Part-Time Affiliate Faculty

Teaching Information
(syllabus template, syllabus models, students with disabilities, course evaluations, honor code)

Book Orders

Before choosing a book or books for your course, you may wish to consult with the Department Chair or other faculty members. Some departments require that multiple section courses use the same text. 

Department chairs distribute the book order forms; fill these out to place your book orders.  They are awkward forms and difficult to fill at first.  Ask for help in your department if you are unclear as to how the form should be completed.

It is a good idea to have your department Administrative Assistant check on your book order with the Bookstore textbook manager or to follow up yourself to be certain the order was processed and that the required texts will be in on time before the course begins (you can reach the bookstore manager at X2291 or 410617-2291).  Be vigilant on this and follow up on your own course texts.  To be sure that your book orders are in the bookstore in advance of the first day of class, book orders are placed in the middle of the semester prior to the semester in which you are teaching (usually mid-October for spring semester courses and mid-March for fall semester courses).  It is recommended that you adhere to these deadlines; otherwise, you run the risk of starting the semester without books. It is often a good idea to check back with the bookstore on a book order that might be out of the ordinary, to be sure that it is right and that it is shelved properly for the course. 

If you are teaching at the Timonium or Columbia campuses, the texts you order should be delivered to the appropriate bookstore for students to purchase.  Again, follow up is key.

You can obtain desktop copies of possible texts for your review (at no charge) by getting in touch with the publisher representatives.  Ask your Administrative Assistant for the names and telephone numbers of your book representatives. A good book rep can be invaluable in helping you canvas the texts that might be available in your discipline, including the benefits of a text and its features. Having said this, never order books for a class that you have not personally reviewed.

Classroom Location

Prior to the start of the semester, you will receive a letter from the Records Office informing you of your classroom location, section numbers, and the number of students enrolled.  The same letter tells you the time and days your class meets.  If your understanding of your schedule differs from the information in the letter, contact your Department Chair immediately. If you don’t receive a letter or don’t hear anything, get in touch with your department chair immediately.

A code and a room number designation are included in the classroom assignment received from the Records Office.  Each code is an abbreviated form of the building’s name.  Ask your Administrative Assistant for a current year telephone directory (which is a must); in the front of the directory there is a list of all academic, administrative and residence buildings on the campus and their abbreviations. (For instance, Slinger Hall is SH; Maryland Hall is MH, etc).  You can check the campus map for the location of the building at the following web address: http://www.loyola.edu/about/campusmap.html

If you are teaching in either the Columbia or Timonium Campuses, you will not learn the exact room number until you arrive at the facility.  The lobby monitors will display the assigned classrooms or you can check with the center receptionist.

Classroom Equipment and Technology

An important pre-class activity is to become familiar with the classroom technology, how it works, and what might possibly be wrong if it is not working.   THIS IS A MUST – TAKE TIME TO GO TO YOUR CLASSROOM AND GET FAMILIAR WITH THE CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY.  If you have not yet been given a demonstration and you need help, contact the Technology Services Center (X5555) – the staff is very willing to come to the classroom and help faculty learn how to use the equipment.  Also, be aware of the in-class support they provide.  If you have technology in class that is not working as expected, you can call the Technology Services Center (X2255) from the classroom and they will come right over – usually it is something they can fix quickly.  Having said this, it is always a good idea to be prepared with some other activities or topic to discuss if you have an unfixable technology problem or the system goes down.  It does not happen often, but it happens.

 If there is another problem with your classroom (i.e., excessive cold or heat, malfunctioning lights, insufficient seating), you should contact the Records Office (X2504).  They will, in turn, call the appropriate department and try to remedy the problem.

Faculty are expected to conduct class every scheduled session; however, should you become unable to meet with your class, you should contact your Department Chair or Administrative Assistant, who will help you try to find a replacement from the department.  Classes can be canceled if you are ill or there is an unexpected emergency that makes it impossible to find a replacement; let your department Administrative Assistant know as soon as possible so that an official notice of class cancellation can be posted on the class door.

Faculty are also expected to hold class for the entire scheduled time and to only allow students to leave only at the designated time for the class to end.  Students must also not be held in class beyond the designated time for the class to end, as they have only 10 minutes to get to their next class.

