Message from Interim Director

I'm grateful to serve as leader of the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE), which stands on a strong foundation built by dedicated faculty who established this office and its supporting structures. Over these past months, I've been learning the inner workings of OUE and working to advance the excellent initiatives already in motion. This newsletter marks our first quarterly report, which we hope will keep you informed of our ongoing work.

Testing Services Summary

Make-up Tests Proctored (Autumn 2025): 86

Placement Tests Processed (June 2025–Present):

• Math Directed Self Placement: 449
• Spanish Placement Test: 13
• Spanish Proficiency Test: 2

Core Teaching

We are grateful to the core instructors who taught for us in Autumn 2025: LeAnne Laux-Bachand, Jacob L Martens, Corinne Manning, Ever Jones, Kelvin Keown, Yajun An, Jim Gawel, Haley Skipper, Seung-Jin Lee, Jessi Quizar, Emmett Sharkey, Maria-Tania Bandes Becerra Weingarden, Andrea Modarres, Luther Adams - Free Man of Color, Will Taylor, Kiko Salas. We met some of them at the Autumn core faculty gathering and are planning a Winter gathering.

Fairs

In October, we partnered with the Office of University Academic Advising and advisors from various schools and programs to host a majors fair, which drew 96 students. Building on this success, we're planning a majors and minors fair for Spring quarter in collaboration with advisors across campus.

Formation of the Ad Hoc Undergraduate Education Academic Council

The Executive Council of Faculty Assembly has approved the creation of an Ad hoc Undergraduate Education Advisory Council (UEAC) to advise OUE on curricular and policy matters. This Ad hoc committee will review and revise the current bylaws while developing a vision for a permanent UEAC. Following a nomination process, we are pleased to announce the following members who will serve on the council for 2025-26: Alex Miller, Christine Stevens, LeAnne Laux-Bachand, Lisa Hoffman, and William Burghart. The council will start their work in January 2026.

Technology and Infrastructure Upgrades

We are pilot testing UW Connect to streamline OUE requests, with plans to go live in late Winter or early Spring quarter. This system will allow us to automate intake forms and provide easier scheduling options for our services.

In collaboration with the UW Records Management Office, we have begun using SharePoint to manage our storage and records more efficiently. Additionally, we upgraded several office computers that were due for replacement.

Our website is currently being revamped, with additional updates expected in the coming months at https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/ue

Hiring and Upcoming Work in Winter

We're currently interviewing candidates for a student worker position. Meanwhile, we're organizing shared folders and preparing for the Ad Hoc UEAC meetings and the majors and minors fair. We'll provide an update in Winter. Happy New Year!