Faculty Toolkit

Find helpful back-to-school resources for the semester along with policies and procedures to guide your instruction.

Assessment Schedule

Download the College’s Assessment Schedule (PDF)

Health and Wellness Resources

Course Syllabi

Revised June 2020

UGA Academic Affairs Policy Statement No. 13 indicates students must be provided with written information about the goals and requirements of each course, the nature of the course content, and the methods of evaluation to be employed.

Instructors are responsible for providing each student in a course with a copy of the class syllabus. A class syllabus is not required for dissertation, thesis, seminar, directed study, and internship courses. In addition to the information, as it appears in the master syllabus with the Office of Curriculum Systems, the class syllabus will include information for the specific instructor teacher, and body of students.

Class course syllabi include the following:

Course title and number.
Course description.
Prerequisites, co-requisites, and cross-listings for the course.
Course objectives or expected learning outcomes for students of the course. If a course is approved to fulfill a University-wide requirement, the learning outcomes for that requirement should be stated in the syllabus.
Topical outline for the course.
Reference to the University Honor Code and Academic Honesty Policy and a statement as to what behavior unique to the course could be academically dishonest. Every course syllabus should include the instructor’s expectations related to academic honesty.
The syllabus must include this statement:

UGA Student Honor Code: “I will be academically honest in all of my academic work and will not tolerate academic dishonesty of others.” A Culture of Honesty, the University’s policy, and procedures for handling cases of suspected dishonesty can be found on the Academic Honesty website honesty.uga.edu.
The syllabus must include these additional statements:
The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.
Mental Health and Wellness Resources:
- If you or someone you know needs assistance, you are encouraged to contact Student Care and Outreach in the Division of Student Affairs at 706-542-7774 or visit the Student Care and Outreach website (sco.uga.edu). They will help you navigate any difficult circumstances you may be facing by connecting you with the appropriate resources or services.
- UGA has several resources for a student seeking mental health services or crisis support.
  - If you need help managing stress anxiety, relationships, etc., please visit the UGA Well-Being Resources website (well-being.uga.edu) for a list of FREE workshops, classes, mentoring, and health coaching led by licensed clinicians and health educators in the University Health Center.
- Additional resources can be accessed through the UGA App.
Principal course assignments (such as required reading, papers, other activities, and the week of the course in which these assignments are expected to be completed and submitted).
Specific course requirements for grading purposes (e.g., written and oral tests and reports, research papers, performances or other similar requirements, participation requirements – if any).
Grading Policy: How the final grade will be determined with respect to weights or course points assigned to various course requirements.
Attendance Policy: If there are specific requirements for attendance, these should be stated; if attendance is to be weighed for the final grade, the syllabus should state what the weight or course points will be.
Required course material, including texts.
Policy for the make-up of examinations.
Instructor name, instructor accessibility to students (such as office hours, office location, telephone number, and/or e-mail address)
SACSCOC guidance (Standard 10.6c) states if an instructor requires that a student take an examination and that the student must pay a fee for the proctoring of the assessment, that the student is informed of that cost obligation at the time of course registration. Course scheduling officers can add comments to the notes in Banner for the course so that students can be made aware of this obligation. Additionally, instructors are encouraged to include that information in the course syllabus.

Course Syllabi for Online Courses

In addition to the information above, the course syllabi for online courses (courses with an E-suffix) should also include the following:

Instructor Name
Instructor Accessibility to Students:
email address, telephone number, when the instructor will be available online, and how frequently the instructor will respond to emails from students.
Principal Course Assignments:
Specify how assignments should be submitted and in what format. Outline how the course will function and what will be expected of the student.
Specific Course Requirements for Grading Purposes:
Written and oral tests and reports, research papers, performances, or other similar requirements, participation requirements, if any.
Participation Policy:
Specify the participation policy for the course. State whether the course will be asynchronous, synchronous, or a combination. If there are specific requirements for online participation, these should be stated; if online participation is to be weighted for the final grade, the syllabus should state what the weight or course points will be.
Indicate if the course will be primarily:
- Asynchronous
- Synchronous
- Both asynchronous and synchronous
Required Course Material, Including Texts:
Include Technology Requirements and Required Technical Competence
Exam Policy/Policy for Make-Up Examinations:
Specify how exams will be administered and how the student’s identity will be verified for exam purposes.