Until you get accustom to the length of the teaching session, you may wish to prepare a few extra activities in case you finish much earlier than expected.  In the event of special sessions (for example, when a guest speaker is invited), you may wish to plan an additional activity that relates in some way to the topic so that students receive the benefit of a full session and will learn how to understand and apply the information from the guest speaker.

50-minute classes go very fast; be organized and plan well to use this time.  In addition, while the 75-minute class allows 25 extra minutes in class for each of the two days held, it requires careful planning to effectively utilize those extra 25 minutes.  Planning out how you will use classroom time will ensure that you stay on track and get the most out of your classroom time.

Loyola has an electronic blackboard available for classroom use.  This provides an electronic means for finding class rosters (lists and pictures), distributing materials to your class, contacting the students by email, conducting electronic discussion sessions, keeping track of course grades, and preparing quick surveys. 

At the beginning of each semester, an account is automatically established for every course being taught at Loyola. Each course that you are teaching will be automatically set up on Blackboard, although you will not be able to access it until you have been entered into the Loyola system, completed the technology access form, and received a Loyola ID number.    Part time affiliate faculty that attend the August orientation will receive an introduction to Blackboard; Blackboard enhancements are usually topics in the College-wide teaching workshops as well as other workshops held specifically for part-time affiliate faculty.

If you did not attend the orientation, you may gain access to your courses by logging on and establishing a password. Your department’s Administrative Assistant and/or Department Chair may be able to assist you in preparing for Blackboard use. You may also ask your colleagues for assistance or call Instructional Services (X2199 or 410-617-2199).  Effective use of Blackboard can reduce copying, provide students with all necessary materials, and provide a convenient means of communication between students and professors.

The Syllabus

The syllabus is, perhaps, the most important tool a professor has at his or her disposal in designing and conducting a college course.  Some professors see the syllabus as a contract between student and teacher, a document in which the teacher establishes the rules students will abide by in order to receive credit for the class.  Others prefer the metaphor of a blueprint: they see the syllabus as a plan that the professor intends to follow as he or she constructs the course, but also acknowledges that the plan may be subject to minor adjustments as the semester proceeds and the needs of the students become more apparent.  Yet, whether conceived of as a set of inviolable rules or as a set of guidelines, the syllabus is the essential document that governs the progress of the course.  Thus, one ought to devote careful attention to constructing it.

Ask your department chair or administrative assistant for copies of course syllabi for previous sections of your course that have been taught or other similar courses, so that you can develop a feel for how others in your department construct a course syllabus.  Check about any specific requirements on the course syllabus that your department has. Under the teaching information above, you will find some sample course syllabi models.

You do not have to provide students with a copy of the syllabus at the first class if you have already uploaded it to Blackboard and you have instructed them to download a copy and review it.  One way or the other, the students must have access to the course syllabus.  Take class time to review the course requirements and important dates, such as the due date of assignment, exam dates, attendance policy, etc.  You might find it is better NOT to review the course syllabus in the first class since few students will have looked at it beforehand.  One idea is to defer the discussion of the course syllabus and requirements to the second class, assign the “syllabus review” as homework, and spend a brief portion of the second class to answer questions and highlight the important items.  This shifts the responsibility for reviewing the syllabus to the students upfront.

Loyola College Grading Scale

For undergraduate students, we use A to F, with pluses and minuses.  Each grade translates into a numerical value as follows: A 4.00; A-  3.67;  B+ 3.33;  B 3.00; B- 2.67; C+ 2.33; C 2.00; C- 1.67; D+ 1.33; D 1.00;  F  0.00. You should provide students with a clear indication of your numeric grading scale that aligns with the plus/minus grading.  Check with your department chair about any departmental grading guidelines you might need to know.

Loyola students are, by and large, capable and are accustomed to being challenged.  Professors at the college try to strike a balance between being demanding and being fair.  Assigning high grades only to quality work encourages students to rise to the occasion.  Conversely, assigning high grades to average work does not provide incentive for students to do their best.  One more bit of common wisdom to keep in mind: it is easier to begin a semester with high expectations of students and to adjust as you proceed, than it is to begin with only moderate expectations and then to try to set the bar higher.

