Hello Essential Education Instructors,
Welcome to the Fall 2026 semester!
Thank you for teaching an Essential Education course this semester. Before classes begin, there are a few planning requirements to complete. The information, resources, and events below will help you prepare to implement Essential Ed in your course(s).
Essential Ed Planning & Reporting for Your Course
You have been enrolled in the Essential Ed Planning and Reporting Canvas course. This course will guide you through the planning and reporting process in PebblePad for the 2026–2029 Essential Ed improvement cycle. (List of Fall 2026 courses)
What to Expect
You will receive a separate Canvas assignment for each Essential Ed course you are teaching.
Note: Each Essential Ed course you teach has its own Planning and Reporting Workbook. If you teach multiple courses, you will see a separate Canvas assignment to access the workbook for each course.
For each Essential Ed course, complete the Planning Page by identifying the Essential Ability(ies) supported in your course and how students will develop them through assignments/practice, reflection, and a Husky Folio assignment documenting evidence of learning and growth.
Planning Pages are due on the first day of classes – August 31, 2026.
At the end of the semester, you will complete a report for one of your Essential Ed courses. Additional guidance and support materials are available in the Instructor Resources Hub (in particular the Course Setup Guide, Instructor EA Planning and Reporting, and Husky Folio Setup Guide.
Upcoming Events
Sign up for events here: Registration: Essential Ed Kick-Off & Husky Folio Implementation Lab
Essential Education Kick-Off
August 19 & 20 from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Rekhi G006
Join us for an overview of Essential Education requirements, planning and reporting expectations, Essential Ability requirements by course list, and a hands-on session to begin preparing your course. Please bring your laptop.
Husky Folio Implementation Lab
August 25 | 12:00–3:00 p.m.
Rekhi G006
Get support with PebblePad, Husky Folio implementation, and course planning and reporting. Time will be available to work on your course with assistance. Please bring your laptop. Light refreshments will be provided, and you are welcome to bring your lunch.
Updated Instructor Resources Hub
The Instructor Resources Hub has moved from Canvas to a Google Drive folder, making it easier to search, navigate, and keep current.
The Hub has also been substantially updated with new guidance, examples, FAQs, and resources for course planning, Essential Abilities, Husky Folio, and assessment and reporting. Even if you’ve used the resources before, we encourage you to explore the updated resources.
Later this semester, after testing is complete, the Hub will also include Eddie, an AI assistant that can answer questions and help you quickly find Essential Education resources throughout the semester.
We look forward to working with you this semester. For assistance, contact your in-unit liaison or essentialed@mtu.edu.
Best,
The Essential Ed Team
As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our students are prepared to enter and succeed in this changing world – to have the skills to become culturally-responsive leaders who are civically engaged. This line of thinking is at the heart of Essential Education, a core component of the Tech Forward vision.
To make this vision become a reality, Essential Education will be guided by the Essential Education Steering Committee (EESC). The EESC will conduct the following activities:
- Planning of the annual Essential Education Symposium
- Review new Essential Education course proposals, suggesting any needed changes, approving changes
- Provide oversight of assessment and resulting actions to ensure continuous improvement and effectiveness of the Essential Ed curriculum
- Provide feedback to Essential Ed instructors and units regarding curricular needs and possible modifications
Steering Committee Membership: Representatives from staff and faculty, including 6 course-list leaders:
- Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education (chair)
- Essential Ed Project Manager
- Assessment Manager
- Director, Husky Folio
- Registrar’s Office representative
- Student Affairs representative
- 2-3 at-large members selected to ensure that there is faculty representation from each college of the university
- 6, course list team leaders (see below)
The Essential Ed oversight structure is intended to encourage and support a community of educators focused on student achievement of programmatic learning outcomes (which for Essential Ed are the Essential Abilities). Since the course-list types serve different functions within the curriculum and have different expectations, support is structured around groupings of course lists: course-list teams and leaders (who also sit on the Essential Ed Steering Committee). Note: This differs from the previous approach structured around undergraduate student learning goals (USLGs).
Role of Essential Educations Course List Teams
- 3-6 members who are from units teaching or supporting courses on the associated Essential Ed course lists
- Helps compile/disseminate findings and recommendations; develop online resources; help train faculty; make proposed-course recommendations to assist Steering Committee, plan/attend Essential Education Symposium
- Provides Essential Ed faculty support for their units — to provide assistance or referral on topics including pedagogy, Essential Ability evidence/assignment design, ePortfolio, as well as Essential Ed checklist completion and assessment reporting
- Participate in professional development, especially the summer assessment activities (strongly encouraged)hort description:
Different from previous goal committee structure:
- Not applicable to degree program outcome assessment.
- Considerable faculty support duties
- Fewer members but additional faculty can be recruited for specific tasks
- Reviews course proposals and makes recommendations to Steering Committee
To view who staffs the Essential Education Steering Committee and Course List Teams, visit Michigan Tech’s Essential Education News Blog. Next week, learn about the role of continuous improvement in the ongoing improvement and increased effectiveness of Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Tech Forward initiative.
