If you have an idea about how to boost students’ academic success on campus, UT Dallas wants to hear it. The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Topic Selection Committee is gathering suggestions from the campus and the community on ways to improve student learning.

The process is part of the reaffirmation process by which the University is evaluated for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Visit qep.utdallas.edu to submit your ideas and learn more about the positive changes that a Quality Enhacement Plan can make possible. Read more

The Information Security Office has fielded increased reports of attempted tax return fraud affecting the UT Dallas community.

There is no evidence that UT Dallas data sources have been breached. The fraud attempts occur when an attacker files a tax return using information that has been stolen, guessed or discovered in public records.

There are several precautions you can take to reduce risks:

• File your tax return as soon as possible.
• Be aware of email phishing scams and phone calls claiming to be from the IRS.
• Carefully inspect any letters purporting to be from the IRS.
• Contact the IRS only at the phone numbers and email addresses listed on the agency’s official website.
• Monitor your financial accounts, and check your credit reports.

If you have specific evidence of fraud, email the UT Dallas Office of Information Security.

As the spring severe weather season approaches, the Office of Emergency Management is sponsoring a free Skywarn Storm Spotter Training on Wednesday, March 9. The event includes a beginner class from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and an advanced class from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both classes will be in JSOM 1.118.

Skywarn is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their communities safe by providing reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. Training participants will learn the fundamentals of thunderstorm development and storm structure. There will also be instruction on identifying potential severe weather features and basic weather safety.

Email [email protected] to RSVP and register.

The Office of Human Resources will host an HR Forum from 10 to 11:30 a.m. today in TI Auditorium (ECSS 2.102). Each forum offers updates from all areas of HR.

Construction of Parking Structure 4 will require opening and closing two roadways on Saturday, March 5.

The new Drive H extension, which will connect to Loop Road SW, will open, and the remaining western portion of Drive A from Drive H to Waterview Parkway will close.

Drivers who need to enter campus from Waterview Parkway should use the Loop Road SW or Drive L entrances.

Watch the Pardon Our Progress website for updates on this and other campus construction projects.

The Center for Vital Longevity invites faculty and staff members to attend “Neuroindividuality: How Neuroimaging May Empower Individualized Education and Brain Treatment,” a lecture by Dr. John Gabrieli, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. Gabrieli is director of the Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His lab at MIT seeks to understand the principles of brain organization that are consistent across individuals and those that vary among people due to age, personality and other dimensions of individuality. The talk, part of the Jean and Bill Booziotis Distinguished Lecture Series, will be at the Communities Foundation of Texas, 5500 Caruth Haven Lane in Dallas. The lecture is free, but registration is required.

Golf Tournament to Benefit Scholarship Funds
The 23rd Annual UT Dallas Scholarship Tournament is set for Friday, April 29, at Firewheel Golf Park in Garland. Visit the tournament website or call the UT Dallas Office of Administration at 972-883-2213 to get more information, register or make a donation. In preparation for the event, The Practice Tee invites students, faculty and staff to UT Dallas Day from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 7.

Free Self-Defense Classes
The UT Dallas Police Department continues its Rape Aggression Defense classes for women and Resisting Aggression with Defense classes for men this semester. The next class for men is March 11-12. The next class for women is April 8-9. For more information, email Sgt. Kendra Penny at [email protected].

• IRB Protocol Assistance Workshops, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, March 8 (AD 3.108A).
• Unlocking Grant Money: Finding Research Funding Today, 11 a.m.-noon Wednesday, March 16 (MC 2.524).
• IRB Protocol Assistance Workshops, 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, March 23 (ECSS 3.503).
• Conflict of Interest, 10-11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 31 (CN 1.112)