In the graduate program, grades A, B, C, and F are assigned.   Grades from A to C may be given a plus designation, and A and B grades may be given a minus designation.  You should provide students with a clear indication of your numeric grading scale that aligns with the A to C or plus/minus grading.    There are no C- or D grades awarded.  Graduate students need a B average to graduate, so a grade of C is considered failing.  If a student gets more than 2 C’s or one F in the program, he or she will be dismissed. 

Final Grades - Using Web Advisor to Record Final Grades

Each faculty member is required to post mid-term and final grades online through Web Advisor, and the grades are then readily available to the students when the Records Office uploads it. The process is relatively easy but you must go through Web Advisor and log into the system. The passwords for Web Advisor are now synchronized with the Loyola system so the same password you use for login should get you into the Web Advisor system. The link below will get you to the Web Advisor home page.

WebAdvisor Home page

If you need to learn how to post grades online, you can review the PowerPoint Presentation below (see slides 12-16):

Final Grades PowerPoint

Professors at Loyola may not publicly post (i.e., on walls and doors) student grades as this violates the student’s right to privacy and is prohibited by federal statute. For more information on this, please see the “FERPA Privacy Policy” link in the “What’s Here” column on the Loyola PT affiliate faculty home page. Similarly, you should not divulge student grades over the phone or discuss grades with parents. You may post grades on Blackboard or ask students who want to receive their grades early to give you a self-addressed, self-stamped envelope. Some professors are also willing to email grades to students. 

If you still need help on posting grades, you can call the Records Office at ext. 2504 (410-617-2504 off campus).

Attendance/Class Participation Policy

It is expected that professors will state on the syllabus an attendance and class participation policy.  Illness and emergencies do arise during the course of the semester, and it is necessary to let students know how many classes they may miss before their grade in the course will be adversely affected. In determining this number, it is best to be demanding, since attendance is an essential part of any college course, while at the same time being reasonable in your expectations.  In the event wherein a student becomes seriously ill or experiences an emergency that causes him or her to miss classes above and beyond the allowable limit, you may use your policy

This information is particularly important to student athletes, many of whom must miss an inordinate number of classes due to the schedule of athletic events they are required to participate in.   If a professor has an absentee policy that does not allow students to miss more than a certain number of classes, the student may have to change his or her schedule during the first week of classes. 

In graduate classes, you will most likely find that you need to be more flexible in your attendance policy.  Most students work full-time and sometimes must miss class due to professional obligations.  While attendance requirements should not be waived, extreme requirements (e.g., if you miss one class, you will fail, or if you miss one class, you must write an additional course paper) are discouraged.

Class participation is defined in different ways by different professors.  The term may be used to describe a broad range of activities: voluntary participation in discussion, formal presentations, participation in writing workshops, reading of essays/response papers to the class, taking part in experiments, participating in group work/projects, etc.  Thus, it is necessary to state clearly on the syllabus how each student’s participation in the class will be evaluated.

Students with Disabilities

If students need classroom accommodations for disabilities, they have the responsibility of contacting their course instructor each semester and providing him or her with written accommodation letters from Disability Support Services.  These accommodations may include note takers, alternative testing site or circumstances, time extensions on assignments or exams, lab assistance, taped lectures and texts, and sign language interpreters.  Faculty are expected to comply with these requirements.

Student Athletes

Letters to faculty indicating potential absences in a given semester are given to student-athletes prior to the first day of class by the Office of Academic Affairs for Varsity Athletics.  It is the responsibility of the student to deliver these to the professor, obtain their signatures, leave a copy of the schedule with the professor, and to discuss any special arrangements that may need to be made.  Student-athletes are expected to attend classes regularly at all other times, and they are responsible for making up all missed work.  Also, it is the student’s responsibility to make prior arrangements for taking an exam at an alternative time.  The Office of Academic Affairs for Varsity Athletics will assist in proctoring the exams if needed. 

