No, the College uses a standard syllabus format for all its courses and has developed a “master syllabus” for each course. This has been done to insure that all necessary competencies and standards have been noted and that the essential elements of the course have been included. You will receive a copy of the master syllabus for the course from either the department chair or his/her designee (secretary). For a complete description, Click here.

An adjunct or new faculty member has limited discretion in altering the syllabus. Each course has at least one “critical task” that must be completed as designed and assessed by the rubric housed in LiveText. The adjunct or new faculty member has the ability to add assignments, change the order of assignments, alter the form of delivery, etc., as long as the essential elements of the course are not changed. If you have additional questions, talk to the appropriate department chair. Also, remember that the syllabus is your contract with the students. You need to make it very specific in regard to your expectations (completion of assignments, potential resubmitting of assignments, due dates, absence, use of electronic devices, etc.). Click here.

You need to teach the essential elements of the course as noted on the syllabus. All sections of a multiple section course must be assessed with the same critical task and rubric. This provides continuity and consistency in the program and insures that all students have an equitable opportunity to achieve the standards and competencies that are covered and assessed in the course.

Yes. LiveText is an online program that holds all our standards-based performance data. You will need a LiveText account (it’s free) that can be obtained by calling the LiveText coordinator. Students in either the undergraduate Teacher Preparation Programs or the graduate programs will have a LiveText account. Your role will be to ensure that students submit the appropriate assignment to their LiveText account and that you have assessed it in LiveText properly and on time. If you have any questions on how to complete an assessment, please call the LiveText coordinator. This is important because incorrect use of the LiveText assessment system will result in faulty performance data! Click here.

A critical task is an assignment that is based on knowledge or skill that is deemed to be essential to the job or profession for which the student is being trained. Each course has at least one critical task connected to it that must be completed by the students at a level of 75% or higher. Critical tasks have standards and competencies connected to them that enable the College to collect performance data that is necessary for accreditation and state approval. The critical task for a course is not the only assignment in the course and does not automatically become the “grade” for the course. It should be weighted heavily enough, however, so that a student cannot pass the course if he/she does not pass the critical task. Click here.

The class days and time have been set prior to the beginning of the course. Room availability is scarce on the FGCU campus, so class schedules have been carefully planned months before the class starts. In order to provide equitable opportunity for students to achieve competencies and standards, the course should be taught as it was planned (e.g., face-to-face, virtual, hybrid, etc.) Adjuncts and new faculty should not alter the planned schedule. The exception might be sudden illness of the faculty member. In this case the course might be assigned a virtual assignment in lieu of a regular class meeting. If you have concerns about your class schedule, please speak with your department chair. Click here for class meeting information.

Please prepare materials for students in electronic format so that they can be posted on CANVAS. It is not possible for adjuncts to copy materials directly on university copy machines. A special card code is required. If you have explicit need for materials to be copied, please contact the COE secretary assigned to your department. Click here.

No, but you will find it to be very helpful. CANVAS is an online course delivery system. It replaces ANGEL that has been used across the university for several years. The CANVAS system will help you organize your course materials, display them for students, keep track of your grades, etc. Tutorials and/or dates for training on the use of CANVAS are posted on the FGCU website. Emergency assistance can be obtained by calling the Online Help Center at (239) 590-7100 or
E-mail: itsprt@fgcu.edu.

Please click on one of the following links. Click here to go directly to Canvas or Click here for indepth information.

Please contact your department chair.

Textbooks have been preselected for the courses assigned to adjuncts. Sufficient student copies have been preordered through the university Book Store. The secretary assigned to your department will secure a desk copy of the text for you. Click here.

No. Textbooks have been preselected for the courses by full-time faculty. Consistent use of preselected textbooks provides continuity of the program for the students. Any change to textbook selection is completed by thorough review and discussion by faculty well in advance of the initiation of the course. Click here.

Yes and no. It is generally agreed that students should plan to attend every class, and that they should be requested to drop the class if they have missed more than two sessions. This should apply to courses regardless of the method of delivery (face-to-face, virtual, hybrid, etc.). However, faculty have many different ways of keeping track of attendance (sign-in sheets, exit cards, etc.). It is up to the individual instructor to set his/her expectations for attendance and they should be prominently noted in the syllabus and fastidiously adhered to in practice. Remember, the syllabus is your contract with the students – let them know what is expected and then expect exactly that. Click here.

Yes and no. The undergraduate programs follow a standard for grading that is published in each course syllabus. This was established to provide consistency across the program particularly because several of the courses are multiple section courses. The various graduate programs, on the other hand, may individually employ grading standards that fit unique program requirements. Check with your department chair to be certain that you are employing an appropriate grading standard for the course you are teaching. Click here.

The university has established procedures for emergencies that occur in the classroom . They are posted on the university website. It is important for all adjuncts and new faculty to read and follow these procedures. In the event that the emergency is the inability of the adjunct to attend class, the adjunct needs to contact all of the following: your department chair by phone if at all possible, the appropriate executive secretary who will post a notice on the classroom door, and the students by the most effective means possible (FGCU email, CANVAS email, etc.)
Click here for additional class meeting information.

Absolutely! The library has standard forms for establishing reference materials. Contact the circulation department of the library for these forms.

