TEACHING INITIATIVES

The University of Georgia actively values a campus life broadly centered on learning.  For UGA students, the climate of inquiry extends beyond the traditional lecture room, even encompassing the on-campus residential community.  At all levels, the Office of the Vice President for Instruction supports initiatives to enhance the learning environments of students.

Students have a variety of opportunities to blend their residential and academic experiences and thereby enhance the overall quality of their college life.  Each residential program has a distinctive character.

The Freshman College Summer Experience is a program that gives entering students a great early start on their academic career at UGA.  Housed in Russell Hall, students get an immersive experience to ease their transition from high school to college.

In First-Year Residential Learning Communities, students explore an academic theme by taking selected classes together as a small group.  This experience is enhanced by housing of students together in Creswell Hall by individual learning community.

The French and Spanish Language Communities provide a simulated immersion environment through which students examine the richness and variety of French-speaking and Spanish-speaking cultures.  Many of their conversational classes are conducted in Mary Lyndon Hall, where the program is housed.

The University of Georgia Honors Program has a magnet residence hall, Myers Hall.  This newly renovated facility houses Honors Program students who range from entering freshmen to graduating seniors.

The Franklin Residential College in Rutherford Hall features a faculty member in residence who serves as dean.  Student self-government is a distinctive characteristic and residents organize a wide range of intellectual, social, and service activities.

Within many residence halls, academic advising occurs on site, including Brumby, Creswell, and Russell Hall advising centers, along with Rutherford Hall.

For out-of-classroom learning at UGA, community-based opportunities have involved a heightened focus on academic service-learning.

The newly formed Office of Service-Learning is supported jointly by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction and the Office of the Vice President for Service and Outreach.  This collaboration seeks to increase incorporation of service-learning activities in the curriculum and to promote academically based engagement of students.

Teaching initiatives at UGA also receive the active support of various units reporting to the Office of the Vice President for Instruction, along with collaborating entities.  Included among these are the following:

Division of Academic Enhancement
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Center for Teaching and Learning
The Teaching Academy
The National Survey of Student Engagement

The University of Georgia
Office of the Vice President for Instruction
302 Franklin House
480 E. Broad Street
Athens, GA 30602-1695
Phone: 706 542-6777
Fax: 706 583-0685