Loyola College insists that its students practice the virtues of honesty and integrity in both the personal and academic spheres of their lives.  Each professor reminds each student of this core value of the community and the institution in a numbers of ways and holds each student to this high standard.   All professors are required to include the following statement on all syllabi for undergraduate students:

Out of concern for the College and the academic community, each student at Loyola must maintain the highest standards of academic honesty.  All students of the College are expected to understand the meaning of the Loyola College Honor Code.  Ignorance of the Code is not a valid reason for committing an act of academic dishonesty.  The following will constitute violations of the Code:  cheating, stealing, lying, plagiarism and the failure to report a violation.  All registered undergraduate students of Loyola College are automatically bound by this Honor Code and are bound by the following pledge: "I understand and will uphold the ideals of academic honesty as stated in the Honor Code."

In addition, many professors remind the students of this pledge by reproducing it on assignment sheets, examinations, or requiring students to submit a written pledge with all assignments.  Some departments have designated a standard penalty for a violation of the honor code. You should consult with your chair to find out whether or not this is the case in your department.  Though these penalties may vary in severity, all departments are committed to insuring that faculty members be alert to and act upon violations of the honor code. Should you have any cause to suspect that one of your students has committed a violation, consult with your department chair.

Classroom Rules and Etiquette

The climate of the classroom is determined, in large part, by the professor.  Establishing rules of conduct early in the semester helps to create an atmosphere of order and mutual respect.  When a teacher makes clear what he/she expects of the students, most students will readily comply.  By the same token, students expect their professors to conduct themselves in a fair and professional manner in the classroom.  The list below includes some suggestions as to how you might avoid unnecessary conflict in the classroom:

1. Avoid giving any kind of preferential treatment to any one student or group of students.
2. Avoid changing requirements in response to a student’s complaints.
3. Avoid making promises you may not be able to deliver. (e.g. getting a specific speaker).
4. Avoid allowing students consistently to come to class late.
5. Avoid permitting students to eat meals in class.
6. Correct bad manners in a student as they occur (e.g. interrupting others, use of inappropriate language, habitual napping, etc.)         
7. Begin and dismiss each class on time.
8. Don’t engage in a confrontation with a student during class – politely ask the student to see you after class to resolve it.
9. Include a statement on expected behavior in your course syllabus.

Overall, Loyola College students are polite and attentive to the rules.  The vast majority wants to learn, to feel comfortable in your classroom, and to enjoy their time with you.  By anticipating and addressing problems that arise in the classroom, you may enable them to do so.

Students’ Expectations

It is a good idea to understand how students will evaluate your class at the conclusion of the semester.  Ask your department chair for a copy of the Loyola evaluation form and take time to review it with him/her.

Perhaps most important among these are the expectations that their professor will be enthusiastic, organized, and accessible. Good professors demonstrate (often involuntarily) a passion for their subject that good students, in turn, find contagious.  Effective teachers provide students with a clear overview of the course and its objectives.  Be sure to have the course syllabi ready and copied prior to the first day/night of class or be certain it is available on Blackboard prior to the start of the semester.  Finally, professors at Loyola make themselves available to students on a regular basis through office hours (three hours a week per course) and e-mail and phone mail exchange.

Loyola’s Expectations

The fundamental responsibility of all regular and part-time faculty members is to teach and guide the students (Faculty Handbook, V-1):

Faculty members are expected to hold classes regularly, be prepared for class, use class time well, respond to student phone calls and e-mails in a timely manner, design assignments that demonstrate the students’ understanding of course material, grade the assignments fairly and in a timely manner, distinguish levels of performance, require a final exam or paper that allows students to integrate what they have learned in the course, and submit final grades to the Records Office according to the schedule they have outlined.

The Loyola Classroom

The most inspiring teachers are perennial students, alive to fresh possibilities in their courses as well as in their disciplines.  Good teachers impart not only what they already know, but share with their students what they are working to discover, their enthusiasm for their discipline, and their passion for learning. As teachers, they genuinely care for and about students and try to serve as effective models of adults committed to a life of intellectual inquiry and life-long learning.

There is no such thing as a typical Loyola class.  There is a great range and a rich variety of teaching styles among the faculty. Most professors find, through experience, what techniques they are particularly good at, and many continue to experiment with new ways of encouraging the participation of their students in the class.

