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For faculty members teaching a new class or pondering ways to tweak a course they have been teaching for a while, the Center for Teaching & Learning has created “Lean into Fall”, a quick-start guide for the semester.

Based on MAP Program feedback gathered from thousands of students, the CTL has identified key areas – assessments, learning activities and syllabi – where small changes made as the semester begins can lead to big impacts. For each of these areas, the “Lean into Fall” guide provides a list of possible course design, or re-design, tasks that range in time commitment from a few hours to a day or two, allowing instructors can to choose the tasks that are most helpful to themselves and their students.

For new faculty members, as well as any instructor teaching a new course for the first time, the CTL has identified a few selected tasks to help ease the transition to teaching on campus. 

For all faculty, the CTL offers one-on-one feedback sessions with a CTL consultant to help think through the identified planning tasks.

More information about “Lean Into Fall,” and access to the guide, can be found at umass.edu/ctl/lean-into-fall-2025.