OFFICE
LEARNING
From Innovation to Impact: Transforming Teaching and Learning at UCSB
Message from the Associate Vice Chancellor
Linda Adler-Kassner
Ask anyone what happens in a university, and “teaching” or “learning” will likely be part of their response. It seems straightforward enough: students come to a university to learn. And of course, it’s a central part of the University of California’s mission to “serve [students and] society as a center of higher learning.”
But what it means to design teaching and learning that serves students in alignment with our UC mission is something else entirely. Within the Office of Teaching and Learning, we sometimes think of ourselves as the collaborative architects of teaching and learning infrastructure at UC Santa Barbara. Infrastructures form foundations that make it possible for things to happen. When infrastructures work, things run well. When they break, everything built on them needs focused attention. If an example helps, think of a wireless network or a transportation infrastructure. A node goes out, the wireless fails. A dockworker strike happens, container ships remain unloaded. Infrastructures matter.
UCSB’s teaching and learning infrastructure forms the foundation for the 1170 faculty members who teach our students to be able to create knowledge and discover new knowledge. It provides the groundwork for the campus’s 23,000 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students to thrive as learners and future leaders for the 21st century.
I’m excited and honored to share with you how the Office of Teaching and Learning at UCSB works with faculty, students, administrators, and staff to design and support this infrastructure to support equitable, inclusive environments where students and faculty can thrive.
As we move into a new landscape in higher education, the Office of Teaching and Learning provides guidance and support to create an environment that enables learners (and teachers) to succeed and innovate. OTL’s efforts contribute to higher rates of persistence, retention, and completion; they enable greater learning gains; and they contribute to the campus’s support of students and faculty. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about how the Office of Teaching and Learning facilitates and promotes research-based, cutting-edge, teaching and learning across UC Santa Barbara.
“ We sometimes think of ourselves as the collaborative architects of teaching and learning infrastructure at UC Santa Barbara.
OTL: Graphic Overview and Mission
Student Success + Academic Belonging
Holistic support for the transfer student experience
Advising + programming
Support networks + resources
Holistic support for all students, especially firstgeneration students
Advising + programming
Mentorship, community, connection
Research grants
Research opportunities
Publications + presentations
TSC
Transfer Student Center
OSC
Opening New Doors to Academic Success (ONDAS) Student Center
Undergraduate
Research & Creative
Activities
Transit
Successful
Transi URCA
Support for students transitioning to + within the university Courses, prog
The Office of Teaching and Learning enables and promotes research-based, equitable teaching and learning across UC Santa Barbara.
Innovative Teaching + Pedagogy
Instructional Applications Group tions
CITRAL
Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning
Canvas LMS support
Instructional tools
Instructional training
Assessment and Institutional Data Group
Resources + workshops l Student tions
rams, activities
Research-based learning design support for instructors
Data, resources, + innovations
Consultations + evaluations
Program Learning Outcome assessment support
Workshops + consultations
Guidance + interpretation
OTL: Overview Building Networks and Structures for Learning in a Changing Landscape
A minority-serving institution, both Hispanic- and Asian-American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving. A public, land grant, research-intensive university that has grown larger and more diverse in the last ten years. Part of a system whose mission is laser-focused on educating future leaders for California, the nation, and the world. And, to be sure, an institution facing a future that is rife with uncertainty. This is today’s UC Santa Barbara. Amidst this landscape, UCSB is committed to educating learners for the 21st century.
But learning is something that people do, not something that can be done to or for them. It requires a campus committed to creating structures for learners to flourish. The Office of Teaching and Learning provides knowledge, expertise, and leadership to guide this commitment at UC Santa Barbara.
OTL builds networks and structures for learning in a changing landscape that lead to innovative learning environments. Across the team, we:
• Collaborate to transform. Institutional transformation that supports equitable and inclusive learning is informed by the experiences and identities of the UCSB community. OTL contributes to this transformation by collaborating with partners across the university.
• Promote data-driven, evidence-based practices. OTL draws on and collaborates to create data to improve learning design, teaching, and educational practices.
• Cultivate asset-based, equity-focused frameworks for learning and teaching. OTL’s collaborations contribute to the development of context-appropriate, assetbased frameworks for learning, teaching, and student belonging.
This report highlights the magnitude of OTL’s expansive impact at UCSB. The examples here attest to the power of cooperative work across our student- and faculty-focused units and illustrate the power of bringing students, instructors, and staff perspectives together to collectively meet new challenges amidst a turbulent higher education landscape.
OTL’s activities advance UCSB’s commitments to equitable teaching and learning by creating a sense of shared belonging for students and faculty, leading to higher rates of persistence and retention, improved 2- and 4-year graduation rates, and innovative, engaging courses designed to support an increasingly diverse community of learners.
STUDENT IMPACT
20,000+ visits to ONDAS and Transfer Student Centers
~4,000 unique students
2,568 returning students
UNDERGRADUATE
RESEARCH
635 research grants awarded
672 student presentations
6,452 article downloads
237 CITRAL faculty from 46 departments
846 CITRAL TA/postdoc participants
certificates awarded
53 faculty events 144 TA/postdoc events
student events PROGRAMMING & EVENTS
The Multiplying Impact of the Office of Teaching and Learning
Over the past four years, 237 unique faculty and lecturers participated in high-impact OTL programming like the ONDAS Seminar, RISE Institute, Communities of Practice, Arnhold Innovative Teaching and Learning Initiative, MAX program, PEER program, and others.
Participants used OTL frameworks to teach and redesign 2,475 courses after participating in OTL programming.
These courses impacted the learning experiences of 43,621 unique UCSB students
Collaborating to Transform
Collaborating for Belonging
Adapting to the needs and challenges of a rapidly changing world, higher education is in a state of flux. The Office of Teaching and Learning collaborates with the campus community to guide transformative teaching and learning experiences that support the 21st century leaders enrolled at UCSB.
