Winter 2026 Colleague Development Days

Presented by Captain Edmund Black, Public Safety

The session will begin with a brief overview and introduction to the University of Detroit Mercy’s Emergency Response Plan (ERP).  After the overview and introduction to the ERP, the session will specifically discuss Detroit Mercy’s Active Shooter and Run Hide Fight plan.  The session can serve as both an introduction to faculty and staff who have not had exposure to the ERP and a refresher to faculty and staff who have attended a previous session.

Presented by Mary L. White, Professor, McAuley School of Nursing, College of Health Professions

This session introduces the REATool (Reflection, Engagement, Awareness, and Time Tracker), a streamlined tool that helps students monitor their weekly learning, identify unclear concepts, and stay engaged across online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. REATool guides students to track professor interaction, peer engagement, concept understanding, personal reflection, and time on task, promoting stronger metacognitive habits and consistent participation.

Instructors gain valuable insight into student needs, allowing them to adjust instruction, address confusion early, and strengthen the feedback loop between teaching and learning. Participants will examine the tool’s core components, explore implementation strategies, and discuss solutions for common challenges such as workload, student buy-in, and grading considerations. Attendees will leave with clear steps for integrating a reflection and engagement tracker into their own courses.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the core components of the REATT Tool (professor engagement, peer engagement, concept understanding, reflection, and time invested) and their rationale within an online course.
• Analyze how weekly reflection and engagement tracking can support metacognition, student–faculty connection, and timely identification of unclear concepts in online learning.
• Apply the REATT Tool framework to sketch a plan for integrating a similar reflection and engagement tracker into their own online or hybrid course.
• Evaluate potential challenges (for example, workload, student buy-in, anonymity, grading weight) and propose at least one strategy to address each within their institutional context.

Presented by Pamela Zarkowski, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Join us on the third day of WCDD for a Winter Term Town Hall. Updates will be shared about upcoming events, including the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) focused visit. The University community will be invited to share other programs or events scheduled for the Winter term.A moderated Q & A session will conclude the program.

We encourage you to submit any questions for the Q. & A. to cetl@udmercy.edu no later than Friday, January 16th at noon.

Presented by Matthew Bunch, TIAA Financial Consultant

Invest for success: 5 principles you need to know – Understanding the key principles of investing for retirement, from compounding to taxes to choosing investments. Includes learning that how you invest for retirement is just as important as how much you save.