Faculty Expectations
General Expectations
Adjunct faculty will be given access to their courses two weeks prior to the start of the session. During this time, you are expected to review the course content, communicate any concerns or needed changes to the program director, and post a welcome announcement for students.
Throughout the session, you are expected to provide timely and substantial feedback on graded assignments and respond to all student communication within 24 hours. Adherence to all university policies is required, and you are encouraged to contact your program director with any questions. In the case of a student being granted an incomplete, you are responsible for grading late assignments and updating the student’s final grade in accordance with university policy.
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Best Practices
We have designed a set of competencies – knowledge, skills, abilities – that our adjunct faculty carry out in their teaching experiences. These competencies are drawn from research and the feedback of focus groups of faculty, staff, and administrators at our university. Consider these a roadmap for your success.
Be Present
Being present in your classroom means being “visible” and allowing your students to see the real person behind the screen. The term “ghost professor” has been used by students to describe the faculty member who is not present in the virtual classroom. A ghost faculty member is not responsive, does not take the time or energy required to get to know their students, does not participate in the class, and does not provide instruction or feedback. In these situations, students often describe their learning experience as being self-taught.
Stay Engaged
Equally as important is faculty engagement. Engagement refers to the actions or behaviors of the instructor. For example, an engaged faculty member will provide consistent, meaningful and substantial feedback; they will post weekly content to enhance the learning experience; and they will communicate with and encourage students.
You may find yourself asking, “Why is this so important?” The reason we emphasize faculty presence and engagement is because our faculty members are the ones who bring our courses to life. When students enroll in our courses they expect to interact with their instructors. Our centralized course management model does not reduce the need for instruction. In fact, it allows faculty to dedicate their time and energy to connecting with students, developing additional instructional materials, providing meaningful feedback, and helping students develop academically, personally and professionally. Research has shown that instructor presence can reduce student isolation and dropout, as well as increase student retention and graduation rates among online learners. A connection between student satisfaction and the perception of quality education with an online instructor’s behaviors and level of engagement has also been found.
Provide Valuable Feedback
Effective feedback is crucial for student learning and achievement. Here are five key tips for providing feedback that motivates students and builds on their knowledge:
Be Specific
Instead of generic praise like “great job,” provide students with specific details about what they did well and what needs improvement. This gives them actionable information. For instance, a comment could highlight a well-supported argument or a specific area of a paper that requires more detail. It’s also helpful to point out a student’s progress by mentioning how their performance has changed or improved since the last assignment.
Timeliness is Key
Research shows that feedback is most effective when it is delivered promptly. While there may be deadlines for providing feedback, it is encouraged to deliver it as soon as possible. This allows students to immediately apply what they have learned to subsequent assignments, reinforcing the information while it is still fresh in their minds.
Focus on Goals
Orient your feedback around a specific learning goal or objective. When students understand how the feedback they’re receiving will help them move closer to their final goal, they are more motivated and better able to track their own progress.
Present Feedback Carefully
How you present feedback can greatly influence how a student receives it. It’s best to frame feedback as a constructive tool to help students improve their own performance, rather than as a judgment against their peers. By explaining the purpose of your feedback, you can ensure that it is perceived as a positive guide for personal growth, not as a criticism.
Involve the Learner
Give students an active role in the feedback process. When students have access to their performance data and are encouraged to analyze it, they develop a stronger awareness of their own learning. This helps them identify their mistakes and create their own strategies for improvement, fostering a sense of ownership over their academic journey.
Professional Development
Bay Path Online strives to provide students with high quality, innovative learning experiences. You will drive this process by bringing your expertise in your discipline, experience in the field, and your teaching experience to bear on student learning. For our part, we will support you by offering professional development on best practices in teaching and learning and our pedagogical frameworks.
Our goal is to help you continuously improve your practice as an educator. We are happy to provide 1-1 training for new and returning faculty to support your growth as you dive deeper into the KnowledgePath interface, review course edits and revisions, or explore technology applications. We welcome large, small, and 1-1 collaboration to provide support for individual faculty needs.
The university offers internal webinars, lunch and learns, sharing of scholarship and free professional development opportunities, and information from professional organizations in which we have an institutional membership (OLC, EDUCAUSE, NERCOMP, etc.).
Recommendations
- Be Visible from Day One: Post a welcome message or video in the course announcement prior to student access. This helps set a welcoming tone and introduces you as the instructor.
- Provide Timely and Meaningful Feedback: Aim to provide feedback on assignments and discussion posts as soon as possible. This shows students you are actively engaged in their progress and allows them to apply your comments to future work.
- Participate in Discussions: Don’t just observe discussions; actively participate. Respond to student posts with probing questions, offer additional insights, and connect their ideas back to course content. This reinforces your role as a facilitator of learning.
- Communicate Consistently: Use weekly announcements to preview upcoming topics, provide reminders, and share encouraging words. Be responsive to emails and questions, and try to establish a clear communication policy in your syllabus.
- Personalize Interactions: Use students’ names in your communication and try to get to know them beyond their academic performance. A quick, personalized email or a brief comment acknowledging a personal challenge can make a significant difference.
- Show Your Human Side: Share relevant personal or professional examples that connect to the course material. This makes you more relatable and shows that you are a practitioner in the field, not just a content manager.
- Proactively Identify and Support Struggling Students: Use the early alert tools and data available to you to identify students who may be falling behind. Reach out to them privately to offer support and connect them with university resources.
- Enhance Engagement: Consider using humor or visuals, like a relevant meme, a short video clip, or an engaging image, to make your posts, feedback and/or discussion posts more memorable and approachable.