Teaching at Stetson

Teaching is a multi-faceted endeavor. From curriculum design to creating syllabi to submitting grades, these resources seek to help faculty with the administrative processes and planning involved in teaching. We encourage faculty take advantage of the many teaching-centered professional development opportunities offered by the Brown Center for Faculty Innovation and Excellence, and suggest review of the Council of Undergraduate Associate Deans' Teaching Tips and Guidelines for Stetson Faculty Members.

The academic calendar lists all important academic dates and deadlines for the academic year. Academic calendars are posted for the DeLand campus as well as for the College of Law. We encourage you to be informed of important deadlines relevant to academic advising and those that may shape how you decide to structure your course.

As outlined in the University Catalog Attendance Policy, instructors set their attendance policy. The attendance policy should be included in each course syllabus. Instructors are asked to regularly record attendance as poor attendance can be a sign of serious academic or personal problems, and early intervention can help students avoid falling into academic trouble

If a student has missed three consecutive classes without explanation, faculty should report the absences to Campus Life and Student Success (CLaSS) through the Student Success Collaborative (SSC). More information about Stetson SSC is available on the Stetson SSC website. Faculty can access SSC through the faculty tab of MyStetson. Absences should be reported by “Issuing an Alert” from the home page within the system. Academic Success staff monitor these alerts and reach out to students, updating faculty on that outreach. If you have any questions about SSC, please contact the SSC Team at 386.822.7127 (Aaron Distler for outreach/student concerns and Colin MacFarlane for technical assistance) or email [email protected].

Community-engaged learning is a pedagogical tool used by faculty to help students apply theoretical knowledge to a real-world problem with the goal of building a better understanding of the theory while simultaneously solving the engaged problem. The Center for Community Engagement supports faculty in their use of service learning and community-based research in their curriculum.

University-wide undergraduate curriculum policies are voted on by the university faculty. Additionally, each college and school has specific curriculum policies and its own structure for curricular matters. The University Council on Curriculum and Academic Policy (UCCAP) and its contributing committees are representative governance structures. The various curricular proposals follow different workflows through UCCAP and its contributing committees to facilitate a thoughtful and efficient review, recommendation, and action on the advancement of Stetson University's academic mission.

A final exam or final project must be given in each course at the end of the semester, as stated for students in the University Catalog Final Exam Policy. The examination schedule is set by the Office of the Registrar and students may not reschedule or miss any final exam without prior approval by the academic dean. Students who miss a final exam without prior approval from the academic dean are liable for failure of the course. Students scheduled to take more than two final exams in one day may request of the academic dean's office that one exam be rescheduled. Final exams and student presentations are not to be held on Study Days noted in the academic calendar.

Instructors must submit grades for each student enrolled in a course for credit, both at mid-term and term-end. Suitable means for evaluating student performance are determined by the instructor and should be explicitly stated in each course syllabus. At least one important grade should be given by mid-term to provide students a clear basis for interpreting their progress at mid-term. Please note that the last day to drop a course without academic penalty is typically occurs around mid-term; this date is posted in the academic calendar.

Due dates for mid-term and final grades are posted in the academic calendar. Grades are entered electronically on my.stetson.edu; instructions are available on the Office of the Registrar Entering Grades webpage. An instructor's responsibility for each course is not complete until all final grades are submitted. The University Catalog Grading Scale and Interpretation provides information to students on how final grades factor in the grade point average (GPA). Please note the information available under the grade of I for Incomplete. Students requesting an incomplete in your course must make that request in writing using the request form available from the Office of the Registrar. The request must be approved by the instructor, the department chair, and the academic dean.

Faculty are encouraged to take advantage of the many internal grant opportunities available to support faculty development and research. One such opportunity, made possible through the generous support of Dolly and Homer Hand, is the Hand Faculty Grant program. This program has specifically focused on supporting faculty projects that will strengthen currently taught or newly proposed courses.

Opportunities through the Hand Faculty Grant program will be announced when available.

Class rosters for each of your courses are available on my.stetson.edu. As students can change their course registration online up until the first day of class, we encourage you to pull your roster on the first day your class meets for the most up-to-date information. Students who are not officially enrolled in your class should not be permitted to remain in your class; please refer such students to the Office of the Registrar for proper registration.

Information on entering registration overrides to allow a student to register for your course and frequently asked questions about course waitlists are available on the Office of the Registrar Faculty Information webpage.

Each semester, faculty participate in roster verification. The deadline for submitting your roster verification is posted on the academic calendar. The Office of the Registrar coordinates this process, providing online instructions for roster verification.

Most classrooms are equipped with smart classroom technology to meet your audio and visual needs. If you are in need of equipment that is not already available in your classroom, please contact the Office of Online Learning and Educational Technology to inquire about reserving the needed equipment. Your department administrator can help with these arrangements.

All faculty must create a detailed syllabus for each class taught, according to the expectations of the department and the college or school and in compliance with the University Catalog Course Syllabi Policy. The Council of Undergraduate Associate Deans has created a Syllabus Template for detailed guidance.

The University Bookstore, managed by Follett, provides an online system for course material adoption. Adoption deadlines are set for each semester and publicized by the University Bookstore. Course materials that are adopted by the established deadlines are available three to four weeks before classes begin. If you need assistance with the course material adoption process, please contact the bookstore staff [email protected].

Teaching apprenticeships have a unique educational value for both the teaching apprentice(TA) and the students enrolled in the course. TAs learn directly from their instructor, observe the instructor's pedagogy, and work with students under the instructor. Faculty members who are considering mentoring a TA are encouraged to review the Undergraduate Teaching Apprentice Guidelines and Policies, available on the Polices and Guidelines page.