Teaching at Continuum

Clearly communicate in your syllabus how and when assignments should be submitted and how they will factor into your grading criteria. When planning your assignments, it is reasonable to expect students to spend two hours of outside work for each hour of class time. This requirement for outside work is a basic rule at the University of Washington for earning academic credit, visit the UW webpage Academic Credit for more information. UW Continuum recommends the same amount of time be spent on assignments in courses offered for CEUs so that certificate students gain the maximum benefit from the course.

Attendance requirements are no longer included in UW Continuum courses. Please see Participation below for more information.

UW Continuum may cancel courses and/or programs due to insufficient enrollment prior to the start of the quarter. Students and instructors will be notified at the earliest possible opportunity.

Certificate Student Handbook

If students have questions pertaining to UW Continuum policies and procedures, refer them to the Certificate Student Handbook which is also located under Student Resources on the UW Continuum website.

• Computers and other equipment at the front of the room and the data projection equipment are for instructor use only, unless otherwise directed.
• Food and/or drink are not allowed in the computer labs.

If you are planning to use copyrighted materials in your course(s), you must obtain copyright clearance as outlined by the UW Copyright Permission Center and the UW Copyright Connection.

You will receive an email from UW Continuum specifying how to access the list of enrolled students by logging into the MyUW website with your personal UWNetID. The list is automatically updated as students are added and dropped. Refer to it at least weekly so that you have an accurate list of students in your course. The list is for instructional purposes and cannot be shared with others, including students in your course, without their permission.

If you have questions about how to access your list, contact: dltechsupp@pce.uw.edu. If you have questions about students’ enrollment status, please contact the UW Continuum Registration Office at c2rcrds@uw.edu.

Any software or website which stores student information must be evaluated for compliance with FERPA before it can be used in a UW Continuum course.

If you are considering using outside software, sites, or social media in one of your courses, contact your Program Manager beforehand.

If you teach a course on campus, access to certain pieces of equipment requires you to check out an equipment key from the Classroom Technology & Events office. If you are teaching in the UW Continuum downtown Seattle, you will find guidance on the Equipment Requests page.

Proper use and security of all audio visual equipment used for the course is the responsibility of the instructor. Equipment must be returned to the appropriate facility by the date indicated on the release agreement. University facilities, computers, and equipment are to be used to support its teaching, research, service, and administrative functions. University employees may not use state resources (including any person, money or property) under their official control or direction or in their custody, for personal benefit or gain, or for the benefit or gain of any other individuals or outside organizations. This prohibition does not apply to the use of state resources that are reasonably related to the conduct of official state duties or the use of resources that promote organizational effectiveness or enhance job-related skills and do not interfere with the employee’s performance of official state duties. For more information, visit the UW Rules Webpage.

Examples of restrictions on the use of University resources, facilities, computers, and equipment include but are not limited to the following:

• University offices or laboratories may not be used as a place of business for an employee’s outside enterprise.
• University telephone numbers and addresses, including email and Web addresses, may not be used or listed to contribute to an employee’s outside business.
• The use of University affiliations and titles in connection with an outside business must clearly acknowledge the independent nature of the employee’s outside work from his or her University responsibilities.
• University stationery and other office or consumable supplies may not be used by an employee in the conduct of an outside business.
• University computing resources and laboratory equipment may not be used by an employee for the conduct of an outside business or to promote an outside business.
• Personal use of any University resources, computers, or equipment to support political activities (such as assisting a campaign for election, promoting or opposing a ballot proposition or initiative, or lobbying members of the state legislature), even though not for remuneration, is not permitted.
• Personal use of University resources, computers, equipment, or consumables that have been removed from the University or other official duty stations, is not permitted even if there is no cost to the state (e.g., use of University tools or equipment for home improvement projects).
• Personal use of University resources, computers, or equipment for product sales, even though not for remuneration, is not permitted (e.g., online books sales or referral links to book publishers or sales houses).
• University computing and Internet resources may not be used in violation of federal copyright law.

In order to ensure a high-quality program for students, courses and programs are evaluated at the course and program levels. As an instructor, you can use these evaluations to help you adjust the content and/or teaching strategies for the next time you teach the course.

Course evaluations and exit surveys are shared with the advisory board so that they can monitor the progress and quality of the program. UW Continuum also uses the course evaluations in making a decision about contract renewal.

Mid-course evaluation (Optional)

• Mid-term course evaluations may be set up for you so that you have an opportunity to make adjustments if necessary.

Final course evaluation (Optional)

• You will receive the final course evaluation packet from UW Continuum. If you teach on campus, you will receive them in the mail. Otherwise you will receive them onsite.
• At the second last class meeting, select a student to distribute, collect and return the forms per the instructions listed on the packet.
• You will receive a summary of the final course evaluations from your Program Manager within 6-8 weeks after the course ends.

Exit survey

At the end of the entire program, students will be emailed an exit survey by UW Continuum. If you are the last course of the program, please encourage your students to take the survey.

Please visit the Submitting Grades page for more information.

You are expected to remain in the classroom or Zoom room when you have a guest speaker. Contact your Program Manager at least 30 days in advance to arrange guest speakers. Include e-mail address, dates when they will be speaking and the length of each speaking engagement.

