Frequently Asked Questions

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Teaching: What should go on my syllabus?

The College has developed this syllabus template document. The material on this template is not required. It is merely provided to assist faculty as they think about what to put on their syllabi.
Teaching: I have a student who wants to sign up for an individualized study course (e.g., an independent study, thesis research). What are my next steps?

All individualized study courses must use the online form for documentation and registration purposes. For instructions on how students complete the online registration form, please view the Individualized Study Directions document.
Teaching: Who can teach a second summer course?

Second summer courses must have a cap and anticipated enrollment of 100+, be in Summer B, be a gen ed course, meet at a day and time that maximizes enrollment.
Teaching: Can a faculty member teach an overload in a semester in which they have a course release?

Faculty may not teach an overload and have a course release in the same semester. Exceptions are allowed at the discretion of the Dean and Academic Affairs, but these are granted only under extenuating circumstances and only if the course in question is required to keep students on track to graduate and coverage of all of the needed courses cannot be achieved any other way.
Teaching: What should I do if I need to cancel a class?

It is expected that faculty members meet all classes as scheduled throughout the semester. (See Collective Bargaining Agreement, Performance Evaluations.) In the event of a planned absence for university sanctioned activities (e.g., conference attendance), unplanned university closure, or unexpected and/or unavoidable conflicts or extenuating circumstances that keep you from meeting your class as scheduled, you should notify your department and students of alternate arrangements for the continuation of academic activity (e.g., posting a lecture online, scheduling a guest lecture, additional assignment). If extenuating circumstances will result in missing more than 1-2 classes, you should consult with your department chair/school director to devise a plan for the continuation of academic activity.
Research/Creative Activities: What can startup funds be used for?

A clear connection needs to be made between use of these funds and advancing a faculty member’s scholarly agenda. For instance, a faculty member can use startup to hire a research students but not a grader. Also a startup can be used for research related travel. Startup funds cannot be used to for pay to a faculty member.
Service: What are the deadlines for the various things chairs and directors have to do?

See the Deadlines for Department Chairs.
Service: Hiring: What are the steps in the process for hiring a new tenure-track or non-tenure-track faculty member?

See the COAS Hiring Process Guide.
Service: Hiring: What are the procedures for hiring graduate assistants?
1. GA hiring: Per new Graduate School regulations, all GA students must be hired by semester - one ePAF for the fall and one ePAF for the spring.
2. GA approvals: Per new Graduate School regulations, all GA ePAFs must list Amanda Lovins as an approver (not FYI). Any ePAF sent to the graduate school without that will be sent back to the department by the Graduate School. This approval step will assure that the departments will not be overspending their graduate student funding, which has been the case in several of the COAS departments, you know who you are. Going forwards COAS dean's office plans to provide training on fiscal issues associated with graduate students. The training will be available for the office managers and the graduate directors.
3. Department's funded GA positions and tuition waivers: Per new Graduate School regulations, if a department chooses to fund an additional GA with their E&G funds, foundation or another funding source, a tuition waiver will not be included with that GA position. The department can choose to fund the tuition waiver with its own funding. If you wish to fund the tuition waiver for additional GA positions not included in your annual allocation, please reach out to Amanda Lovins and she will assist with that process.