Graduate Teaching Directives: Misc.

a. The University has policies and procedures pertaining to Academic Integrity/Plagiarism.

b. Faculty wanting to have a Turnitin account (to assist in analyzing the originality of student work and accuracy of citations) may complete and submit a Turnitin Request form.

The first level of response to observed or student-reported behavioral problems in the classroom is within the instructor’s “classroom management” role. Here, ideally, the situation can be facilitated/managed in such a way as to afford all concerned with an opportunity to reflect, unpack, problem-solve, learn, and grow in adult civility.

If the situation is beyond the scope of the instructor’s comfort-to-respond (and/or if the matter involves allegations of bias or discrimination), the instructor should contact—or refer the complaining student to contact—the Senior Director for Mentoring and Student Services ;who will, in turn, triage the situation in accordance with school and university protocol. Contact information for the Senior Director may be secured from the SCPS Reception Desk (312-362-8001) or through the relevant program coordinator. In urgent cases of imminent threat to safety, 911 should be called---followed by calling the University’s Public Safety (312-362-8400).

a. Tuition Wavier: Part-time Faculty are eligible for tuition wavier benefits equal to the number of courses taught per year (not to exceed three). This benefit must be applied with participating programs and within the academic year and preceding summer during which one serves/has served as a Part-time Faculty. For information regarding this benefit, see Professional Development Funds Request for PT Faculty at: https://scps.depaul.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-resources/Pages/faculty-forms.aspx

b. Professional Development Funds: Part-time Faculty may apply for professional development support [currently up to $300 per funding cycle (Cycle 1: July 1-Dec 31) (Cycle 2: Jan 1-June 30)].

c. Other Benefits: See https://hr.depaul.edu and https://scps.depaul.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-resources/Pages/faculty-forms.aspx

a. Faculty are to adhere to University guidelines and directives as well as those commonly accepted within higher education regarding ethical conduct between faculty and students. SCPS reserves the right to cancel a contract if there is the implication of impropriety reported by other faculty, students or staff.

b. Fortunately, the overriding norm within SCPS’ Graduate Programs is one of student satisfaction. However, students who express dissatisfaction or concern are encouraged to seek resolution directly with the instructor involved. Students who wish to register a concern with a school official may do so by contacting the SCPS main desk for referral to the appropriate school official.

Enrollment in graduate courses typically ranges from 10-20 students. At 20, the University forms a course “wait list.” If/as openings occur within the 20 or over the 20 (with instructor approval to raise the cap), students are added according to their order on the wait list. Instructors are not obligated to raise the cap on their course; however, those who agree to do so and take additional students over 20 will be compensated extra for doing so. Conversely, if a course enrolls fewer than 10 students, DePaul may provide an option for proceeding with the course at a reduced instructional rate negotiated with the instructor at the point of such decision. At all times, SCPS reserves the right to cancel the course. If a course is cancelled:

• prior to 1 month before the first session, --no compensation.
• from 1 month to 1 week before the first session, --10% compensation.
• from 1 week before to the day of the first session, --20% compensation.

Faculty are prohibited from charging students directly for materials or services related to a course or using a course to promote non-SCPS related enterprises.

DePaul University and its employees are required to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which sets forth requirements regarding privacy of student records. For information regarding DePaul’s FERPA policy, see information at: http://compliance.depaul.edu/resources/ferpa.asp. Students concerned about FERPA violations are to be referred to the US Department of Education.

Students may approach instructors for involvement in their individual graduate programs beyond the scope of the course being taught. Instructors are not obligated to accept these requests. However, those who are willing to engage in this further involvement are encouraged to explore—with the student—both the nature of the request (program requirements, etc.) and the scope of the separate University remuneration applicable.

Periodically, the Graduate Programs Director and/or Program Coordinator(s) will convene a meeting of program faculty (Part-time & Full-time). All faculty are to make every effort to participate in these meetings. Part-time faculty are provided an honorarium for their participation.

Parking is available at local garages near the Loop campus. Certain garages offer a DePaul discount when presenting a DePaul ID or time-stamp available at the entrances of either the Lewis Building or the DePaul Center. For parking information, see: http://parkingservices.depaul.edu/

a. When appointed, instructors are assigned a course schedule that is also announced to students and University facilities personnel. Instructors are to adhere to this set schedule. Changing meeting times, number/length of sessions, etc., should be by rare exception approved in advance by the relevant Program Coordinator. In the event of an instructor’s personal emergency—necessitating the cancellation of a class session, the instructor should contact all enrolled students via their email addresses (on the class roster) and inform both the relevant Program Coordinator and the SCPS Grad Programs Associate Director (Ms. Sarah Hellstrom; shellstr@depaul.edu.)

b. University/Campus Emergency: Comprehensive information regarding university emergencies can be found at http://www.depaul.edu. Closings due to emergency situations (per campus) can be found at http://www.emergencyclosingcenter.com/complete.html

SCPS offers its instructors helpful writing-related information at http://snlwritingnews.blogspot.com/, e.g., how to prevent/handle plagiarism, assignment ideas, how to refer students to DePaul’s Writing Center, etc. For additional information, email SCPSwriting@depaul.edu.

A syllabus template is available on the SCPS Faculty Resources site here. 

Note: You must be logged in to your DePaul account in order to view and download the template.

DePaul University’s courses are evaluated by participants using an online instrument and process.

1. Design
The online instrument includes both quantitative and qualitative items.

a) Quantitative Items: Perceptions are invited (using a 5-point scale) regarding:
-instructor’s overall teaching effectiveness
-degree to which the instructor stimulated interest in the subject
-overall quality of the course
-degree to which the course increased the student’s knowledge/skills
-degree of challenge experienced
 
b) Qualitative Items: Comments are invited (using open-ended questions) regarding:
-the 3-4 best aspects of the course
-recommendations for practical changes that might improve learning in the course
-activities in the course that required students to develop greater writing competence

c) Additional Course-Specific Questions (Optional): Grad instructors receive an email message from DePaul’s OTE-Online Teaching Evaluation (by the 3rd week of the quarter) inviting them to add up to five additional questions that are course/instructor-specific if they wish. Data from these added questions generates a separate report made available only to the individual instructor.

2. Process for 4-credit-hour Courses (Ten 3.25-hr sessions)
For quarter-long courses, students receive prompts (via email and CampusConnection) to complete the instrument. These prompts begin during the 9th week of the quarter and end when the online instrument is completed or one week after the course’s last session—whichever comes first.

3. Process for 2-credit-hour Courses (Five 3.25-hr sessions)
For half-quarter-long courses, students receive prompts (via email and CampusConnection) to complete the instrument. These prompts begin midway through the quarter and end when the online instrument is completed or one week after the course’s last session—whichever comes first.

4. Results
Course evaluation reports are calculated immediately after the end of the quarter’s grading period. Individual instructors can access reports via Campus Connection beginning 48 hours after the close of that quarter’s grading window. Detailed instructions regarding how to access and interpret reports can be found at: http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/teaching_feedback/OTE_video_intro.html.

Quantitative and qualitative reports (not including feedback from any “additional course-specific questions,” if applicable) are also available to program administrator(s).

5. Additional Informaiton
For additional information regarding course evaluation, see “Get Teaching Feedback” at http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu or contact the SCPS Assessment Center at scpsassessment@depaul.edu).