Support starts with belonging. Students are more likely to succeed in rigorous UC Santa Barbara courses when they feel that their ideas matter, they can meaningfully contribute, they are surrounded by others who share their interests, and that others are invested in supporting their academic success. Collectively, these ideas are enacted through practices that have consistently been shown to positively affect “academic belonging,” required for academic success. OTL units work with students and faculty to foster this sense of belonging.
Improving
Graduation
Rates ONDAS and Transfer Student Centers
Students who use the ONDAS Student Center and Transfer Student Center have higher retention and graduation rates compared to their peers who do not use the Centers.
Students who visited the ONDAS Student Center have a 5% higher retention rate and 5% higher graduation rate than students who did not.
Transfer students who use the TSC have a 4% higher retention rate and 2% higher graduation rate compared to transfer students in the same cohort who do not use the TSC. (Fall 2021-2023 Cohorts)
Transformative Spaces for Student Achievement and Belonging
ONDAS and Transfer Student Centers
Thirty-four percent of UCSB’s students are first-in-family to attend a four-year university and 33% are admitted as transfer students each year. The ONDAS and Transfer Student Centers (OSC and TSC, respectively) are designed to foster community among these and other undergraduates.
OSC and TSC programming cultivates meaningful connections for students to thrive in our large, decentralized university. In the last two years alone, students have visited the OSC and TSC more than 20,000 times to connect with faculty, academic support staff, graduate students, and fellow transfer and first-generation college students.
What
Students Have to Say...
“
I was able to develop a meaningful connection with [the faculty mentor] that I would not have been able to do during her office hours. It also made me feel more confident in my ability to form these kinds of connections with other faculty members.
Pathways to Belonging
ONDAS and TSC collaborate with campus partners to create pathways to academic belonging throughout students’ UCSB careers.
CONNECTING TO THE CAMPUS
First-Generation and Transfer Scholars Welcome
CONNECTING WITH FACULTY
Professor Lunch Hours and the Faculty Mentoring Program
Professor Lunch Hours and the Faculty Mentoring Program enable students to meet and build connections with firstgeneration and transfer faculty outside the classroom in a relaxed, small-group setting conducive to meaningful conversations, impactful mentoring moments, and transformative connections.
Thriving, Not Surviving: Navigating Higher Education as a First-Generation College Student
Held at the beginning of each year, around 300 attendees attend the First-Gen and Transfer Scholars Welcome, a campus resource fair, a research opportunities fair, and -perhaps most importantly -- a way to connect with first-gen and transfer faculty, staff, graduate students, and peers.
CONNECTING TO RESOURCES
Academic Advocates and Navigating Higher Education
Academic Advocates connects first-generation and transfer students with academic support staff from a variety of campus departments, helping students build the skills and confidence to navigate UCSB’s resources.
Thriving, Not Surviving: Navigating Higher Education as a First-Generation College Student invites students enrolled in summer courses to learn from first-generation graduate students about various aspects of the first-generation experience including navigating imposter syndrome and how to survive and thrive in academic spaces.
“ Participating in the faculty mentoring program [I made] such a meaningful connection with [the faculty mentor] and my fellow undergraduates...Overall this experience has been immensely valuable to my college experience.
Successful Student Transitions
Transformative Transitions to UCSB
Successful Student Transitions creates events for students to build their own navigational tools, and for faculty to support this development. Fostering skills, knowledge, and an understanding of how the campus “works,” students develop academic belonging and contribute to the university community.
Finding a Path to a New Major (or Minor)
Nearly 7,000 undergraduates change their major each year. Warm Up to a New Major, an initiative of the Office of Successful Student Transitions, helps these students explore academic paths they may not have previously considered. In partnership with faculty and academic advisors, the program introduces students to new majors and minors that align with their evolving interests, offering fresh opportunities to deepen their knowledge and chart meaningful academic journeys.
Transitions in Action
INTW120: Transferring to the Research University
To empower students to navigate resources available at our research university, more than 400 students since 2021 have enrolled in the online course, “Transferring to the Research University,” created specifically for transfer students by the Successful Student Transitions Office. Offered online in the summer prior to transfer students’ first quarter, this course prepares students to excel academically and begin developing their UCSB community by learning about a range of faculty members’ research programs and completing group projects that explore academic majors.
The Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning (CITRAL)
Transforming Teaching for Today’s Students
The Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning (CITRAL) is a hub for cutting-edge, innovative teaching at UCSB. CITRAL’s learning experts offer one-to-one consultations on teaching; extended seminars for faculty and graduate TAs; graduate certificate programs; and discussion groups focusing on learning and teaching for the entire campus community. CITRAL also includes the TA Development Program, which provides comprehensive pedagogical education for graduate students.
Transformative Teaching in Action: CITRAL Extended Seminars
The year-long ONDAS-CITRAL Seminar on Equity and Inclusive Teaching and fourweek RISE (Reimagining Instruction for the Student Experience) Institute are recognized nationwide as models for teaching transformation.
Since 2015, more than 400 faculty participants teaching tens of thousands of students have participated in one or both of these sustained seminars. Faculty study how learning works: the differences between new (novice) and experienced (expert) learners; how knowledge is made in disciplines, and how they can support learning. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data about the student experience, seminar participants work with faculty peers in cohort groups to learn to make their teaching more effective and equitable.
Being able to write with a new set of terminology, or being able to speak with a new set of terminology, is difficult for students. This made me think more about the way I grade exams . . . in terms of even a short answer question. If it’s worded oddly does that mean the student doesn’t understand it, or does it mean they’re learning to use this new terminology?
-- Professor John Latto, Ecology, Evolutionary, and Marine Biology, ONDAS Seminar Participant
“
93% of respondents to a 2025 CITRAL assessment said that participating in CITRAL activities helped change their thinking about teaching and learning.
I have become more confident in my teaching style through many workshops, symposia, and consultations/conversations/seminars put on by CITRAL. I have learned about many ways to approach student-centered learning. I have also been able to connect with colleagues across campus to share strategies and approaches. I have become slightly more fluent in teachingspeak (terms and theories used to describe different philosophies). I also have become more aware of ways to scaffold my own learning about teaching by using resources on campus to support exploration and exposure to diverse methods and experiences.