Each faculty member, including adjuncts, must have a university ID card. When it is activated, the card becomes a slide card opener for classroom doors. Should you encounter difficulty in opening a classroom door, one of the executive secretaries will be able to assist you. You should also have your ID card re-keyed so that you do not have continued difficulty.

Assessment informs instruction. In most cases you will be teaching students who are preparing for work in schools. Be a role model and show how assessing frequently and in many ways can help you make instructional decisions. Be cautious with accepting resubmissions or late work. If you chose to allow students to redo work or to turn it in late, set your expectations clearly in your syllabus; e.g., a) an assignment may, with permission, be submitted up to one week beyond the due date with a loss of 25% of the total possible points; b) an assignment may be resubmitted to correct errors but must be resubmitted within two days to receive full credit. You can reword these suggestions to align with your own expectations. Remember that you MUST assess the critical task(s) on LiveText. Click here regarding formative feedback .

Close to the end of the course the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness will send the instructor a Student Assessment of Instruction (SAI) packet. Instructions for completion of the packet are noted on the front of the packet. The SAI provides students with the opportunity to offer their perceptions of the course and the instructor. It is wise for the adjunct to sample student perceptions at the mid-term point in the course. A sample mid-term survey is included in the Adjunct Guidebook. Click here.

Click here.

There is no specific office for adjuncts to use for the purpose of storing materials or meeting with students. If you require space for storing bulky materials, please see one if the executive secretaries. Adjuncts often find it most convenient to see students immediately before or after class. If additional time is needed, the secretary assigned to your department can locate a space for your to have a short meeting with the student. Click here.

In terms of the daily/weekly class meeting schedule, the answer is no. Once the class schedule has been established in Gulfline, it needs to remain as scheduled. There is a severe shortage of classrooms on campus such that changing a previously established schedule is nearly impossible. Please conduct the class according to its prearranged schedule. In terms of the sequence of curriculum content coverage, assignments, and activities, the answer is yes. As long as you maintain all the required elements in the syllabus (competencies, standards, critical tasks, etc.) you can adjust the in-class schedule to fit your method of delivery.If you have concerns about your class schedule, please speak with your department chair. Click here for class meeting information.

Grades may be monitored through the semester in CANVAS. At the end of the semester instructors log into Gulfline and enters final grades there. The master calendar for the term, available on the main FGCU page (listed under Academics –> Academic Calendar), indicate when grades are due for each semester.

Set up your syllabus with very clear expectations regarding what assignments must be completed, when they are due, etc. Then follow those expectations. A student who does not comply with expectations receives the grade he/she has earned through the course. An incomplete can only be offered under certain circumstances as noted in the FGCU Catalog. The student must be passing the class when he/she requests an Incomplete, and the instructor must agree that it is a viable course of action. The instructor DOES NOT offer an Incomplete to the student. In the even that an Incomplete is selected as the grade, the instructor must fill out an Incomplete Grade Form indicating what needs to be completed and date by which it must be completed. It is available in electronic format from the COE secretaries. One copy goes to the student, one is kept by the instructor, and one copy goes to COE Student Support Services for filing in the student’s active file. When the work is completed, the instructor requests a Change of Grade Form from Susan Duda in the Student Support Services area and fills it out as instructed. The completed form is signed by the Assistant Dean and processed through the Office of the Registrar. Click here for ‘incomplete’ grade information.

Yes. LiveText is an online program that holds all our standards-based performance data. You will need a LiveText account (it’s free) that can be obtained by calling the LiveText coordinator. Students in either the undergraduate Teacher Preparation Programs or the graduate programs will have a LiveText account. Your role will be to ensure that students submit the appropriate assignment to their LiveText account and that you have assessed it in LiveText properly and on time. If you have any questions on how to complete an assessment, please call the LiveText coordinator. This is important because incorrect use of the LiveText assessment system will result in faulty performance data! Click here.

A critical task is an assignment that is based on knowledge or skill that is deemed to be essential to the job or profession for which the student is being trained. Each course has at least one critical task connected to it that must be completed by the students at a level of 75% or higher. Critical tasks have standards and competencies connected to them that enable the College to collect performance data that is necessary for accreditation and state approval. The critical task for a course is not the only assignment in the course and does not automatically become the “grade” for the course. It should be weighted heavily enough, however, so that a student cannot pass the course if he/she does not pass the critical task. Click here.

You may not share any information with a parent without written permission from the student. It is wise to become completely familiar with FERPA. Click here for FERPA law.

The university offers the instructor the opportunity to submit student work through Turn-It-In, a program that will identify a percentage of the work that has come from outside sources. Work that is more than 25% outside sources is not acceptable. The instructor has the ability to refuse the work or ask for resubmission. Under no circumstances should the instructor accept any work that is suspiciously not the work of the student. Plagiarism in the completion of a critical task is serious and should be brought immediately to the attention of the Assistant Dean in the Student Services area. Click here regarding academic integrity.

The university has a very well-defined Code of Conduct. Instructors should read the Code of Conduct thoroughly. The instructor sets the rules and expectations for the classroom. Should infractions of those expectations occur, the instructor is the “first responder.” Should difficulty continue, please contact the Department Chair.