Resources for Part-Time Faculty

Yes. We will provide required standard language for academic support services such as Academic Success and Disability Services, as well as Title IX. We also have a syllabus template (PDF) that includes other content that must be in the syllabus. The syllabus template is available from the administrative assistant in your department, your department chair or dean, and the provost’s office. For some classes (e.g., many general education classes and other classes that often have multiple sections), the department chair or dean will have a master syllabus for you to use.

Part time faculty list the phone number for their department’s administrative assistant. Your administrative assistant can then direct the students question to the appropriate individual, whether that is you or another office on campus.

Particularly if you are teaching a 100-level or 200-level class, a lab section, or a Signature Learning class, there might be other instructors also teach that class during the same semester. Ask your department chair or dean whether there is a standard syllabus for the class. In addition, your department chair or dean can help you connect with those people so that you can coordinate your classes.

Your students should receive a copy of the syllabus during the first week of classes (ideally the first day of class). Post your syllabus in the learning management system (Canvas), and provide an electronic copy of the syllabus to your administrative assistant. In addition, each year departments review course syllabuses – if this is the year for the syllabus to be reviewed for the course that you teach, then the department chair might contact you to participate in that review.

Capital University uses a learning management system called Canvas. Every course approved by the registrar’s office receives a Canvas course shell and course enrollment is done automatically. You can learn more about Canvas and other academic technology resources via our Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). Each semester, CELT hosts Canvas workshops.

For undergraduate classes, week-4 progress grades are an early warning system to students, academic advisors, and staff members that a student might be struggling in a class. Week-4 progress grades are submitted for all undergraduate students in all classes, and thus it is important to have graded work due in your classes prior to the end of week-4. You submit these grades via myCAP. Watch the myCAP grading video. 

• Go to mycap.capital.edu
• Select Faculty tab
• Select the Course assigned
• Choose Grading (from the Roster, Attendance, Grading area)
• That takes you to an Overview Screen
• Select: 4-Week Grade 1
• Input 4 week progress grades here.
• Indicate if “Never Attended and FX” if a student has never attended
• If a student has stopped attending, indicate FX and last date of attendance

The policy for assigning an incomplete (an “I” grade) is in the Grades and Grading Procedures section of the Undergraduate Bulletin, available on the registrar’s webpage. If you need to assign an incomplete, then document for the student what needs to be done in order for the student to complete the class. Establish a timeline (normally within the first eight weeks of the following term) with the students for when the work should be done so that you have enough time to grade the student’s work and assign a final grade before the “I” grade reverts to an “F”. Provide all of this information to your department chair or dean, too.

First, connect the student with campus resources. Then, please notify Student Success by creating a CampusLabs Beacon alert so appropriate action can be taken to provide assistance.

First, check your class syllabus to see whether you have included any statement about behavioral expectations in the class. It is helpful to remind students of the expectations (and the reason for those expectations) for the class throughout the semester. If a general reminder is unsuccessful, then checking in with the student would be appropriate – initiate a general conversation with the student and express concern about the student’s wellbeing – frequently, behavioral problems have other, non-related causes. Let the student know that you want the student to be successful. If the behavior doesn’t change after that, then please notify Student Success by creating a CampusLabs Beacon alert so appropriate action can be taken to provide assistance.

Check with your department chair, dean, or administrative assistant about the protocol for make-up exams in the department. Ensure that your syllabus has a stated policy about make-up exams. Let the student know who to contact to schedule the exam and give the student a deadline for when the make-up exam must be completed.

If you have been contacted by Accessibility Services about a student in your class needing testing accommodations (available on the first floor of the Learning Center. Provide Disability Services with a copy of the exam and any instructions for the exam (e.g., student can use a calculator or a page of notes). Let the student know to schedule an appointment with Disability Services and give the student a deadline for when the exam must be completed.