“
Participating in CITRAL activities has reshaped how I think about both learning and institutional evaluation. As someone whose work bridges data analytics, program evaluation, and student experience, CITRAL’s focus on inclusive and equity-minded pedagogy encouraged me to reconsider how we define and measure success - not just in courses, but across programs and systems.
“
Before I attended CITRAL workshops, I didn’t think much about the why of my courses - what were my class goals and how did the assignments link to these goals. Working with CITRAL made me much more intentional about course design. It also made me think about alternative forms of assignments that might better achieve my end goals.
Unique CITRAL Faculty Participants | By College and Division
CITRAL in Action
Foundations for Future
Educators
The TA Development Program (TADP) and the Promoting Postdoctoral Progress (P3) programs provide a pathway for graduate students and postdocs to learn how to center equity in their teaching and learning while fostering student belonging and academic success.
TADP Pathway
PILLARS
Early to Mid-Career
Essential teaching Strategies
LTAI STIA
Mentorship and community with future faculty
The graduate/postdoc pathway begins with the Pillars of Teaching Assistantship certificate, which introduces early-career TAs to fundamental principles of assetbased and research-informed teaching, such as inclusive learning strategies, student engagement practices, and equity-minded pedagogical design.
The Lead TA Institute (LTAI) extends these networks, allowing graduate students to build leadership and mentorship skills in a network of colleagues while facilitating learning communities.
Graduate students preparing to teach their own independent courses participate in the Summer Teaching Institute for Associates (STIA), where they apply principles of equitable course design to structure, lead, and assess their own classes.
Co-created with campus partners like the Graduate Student Resource Center, the Educational Opportunities Program, and the Neurodiversity Task Force, OTL pedagogical training programs for graduate students and postdocs offer progressive opportunities to build inclusive, evidence-based, and student-centered teaching practices.
CIT
Later-Career
first-time instructors
Any Stage of Career Community around equitable teaching practices
CCUT
Later-Career
Professionalization and excellence in teaching
Graduate students finish their training by completing the Certificate in Inclusive Teaching (CIT) and/or the Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT) The CIT is a flexible and interdisciplinary initiative that empowers UCSB graduate students and postdocs to develop inclusive, equity-minded, and student-centered teaching practices. The CCUT is a rigorous, multi-year program that recognizes excellence in course design, instruction, mentorship, and reflective practice by helping graduate students prepare comprehensive teaching portfolios.
The quarter-long Promoting Postdoctoral Progress program helps STEM postdoctoral researchers develop teaching and mentoring strategies essential for creating more equitable learning environments and being competitive in the job market.
Community-Wide Transformation
OTL Communities of Practice
Designing structures to support learning is challenging in a large, research-intensive university. The Office of Teaching and Learning’s Communities of Practice bring faculty, staff, and TAs together to address these challenges in structured, goal-focused discussions that contribute to equitable and asset-based research and practices focused on learning and teaching. OTL communities of practice serve as opportunities for instructors to collaboratively explore and implement the latest research in equitable and inclusive learning and teaching.
AI Community of Practice
A collaboration between OTL and the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the AI Community of Practice comprises more than 280 faculty and staff who are AI practitioner-scholars. Together, they explore ideas and innovations for using AI productively and responsibly.
AI CoP members have organized themselves into four special interest groups: AI for Workplace Productivity, AI for Teaching and Learning, AI for Research, and AI for Applications Development. AI CoP members share resources, host ongoing lively discussions, and contribute to the yearly AI Symposium hosted by the Office of Teaching and Learning and the Chief Information Officer.
Just-in-Time Communities of Practice
Teaching at UCSB for New and Nearly New Faculty
UCSB’s new faculty members are gifted researchers and educators. In CITRAL’s “New and Nearly New” community of practice, new faculty learn from each other, from OTL experts, and from the research literature on the experience of teaching in a research university.
Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education
Convened to dive into a new synthesis report published by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education community has developed a roadmap for prioritizing transforming undergraduate STEM education for UCSB’s undergraduate students.
OTL in Action
The MAXimizing Students’ Potential Program
Each year, more than 1,200 incoming students seek to major in STEM disciplines at UCSB. Collectively, they face the challenge of navigating a research university for the first time while enrolling in required STEM courses with over 300 students. UCSB data show the first quarter can be “make or break” as students adapt to the fast-paced quarter system, large classes, communal living, and more.
To address this, the UCSB MAXimizing Students’ Potential Program (UCSB MAX) was collaboratively developed by OTL and STEM faculty, students, and staff. MAX provides structure for new students to develop disciplinary knowledge and navigational skills essential for success.
MAX students begin in a bridge and peer mentoring program that includes an online summer course focused on core STEM concepts and academic skills. In peer-led mentoring groups, they discuss practice problems, case studies, and strategies for navigating UCSB.
As Fall quarter begins, MAX near-peer mentors continue to support students through the rigorous transition into Chemistry and Math coursework.
Data-Driven Network and Structure
OTL research shows equity gap for students in introductory STEM courses
OTL meets with STEM department chairs, faculty, and VC DEI
OTL convenes STEM faculty working group to develop the UCSB MAXimizing Potential (UCSB MAX) Program
Winter 2023
Spring 2023
UCSB MAX
UCSB MAX Makes a Difference!
Students who participated in MAX during Summer 2024 received a higher average grade in Fall quarter 2025 introductory chemistry and math courses than demographically matched students who did not participate in MAX.
Summer 2024
UCSB MAX Program begins with INTW25, “Bridge to STEM”
Fall 2024
MAX Undergraduate Learning Assistants continue to work with incoming STEM students in Fall quarter courses
Data-Driven Practices
Promoting Data-Driven, Evidence-Based
Practices
Creating networks and structures for learning is an institutional responsibility. Careful analysis of institutional data can help UCSB describe existing networks and structures; identify who is better- and less-well served by these structures; and focus resources to provide even more effective support.
