Graduate Instructor Information

This page includes information for new graduate student instructors teaching for the first time. In an effort to make your teaching experience less stressful, we have compiled some helpful information.

FERPA Training: Access to Your Class Information

In order to have access to your class information such as class rolls, grade rolls, student information; all instructors and TA’s must take and pass with 100% the FERPA training.

The online FERPA tutorial is designed to prepare authorized members of the campus community to fully understand the responsibilities of handling student record information under FERPA and the University’s student records policy. The completion of this tutorial is an important step in safeguarding student data and strengthening the trust of our students.

After reading the educational portion of the tutorial, you will be asked to take a short quiz. A score of 100% is required to demonstrate mastery of this important privacy act. (It’s easy.)

FERPA Instructions –

Click the embedded link and follow the instructions to access the online FERPA Training.
Once completed, you will receive a completion confirmation email. Forward the completion confirmation email to the Student Services Manager (Vacant) (studentservices@cs.unc.edu).
Your access to the class you will be teaching will be requested by me (Student Services Coordinator).
Agree to the Terms of Use found on the Connect Carolina Home Page. Follow the instructions under “FACULTY & STAFF PLEASE TAKE ACTION” found at the bottom of the home page.

Note: You only have to take the FERPA training once. It is not required each semester you are assigned a TA position.

Agreeing to the Terms of Use

Before you will be granted access to student information in Connect Carolina, all users must agree to the terms of use policy. To do this, log into Connect Carolina. On the homepage you will see a box titled “Agreeing to the Terms of Use”. Follow the instructions provided.

Once FERPA and Terms of Use have been completed, contact the Student Services Coordinator to make the request for instructor of record.

Faculty Center in Connect Carolina – Class Roster, Grade Roster, Sakai, Canvas

Once you have access to your class information, you can access it through Connect Carolina’s Faculty Center. The Guide to Faculty Center says to access this through My UNC but that has since changed. You can find more information on the new portal here.

This guide will help you set yourself up in Faculty Center as well as show you how to access your class roster, grade roster, and other useful information.

Sakai – If you are going to use Sakai, you can find all of the information you need on how to use (including tutorials) and access Sakai from the main portal in Connect Carolina.

Canvas – If you are going to use Canvas, you can find all the information you need on how to use (including tutorials) and access Canvas as well as transition from Sakai, here.

Grading

At the end of the semester, you will submit your final and official grades. Instructions and helpful links are below.

Grading Help for Faculty & Staff

Explanation of Grades

Textbooks

You will need to let the University’s book store know whether you will be using a textbook for your course.

If you are NOT using a textbook, please let Tonja Austin (taustin@cs.unc.edu) know asap. She and the bookstore will be tracking all courses and the status of book orders.

Please place textbook orders or make no-text-needed notifications in one of five easy ways:

Use the Student Stores Faculty Enlight website (store.unc.edu) and select the Textbooks from the navigation bar, then Faculty Resources from the dropdown menu.
Fax your order to 919-962-3334.
Email the Textbook Office at textbook@unc.edu.
Send your order via campus mail to the Textbook Department at Campus Box #1530.
Stop by the Textbook Office on the 3^rd floor of the UNC Student Stores.

Syllabus

Each semester, instructors are required by the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) to submit a syllabus for their course to the department in which they are teaching. The CS Department has created a template for the required information to be included in every syllabi. The CAS also has information on what a syllabus should include.

Computer Science Syllabus Template

What Information I Should Include in my Syllabus

Syllabi are due within the first two weeks of class. The Student Services Manager will send emails requesting course syllabi for that particular semester and will keep track of submitted syllabi.

Semester Calendars

Academic Calendars

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAQs:

How does a student audit a course?
To audit a class, registered students and persons not registered must obtain a drop/add registration form from the teaching department of the class [AUD for audit should be indicated on the form]. Permission from the class instructor and the department chair is required and should be indicated on the form with a written signature.
Requests to audit a class may be submitted only after the end of the official registration period (last day for students to add a class or late registration) when it has been determined that there is still space available in the class.
This procedure applies to fall, spring, and both summer session terms. Auditing of classes is permitted only in lecture-based courses and never in courses that include laboratories or performances.

A student wants to enroll but does not meet the prerequisites, what do I tell them?
The department policy is that prereqs MUST be satisfied before any student can take that course – no exceptions.

My class is full but students are still wanting to enroll, what do I do?
There are two main options. You can either simply say no and let the student know the course will be offered again OR you can keep your own waitlist (separate of the Connect Carolina waitlist) and if any enrolled student drops, you can ask the student services coordinator to enroll the next person on your personal waitlist. If you choose the second option, please keep track of students’ names and PID #s within your personal waitlist to aid the admission process.

CENTER FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE – TEACHING HELP

The Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) is a great resource for Teaching as a Graduate Student. They have a New Graduate TA Orientation program that has brought together new TA’s, experienced TAs, and faculty from across the University for workshops designed to prepare TAs for their responsibilities as teaching assistants (aka Graduate Student Instructors) at Carolina. Participants meet in sessions with other TA’s who have similar instructional duties in the coming year. The morning sessions offer concrete strategies for managing the TA’s dual role as teaching and student, preparing for the first day of class, and other information necessary to get off to a good start as a TA. These sessions also familiarize participants with University policies governing instructor and student conduct, including issues such as the Honor Code, sexual harassment, and amorous relations. The afternoon sessions address general pedagogical issues, such as overcoming apathy in the classroom, grading student work, and the special challenges that international TAs face.

Consultations on Teaching: CFE consultants are available to meet with individual TAs to discuss teaching-related issues, ideas, or concerns. Examples of issues a TA may wish to address with a consultant include the development of a grading rubric for a specific course, a review of teaching evaluations, plans for writing a project assignment, ideas for using a new teaching strategy, or methods to improve classroom dynamics.