In undergraduate classes, most professors employ a combination of teaching methods.  In a given class period, a professor may lecture part of the time and do an in-class activity for the balance of the period.  In some disciplines, professors use clips from videotapes or DVDs to generate discussion.  In addition, a professor may schedule different activities, such as regular student presentations, in-class group projects, and writing/editing workshops, to create variety and encourage student involvement in the class. 

For a variety of reasons, graduate students tend to be more actively engaged in the classroom.  In class, it is best to work with the material rather than to summarize or to quiz them (orally) on it.  In general, the professor can assume that the students have read and, most likely, comprehended the assigned reading and can then build on that foundation.  In our upcoming Part-Time Faculty teaching workshops, you will have the opportunity learn some creative ways to work with course material.  In addition, you should feel free to ask experienced faculty members for ideas. 

TIP for Active Learning: If you like to use PowerPoint, try to avoid using it for a whole class and never dim the lights low.  Try to minimize the amount of material that appears on any one slide and make sure the students can easily read the information under normal classroom light.  Using PowerPoint is passive learning and the adage “Death by PowerPoint” may be truer than you might like to admit.  Try using PowerPoint for a few slides, then stop.  Involve students in an activity that is more engaging.  A good alternative use of PowerPoint is to simply place it on Blackboard for the students to use on their own time.

Classroom Observation

No matter whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one, it is a challenge to begin teaching at a new institution.  If you encounter difficulties in the classroom, you might benefit from watching another teacher in action.  Let the department chair know what sort of teaching technique(s) you would like to observe (case method teaching, interactive styles, good lecturing, the use of high tech equipment, editing workshops, lab experiments, etc) and he or she will tell you which faculty members you could learn from.  As a courtesy, you should call the professor whose class you wish to visit in advance. 

The First Class

In the first class of the semester, the professor, typically, has three objectives: to introduce the course (via the syllabus or some other activity), to provide an opportunity for students to get to know the instructor and one another, and to engage the class in some aspect of the course’s content.

A specific and detailed syllabus is appreciated by undergraduates and essential to graduate students.  Regardless of whether or not you have made your syllabus available prior to the first class session, you may want to use some portion of the first session to highlight the major content areas of the course, the course’s place within the larger curriculum, and the major assignments required of the students.  

There are a number of ways to initiate the important process of getting to know your students. You might choose to have each student in the class introduce him- or herself in an informal manner.  One way to do this is for students to remain seated and to state their name, major or place of employment and one interesting fact about themselves.  (Interesting facts may include family, hobbies, interests, recent changes, etc.)  In a graduate course, the instructor might start off the introductions using a similar format that might include research interests, employment challenges and/or teaching experience.  This provides a good opportunity for the instructor to create a seating chart, if he or she wishes.  The instructor might draw a blueprint of the room and fill in student names as the introductions are made or he/she may pass around a seating chart.  Some professors pass out cards and ask students to list interesting information (e.g., relevant professional experience or only interesting personal facts).  Others bring a digital camera to class and take pictures of each student on the first night.  Any and all of these methods will help you to begin learning students’ names and, thereby, engaging them in the course.  This extra effort is rewarded many times over by the mutual respect shown by the members of the class to the professor and to one another.

The final segment of the class can be used to build interest and enthusiasm for the course content.  Some professors might also want to provide students a chance to work within a small group setting in the first class.  Again, exactly how this is done will vary.  If you have assigned a reading for the first session of a graduate course, you will probably use that reading to initiate class discussion and elucidate course content.

The Last Class

Faculty are discouraged in using the last class to have students complete the course evaluations (see the discussion under the course evaluation section below).  The last class is a great opportunity to summarize the course content, prepare students for the next area of study, and motivate students to consider the value of what they have learned to their intellectual development, their discipline, and their lives.  It is interesting to review the learning objectives stated on the syllabus and the table of contents of the course text to attempt to summarize the progress the class has made in the course of the semester.  This brief overview enables students to think about the individual issues they have been studying from week to week within the larger context of the course and, beyond that, the discipline itself.  A final activity in the form of an individual exercise, video or group activity which encourages students to look at the course and the program as a key element in their program of study can be very rewarding and motivating.  Students might be asked to ponder important questions regarding what they hope to achieve, both personally and professionally, and how their education is preparing them for the life they envision.  The goal is to provide students with encouragement and the opportunity for introspection essential to thoughtful young men and women.

