All_Initiatives

Current Initiatives

A group of five students sit around a table in a classroom, studying together with notebooks and papers spread out in front of them. Sunlight shines through a large window behind them, illuminating the room, which includes bookshelves and posters on the walls. The students are focused on their work in a collaborative study environment.

Deepen Academic Affairs partnership to improve student engagement

Participation in the High Impact and Innovative Teaching (HIIT) Committee plays a critical role in advancing initiatives focused on student engagement. We will continue to collaborate with the committee to develop a comprehensive, centralized web resource for faculty at UTEP, enabling access to information, resources, and support designed to enhance teaching/learning and foster student engagement. The objective of this unified directory is to increase awareness of technological instructional tools proven to positively impact student engagement.

In addition, Information Resources (IR) will continue our partnership with InSPIRE through their Technology and AI-Enabled Student Engagement (TASE) program. TASE is designed to support effective, responsible use of artificial intelligence and instructional technologies to enhance student engagement.

A person sits at a desk in a warmly lit room, working on a laptop with notebooks and documents spread out nearby. Bookshelves filled with books line the background, and soft sunlight streams in through a window, creating a calm, focused workspace.

Streamline course design and drive engagement

Assist faculty with the adoption of built in AI tools from Blackboard. Blackboard AI Design Assistant helps instructors save time by automatically creating learning modules, assessments, and rubrics, as well as providing creative ideas for discussions and assignments. Instructors can review and adjust all content generated by AI, which ensures academic freedom and integrity. The Blackboard AI Conversation tool enables instructors to create interactive learning experiences through Socratic questioning and AI role-play. This approach is designed to increase student engagement, promote critical thinking, and make facilitating discussions more efficient.

Develop a communication plan to consistently promote awareness of new Learning Management System’s (LMS) features and third-party learning resources to students and faculty. This plan should include updates on changes and new features within the LMS, ensuring that information is effectively shared with the Institute for Scholarship, Pedagogy, Innovation, and Research Excellence (InSPIRE), the Center for Instructional Design (CID) and department Chairs.

A graphic showing the word “Blackboard” above a green and blue gradient app icon on a light, textured background.

AI Tutor embedded in Blackboard

An AI Tutor gives students on-demand, course-specific help using the materials already in Blackboard. Students can ask questions about concepts, assignments, deadlines, or study strategies and receive instant, contextual responses, reducing confusion and keeping them engaged with the course content.

We will work with faculty partners to establish an AI Tutor proof-of-concept (POC) to empower faculty to create AI Tutors trained on their course material, tied to and accessed via their Blackboard course.

A graphic displaying the text “Microsoft Intune” above a blue abstract icon on a soft gray background.

Incorporate Copilot Agent into Intune for computer management workflows

Managing Intune policies, device cleanup, and configuration at scale can be time-consuming, error-prone, and dependent on manual review and scripting. As a result, policy changes become risky, outdated or misconfigured devices remain in place, and administrators must convert complicated documentation into exact configuration settings. The Copilot Agent for Intune streamlines this entire process by automating policy creation, reviewing configuration changes before implementation, and identifying devices that need cleanup. By introducing AI driven guidance and automated actions, it improves accuracy, reduces administrative workload, and strengthens the university’s overall operational reliability and security posture.

A person sitting at a desk using a laptop in a classroom setting, with warm sunlight coming through the windows. Additional students are seated at desks in the background, also working. The room includes posters on the walls and a calm, focused atmosphere.

Self-service account’s password reset solution

Anyone with an active UTEP account will be able to easily and securely reset their account’s password without the intervention of a Technology Support Analyst.

A classroom scene with several students seated at desks facing a teacher at the front of the room. The teacher is standing near a window with warm sunlight coming through, pointing upward as if explaining a lesson. The room includes bookshelves, posters, and a bulletin board on the walls, and the students appear to be focusing on the teacher.

Development of a Copilot Agent for the Miner Teacher Residency

Students in the Miner Teacher Residency need a more accessible and personalized way to navigate degree requirements, program expectations, and certification steps. A Copilot agent would streamline support and reduce repetitive advising needs.

A large classroom filled with rows of students seated at desks, all facing a projector screen at the front of the room. The screen displays a presentation, and the space is illuminated by natural light from tall windows along one wall. Educational posters, shelves, and a podium are visible near the front, creating the setting of a structured lecture environment.

Connected Classroom Standards

The Information Resources division is launching an IT initiative focused on modernizing classroom technology to support teaching and learning at UTEP. This initiative aims to deploy automated lecture capture and video conferencing solutions in connected classrooms, directly addressing faculty and student feedback gathered from recent surveys.

This initiative will deliver a connected classroom standard that enhances teaching and learning through streamlined, automated technology designed for ease of use. Faculty engagement and ongoing feedback will play a central role in shaping the redesign of classroom AV standards, ensuring that solutions are aligned with real instructional needs. The result will be technology that is seamlessly integrated, highly accessible, and supported by helpful services that elevate both teaching effectiveness and student success.