The Office of Teaching and Learning helps provide and interpret quantitative and qualitative data for faculty, campus units, and the campus that provide deep insights into students’ experiences of learning. Then, OTL collaborates across the campus to catalyze programs that infuse necessary support to build new structures and networks to support learning more effectively.
Data-Driven Perspectives
When faculty think about their teaching, they focus on individual courses. When students think about their time at UCSB, they focus on a trajectory of learning across individual courses. To help understand students’ complex journeys, OTL collaborates with Institutional Research and campus partners to develop data dashboards that faculty, departments, and groups of departments use to inform the design or redesign of courses and course sequences.
Equity Data offers departments multiple data visualizations to understand student persistence, retention, and graduation rates in majors and courses.
Equity Dashboards show departments when students enter and leave majors; how different student populations are supported; and what students graduate in their original majors and what populations in other majors. Created in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment as part of UCSB’s reaffirmation of institutional accreditation in 2023, equity dashboards are integral parts of institutional research processes, such as program learning outcomes assessment and program review.
Data in Action: Major Completion Patterns
As part of the University of California’s Compact with the Governor, all UC campuses have identified 2030 graduation goals for first-year and transfer entrants. These goals also include subgoals for students receiving Pell awards (considered low income), students from underrepresented groups, and first-generation students.
UCSB’s equity dashboards help the campus track progress toward these goals and examine student trajectories within majors. Access to more detailed data allows UCSB to target resources where they will be most effective, supporting progress toward the 2030 graduation goals.
Equity dashboards like the one shown here help departments understand students’ pathways. This dashboard visualizes the pathways of students who enter a major as first years (“F1”) and when they switch to another major. The data is disaggregated using an index called “effectors of opportunity” (or “effectors”), factors consistently shown to correlate with educational opportunity.
Equity Data in Action
Course Equity reports include information about student outcomes and guiding questions. The reports and consultations provide comprehensive resources for instructors to move beyond grade data and design learning environments to support all students’ success. Course Equity Reports include multiple visualizations like this one, which illustrates grade distributions, and includes guiding questions for further analysis.
Why and How Telling Data Stories
Quantitative data provide insight into what is happening. Qualitative data provide deeper insights into why and how something is taking place. The Transfer Student Experiences project and Undergraduate Learning Assistant and Peer Mentoring program illustrate two initiatives that reflect the kinds of robust stories OTL tells using complex data collaborations.
Faculty Stories:
Student Evaluation of
Teaching
Reports
Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) reports are a required element in the merit and promotion process for all faculty at UC Santa Barbara. These reports, completed by students at the end of a course, provide information about students’ experiences of learning in the course that faculty can use to improve their courses and instruction.
To help faculty interpret these reports, OTL’s course evaluation group provides written guidance and consultation on reports. SET Interpretation Guidance helps contextualize course evaluation reports as data points for faculty research into students’ learning experiences; provides a structured approach for interpreting quantitative and qualitative course evaluation feedback (with illustrative case studies, as pictured below); and provides advice for faculty as they interpret the data for wider audiences in documents prepared for merit review and promotion.
Case Study
Professor Plover’s Course Context
Interpreting the SET scores, Professor Plover grouped the ratings in two chunks: course delivery and course design, feedback, and environment. Plover saw that overall, students generally agreed that their delivery helped them learn. This made sense, Professor Plover thought -- they had heard repeatedly that they were a very engaging lecturer, and this was borne out in students’ written feedback, where students said Professor Plover was entertaining, fun, and lively. But Professor Plover observed that students said the course design, feedback, and environment were less helpful for their learning.
Professor Plover also knew that the room where the course had been scheduled had made group work especially hard, too -- the chairs were bolted to the floor and it was hard for students to talk to each other. They decided that next time, they would request a large project-based learning room so students could collaborate more easily.
Professor Plover saved these notes to a “teaching statement” document that they could use for their upcoming merit review. When they wrote their teaching statement, they would be able to provide context: this was their first time teaching a large class; some things went well, and they knew what they would work on with their teaching mentor and Office of Teaching and Learning to develop their teaching as they taught the course in subsequent offerings.
Student Stories: Transfer Student Experiences
Each year, one-third of UCSB’s incoming student population transfers from another institution. OTL has played an instrumental role in developing and organizing transferspecific support structures to ensure that UCSB’s diverse transfer student population can fully engage in the research university experience.
To better understand the transfer student experience at UCSB, the OTL team conducts regular studies of the transfer student experience, collaborating with Professor Vanessa Woods (Psychological & Brain Sciences), undergraduate, and graduate student partners. Study results have been presented in technical reports and published in peer-reviewed journals; informed support programs and structures in Transfer Student Centers; and informed opportunities for improving transfer student experiences at our research university. These include transfer near peer mentorship programs; facilitated access to high-impact practices such as undergraduate research and study abroad; and a proposal to extend the normative timeline for graduation from two years to three years based on transfer students’ assessments of their experiences at UC Santa Barbara.
Data in Action: The 2025 Report on the Experiences of Transfer Students
How can UCSB systemically understand and improve the experience of transfer students?
To answer this question, the OTL team and Professor Vanessa Woods maintain a continuous research collaboration. Their most recent report is The Experiences of Transfer Students. Based on a survey of 570 transfer students and additional qualitative data based on focus groups survey respondents, their research shows here focused resources have contributed to students’ senses of academic belonging, persistence, and success, and where the institution can focus future activities. For example:
Overall, transfer students have generally positive experiences, in part because of extensive transfer-focused programs offered by OTL.
Transfer students’ arrival to UCSB is challenging. Coming from community colleges with small courses and high-touch programs, the structure of UCSB courses and the lack of structures for student-faculty interaction is difficult. Transfer students also experience housing challenges.
Taking advantage of UCSB’s opportunities can take more than two years, but this means incurring additional cost. If they complete their degrees in four years, transfer students have six quarters to find their footing, locate housing, adjust to new courses, find their ways in a much larger institution than their previous one, and more. This leaves little time to take advantage of what a research university offers -- undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, participation in campus organizations, and more. When transfer students are able to stay for three years, their experiences are significantly enhanced -- but this means an additional year of tuition, fees, and housing costs.
