Contact person: Audrey Shalinsky, Associate Dean
The head oversees the offering of courses in the department to ensure that the appropriate numbers and kinds of courses are available. The need for particular courses, rather than the desires of individual faculty, guide courses projections. Preparing course projections for at least two years will help faculty plan their course preparation and the head make assignments; such projections also are helpful for advisors and students as they determine which courses a student should take in a given semester. The two-year course projection is posted on the department's website.
Student need is the primary guide for scheduling standard starting times for courses.
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Classes meeting MWF or M-F: |
Classes meeting on Tuesday/Thursday (TR): |
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8:00 - 8:50 |
8:10 - 9:25 |
Labs should be scheduled to conflict with as few standard times as possible.
Knowing what individual faculty/APs are doing in their teaching/research/creative activity or professional development activities and service will help the head make judicious decisions about course assignments, scheduling and GA assignments.
At present, courses are delivered through audio-conferencing, tele-conferencing (compressed video, limited to the state of Wyoming), a combination of audio- or tele-conferencing and “intensive weekends,” intensive weekends alone (usually through UW/Casper), on the Web, and through the WEN network.
Offerings through TOS requires the approval of the head. Any course taught through TOS should have the same requirements and expectations as those taught on campus.
When teaching is considered part of the faculty member’s/APL’s load and is included in the job description; the faculty member/APL receives no additional compensation. The Dean’s Office must approve any arrangements that involve TOS paying the department/program for teaching/replacement teaching BEFORE a commitment to TOS is made.
If a faculty member wishes to teach for TOS as an overload, s/he should obtain permission from the head/director. Faculty should not expect that any of their job description expectations will be reduced during the time they are on overload. Permission to teach on overload requires the signature of the head and must be approved by the Dean’s Office.
It is important that courses enroll at least the minimum number of students (UNIREG 400 mandates 10 for lower-division courses; 5 for upper-division courses). Faculty members can check enrollments on WyoWeb. (See Summer School for policy regarding canceling classes scheduled for summer.)
If a course is canceled, the instructor may be assigned another course; lack of enrollment does not free the instructor from a teaching responsibility. It is essential that students are notified of any cancellations.
Controlled enrollment means that the student must contact the department before being allowed to register. It should be used sparingly. For example, if the prerequisites for the course cannot be screened by the registration system (e.g., having filed for graduation or having taken a number of specific courses), then the student will need to contact the department so that someone there can determine if the student meets the prerequisites. If controlled enrollments are used, it is imperative to strictly enforce whatever prerequisites were established.
The Banner student information system is not capable of automatically rolling students from a waitlist into a class. On the system, students are allowed to register for one section of a course while on the waitlist for another. Students are unable to see their position on the waitlist through WyoWeb, and the summary waitlist for a class is in alphabetical order. Faculty should consult the department office staff for specifics on the process.
F. Program Assessment of Student Learning
Contact person: Audrey Shalinsky, Associate Dean
UW is engaged in a major effort to assess student learning based on the goals, objectives, and student outcomes determined by the faculty. The purpose is to improve student learning. It is an opportunity to strengthen our educational programs by determining how well students are accomplishing the faculty's goals, objectives, and student outcomes. Data collection and analysis may result in the revision of courses, program requirements or expectations of student learning. Perhaps equally important, assessment is an opportunity to tell prospective students what they may learn by completing the program.
All programs--Minors, Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral--are to complete one cycle of the assessment process by 2007. Each department included its assessment timetable in its 2004 Academic Plan. The department reports its progress toward completion of the plan in its annual report.
Assistance in completing the steps of the assessment process is available from the UW Assessment of Student Learning website http://www.uwyo.edu/AcadAffairs/ASSESSMENT/ , the university assessment coordinator (contact Academic Affairs), the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning, and A&S associate dean.