The Teaching Table

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What is the hidden curriculum, and what role can faculty play in making it more visible?

In this episode of the Teaching Table Podcast, Dr. Jeffrey Kohler talks with Lisa Tuyn, director of UB’s Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center (EPAC), about the unwritten expectations students are often asked to navigate in college. From understanding how and when to seek help to communicating with faculty, using office hours, interpreting academic requirements and recovering from setbacks, the conversation explores how much of the college experience depends on knowledge that may never be explicitly taught.

Lisa also shares ways faculty can help reduce that uncertainty by setting clearer expectations, using the syllabus more intentionally, connecting students with campus resources and reinforcing that asking questions is part of the learning process. The discussion highlights how small changes in communication and course design can help students feel more informed, supported and better equipped to make decisions about their academic path.

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In Part Two of this Teaching Table Podcast conversation, Maggie Grady continues her discussion with Tyler Bauer, UB’s Organizational Change Management Specialist, about navigating change in higher education.

For faculty, change can show up in many ways: revising a course, responding to new accessibility expectations, adapting assessment practices, incorporating new technologies or adjusting to broader departmental and institutional priorities. Tyler discusses how understanding the people affected by change can make those transitions more thoughtful and more successful.

The conversation explores the difference between imposed and intentional change, how expectations influence buy-in, and why stakeholder perspectives matter. Tyler also introduces five common mindsets that can shape how people respond to change and shares strategies for communicating in ways that build clarity, trust and support.

Whether you’re updating a course, helping lead a departmental initiative or simply trying to make sense of changing expectations, this episode offers ideas for approaching change with greater empathy, intention and awareness.

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In part one of this two-part conversation, The Teaching Table welcomes Tyler Bauer, UB’s Organizational Change Management Specialist, to discuss how people experience and respond to change across higher education. Tyler explores why change can feel especially intense on campus, the role culture plays in shaping reactions to new initiatives, and common barriers such as change fatigue, uncertainty, communication gaps and lack of stakeholder buy-in. He also shares practical strategies for planning change, engaging the right voices, preparing supervisors and helping teams better understand the “why” behind new initiatives.

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Compliance may open the door, but culture invites students in. This episode closes the mini-series by examining how accessibility and inclusion work together and how small, consistent practices can turn compliance into belonging.

We outline practical steps faculty can use now: open with a clear commitment to access, strengthen syllabus language, gather feedback through brief check-ins and midsemester surveys, and act on what students share. Empathy and flexibility expand access to high standards.

If you enjoyed the discussion, subscribe and leave a review. Connect with us  at buffalo.edu/catt or email [email protected].

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Deadlines are approaching, but accessibility is about more than compliance. We speak with Sarah Guglielmi, instructional consultant for accessible and inclusive pedagogy, about linking ADA Title II updates with Universal Design for Learning to create more effective courses.

The episode covers UDL as a planning mindset for learner variability and offers practical fixes—clear headings, accessible slides, strong color contrast, meaningful alt text, and captions and transcripts. We also share how to pace the work by focusing on one Spring 2026 course and building small, sustainable improvements.

These strategies meet ADA Title II requirements while helping students engage, persist, and show what they know.

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In this episode, we share practical, approachable ways to make digital content more usable for everyone—going beyond technical checkboxes to focus on real-world accessibility. We discuss how usability connects to Universal Design for Learning, simple improvements like clear headings, white space, and strong color contrast, and why it’s important to avoid using color alone to communicate meaning. You’ll also hear tips for offering content in multiple formats, including polished captions and transcripts for audio and video, plus how built-in tools can help you catch and fix common issues.

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In this episode, we share a practical, step-by-step approach to creating digitally accessible course content using a simple workflow—remove barriers, replace inaccessible elements, and remediate what remains. We talk about how to start small (one document, one slide deck, or one LMS page), use built-in accessibility checkers and quick fixes, and address common issues like headings, alt text, color contrast, and tables. We also cover strategies for handling PDFs and specialized formats, plus easy ways to track progress with short work blocks and checklists. If you enjoyed today’s discussion, please subscribe and leave a review, and connect with us at buffalo.edu/catt or email [email protected].

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New ADA Title II regulations require public universities to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards for digital content by 2026. In this episode, instructional consultant, Sarah Guglielmi, explains what that means for faculty and course materials, from Word documents and PDFs to LMS modules and recorded lectures. She shares why accessible design benefits all learners and offers a simple starter plan: focus on one high-impact course, start with one document and one slide deck, and use accessibility checkers to catch quick wins. Plus, learn about campus resources to help you stay on track and make accessibility a habit that improves learning for every student.

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Curiosity becomes a catalyst when a university treats innovation as a shared language, not a side path. We sit down with Hadar Borden, Director of the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory at the University at Buffalo, to unpack how a campus-wide ecosystem helps students and faculty turn ideas into impact. Hadar takes us inside a model that blends master classes, innovation sprints, and design challenges with hands-on mentorship from venture coaches, experts and entrepreneurs-in-residence. 

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Artificial Intelligence has dramatically transformed the educational landscape, leaving both students and educators navigating uncharted territory. Dr. Kelly Ahuna, Director of Academic Integrity at the University at Buffalo, discusses this complex issue in our thought-provoking episode about AI tools, academic honesty, and the future of assessment.

Join us for this insightful conversation that balances practical advice with thoughtful reflection on preserving educational integrity in the AI era. Have you encountered AI challenges in your teaching or learning? We'd love to hear your experiences and strategies for navigating this new frontier.