OTL researchers and staff are sharing the 2025 Report data with faculty and advisors in individual departments to support and build new transfer-focused activities and pathways based on the Report’s findings’ relationship to educational opportunity.
Collaborative Stories
Undergraduate Learning Assistant and Peer Mentor Support
Timeline: Program Milestones
DATE
2022-2023
Academic Year
Winter/Spring 2023
Summer 2023
MILESTONE
Campus data indicate where additional support for undergraduate learners can benefit students in large, lower division courses in STEM and social sciences
OTL proposes pilot program to provide funding for undergraduate learning assistants and peer mentors in select courses enrolling 100+ students; pedagogical education for undergraduates; and mentor training for faculty
OTL team hosts the faculty seminar for the first cohort of funding recipients
Fall 2023
Winter/Spring 2024
Faculty launch pilot ULA and UPM programs in their departments
2024-2025
Academic Year
The call for ULA and UPM funding is open to instructors across campus
Pilot departments report positive impact of ULAs on student learning; program expands in response to success and increased demand
Near-Peer Learning Works
Near-Peer Learning occurs when students can access academic support and mentoring from students who are “like them” -- age and major peers who have navigated similar academic pathways. UCSB’s near-peer learning program, initiated after analysis of data from introductory STEM courses, works.
With funding from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, OTL provides professional support and funding for faculty members to employ ULAs and works closely with ULAs to hone their professional skills and academic identities.
Preliminary results from the first two years of the use of ULAs and UPMs show improved academic success and have yielded extensive qualitative data about the value of near-peer support from undergraduate learners. There is high demand for ULA support from faculty.
91 courses supported through 244 ULA appointments in 2024–2025
Students with near-peer support perform better in large, introductory courses
ULAs gain professional and academic identity development
Faculty report improved student learning and live course feedback
What Students Say
ULAs were very accessible and always happy to help me try to learn. The way the LAs approached problems was very different from the way the instructor approached problems. I like [the ULA’s approach] much better.
What Instructors Say
ULAs are super important for undergraduate courses. I could never have the same relationship they have with my students, and my students and I constantly benefit from the ULA bridge to improve the teaching experience.
High-Impact Practices at Scale
High-Impact Practices at Scale
Implementing Asset-Based Frameworks to Increase Persistence and Retention
Networks and structures that support learning successfully build on the knowledge that people bring to learning. This approach to learning development is referred to as asset-based and equity-focused. It starts with the idea that everyone is a learner and advocates for creating supportive structures that adapt to diverse learning needs and recognizes the diversity of journeys and paths students take through the university.
High-Impact Practices are learning opportunities for students and teaching strategies for faculty that have repeatedly shown, in study after study, to support learners, increasing retention and persistence. They provide environments for students to learn deeply and think critically, enhance their senses of academic belonging, and develop skills and strategies critical for academic and career success. High-impact practices include frequent student-faculty communication; the use of writing to aid learning; participation in undergraduate research; collaborative learning; and learning communities.
Incorporating high-impact practices can be challenging at UCSB. Incoming students often enroll in very large courses and do not always have access to TAs. The Office of Teaching and Learning collaborates with faculty and departments across UCSB to develop asset-based, equity-focused strategies to implement high-impact practices at scale to improve the experience of all UCSB students.
Dynamic In-Class Support
Tailored Academic Coaching
More than 60 percent of UCSB’s incoming students enroll in large enrollment, high-stakes, pre-major courses in departments like Biology, Psychology, Physics, Economics, Statistics, and more. The courses introduce rigorous, challenging ideas in fast-paced lectures packed into a ten-week quarter. Talking with a faculty member or TA can be make-or-break for students in these courses -- but for many students, and for faculty, this can be challenging.
CITRAL’s online tailored coaching platform, employed in partnership with the University of Michigan, helps faculty provide this support. CITRAL learning experts work with faculty to develop and distribute customized messages to students based on their grades, survey data on how they are feeling about their work in the course, and their goals and expectations.
Since 2017, over 10,000 students enrolled in introductory courses have participated in classes that implement tailored academic coaching. Research focused on student experience in introductory Biology — the most sustained course in which tailored coaching is used — shows that students who engage with the messages receive higher exam scores.
Students who come from first-generation and/or minoritized backgrounds on average received 6 more points on their exam after they reviewed personalized messaging about exam prep and time management.
CITRAL’s Tailored
Coaching Personalized Message To Student
Using Writing to Learn Complex Concepts in Large Courses
Research has repeatedly shown that using writing to practice with hard concepts is critical for learning. But in courses with high faculty: student ratios, it can be difficult for faculty to review and provide feedback on student work.
Via Access to Practice, CITRAL learning experts work with faculty to develop highly structured writing and peer review activities for students to practice with key course concepts or crucial ways of writing. AtP then uses an electronic platform, incorporated into the campus’s learning management system (Canvas) to distribute the prompts to students; automatically create peer review groupings so that students can provide feedback to each other; and provide data back to faculty based on the peer responses so that faculty can see where students are doing well, and where the faculty can tailor their instruction to focus on areas where students need additional support.
CITRAL research, as well as learning research more broadly, finds that peer-to-peer learning is a powerful learning boost for students as they receive feedback and for students as they provide feedback to others.
Since 2021, over 15,000 students have completed structured peer review assignments across STEM, Social Sciences, and Humanities courses. OTL research shows that completing writing-peer review assignments contributes to higher grades on exams and final papers.
Students who come from first-generation and/or minoritized backgrounds scored 4.5 percentage points higher on final exams after engaging in peer review assignments in comparison to their peers.
Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning is another high-impact practice that makes a difference, but one that is challenging in large courses. OTL’s Instructional Applications Group, in collaboration with UCSB’s Instructional Development unit, works with faculty to implement technologies for students to build community and work collaboratively, even in very large courses. These include iClicker and Poll Everywhere, two classroom response systems that enable instructors to pose questions for students and students to respond electronically in real-time. Response data are displayed on screens, enabling faculty to check student understanding, incorporate responses into lecture, use responses to prompt paired discussion, and more.
