UGA affiliates are individuals who are neither employees nor students but have a business need for credentials to access specific systems, resources, or facilities at the University.
The process for requesting and managing affiliate access currently varies by affiliate type. Current requests may go through the UGA OneCard Office, directly through OneUSG Connect, or through the Visiting Researchers and Scholars Program.
UGA is implementing a single, simplified process to make affiliate access more consistent and transparent across the institution while strengthening information security. Beginning this month, UGA will pilot the process with a small group of users. All units are expected to transition to the new process in spring 2027. More details about the new process will be provided at that time. During the pilot, leaders and others who sponsor affiliates may receive requests to approve an affiliation. Instructions to approve or decline these requests are available through the guide. Each notification will include instructions for reviewing and responding to the request.
Additional information is available on the UGA Affiliate Access webpage. If you have initial questions, please contact Shawn Hill. The EITS Helpdesk will provide ongoing support.
Research suggests students are more likely to complete course evaluations when faculty communicate their importance, make time for completion, and demonstrate that student feedback is valued.
The following strategies are effective and do not require extra credit or other prohibited incentives.
1. Set aside class time for completion
- Reserve 10-15 minutes during a regular class meeting near the end of the semester for students to complete evaluations.
- Ask students in advance to bring a laptop, tablet, or phone to complete the assessment.
- Step away while students complete the evaluations to reinforce confidentiality and encourage candid feedback.
- For online courses, consider posting multiple reminders through the learning management system (e.g., one week before evaluations open, midway through the evaluation period, and 48 hours before the deadline). eLC also allows for a calendar reminder event to be posted on the course homepage. Consider recording a brief video message thanking students for their engagement in the course and encouraging them to provide feedback through the evaluation process.
2. Explain why student feedback matters
- Share with students that their feedback is used to improve courses, teaching approaches, assignments, and learning experiences.
- Explain that evaluations are an important part of the University’s efforts to assess and strengthen instructional quality.
- If appropriate, share a specific example of a change you made in a previous course based on student feedback. Students are more likely to participate when they believe their input has a tangible impact.
3. Make the evaluation easily accessible
- Announce the evaluation period in class before it opens.
- Share with students that they will receive a notice from courseevals@uga.edu announcing the evaluations with a completion calendar and a direct link to the evaluation form.
- The system will automatically send reminders to students, but consider whether sending your own reminder, either through eLC or by email, would be helpful.
4. Reinforce confidentiality
- Remind students that their responses are confidential and that faculty do not receive individual student responses.
- Explain that faculty will receive the aggregated results only after all grades for the term have been submitted and posted to student transcripts.
- Emphasize that honest, constructive feedback is encouraged.
5. Keep the process visible and convenient
- Include evaluation dates in the syllabus or course calendar and/or make it a module in eLC.
- Post a reminder and link in eLC.
- Briefly mention the evaluations more than once rather than relying on a single announcement.
The most important takeaway from the research is that students are more likely to complete evaluations when faculty demonstrate that the process matters. A combination of dedicated class time, clear communication about how feedback is used, and timely reminders is a practical approach to improving response rates without offering incentives (such as individual participation points or points for everyone if the class reaches a percent participation rate threshold).
Visit our website to access the agenda and minutes from the October Leadership Council meeting.
Show off your MFECOE pride with new limited-edition apparel from the Mary Frances Early College of Education!
Our baseball tees and embroidered quarter-zips and crewneck sweatshirts make perfect gifts for soon-to-be graduates, current College of Education students, alumni, friends, parents, and more.
Grab your favorite styles for a limited time before our store closes on Friday, Nov. 20 at midnight.
It’s that time of year when the Mary Frances Early College of Education rallies to support the Lady Bulldogs Basketball team!
The UGA Athletic Association provided the College with four tickets to each home game during the regular season. Please use the Google sheet to sign up for tickets. Note: There is a line for each ticket per game. If you would like all four tickets, please add your name to each line so that others know you plan to use all four tickets.
A cell phone number is required to transfer the tickets. If you are not comfortable sharing your cell phone number on the spreadsheet, please email it to coedean@uga.edu with the email subject line “Women’s Basketball.”
Two faculty members named to endowed professorships
Edmund Hamann and Margaret Vaughn, two new faculty members in the Mary Frances Early College of Education, were named to endowed professorships.
Hamann joins the College as the Donna Alvermann Professor of Social Change, and Vaughn joins the College as the Connally Family Distinguished Professor of Literacy Education.
Vaughn and Hamann both joined the faculty of the Department of Language and Literacy Education in the 2026-27 school year.
Read the full story on our website.
Alumna named to Georgia Trend’s 500 Most Influential Leaders
Julie Post (Ed.D. ’13), an alumna of the College’s Department of Workforce Education and Instructional Technology, was named to the 500 Most Influential Leaders list by Georgia Trend.
Post, who served as president of West Georgia Technical College since 2021, is one of 35 professionals recognized as leaders in education on the list.
Read the full story in Georgia Trend.