Part time faculty members are not required to have office hours. It is important, however, that your students know how and when they can reach you if they have questions or issues about the course that they would like to discuss. Please, provide your contact information on the course syllabus. Many part time faculty members make themselves available to students before or after the class that they teach. Shared office space is available for part time faculty – talk with your department chair or dean if you would like to use this office space.

In addition to following all university policies and handbooks, it is also expected that faculty:

• Hold classes as scheduled.
• Take attendance using MyCap.
• Keep an updated gradebook in the LMS.
• Post your syllabus in the LMS.
• Send a copy of your syllabus to your administrative assistant for archiving.
• Use the syllabus template (see above).
• Assign the appropriate amount of out-of-class work for the course (i.e., General guidelines: in a 15-week semester, the total hours of work required outside of direct instruction would be 30 hours for a 1 credit-hour course, 60 hours for a 2 credit-hour course, 90 hours for a 3 credit-hour course, and 120 hours for a 4 credit-hour course. 
• Submit week-4 progress grades (undergraduate classes, see above).
• Submit final grades on time – an email from the registrar’s office is distributed to the campus community prior to final week.

First, email all of your students through the LMS; let students know that class is cancelled and provide any instructions that you have for alternative activities (e.g., a video to watch or reading to do). Then contact your administrative support staff member and ask that person to put a sign on the classroom door stating that class is cancelled and directing students to look for the email that you sent to them.  It is also a good idea to contact the chair or dean of your department to inform them as well.

It is important that students stay engaged with the class and the course content, even if you have to be away. As soon as you know that you will not hold class:

• Work with your department chair or dean on an acceptable plan prior to missing class. 
• Develop alternative activities for the amount of time you will be away from the classroom. These activities should approximate the amount of time the students would be in the class – for example, if you must miss two 50-minute class sessions, the activities that you develop should take the students approximately 100 minutes (i.e., an hour and 40 minutes) to complete, in addition to the regular out-of-class work that is part of the class (i.e., for every hour in the classroom, students should be doing two hours of work outside of the classroom). Make sure that the students understand the value and importance of doing the assigned work.
• Develop the criteria for evaluating the students’ work.
• Develop a plan for how (and when) students can contact you while you are away from the classroom (e.g., email, virtual office hours, etc.). 
• Your department chair or dean will need to review the alternative activities that you have planned for your students and your plan for how your students can contact you while you are away from the classroom.

Engage in professional development opportunities on campus – many are teaching related or address student issues. Talk with your department chair or dean about whether there are department colloquia that you can participate in. In some departments, attending departmental meetings as they are available may be a good option.

Part-time faculty might be asked to contribute to the assessment initiatives in their department or in general education. Particularly for general education courses, faculty might be asked to include specific assignments in their course, use a defined rubric to evaluate the assignment, participate in a training session about how to use the rubric, and share the results with the department or general education assessment coordinator.

Faculty should dress professionally and attend to attire restrictions imposed by the classes that they teach (e.g., natural science lab instructors do not wear open-toed shoes in the lab).

Generally, a draft schedule for the next semester is due to the provost’s office a couple of weeks into the current semester. Draft schedules for the summer term are due in the first couple of weeks of the fall semester.

However, department chairs and deans might not know their actual staffing needs until students start registering for classes – registration during the fall semester is in November and registration during the spring semester is in April. Staffing needs in courses predominately taken by first year students might not be known until July.

Early in the current semester, let your department chair or dean know that you are interested in teaching during the subsequent semester. After the registration period (November, April, July), check in with your department chair or dean about staffing for the next semester.

This varies across departments and course levels. Introductory courses in some disciplines (e.g., biology, psychology) can reach 60 students. Most general education courses and upper level courses are capped at 25 students. First-year seminars, labs, and writing courses might be capped lower than 25. Occasionally, it is necessary for a department chair, dean, or provost to add a student to your class section over the enrollment cap; otherwise, you can decide whether you will add students into the class over the enrollment cap. Please, note that if you do add more students to your class, there might not be a larger room available to accommodate the class.

