|
|
||
|
This site will provide you with answers to a few important questions about teaching that new faculty often have during the early months of their careers at UMass Amherst. These include:
What resources on campus can help me develop as a teacher? The Center for Teaching (“CFT”) UMass Amherst is committed to supporting its new faculty in their teaching, whether in the classroom or as one-on-one advisors. We are fortunate to have an award-winning Center for Teaching that provides resources, workshops and consultations on all aspects of teaching.
The Office of Academic Planning and Assessment (“OAPA”) offers an end-of-semester student evaluation of teaching form, Student Response to Instruction (“SRTI”), which is used by most departments. Instructions for administering and interpreting SRTI results are available on-line. What resources are available on campus to help my students with their learning? The Faculty Guide from the Provost’s Office contains detailed information on all learning support services on campus. Two areas, in particular, that support a large number of students are:
If I want to use multimedia in my teaching, what resources exist across campus?
How do I manage my course(s), e.g. roster, schedules, grades, etc.? The SPIRE system allows you to undertake all of the activities related to managing your courses each semester. You will receive a SPIRE login through your department. If you do not, you can generate a SPIRE login by using the “Forgot My Password” function on the SPIRE logon page. There is also a useful SPIRE help guide for instructors. SPIRE allows you to:
How do I put course material on reserve? You can take advantage of either of the two systems below for reserving reference materials for your students:
How and when can I put together a course pack for my class? The University’s Textbook Annex, CopyCat Print Shop, and Collective Copies provide course pack reproduction services. In order to have your pack ready in a timely manner, the Textbook Annex suggests that you allow 4-9 weeks to ensure full copyright approval and sufficient copy time. CopyCat and Collective Copies suggest that you allow a minimum of 3 weeks. Submit 1) a printed, single-sided copy of your course material and 2) a complete bibliography including the name, title, publisher, date of publication, and page numbers to obtain copyright approval (the copy center will do this for you). You may also be asked to sign an indemnification form to assume responsibility for reproducing non-copyrighted material. Copyright fees are determined by the publisher, and the copyright charge is included in the total price of the course pack. When considering which material to include in your pack, keep in mind that copyright approval typically will not be given if you plan to copy more than 15% of a source. In some cases, publishers rarely allow reproduction of a certain text and/or charge a prohibitively high copyright fee. Contact information for each service provider is listed below.
Collective Copies
CopyCat Print Shop
University of Massachusetts Textbook Annex How do I establish a text for my course? What are the best bookstores? In order to establish a text for your course, submit the title, author, publisher and edition to one of the bookstores below as soon as possible to avoid a book shortage. Requests made at least one month prior to the beginning of classes allow the bookstore to acquire more used copies. Typically, book stores are able to acquire free or loaned copies for the Professor, TAs, and to place on reserve. These are sent directly to you. In choosing where to order your texts, it’s important to seek out the advice of colleagues in your department who teach classes at a similar level (i.e., graduate or undergraduate) and find out where they make their arrangements. “Culturally speaking,” graduate students may not be accustomed to purchasing texts from a particular location, while undergrads may not be accustomed to another. Contact information for local (on and off-campus) bookstores is listed below.
Amherst Books
Food For Thought Books
Jeffery Amherst College Store
University of Massachusetts Textbook
Annex*
What is the University’s policy on academic dishonesty? What are my options if I suspect a student has cheated? If you suspect a student of academic dishonesty, contact the University Ombuds Office at 545-0867 and request a copy of the pamphlet entitled, “What to Do If You Suspect Academic Dishonesty: A Guide for Faculty and Instructors.” |
||
|
||
