MAVS Newsletter | September 2025

Fall 2025 is well underway. It’s great to see students and faculty back on campus.

During the academic year, you will receive a monthly MAVS message intended to help you help our students move toward their goal – graduation. MAVS messages will include:

• Monthly reminders – timely dates and information to share with students
• Active student engagement resources – ideas to enhance student interaction and learning
• Vital Support – highlighted student support services

UNO’s Academic Calendar provides critical dates for students. Beyond dates for fall break, holidays, prep week, and semester exams, the calendar includes critical information such as:

• Withdrawal dates and associated tuition refunds and grading implications
• Deadlines for filing for degrees
• Early enrollment for spring (starts in late October)
• Maverick Payment Plan reminders

When faculty share friendly reminders about important deadlines or provide a convenient link to the Academic Calendar in Canvas, students get the gentle nudge that can help them stay on track to graduation.

Can you engage students through lectures?  Of course you can, particularly if they are paired with other learning strategies. Here’s what your colleagues have to say about lectures.

Dr. Ashley Harlow (CBA) suggests, “The secrets to adding active learning within lectures are right at our (and our students) fingertips. Social media influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat know how to create content to engage their audience, so let’s use their strategies to enhance learning and engagement in our courses. Let’s create content instead of just lectures!”

Dr. Nicole Infante (CAS) provides additional insight. “Research has shown that students believe they learn more when listening to an engaging lecture and less when asked to discuss questions with their peers. In fact, research shows that learning gains are reversed – students learn more when they are active participants in their learning. By encouraging students to do more across modalities, we help them learn more.”

Learn more from Drs. Harlow and Infante and other colleagues at: Access to Excellence: A Faculty Guide.  

UNO supports all dimensions of student wellness – emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. Campus recreation has compiled a list of wellbeing resources for students, faculty, and staff that relate to each of these dimensions.

The Wellbeing icon in the left Canvas navigation panel provides a convenient link to campus resources. Point this out to students and take a minute to preview these with your students, and encourage them to take advantage of the support systems.