Michigan Tech Essential Education Steering Committee
| Essential Education Steering Committee | |||
| Member | Department | Role | Course List Team |
| Marika Seigel | APUE | Chair | |
| Steve Patchin | APUE – Project Mgr | Member | |
| Jean DeClerck | APUE – Assessment Mgr | Member | |
| AJ Hamlin | Eng Fund, Director Husky Folio | Member | |
| Darren Bausano | Registrars Office | Member | |
| Cassandra Reed-Vandam | APUE – E3 Manager | Member | |
| Anna McClatchy | Student Affairs | Member | |
| Travis Wakeham | BL & APUE | Member | |
| Yu Cai | College of Computing | Member | |
| Valroiee Gagnon | CFRES | Member | |
| Audra Morse | CoE | Member | |
| Steven Holloway | CoB | Member | Foundations & SHAPE |
| Richelle Winkler | SS | Member | Experience & 1 credit minor portfolio Course |
| Holly Hassel | HU | Member | Composition & Communication Intensive |
| Crystal McLeod | Ctr Student Mental Health & Wellness | Member | Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success |
| Mike Maxwell | VPA | Member | Arts & Culture + Intercultural Competencies |
| Mike Meyer | Physics | Member | Math + Science + STEM |
Michigan Tech Essential Education Course List Teams
| 2025-26 Essential Education Course List Teams | |||
| Course List Team | Member | Dept | Role |
| Foundations & Shape | Steven Holloway | CoB | Lead |
| Steve Walton | SS | Co-Lead | |
| Laura Fiss | Pavlis/HU | Member | |
| Experience + 1-credit minor portfolio course | Richelle Winkler | SS | Lead |
| Cassandra Reed-VanDam | APUE | Co-Lead | |
| Laura Rouleau | SS | Co-Lead | |
| Danielle Meirow | SLI | Member | |
| Estella Mira Barrenda | HU | Member | |
| Composition + Communication Intensive | Holly Hassel | HU | Lead |
| Jennifer Nish | HU | Co-Lead | |
| Paul Sanders | MAT | Member | |
| Jonathan Robins | SS | Member | |
| Nich Radcliffe | VPA | Member | |
| Seminar + Activities for Wellbeing & Success | Crystal McLeod | Ctr Student Mental Health/Wellbeing | Lead |
| AJ Hamlin | Eng Fund | Co-Lead | |
| Veronica Horning | SA | Member | |
| Melissa Michaelson | Career Services | Member | |
| Craig Pelizzaro | KIP | Member | |
| Christopher Plummer | VPA | Member | |
| Arts & Culture + Intercultural Compentency | Mike Maxwell | VPA | Lead |
| Destaney Sauls | PHF | Co-Lead | |
| Matt Seigel | HU | Member | |
| Math + Science + STEM | Mike Meyer | Physics | Lead |
| Teresa Woods | Math | Co-Lead | |
| Brigette Morin | BL,CSA | Member | |
| Tim VanWagner | CC | Member | |
| Andrew Galerneau | Chem | Member | |
| Chad Walber | MAE | Member | |
| Matt Laird | CEGE | Member |
The Essential Ed Leadership Team is setting up weekly “Office Hours” to support our campus community as we implement the new Essential Education curriculum. Individuals, department committees, and other working groups are welcome to attend for consultations, including (but not limited to) the following topics:
- Revising degree audits and flowcharts to make the most of Essential Ed requirements
- Tips for Building an Essential Ed Minor
- How to Build an Essential Education Experience Course
- What are in Essential Ed Seminar Modules
- How is Essential Education Assessed
- How have Wellbeing and Success Courses changed
- What is Folio Thinking, and how do ePortfolios support Folio Thinking
The first two Essential Ed Office Hours will be in Library Conference Room 103 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm on Wednesday, September 4, and Thursday, September 12. The complete calendar of Office Hour Dates for the Fall Semester can be found below. Note the Special Guests and Topics noted on the calendar. For further information or questions, contact Steve Patchin – Project Manager for Essential Ed Implementation, at shpatchi@mtu.edu.
| Date | Day | Special Guest & Topic |
| September 4 | Wednesday | |
| September 12 | Thursday | |
| September 18 | Wednesday | |
| September 26 | Thursday | Nancy Barr – Folio Thinking & PebblePad |
| October 2 | Wednesday | Jeannie DeClerck – Assessment & Essentail Ed |
| October 10 | Thursday | |
| October 16 | Wednesday | |
| October 24 | Thursday | |
| October 30 | Wednesday | |
| November 7 | Thursday | |
| November 13 | Wednesday | Jeannie DeClerck – Assessment & Essential Ed |
| November 21 | Thursday | Nancy Barr – Folio Thinking & PebblePad |
| November 27 | Wednesday | |
| December 5 | Thursday | |
| December 11 | Wednesday |