Adjunct Orientation

Welcome! 

Adjunct faculty make a difference every day at UAA. Thank you for making a positive impact on students' lives and learning. We hope this site will help you be even more successful.

UAA Online Systems

Your UA Username is based on your name and used to access UAOnline, UA email, Blackboard Learn, and more.  Look up your UA username or change your password at me.uaa.alaska.edu. 

UAOnline is the management system for classes, payroll, and more. Go to UAOnline. (Employee Services including benefits, employee elearning, and paystubs. Faculty Services including class rosters, student prerequisite status, student contact information and submitting final student grades.) Log in to UAOnline and verify that your "Personal Information" is current and correct.

UA uses Google for email (username@alaska.edu) and calendar. University of Alaska official email communication and email sent from Blackboard go to this email account. UA prefers that all electronic correspondence with students be via this email account. Go to Google Mail.

The University of Alaska Anchorage uses Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) to manage class content, share resources, grade assignments, hold online discussions, and more. Go to UA Blackboard.

UAA Policies & Procedures

The UAA Academic Catalog includes Academic Policies and Processes and other important information about UAA departments and courses. See also, 

Official Course Description & SLOs

Course Inventory Management (CIM): Review the UAA-approved course description (formerly course content guide, or CCG) and official student learning outcomes (SLOs) for your course. Note the Course Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Measures. Course components, including assessments, instructional materials, learning activities, and course technologies, should be directly tied to and support these student learning outcomes.  Additional information is available on the UAA Curriculum page and in the UAA Catalog.

Class Schedule

Look up your course in the student-facing Class Schedule Search to check dates, times, location, and more. Click the hyperlinked CRN to view detailed class information including special notes, course pacing, current enrollment, and more. Note the delivery mode for your course. Does it have any meeting times listed in the Class Schedule? If not, it is asynchronous. If the Class Schedule lists meeting times, use them for planning synchronous sessions (e.g., Zoom). 

Teaching on Campus?

If you are teaching on campus, check with your department contact about access to the assigned building and room. Visit your classroom to become familiar with the audiovisual technology and layout of the room.

If you are teaching in Anchorage, get a UAA Wolf Card ID before classes start, as you may need it to access buildings. Read about parking on the main campus.

Course Design

For course design, we recommend the Understanding by Design approach (backward design). Using your official course description as a guide and in consultation with your department chair:

  1. Identify desired results from the official course description: Student Learning Outcomes. “What should your students know, understand, and be able to do?” 
  2. Determine acceptable evidence: “How will you know if students have achieved the desired results and met the content standards? What will you accept as evidence?” (Note the recommended assessments on the official course description)
  3. Plan learning experiences and instruction: “How will you make learning both engaging and effective, given the goals and needed evidence?” Select instructional materials (readings and resources) that contribute to the learning outcomes. Plan learning activities that promote the achievement of learning outcomes and provide opportunities for interaction. Prepare course delivery using active learning techniques to engage students. 

Learn More

Syllabus

Make the syllabus available to students before or at the first class meeting (and post it online in Blackboard). Your department may have a syllabus template and/or provide a syllabus from a recently taught class. Be sure to use the official course description to get the learning outcomes. Check your syllabus for accessibility. For more information, visit Create a Syllabus That Works for You and Your Students.

Course Materials

Textbook adoptions are due the semester before the course is taught so students can see costs when they register. Please check UAA’s online bookstore for information. If you need an instructor copy, check with your department administrative assistant. (Publishers typically issue a free copy of an adopted text to the instructor.) Ask your department if there are other existing materials that may be helpful such as old Blackboard course shells, colleague's offerings, supplemental books/videos, etc. 
 
See if your course has a course guide through the UAA Consortium Library and/or check with your subject librarian.
 
For more, visit the Selecting Course Materials page.
 

Blackboard (LMS = learning management system)

A course shell is automatically generated in UAA Blackboard for each course according to the official class schedule, and users are automatically added/removed from Blackboard courses. You are responsible for designing the course content in Blackboard and making the course available to students.

Blackboard Resources 

    1. Blackboard Help and Blackboard Quick Start Guide
    2. UAA Blackboard instructor help
    3. IT Services (907) 786-4646 or 877-633-3888, option 1 (technical help)
    4. Blackboard On Demand Videos - short, to the point how-to videos
    5. Help links within your Blackboard course

Instructional Technology

There are a variety of ways to structure student engagement with the content, with you, and with each other using technology tools available at UAA. 

  • Core Tools are provided and supported by UAA
  • UAA offers both Google and Microsoft applications
  • 3rd party tools such as Zoom, Kaltura, and VoiceThread, are available inside the learning management system

Student Support

The UAA Students page includes lists of student services and resources. Key student support resources include:

If you have questions about accommodating students in your course with documented disabilities, contact the Disability Support Services office.

If you suspect a student of academic dishonesty, submit a report to the Office of the Dean of Students.

If you are worried about a student's well-being on the main campus, contact the CARE Team.

Login to the UAA intranet for Student Success Faculty and Staff Resources to learn about software resources to promote student success.

Faculty Support

Safety and more

  • College during COVID provides information for how UAA will operate to keep the community safe 
  • UA Alert sends closure and emergency notices to your email address and/or text address listed in UAOnline. Make sure your information is current. Encourage your students to make sure their personal information is current in UAOnline.
  • UAA Wolf Card: official UAA ID, library card, building access, and more
  • UAA Main Campus Police: 786-1120 (car trouble, locked classroom, safety escort, and disruptive students)
  • Call 911 for emergencies or crimes on all campuses
  • In the event of bad weather, UAA announces closures on the main UAA web page and local radio stations

Faculty Development & Instructional Support 
Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence, Academic Innovations & eLearning, and Center for Community Engagement and Learning 
Library 213 • (907) 786-4496 • uaa_ai@alaska.edu • Mon – Fri, 8a – 5p