Other helpful elements for a syllabus, which are not required, might include:

eLearning Commons:
eLearning Commons (eLC) is an online course environment where you can download digital versions of course materials. Your name and email will be automatically added to the eLC course site. You can access eLearningCommons by going to elc.uga.edu and signing in with your UGA MyID and password.
Special Needs:
Students who need accommodations for special learning needs are encouraged to consult the instructor as soon as possible.
Cell Phones and Laptops:
A statement about the use of cell phones or any other electronic devices.
Religious Observances:
The University of Georgia recognizes students’ rights to engage in religious practice. Students who will miss class to observe religious activities must contact the instructors prior to the observance and make arrangements to complete missing assignments or assessments.

Course Reserves

The Course Reserves service provided by the UGA Libraries ensures timely access to course‐related resources for a large number of students. This is a FREE service for instructors and incurs no cost for students to access course materials.

Physical course reserves may be circulated from any of the following locations:

Main Library
Science Library
Carnegie Library Learning Center (Health Sciences Campus)
Curriculum Materials Library (Aderhold Hall)
Veterinary Medicine Reading Room (CVM Original Building)
Music Library (Hugh Hodgson School of Music)
The Dodd Library (Lamar Dodd School of Art)
Owens Library (College of Environment and Design)

Online course reserves are typically journal articles or book chapters. As long as the amount of material is within the Board of Regents copyright guidelines, we can post readings in your eLC course module or have them accessible from the GIL catalog.

Requests may be submitted at any time. To ensure materials are available on the first day of classes, please submit requests by July 15 prior to the Fall semester. Requests received after this date will be processed as quickly as possible, but we cannot guarantee their availability by the start of classes.

To make your requests:

Begin by inquiring at any of our course reserves locations or fill out the UGA Libraries’ online form.
Submit a list of citations or materials to the Libraries’ course reserves staff. We’ll locate and process the materials for students to either access digitally, or physical materials may be assigned a two-hour, one-day, three-day, or seven-day loan period at one of our libraries. For DVD or streaming media reserves, you can email the Media Desk or contact them by phone at 706‐542‐7360.

If you have any questions or comments, please email the reserves coordinator Ben Lawrence (Main Library) or call 706‐542‐2081; or email the reserves supervisor Brenda Robbins (Science Library) or call 706‐542‐4535.

Curriculum Committee

The College of Education Curriculum Committee meets throughout the year, typically quarterly, from 1-3 p.m. in Aderhold Room G23 on the third Monday of the month. For details and the latest schedule, please contact Krista Vanderpool.

GaPSC Substantive Changes

What is a Substantive Change?

A change in the level of an already approved program (e.g. add an M.A.T. to an undergraduate program)
A change in the type of an already approved initial prep program (e.g. adding non-degree certification)
An addition of an area of emphasis to an already approved program for initial preparation (requires UGA approval)
Leadership changes within the EPP
Adding or deleting courses/hours (not substituting courses)
A degree name change
A program admission or completion change
A significant increase in field experience or residency
A change to key assessments at the EPP level
A change in delivery mode (e.g. online, hybrid)
Adding advanced programs (e.g. degrees taken by educators for continuing education)

What is not a Substantive Change?

Adding a new program–if it has another rule, it requires a full review but a substantive change is not the appropriate type of change
Tweaks or enhancements to field experiences or courses
Substituting courses
Course number changes or assessments within a course

We can submit one substantive change request per semester. Please contact Krista Vanderpool for additional information on the substantive change process.

Minimum Enrollment Policy

Background: The University of Georgia requires minimum enrollments of 10 students for an undergraduate course and 5 students for graduate courses but allows colleges to set enrollment minimums that are higher read the full policy. Since the Summer of 2008 the College of Education has used higher minimum enrollments to ensure that courses did not drop below the university minimums and cause a hardship on students needing the course in the Summer and on faculty who had planned on the teaching income. That change resulted in fewer canceled Summer classes and helped increase credit hour production. Because of these positive outcomes, the time has come to extend the policy to the academic year.