The Final Exam

The Loyola College handbook states that “[i]n each course, teachers are required to give a final examination, unless the department chair has approved a waiver of this requirement.  The final examination may not, under any circumstances, be given during a regular class period before the term ends.  No examinations [for undergraduate students] may be given during the final week of the semester.”  Each professor must, therefore, require a final assignment that encourages students to consider the course content in a comprehensive way.  A teacher might decide to conduct a final examination during the designated final exam period, or may require a take-home final exam, a final paper, or a final paper in conjunction with a class presentation.

All faculty (full or part-time) are required to have students complete the Loyola course evaluation forms.  Some departments use departmental or other evaluation forms as well so be sure to discuss this well in advance with your department chair.  You should receive the Loyola course evaluation packets by the 10^th week of the course and you can distribute these for completion at any time after that point.  You must administer the evaluations in accordance with the instructions.

Here are some helpful hints in conducting the evaluation process:

1. Avoid announcing a date on which course evaluations will be completed – rather, work it into your class schedule where it seems to best fit and announce it that day.
2. Avoid choosing the last class.
3. Always do the evaluations at the beginning of the class, not the end (you must leave the class while the evaluations are being completed but then you can return and continue class).  The “beginning of class approach” minimizes the chance that students will leave the class and not complete the evaluation.
4. Emphasis the importance and value of the evaluation process for everyone: students, faculty, Loyola.
5. Have extra pencils available for students who need them – the evaluation forms MUST be completed with a No. 2 pencil!
6.  Have the basic evaluation information readily available for students to write in or have a department work-study student completed it in advance (i.e., course name, instructor name, current year, current semester, faculty ID, course ID).  Having a work-study student in your department complete the basic information in advance is a great idea because it saves time in the evaluation process without compromising the confidentiality of the student’s comments.
7. Note that questions 15-19 are course specific items you might wish evaluated. If you wish, you may add up to 5 additional questions to the evaluation that might provide more information on the effectiveness of major assignments, projects, or activities – you can even ask for an evaluation of the course text in this section.  Be sure that you either (1) write the extra questions on the board or (2) have a handout available to distribute to students that explains what each additional numbered question is and what is being asked.  If you are fortunate enough to have a work-study student who can help prepare the basic evaluation information in advance, you can also have them paraphrase the questions 15-19 on the form to make it easier for students to respond.

You will receive the evaluations forms back after grades and the evaluation forms have been processed, along with a summary of the evaluation results.  Check with your department chair or administrative assistant on when the evaluation forms will be available to you to review.

You don’t have to wait for feedback from students just through the formal evaluation process.  In fact, there is tremendous value in asking students to provide anonymous feedback on the course during the semester.  The goal is not to solicit personal or vague comments, but to ask specific questions that will provide precise information about what aspects of the course are working (or are not working) well.  For example, in a Business course, you might ask the following question: Do the cases assist you in learning the course content?  If yes, why not?  Questions that elicit a simple yes or no response do not give the instructor direction in terms of what to do.

This is where Blackboard tools can be really helpful.  Through Blackboard, you can easily create a student survey that students complete and submit.  Blackboard automatically tallies the results for you quickly and anonymously, and you can be ready to discuss the results in the next class – check it out! 

Just as teachers appreciate a sincere desire to improve, so do students.  You might also want to informally ask for feedback from students who have come to chat with you.  Again, you want to solicit feedback that is specific in nature.  “How do you like the course?” is too general to be useful and rarely gets a direct answer.  Alternatively, open-ended questions (such as “The Professor in this class should Stop, Start and Continue...”) often allow the students to offer suggestions for change that are useful. 

It takes a bit of courage to seek out feedback, but the rewards are considerable.   If you solicit feedback, be sure to let students know you are listening and try to address any concerns they raise. For example, if a number of students think you are assigning too much reading, you do not need to delete readings, but you might ask yourself whether all the readings facilitate your objectives and whether your objectives are being made clear to the students so that they see the value of the readings.