Meaningful Assessment at Scale
Implementing existing impact practices at scale shows how OTL enables UCSB to take students’ needs into account, even in large courses. As a unit within a research university, OTL is also contributing to the identification of new high-impact practices as we provide guidance to UCSB and other research universities around the world to create networks and structures in a changing landscape. OTL’s Innovative Examination Pilot illustrates one nascent high-impact practice being piloted.
Through this pilot, instructors work with CITRAL and the Instructional Applications Group to use one of two available online applications to develop rigorous onlineonly examinations that focus on application of conceptual knowledge (rather than repetition of facts or figures) that draw from randomized banks of commonly-framed questions. Instructors can then define the conditions for students to access these exams. Some instructors might have students take exams in a common setting at the same time; others might allow students to schedule when to take the exams in locations that are monitored by UCSB proctors. This approach provides students and faculty with flexibility to create the most beneficial possible conditions for supporting learning.
In addition to exploring innovative assessment delivery, the grading process itself can be made easier-to-manage through the use of technological grading tools. To this end, OTL manages and supports Gradescope, which streamlines grading for instructors and allows teaching teams to collaborate effectively during the grading process.
OVER 10,000 Students Supported by Tailored Academic Coaching OVER 15,000
Students Completed Peer Reviews
High-Impact Practices at Scale
Guiding Learning through Large Courses
Tailored messages provide students support and recommendations to successfully navigate large courses.
Technology-enhanced collaborative learning facilitates active learning, allowing students in large courses to check their understanding and discuss with peers via iClicker and Poll Everywhere.
Access to Practice peer review helps students practice with complex concepts in Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM courses.
1,443 UCSB Student Polling Presenter Accounts Created in AY 24-25
4,357 Polling Activities in AY 24-25
High-Impact Practices in Action
The URCA Research Pipeline for Undergraduates
Participating in research with UCSB’s world-renown research faculty is a hallmark of students’ undergraduate journeys. OTL’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) office creates a structure for this research journey. URCA provides support for students who want to get involved in research; grants to support that involvement; a week of campus-wide events each year to highlight the outstanding work of undergraduates; and a research journal that showcases outstanding undergraduate research. The URCA Center, a collaboration with the UCSB Library, also serves as a hub for the campus’s other units supporting undergraduates involved in research to come together and engage in collaborative programming and support for undergraduate researchers.
The pipeline begins in Fall quarter with laptops, laughter, and chatter. It’s the night of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities’ “Final Lap,” an early-November pizza party and writing session preceding the URCA Grant application deadline. The Final Lap helps URCA connect undergraduate researchers and create a supportive research pipeline for undergraduates.
Researchers gather again at the end of the year for URCA Week’s signature events: the URCA Poster Colloquium; the Undergraduate Research Slam; and the URCA Conference. After a year of researching, these events showcase the remarkable work of the campus’s undergraduate researchers. Many then revise their work yet again for their first publication in the URCA Journal, hosted on eScholarship, an open-access platform developed and hosted by the University of California.
High-Impact Practices
What Students Say
URCA Week 2025
By the Numbers
URCA funds over 300 student research projects each year.
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Participating in URCA showcased my ability to complete a project of my own and has helped me be a better student as well. Some of these skills include leadership, effective verbal and written communication, problem solving, and time management.
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I think running my own project and getting to present it at both the EEMB Undergrad Research Symposium and URCA … provide[d] a super unique atmosphere of collaborative science, but it also made me feel a bit more confident and passionate about talking about my work. Additionally, learning about how my lab mates also struggled and felt similarly to me when things weren’t going so well helped me understand that things weren’t always smooth sailing.
Expanding the Network for Learning
Expanding the Network for Learning
As UC Santa Barbara adapts to a rapidly changing landscape, the Office of Teaching and Learning is committed to expanding networks and structures supporting learning. Expanding networks means providing resources and support for members of the campus community to come together to spark new ideas; creating opportunities and support to pilot those ideas; and supporting new and dynamic initiatives and ideas.
OTL in Action: Teaching and Learning Symposia
Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff voices. Posters sessions, presentations, and roundtables. The conversations are happening as part of OTL’s two symposia, events that bring the campus together to dig into themes associated with learning and learning.
The Teaching and Learning Symposium, held each Winter quarter, features the latest research into learning conducted by faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students. Over two days, participants come together to learn about topics ranging from leveraging digital media to enrich learning and engagement to developing alternative grading practices.
Spring quarter’s AI Symposium, a collaboration between OTL, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Rupe Professorship, brings together faculty, staff, and students to present the very latest innovations in and research on the use of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. The AI Symposium is also part of the AI Community of Practice
Teaching and Learning Symposium | 50 Presenters
18 Faculty Presenters
18 Staff Presenters
6 Graduate Student Presenters
8 Undergraduate Student Presenters
AI Symposium | 41 Presenters
13 Faculty Presenters
15 Staff Presenters
9 Graduate Student Presenters
4 Undergraduate Student Presenters
Teaching Innovations
OTL’s Supported Programs and Grants
Supported programs enable the Office of Teaching and Learning to collaborate with colleagues from across the campus to create student-centered programs that provide supportive networks and structures that enhance learning, retention, and persistence.
The Arnhold Arts and Humanities Commons, sponsored by a gift from John (‘72) and Jody Arnhold, supports the development of innovative, student-focused, arts and humanities learning experiences for undergraduates. These include team-taught courses offered during Summer Sessions that also provide scholarships for students to enroll; courses in Winter and Spring quarter of each academic year; and ongoing programming sponsored by Arnhold Faculty Fellows. The Arts and Humanities Commons also includes the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts in the College of Letters and Science and the Department of Theater and Dance.