If your department has approval to search for a full-time faculty member, and you meet the required qualifications for the position, then you are welcome to apply for that position.

Part-time faculty can teach 20 credit hours across the year (fall, spring, summer) with no more than 9 credit hours being taught in any given term.

College class sections with fewer than 12 students are reviewed by the department chair or dean and the provost’s office. Final decisions about class cancelations are made about a month before classes start.

The registrar’s web page has a five-year academic calendar and semester calendars that provide important dates (scroll down to “schedules”).

The registrar’s web page has final exam schedule that provide days and times for final exams (scroll down to “schedules”).

• Fall semester: Grades for all students are due by 9:00 am on the Monday following the final exam period.
• Spring semester: Grades for graduating students are due by noon the Wednesday of the final exam period. Grades for all other students are due by 9:00 am on the Monday following the final exam period.

The administrative assistant for your department can reserve rooms for you.

• Academic Success: Encourage your students to use the tutoring, writing, Supplemental Instruction, and academic coaching resources provided by Academic Success (second floor of Blackmore Library). And, particularly for first year classes, Mr. Bruce Epps (director of Academic Success) is happy to talk with your students about how Academic Success can help them.
• ADA: Information about Accessibility Services is available here.
• Blackmore Library: Information about hours and services for Blackmore Library is available here. The librarians are happy to provide research and library instruction in your classes all you need to do is complete an Instruction Request.
• Center for Health and Wellness: The Center for Health and Wellness (CHW) provides physical and mental health services for students, including workshops and group discussions about specific concerns. In addition, a staff member from the CHW can come to your class to describe the services offered, or talk about a mental health topic that is relevant to your course content.
• Career Development: Career Development offers many resources for students: Career exploration, internship and job postings, résumé and personal statement writing. Mr. Eric Anderson (director of Career Development) is happy to talk with your first year classes about Career Development and to work with advanced students in preparing for jobs, internships, and graduate or professional school.
• Information Technology: University policies related to IT (e.g., acceptable use, data security, passwords, user accounts) are available on the HR policies page.
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion: The Office of Diversity and Inclusion provides and supports diversity and inclusion programming for students. Contact the office if you have ideas about expanding your students’ in-class experience with diversity and inclusion.
• Title IX and Harassment: University policies related to sex or gender-based harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct are available on the HR policies page. Capital University is committed to ensuring a safe environment free of discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual misconduct and harassment. If you have experienced an incident of sex or gender-based discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct, we encourage you to report it. Capital University faculty are committed to supporting students, however, please understand that faculty are “responsible employees” of the University and must report incidents of sex- or gender-based discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Jennifer Speakman. If you would like to make a confidential report, please refer to Capital University’s Sex- or Gender-Based Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct policy for more information on reporting options.

It is most important to look at the percent of students reporting that they have made progress on the IDEA objectives that you identified as “Important” or “Essential” for your course. “Good” performance is having 70% - 80% of students reporting that they have made progress on the “Important” and “Essential” objectives. Some departments have identified the “Essential” and “Important” IDEA objectives for courses. Check with your department chair or dean before completing the IDEA Faculty Information Form (FIF). Look, also, at the percent of students who responded to the IDEA survey – you need at least a 70% response rate for the results of a single class to be considered reliable.

IDEA results are typically available online through Campus Labs about a week after grades are submitted.

Part-time faculty members are paid every other Friday during the semester. Pay does not start until HR has a signed contract from the part-time faculty member. Contracts are sent to your Capital University email.

For College and Seminary classes: $836 per credit hour for an undergraduate course that meets minimum enrollment (12 students during the academic year; 6 students during the summer).

Information about perks that are available to all employees is available here.

Part-time faculty do not have sick days or sick leave.

There is currently no funding for part-time faculty for research or conferences.

The registrar’s office can assist you with auditing classes.