Classes may be postponed or canceled by UW Continuum due to inclement weather. Call 1-866-897-INFO (4636) or 206-UWS-INFO for information or access the main UW Webpage.

You may also receive status updates through the UW Alert System, a university subscription that delivers emergency updates via email and texts.

UW Continuum holds information meetings to give prospective students an opportunity to learn more about certificate programs and to meet instructors and advisory board members. You will be expected to attend at least one recruitment event such as these each year.

If you are ill or have an emergency and are unable to teach your class, notify your Program Manager as soon as possible so that students can be informed of the cancelation. Missed sessions must be rescheduled.

Coordination among instructors is important to ensure a quality program. You will be expected to attend instructor meetings as scheduled by your Program Manager.

You will need a UW NetID to access library resources. Refer to the Library Resources page.

Your title is “Instructor for Certificate in __ Name of Program.” When including your instructor role with UW Continuum on LinkedIn, please follow the steps below:

Job Title: Instructor for Certificate in _(name of program)__

Company: UW Professional & Continuing Education

It’s important to follow this wording exactly so that when you start to type our name in to the field for job title, it will show up in a drop down box, which you should click on. “UW Professional & Continuing Education” will populate with our logo, and our name will become a clickable link under the job title that goes to our LinkedIn company page. You’ll also be listed as one of our employees on LinkedIn.

If you find that your Seattle campus classroom is locked when you are to hold class:

• For weekdays during the day: Custodial Services – (206) 685-1500
• For weekdays during the evening: Custodial Services – (206) 685-1411
• For weekends: UW Campus Police – (206) 543-9331

Typically your Program Manager will schedule an orientation, a time to provide enrolled students with an overview of the program and to introduce them to all of the instructors. You will be expected to attend this session.

Active participation in, and engagement with, the learning environment and course content are fundamental requirements for success in all Professional & Continuing Education programs.

Students are expected to engage actively with the course material, complete assigned readings, interactive exercises, and assessments, as well as participate in discussions and forums specific to their particular program. This requirement aims to create an interactive and immersive learning environment where students are active participants in their own educational journey and benefit from the diverse perspectives and experiences of others.

UW Continuum instructors should use the provided PowerPoint slide templates to reinforce the UW Continuum brand. It is not appropriate to use your company logo as a backdrop to your slides.

UW Continuum holds a variety of student recruitment events to give prospective students an opportunity to learn more about the program and to meet instructors and advisory board members. You are expected to participate in one or more of these events each recruitment cycle.

Your résumé and the course syllabus (not more than two years old) are to be on file at UW Continuum for all courses that are currently taught.

If you have special room requirements, complete the form enclosed with your contract. For questions pertaining to facilities, contact Room Requests. Please visit the Equipment Requests page for additional information.

The Program Manager and the UW Continuum Helpdesk must approve course software before it can be installed on UW Continuum computers. A request for approval must be submitted by the individual teaching a course at least 4 weeks prior to the start date.

• Commercial Software – This software must be owned by UW Continuum before it can be installed.
• Shareware – If the course will use the software past the usable date, the Program Manager should be contacted regarding the purchase of the software by UW Continuum.
• Beta Software – At no time will beta software be installed on UW Continuum computers without the express permission of the UW Continuum IT staff.
• Licensing – Some software with specific licensing requirements may require more than four weeks.

Any software or website which stores student information must be evaluated for compliance with FERPA before it can be used in a UW Continuum course. More detail about FERPA policy may be found from the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer.

If you are considering using outside software, sites, or social media in one of your courses, please contact your Program Manager, who will work with UW Continuum IT to confirm if your needs can be met with an already approved software solution.

For more information, visit the Software Approvals page and/or the Policies page for details on Use of Third Party tools. Contact your Program Manager with software needs.

UW Continuum requests that instructors use the UW Continuum Syllabus Template to ensure that the document provides comprehensive information and aligns with the program website and other key program-wide information.

A link with instructions on how to complete an online textbook submission form will be emailed to you directly from textbook@uw.edu or your Program Manager around the same time as your employment agreement. Please complete this form as soon as possible so textbook information can be shared with students and orders placed with the University Bookstore, if necessary. Even if you are not planning on using a textbook, please indicate this on the form so that students can be notified.

Requests for textbook orders received less than six weeks before the start of a course cannot be guaranteed available. Requests received less than two weeks before the start of the quarter will not be processed. If you would like to request a desk copy, please allow at least 4-6 weeks for processing. For textbook questions, please email textbook@uw.edu.

Your title is “Instructor for Certificate in __ Name of Program.” When including your instructor role with UW Continuum on LinkedIn, please follow the steps below:

Job Title: Instructor for Certificate in _(name of program)__

Company: UW Professional & Continuing Education

It’s important to follow this wording exactly so that when you start to type our name in to the field for job title, it will show up in a drop down box, which you should click on. “UW Professional & Continuing Education” will populate with our logo, and our name will become a clickable link under the job title that goes to our LinkedIn company page. You’ll also be listed as one of our employees on LinkedIn.