UTSA is dedicated to the academic advancement and life-long success of our students. This site provides faculty with tips and resources to help ensure their students succeed in their classes at UTSA and beyond.
Keys to Student Success
Current research suggests that in the classroom, whether online or in person, students want to be appreciated and recognized as individuals, exposed to real life examples and experiences, and treated with respect and trust. To help:
- Orient students to Canvas. Help students maximize UTSA’s new learning management system by easily dropping the Canvas Commons Getting Students Started with Canvas slideshow into a lesson and sharing the Canvas+ Student Resources website to help them find tools, trainings and support designed for students.
- Create a sense of belonging. Share UTSA Student Success resources, keep accessibility in mind (review Receiving A Student Accommodation Letter Quick Tips and visit the Caption Support Services page to easily add video captions), require group work, and provide opportunities for student-to-student interaction to contribute to a sense of belonging.
- Connect your course to career-engaged learning opportunities. Invite professionals to speak to your class, help students find internships, and include real-world projects to give your students an edge in the job market. Visit Career Engaged Learning at UTSA for current opportunities.
- Provide opportunities for practice. Give frequent low-stakes assessments, allow students to revise assignments, introduce students to TutorMe, a free online tutoring service accessed through Canvas with live academic support, give frequent and thorough feedback (consider using the Canvas Comment Library) to foster a growth mindset, and use the Canvas Gradebook view options to track struggling students.
- Include opportunities for metacognition. Require journal reflections and participation in class discussions with reflective questions to help students think about what they are learning and why it is important to their future.
- Be transparent and clear about course expectations. Talk about your course objectives, provide detailed instructions, and provide a place for anonymous questions (consider creating a Padlet) to give students a feeling of ownership.