Overview

List of policies related to classroom instruction.

Assigning TAs and AIs

The College of Liberal Arts requires all units to report the appointment of TAs to the course that they are assigned to during the fall and spring semesters using FaSET (Faculty and Student Electronic Tracking). Authorized staff members enter updates by the 12th class day.

Step-by-step How To Guide

The Process:

1. Login to FASET: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/oir/fasttrack/index.WBX

   1. *Review ‘Important Dates’ and ‘FaSET FAQ’ in the Navigation Menu of FaSET for important information

2. On Navigation Menu, select ‘Class List’

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3. Select a course by clicking on the Unique number that you have assigned TAs (and AIs)

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4. Bottom of the next screen, click on ‘Update’ next to “AIs and TAs:”

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5. Input EID for each TA (and/or AI) assigned to that course. Click Update when done.

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6. Click next class OR Repeat steps 2-5 above

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7. Once you are done inputting all the TA assignments, please contact your course scheduler to let them know this is complete.

Assistant Instructors' Teaching Loads

Assistant Instructors should not be assigned more than one course per semester unless the second course is a one-hour lab or discussion section that is considered part of the total course offering.

Questions, please contact Jessica Luhn, Assistant Director of Graduate Education, .

Assistant Instructor Teaching Upper-division Course

The Handbook of Operating Procedures states that Assistant Instructors (AIs) may be assigned to upper-division instruction upon receiving the approval of the Office of Graduate Studies. Instructional service of an Assistant Instructor shall be carried out in accordance with a syllabus and other guidelines that have been prepared by and approved by the hiring unit.

For more information, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies: Graduate_Studies@utlists.utexas.edu or visit: Conditions for Student Employment.

Canvas Adoption Requirements

Each instructor of record for an organized undergraduate or graduate course with five or more students must publish their course and syllabus in the University’s official Learning Management System (LMS) by the first day class meets each semester. To remain in compliance with this policy, instructors must post their syllabus in the LMS using the Simple Syllabus tool or attach their syllabus as a file in the Syllabus section of the LMS. For ease of reporting, instructors are asked to include the term “syllabus” in the filename. Instructors of organized undergraduate and graduate courses with fewer than five students must provide their syllabi to their students by the first day class meets using the LMS, Simple Syllabus, or in another electronic or paper form.

Course Cancelation Policy

Once registration for a semester has begun, a request form to cancel an organized course must be submitted by the home unit regardless of enrollment.

Submission Form: Course Cancellation – Fill out form

Course Evaluations

Instructors of record for all organized undergraduate and graduate courses with five or more students are required to administer official, University-approved course evaluations according to HOP 2-2180, Course and Teaching Evaluations.

Course Materials Disclosures

To ensure student access to low cost course materials and in accordance with State and University policies, all instructors must disclose required course materials in the Co-Op Submission System. Disclosures must be submitted by May 1 for Fall and Summer courses and by November 1 for Spring courses. Instructors must disclose all required course materials, including textbooks, software and tools, including materials that are free and those included in program costs (such as Option II and III programs). Instructors with no required course materials are required to submit a disclosure and flag “No Material Required.”

General Administrative Guidelines

Administrative guidelines that instructors must follow for administering courses at The University within the Handbook of Operating Procedures, policy website: HOP 2-9970. These include: Passing Period Intervals, Course Location and Time, FERPA, Instruction Mode, and more.

Office Hours

Instructors of Organized Courses are required to be accessible to their students outside the scheduled class periods, with availability for Office Hours posted on their syllabus. Please see the policy: HOP 2-9970

Syllabus and CV Requirements

Each instructor of record for an organized undergraduate course must submit a copy of their course syllabus and curriculum vitae to their departmental office or dean’s office on or before the first day class meets each semester so that they can be made publicly available.

Instructors for organized graduate courses must submit their course syllabi and curriculum vitae according to their departmental office or dean’s office (for non-departmentalized units) specifications.

Syllabus resources: https://provost.utexas.edu/the-office/academic-affairs/your-syllabus-at-ut-austin/

Textbook Authorizations

From the Regents' Rules and Regulations: “Textbooks, notebooks, manuals or other materials for the use of students of a component institution, written or prepared by a member of the faculty of that institution, shall not be prescribed for the use of students in that institution or sold to such students until such books, notes, manuals, or materials shall have been approved with reasons stated, by the departmental faculty, the dean or deans concerned, and transmitted to the institutional head for approval and inclusion in the next regular docket. All such requests shall indicate the proposed prices and profits, and their authorization shall be effective only to the end of the fiscal year (August 31) for which such approval has been given.”

The Provost’s Office has recently updated their process for submitting textbook authorization requests from submitting signed forms via email to a more efficient system using DocuSign. More information on this process can be found on the Provost’s Office website. Please read the for more on the process. The Docusign Powerform can be found here.