Faculty & SWGs
What is SWG?
The Short-term Working Group (SWG) program brings faculty and students together in a joyful, non-evaluative, collaborative learning environment outside of a traditional classroom. The Center for Teaching and Learning’s SWG Team handles administrative tasks and student recruitment so faculty can do what they enjoy most — working closely with a small group of students to complete a project.
Faculty Testimonials
Read your colleagues’ thoughts on SWGs and consider whether you can see yourself as a SWG faculty member.
Jump to end of slideshow.“Creating a SWG was a game-changer for me. It allowed me to collaborate more closely with students who wanted to create something uniquely for the experience of it. It allowed us to work on a project outside the classroom context that brought many people joy.”
— Dr. Christine Veras, Assistant Professor of Animation
“Working alongside brilliant colleagues like Dr. Kathryn Lookadoo and engaging with them is such a source of joy. There’s something magical about coming together with individuals who share your passion and drive. And last week, I felt that magic. A huge shoutout to everyone involved in making the SWG program a reality. Here’s to finding joy in collaboration and to all the incredible achievements we will accomplish together!”
— Dr. Sarah Moore, Associate Professor of Instruction, Business Communication
“Nine students met at 8:30 a.m., four times — by choice — to find and discuss developmental research. They brought articles, ideas, questions and so much positive energy that we could never, not once, end on time. The tangible product was a high-quality reading list. Big win! The intangible product was joy in watching students engage to learn. Biggest win!!!
— Dr. Meridith Grant, Associate Professor of Instruction, Psychology
More Information
Planning a Proposal
Interested in putting together a SWG and want to hear more?
CTL will host a SWG interest session for faculty interested in proposing projects for Spring 2026 on November 6, 2025, 2-4pm, MC2.404. The RSVP for the workshop is: https://forms.office.com/r/nNQTGuFQFt. See key dates on the SWG calendar. Use our SWG Planner (pdf) to work out your ideas and fill your Spring 2026 application when you are ready.
SWG Program Overview |
SWG projects involve a faculty member engaging with a cohort of ~10 students on a project that is broken down into 4 goal-oriented in person sessions (at least 1.5 hours each).
Deadlines | The deadline for submitting a proposal for the Spring 2026 semester is Monday, December 1st. This allows faculty to recruit from not only their Fall 2025 students before the semester ends, but also their new students in Spring 2026 before their SWG begins.
Eligibility:
Starting Spring 2026, participating faculty who are submitting proposals must be full-time faculty at UT Dallas. Full-time faculty are welcome to partner with a part-time faculty member – the full-time faculty member must submit the project proposal. Faculty new to the program are strongly encouraged to attend a project planning workshop prior to submitting a proposal (held on 11/6/2025, 2pm-4pm). Returning faculty will be provided with a refresher tutorial on project proposals. At this time, we are not accepting proposals from applicants who do not meet eligibility requirements.
Once we receive your proposal, our team will discuss each proposal’s alignment with the SWG program’s mission and goals. Spots in the faculty cohort are limited so we can give adequate support to each project. Decisions will be made by December 15th and each faculty member will be contacted about the status of their project by this time.
If you are accepted to the faculty cohort, the SWG Team will provide the following:
- Materials and suggestions for recruiting students from your classes and how CTL will assist with student recruitment
- Mentoring training with other SWG Faculty and ideas for how to build community with your cohort
- Access to a faculty community in Microsoft Teams to assist you if any questions come up during your SWG experience
- Instructions on how to begin your SWG project and how to wrap up your SWG project
Once you have successfully completed your project, you will receive continued communication about:
The SWG Spring Showcase event planned for March, 2026
Opportunities to showcase your work with other SWG faculty
Recognition with other SWG faculty at the CTL Celebration of Teaching Excellence
Joining the SWG Faculty Community on Teams is a great way to stay in the loop about proposal deadlines and opportunities for faculty.
The best SWG project is one that is beneficial for both the faculty member and students. This could include anything from a task you need to complete, a research-adjacent activity or identifying a skill you want to build in students. Interdependence is key! Once the project goal is decided it should be broken down into four manageable parts to make the goal achievable within four sessions.
Project Examples
- Collaborating to redesign and curate course material.
- Creating inclusive materials for chess instructions.
- Evaluating the use of bioconcrete to identify important scientific experiments for course-based research and NASA spaceflight experiments applications.
- Designing and building promotional material to advertise a UT Dallas fall theatrical production.
- Researching and creating a summer student boot camp for bioengineering majors.
- Designing a civil rights-themed digital exhibit for the African American Museum of Dallas.
- Assessing the role of generative artificial intelligence in music composition, analysis and description.
- Planning events for a new University-wide Neurodiversity Week celebration.
- Building a giant dinosaur!
Ideal SWG Faculty Mentor
SWG Faculty Mentors care about cultivating a relationship-rich learning environment, willing to turn up the dial on their approachability and warmth. To the SWG team, an ideal SWG faculty mentor:
- Projects warmth, friendliness and intellectual curiosity.
- Creates an inviting, welcoming presence with written and spoken communication.
- Models excitement and expertise about the project and the future application of its outcome.
- Expresses a sense of interdependence with the students.
- Shows willingness to provide guidance and feedback affirming student efforts and contributions while encouraging intellectual risk-taking.
- Commits to attending an orientation meeting, a mentor training and a faculty debrief lunch.
- Creates an achievable project for a SWG to complete.
- Follows the SWG checklist to select students and a meeting space, collects photo waivers, confirm rosters, distributes T-shirts, participates in a joyful faculty community.
- Cultivates a relationship-rich environment, taking the time to learn student names, show interest in student ideas, and be willing to write letters of recommendation for SWG finishers.
- Wants to get a project done!
Want to Learn More? Faculty take a look at our SWG Faculty Tutorial : SWG Faculty Tutorial. This will answer questions about our program in more detail. If you have additional questions, please email us at swg@utdallas.edu.
Key Dates
Faculty SWG Calendar Fall 2025
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Faculty SWG Interest Session | November 6, 2025, 2-4pm, MC2.404 |
| Faculty Proposals Due (Regular Action) | Monday, Dec 1 |
| Classes Begin (Full-Term Session) | Tuesday, January 20 |
| Mentor Training Session | Friday, Feb. 6, 11am-1pm |
| Student Recruitment Begins | Upon SWG Project Approval |
| Student Applications Due | 10 days before SWG Session 1 |
| Pre-SWG Checklist Items Due | By SWG Session 1 |
| SWG Sessions Begin | No earlier than Monday, Feb. 16 |
| SWG Sessions End | No later than Friday, April 24 |
| Final SWG Checklist Items Due | 5 days after SWG Session 4 |
| Student Evaluation Closes | 10 days after SWG Session 4 |
| Last Day of Classes (Full-Term Session) | Friday, May 8 |
| Debrief Luncheon | Friday, May 8, 11am-1pm |