s for job applications, scholarships, or family requests, please remember that protecting student privacy is our top priority!
- Date: Wednesday, Nov. 20
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Location: Memorial Hall, Victor K. Wilson Ballroom
The Pride Center will host the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on Wednesday, Nov. 20, featuring guest speaker Chanel Haley. This vigil will be held in remembrance of those we have lost this past year.
All members of the community are welcome to attend. Reception to follow.
- Date: Last Friday of the month
- Time: Noon-1 p.m.
- Location: Aderhold Hall Room 306
Please join the Staff Representative Group for a fun time playing games and catching up with one another. It will take place on the last Friday of every month (with the exception of November and December), starting Sept. 27. It is a staff “BYOL” (bring your own lunch), and be sure to bring whatever game you’re wanting to play! If you don’t want to play a game, coming and socializing with other staff members is fine as well!
Upcoming dates:
- Friday, Nov. 22
- Friday, Dec. 20
Virtual reality and the metaverse are setting the stage for new ways to watch sporting events. A new study from the University of Georgia suggests that users value unique virtual interactions with others offered by digital events. The metaverse refers to digital shared spaces that operate in real time. It’s highly immersive and allows people from all over the world to interact in the same virtual space.
The study focused on a metaverse-based stream of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, how it was viewed by participants, and what would drive them to join a similar event again. Researchers found that spectators enjoyed interacting with others, the ability to easily change seats and locations, and customizing their avatars. Metaverse-based events were also easier to join than those in real life.
“It’s an experience you cannot get in real life because that’s the World Cup, right? It’s very expensive if you want to get front-row tickets,” said Sam Chen, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the Mary Frances Early College of Education. “This immersive feature of the metaverse allows more people to access this type of content.”
Read the full story on our website.
The Office of Development and Alumni Relations is excited to share that Rebekah Seabolt has joined the Mary Frances Early College of Education team as our new associate director of stewardship!
Rebekah comes to us from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she served as global studies program manager for the last eight years. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia College & State University and an M.A. in journalism and mass communication from Grady in 2016. Rebekah has two children and a stepson with her husband, enjoys planning events for family, friends, and colleagues, and loves working on anything creative or crafty. She recently learned that her parents met in Aderhold Hall while attending UGA, and she now works in the same building!
Please join us in giving Rebekah a warm welcome to her new role on campus!
Cahnmann-Taylor celebrates launch of new book
Melisa (Misha) Cahnmann-Taylor, a professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, celebrates the launch of her new book, “The Creative Ethnographer’s Notebook” (2024) at the Annual Meeting of American Anthropologists from Nov. 20-22 in Tampa, Florida. Published by Routledge Press, the book offers emerging and trained ethnographers exercises to spark creativity and increase the impact and beauty of ethnographic study.
With contributions by emerging scholars and leading creative ethnographers working in various social science fields (e.g., anthropologists, educators, ethnomusicologists, political scientists, geographers, and others), this volume offers readers a variety of creative prompts that ethnographers have used in their own work and university classrooms to deepen their ethnographic and artistic practice. The contributions foreground different approaches in creative practice, broadening the tools of multimodal ethnography as one designs a study, works with collaborators and landscapes, and renders ethnographic findings through a variety of media.
Instructors will find dozens of creative prompts to use in a wide variety of classroom settings, including early beginners to experienced ethnographers and artists. In the eBook+ version of this book, there are numerous pop-up definitions to key ethnographic terms, links to creative ethnographic examples, possibilities for extending prompts for more advanced anthropologists, and helpful tips across all phases of inquiry projects.
This resource can be used by instructors of anthropology and other social sciences to teach students how to experiment with creative approaches, as well as how to do better public and engaged anthropology. Artists and arts faculty will also benefit from using this book to inspire culturally attuned art making that engages in research, as well as research-based art. Readers will learn how creative ethnography draws on aspects of the literary, visual, sonic, and/or performing arts. Information is provided about how scholars and artists, or scholartists, document culture in ways that serve more diverse public and academic audiences.
Those who are first to arrive at the Spotlight on the Arts and Research 4’33” competition will be eligible to receive a free copy of this book and/or another of the NEA Big Read books offered through a collaboration with the Athens-Clarke County Library.
Sciurba publishes book on reading and relevance
Katie Sciurba, an assistant professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, published “Reading and Relevance, Reimagined: Celebrating the Literacy Lives of Young Men of Color” with Teachers College Press. Through case studies of six young Black, Latino, and South Asian men and their reading experiences over a 10-year span, this book reconceptualizes the term “relevance” as it applies to and is applied within literacy education (middle school through college).
Sciurba will be signing copies of her book at the upcoming National Council of Teachers of English conference in Boston on Friday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. at the Teachers College Press booth (#216).
Doctoral students win award
Lauren Hearn, a doctoral student in counselor education, won the 2024 Outstanding Doctoral Student Award from the Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC). Alisha Jordan, a doctoral student in the counselor education and supervision program, was named a 2024 Doctoral Emerging Leader by the ACC.