Implemented by the Curriculum Innovation Working Group, Spring 2026

Description

This process invites CVPA Faculty to formally request support to pursue teaching collaborations with one another. Faculty may use this form to request support such as teaching or service release, dedicated space, or special class scheduling consideration to facilitate collaborative teaching. This form isn’t required to pursue such initiatives, but it exists as a means of encouraging and enabling them by structuring a conversation with your AUH.

Requests will be reviewed by the CVPA Dean, Associate Deans, Academic Unit Heads, and Director of the Office of Creative Propulsion with the goal of providing as much support as possible. When a support request is approved, faculty will be notified of the approval. In cases where it is not possible to grant support, the requesting faculty will be notified with an explanation, and CVPA will work proactively to remove the barrier preventing the collaboration wherever possible so that it may be pursued in the near future.

Form Link: CVPA Collaborative Teaching Support Request Form 2026-2027

Requests for Spring 2027 Collaborations are due by September 1, 2026. Requests for Fall 2027 Collaborations are due by January 20, 2027.

Collaborative Project Descriptions

These descriptions are included to spark ideas, but are not an exhaustive list.

• Collaborative Unit: Two or more faculty align a unit within their courses to facilitate collaboration and/or exchange of material or ideas.
• Collaborative Project: Two or more faculty incorporate a mid-semester or final collaborative project into their courses in which students from two or more different courses work together.
• Existing IART Courses: propose offering an established IART course that has been offered at least once previously.
• New IART Courses: The proposal outlines development and implementation pathways for creating interdisciplinary IART courses, providing faculty with design support, stipends, and an optional archive for early-stage ideas. Implementation phase courses advance through the curriculum approval process, following a structured annual cycle of proposal deadlines, design weeks, and launch preparation.

Annual Review of Process

Annually in spring semester: Dean, Associate Deans, AUHs, and participating/interested faculty evaluate this process and make additions or adjustments as needed.

Collaboration Assistance

If faculty are interested in pursuing collaborative teaching but aren’t sure who to work with or how to proceed, they are encouraged to consult with Executive Director of the Office of Creative Propulsion to discuss ideas and possibilities.

Example Collaborations

Collaborative Units:

• Both classes meet together in co-taught sessions to discuss material that integrates ideas from both courses. For example, dance and music composition courses might meet concurrently to explore the process of creating a phrase in both mediums.
• The classes swap instructors for one or more classes. For example, a music history instructor might discuss musicological developments that parallel the works being studied in a theatre history course while the theatre history instructor similarly discusses theatrical developments in a music history course.
• Students in both classes share work with the other class and respond to it. For example, a chamber music ensemble might share a recording of their repertoire with a dance composition class, who would then respond to it by creating choreography, potentially with an eventual collaborative performance in mind.

Collaborative Projects:

• Students are given the same project guidelines in all classes and are expected to work together to demonstrate synthesis of learning objectives in each class through a shared vision. Collaboration could take place entirely outside of class time or class time could be dedicated to fostering collaboration (for example, several weeks of class could be cancelled to allow students to meet together and work). If the latter, faculty may need scheduling support to align course offering times.
• Students are given distinct project guidelines for each class that meet the learning objectives for the course in which they are enrolled, and they are expected to choose a common touchpoint from which each independent project will emerge. For instance, a music student and a dance student might choose a number from a ballet as a common thread in their projects, but they may each approach the piece from different angles.
• Students enroll under a single course code in a co-taught class in which faculty either rotate through the course or share equal responsibility in teaching the course each period. The goal of the course is to work toward a collaborative project.