Policy: The College of Education will phase in higher minimum enrollments for all seminar and didactic classes taught in the academic year and are part of the faculty member’s regular instructional load. Beginning with FY 11, the College’s minimum enrollment for undergraduate classes will increase to 12 and for 6000 and 7000 level graduate classes to 8. Doctoral-level classes (8000 and 9000) would remain at the university minimum of 5. In FY 12, the College’s minimum enrollment for undergraduate classes will increase to 15, and for 6000 and 7000 graduate classes to 10, the current minimum enrollments for Summer classes. Minimum enrollment for doctoral-level classes (8000 and 9000) will increase to 8. This two-year implementation schedule will give program area faculty time to make adjustments to course schedules. A split-level course is a single entity therefore total enrollment will be used in determining whether the class meets the minimum enrollment criteria. Using the undergraduate minimum enrollment as the criteria, registered undergraduate students will count as 1 and graduate students will count as 2 in determining the total enrollment of the class. Practicum and internship sections are exempt from the higher College minimums. This is in recognition of some accreditation standards that require more intensive supervision.

If a course fails to reach the College minimums, the course must be canceled and the faculty member scheduled for an additional course by the end of the next academic year. When this occurs, it will bring the semester teaching load to three from the typical two-course load.

There may be extenuating circumstances when offering a section of a course at the University minimum is necessary. In these rare situations, a written appeal would be made through the associate dean for academic programs and considered by the dean’s cabinet.

Policy approved: March 17, 2010

Last revision: March 17, 2010

Educator Prep Resources

Visit the Educator Prep Resources Site for resources for teacher candidates at all degree levels and current teachers who are looking to renew or upgrade their teaching certification.

Instructional Resources

Field trip requirements
Scheduling classes
- Download a table of class times (PDF)
- Download a scheduling exception form (PDF)
  (if your proposed class time does not fit with the schedule)
Minimum enrollment policy (PDF)

Request Changes to the Undergraduate Bulletin

Information received after the deadline dates for each Bulletin will be held over and automatically included in the next version. Previous versions of the Online Bulletin are available for viewing on the website under Bulletin Archives.

Bulletin Info and Deadlines (PDF)

Summer School Worksheet

Download a Summer payroll worksheet template (XLS)

Workload/EFT Calculation

EFT stands for Equivalent Full Time. Because most faculty are on 9-month contracts, their EFT is .75 because an EFT of 1.0 would represent a 12-month contract. The academic year is subdivided into 10 units of workload. Each unit is .75 ÷ 10 = .075 EFT. One unit is 10.0% of your time (.075 ÷ .75).

The chart below shows the conversion of units to EFT to percentage of time.

UNIT OF WORKLOAD	EFT	% TIME
1	.075	10%
2	.150	20%
3	.225	30%
4	.300	40%
5	.375	50%
6	.450	60%
7	.525	70%
8	.600	80%
9	.675	90%
10	.750	100%

Thus, a faculty member who is budgeted for 5 units of instruction and 5 units of research for the academic year would be budgeted .375 EFT for instruction and .375 EFT for research, or 50% instruction and 50% research.

Similarly, a faculty member who is budgeted for 8 units of instruction and 2 units of service would be budgeted .6 EFT for instruction and .15 EFT for service, or 80% instruction and 20% service.

The allocation of EFT is negotiated annually during the evaluation process. In general, instructional EFT can only be reduced by using external funding to purchase instructional time or for reassignment to administrative tasks. Research time can be converted to instruction or service time in consultation with the supervisor.

University Program Review and Annual Student Learning

Programs are required to report Student Learning Outcomes in Xitracs annually by Oct. 1. Departments are reviewed every seven years. Departments due for review will be contacted by the UGA Office of Accreditation and Institutional Effectiveness the year prior to the review.

Contact Anne McDonald with questions.