Arnhold Arts and Humanities Commons
Featured Courses
Experiencing Shakespeare
The Tempest. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hamlet. UCSB students have read Shakespeare, but INT35LT: Experiencing Shakespeare, an intensive Summer Sessions course, offers them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the experience. Team taught by Professor Jim Kearney (English) and Professor Irwin Appel (Theater and Dance), students in Experiencing Shakespeare immerse themselves in studying and producing a full-length version of one play each summer. In the process, they develop new understandings of the culture, history, and context of the plays as well as the experience of being part of creating theater for public performance.
Religion and Technology
Complex theoretical conversations about religion, media, history, and technology in real space and virtual reality. This is INT3VR: Religion and Technology, a cuttingedge class that uses virtual reality as a way for students to reflect on the religious and cultural implications of new technologies. Co-taught by Religious Studies Professors Joseph Blankholm and Dominic Steveau, Religion and Technology provides a completely new approach to diving deeply into complex theoretical concepts about spatial design, religion, and modes of interacting with technology.
OTL Hybrid, Online, and Technology-Enhanced Teaching Mini-Grants
OTL’s Hybrid, Online, and Technology-Enhanced (HOT)
Mini Grants provide starter funding for UCSB faculty to pilot pedagogical innovations. HOT grants have spurred some of the campus’s most innovative approaches to redesigning learning and teaching.
HOT Grants In Action
Ecology, Evolutionary, and Marine Biology Professor Cherie Briggs redesigned the lab component of EEMB’s upper division Biometry course, enrolling 160+ students each quarter. HOT grant funding allowed Professor Briggs and a graduate student to create modern data sets that align with data sovereignty, incorporate themes that are relevant for students’ experiences, and promote the most recent advancement in data tools. Redesigned labs also helped TAs teach more effectively and grade student work more efficiently.
History Professor Brad Bouley’s HOT Mini Grant enabled him to develop simulations that allow the 130+ students in his Renaissance History courses to think like historians by engaging in historical reenactments created with the aid of AI. Drawing on primary source documents read in Bouley’s courses, students apply their understanding of historical figures and choices in their historical contexts by playing roles in historical moments, engaging with the AI as an interlocutor -- the outbreak of the Black Plague in Florence; the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica; the choices enacted by Machiavelli, and more.
Physics Professor Deborah Fygenson used HOT grant funding to scale up remote controlled lab equipment initially developed during the pandemic for use in labs during the return to in-person instruction. As the Physics Department restructured its undergraduate curriculum to support student learning, the faculty found that incorporating a blend of remote-controlled and in-person labs helped students to experience with a wider array of physical phenomena in a single quarter.
The Yardi Scholars for Environmental Justice Program
The Yardi Scholars for Environmental Justice Program, a joint program of UCSB’s Environmental Studies Program and Office of Teaching and Learning, is a transformative four-year scholarship program for students from all majors who want to learn changemaking skills to address complex environmental challenges. Up to 20 Yardi scholars each year receive four-year scholars, participate in multidisciplinary coursework and experiential learning, and join a community of peers to forge connections on campus, in the community, and in professions.
Teaching with Equity and Inclusion Book Group
CITRAL’s Teaching with Equity and Inclusion book groups are an opportunity for the entire community -- graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and staff -- to collectively learn about supporting students and faculty. Each winter, two groups come together -- one of faculty and staff, and one of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers -- to discuss a book focused on issues of equity in teaching and learning. Participants explore complex theories, ideas, and practical strategies for enhancing their learning.
Meet the Team
Meet the Team
At the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), our impact begins with collaborative, passionate individuals committed to elevating the UCSB educational experience. Get to know the people who bring OTL’s mission to life: champions of teaching excellence, designers of transformative learning experiences, and advocates for inclusive student success.
Associate Vice Chancellor of Teaching and Learning
Linda Adler-Kassner
Faculty Director, Center for Innovative Teaching, Research, and Learning (CITRAL)
Professor Writing Studies
citral.ucsb.edu/people/linda-adler-kassner
The Office of Teaching and Learning
Lisa Berry, Director, CITRAL
Bret Brinkman, Director, IAG
Mindy Colin, Associate Director of Digital Pedagogy, CITRAL
Denise Diaz, Director, OSC
Yasmine Dominguez-Whitehead, Director, Transitions
Nate Emery, Associate Director of STEM Education, CITRAL
Olga Faccani, Associate Director for Graduate Student Development, CITRAL
Hector Gonzalez, Instructional Applications Programmer, IAG
Noah Goodman, Office Manager, CITRAL
Josh Kuntzman, Assessment Coordinator, Assessment
MB Kurilko, Canvas Consultant, IAG
Morgan La Cavera, Financial Analyst, OTL
Anthony Lopez, Research Analyst, OTL
Diana Magaña, Assistant Director, OSC
Matthew Nuñez, Programs Assistant, TSC
Malaphone Phommasa, Assistant Dean, Academic Success Initiatives
Maggie Safronova, Associate Director, OTL
Samantha Schultz, Instructional Applications Support Technician, IAG
Dana Shreaves, Instructional Designer, CITRAL
Inna Slyutova, Evaluation Systems Analyst, CITRAL
Anita Stahl, Director, URCA
Michelle Stransky, Assistant Dean of Administration, OTL
Nicole Strobel, Strategic Analyst, OTL
Montrell Thigpen, LMS Programmer, IAG
Kari Weber, Director, TSC
Gus Wood, Digital Learning Specialist, IAG
Center for Innovative Research, Teaching, and Learning (CITRAL)
The Center for Innovative Research, Teaching, and Learning (CITRAL) promotes research-based learning design, pedagogical innovations, and learning communities.
CITRAL provides:
• Expert pedagogical consultation for faculty and graduate TAs and instructors.
• Research-based seminars, workshops, and communities of practice for faculty, TAs, and postdoctoral scholars.
• Resources for course design.
• Data for faculty to engage with course equity and support for data interpretation for faculty, departments, and administrators.
• Course evaluations for UCSB faculty and contributes to processes associated with evaluation of teaching.
• Expert support for online development and instruction.
• Pedagogical innovations, including tailored coaching supporting student success in large STEM courses and Access to Practice, a writing initiative that facilitates teaching and learning of difficult concepts and ways of writing.
CITRAL’s location in the UCSB Library provides a central location for faculty, graduate student, and undergraduate access.
citral.ucsb.edu
Opening New Doors to Academic Success (ONDAS) Student Center (OSC)
The Opening New Doors to Academic Success (ONDAS) Student Center (OSC) provides holistic support for all students, and especially first-generation college students, through mentorship, community, and connection with faculty, staff, and peers.
ONDAS provides academic-focused programming and resources that empower students to navigate their higher education journey, promote academic development and foster long-term student success.
ONDAS offers:
• Faculty Engagement Beyond the Classroom invites students to build meaningful relationships with faculty through in-person office hours, informal gatherings and mentorship experiences.
• Collaborative Academic Advising and Targeted Support offered by the College of Letters and Science, the Educational Opportunity Program, and the Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULAs) to help students master complex material.
• Graduate School Pathways and Academic workshops equip students with the skills, knowledge, and mentoring needed to boost students’ academic confidence and navigate the graduate application process.
• Physical study space serves as a hub for student support—offering an accessible, supportive environment for focused study, access to basic needs resources, and community-building events.
ondas.ucsb.edu
Transfer Student Center (TSC)
The Transfer Student Center (TSC) is a welcoming academic support space open to all students with a specialized focus on the transfer student experience. The TSC is committed to fostering personal, academic, and professional success for transfer students.
The Center builds community and belonging through peer support networks, connections to campus resources, and engaging programs tailored to the unique journey of transfer students.
TSC offers:
• Academic workshops to build skills and confidence.
• Community-building events to connect with fellow students.
• Opportunities to engage with faculty outside the classroom.
• Graduate school preparation and mentoring.
• Economics tutoring and ULA (Undergraduate Learning Assistant) drop-in hours
• Academic advising through the College of Letters & Science, the Educational Opportunity Program, and major departments.
transfercenter.ucsb.edu
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA)
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) facilitates equitable access, opportunities, and support for students as they engage in university research. URCA’s programs prepare students to apply their learned skills toward their future personal, academic, and professional goals.
URCA supports:
• Faculty Research Assistance Program grants to support faculty who mentor undergraduate researchers
• Undergraduate Research Directory to facilitate matching students and faculty for research opportunities
• URCA Grants to fund student initiate projects
• URCA Week public forums for students to present their research in poster form, as conference presentations, or as part of a “research slam”
• URCA Press to support open-access publication of student work
• URCA Center, through a partnership with the UCSB Library, is a hub for undergraduate students across departments to find opportunities, support, and community throughout their research journey.
urca.ucsb.edu
Successful Student Transitions
Successful Student Transitions provides resources and support to students transitioning to the university and within the university. Guided by inclusive and equitable practices that support a diverse student body, Successful Student Transitions takes into consideration the needs of new students, especially those who have been traditionally marginalized in higher education.
The Successful Student Transitions Office offers:
• Courses for new students during the summer and fall designed to promote academic success.
• Academic Activities throughout the year that promote learning and campus connections.
• Programs such as “Warm up to a New Major/Minor, which allow students to explore a variety of majors/minors.
• Workshops with academic and student affairs partners.
• Resources on a dedicated website (transitions.ucsb.edu) that help students make the transition to UCSB.
transitions.ucsb.edu
Instructional Applications Group
The Instructional Applications Group (IAG) supports campus digital learning via the Canvas LMS (Learning Management System) and other instructional applications. Collaborating across campus units, IAG supports assessment, communication, engagement, and course management tools for in-person, hybrid, and online instruction. With a focus on student learning
The Instructional Applications Group:
• Manages and supports the learning management system and integrated applications
• Helps evaluate and implement new instructional tools
• Encourages and supports faculty to implement best practices of learning technologies
canvas.ucsb.edu
Assessment and Institutional Data Group
A collaboration between OTL and UCSB’s Office of Institutional Research, the Assessment and Institutional Data Group is responsible for ensuring that departments conduct regular assessments of program learning outcomes and that the campus’s educational efforts are consistent with standards outlined by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).
Within this context, the assessment and learning research unit is dedicated to helping educators at all levels (program leadership, faculty, student teachers).
Assessment works collaboratively to:
• Describe what progressive learning achievement looks like in courses and disciplines
• Investigate how and where students can be supported in this learning; and
• Refine and implement data-collection strategies to inform continued improvements in curricula and teaching.
We offer regular workshops and one-on-one consultations about Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) assessment, rubric-making, and other timely topics for faculty and graduate students; coordinate access to/interpretation of Institutional Research data; and facilitate focus groups, surveys, and other forms of student feedback.
assessment.ucsb.edu
The OTL Advisory Board brings together faculty, staff, and campus leaders who provide strategic insight and collaborative guidance to ensure the Office of Teaching and Learning’s programs align with UCSB’s academic mission. Their expertise helps shape initiatives that advance inclusive, evidence-based teaching and support student success across disciplines.
We thank them for their thoughtful leadership, generous time, and unwavering commitment to teaching and learning at UCSB.
Advisory Board
Refugia “Cuca” Acosta, Executive Director of Admissions
Nicole Albada, Associate Teaching Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Miles Ashlock, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Joaquin Becerra, Dean of Students
Inés Casillas, Professor, Chicanx Studies
Veronica Fematt, HSI Director
James Ford, Director of Summer Sessions
Amy Gonzales, Associate Professor, Communication
Danielle Harlow, Professor, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
Jarett Henderson, Continuing Lecturer, History Department
Rebecca Metzger, Associate University Librarian
Holly Moeller, Associate Professor, Ecology, Evolutionary, and Marine Biology
Andy Satomi, Executive Director, Academic Information Technology and Space Management
Tim Sherwood, Dean, College of Creative Studies and Professor of Computer Science
Madeleine Sorapure, Teaching Professor, Writing Program, and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, College of Letters and Science
Sara Pankenier Weld, Professor, Russian and Comparative Literature
Laurel Wilder, Associate Director, Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment