New Faculty Resources

Please review the New Faculty Resources page for information to help you get started with UAA teaching, research, and career path-specific information for adjuncts and tenure-track professors. In addition, we offer several programs each year to help new instructors find their path at UAA:

• New Faculty Orientation for full-time faculty (before Fall semester)
• Headwaters for new UAA faculty (throughout Fall semester)
• Evening adjunct orientation (before Fall and Spring semesters)

Syllabus Guide

Please review the Syllabus Guide page for information on what we recommend including in your syllabus and how to use it effectively. This page also has syllabus templates for you to choose from for you to edit and adopt for your courses. 

The UAA Catalog states, "Students should receive a syllabus at the beginning of each course that describes the course content, policies within the course, procedures that govern the delivery of the course, the learning outcomes, and the grading system used." 

Share your syllabus with students before or at the first class meeting and post it online in Blackboard. Be sure to include the student learning outcomes from the official course description.  

Learn about creating a syllabus

Course Materials

Our Course Materials page provides a variety of resources for researching, selecting, and adopting textbooks and other materials for your course. Textbook adoptions are due the semester before the course is taught so students can see costs when they register. Anchorage campus instructors should check UAA’s online bookstore for information on this process. If you teach for a community campus, please work with your local university bookstore.

You are encouraged to use low-cost or zero-cost materials for your course whenever possible. This helps UAA meet our goal of putting students first, and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) materials have been shown to improve student success. The Open Educational Resources (OER) page can help you learn more about OER and ZTC materials.

Learn about Course Materials

Semester Cycle

Visit our Semester Cycle for Instructors page to see common steps and checklists for each teaching stage of the semester. This checklist covers common planning and teaching steps for a 15-week semester. If you are teaching a shorter term or partial-term course, adjust accordingly. Verify your course's listing in the UAOnline Class Schedule and see UAA Dates & Deadlines for more details.

Visit Semester Cycle for Instructors page

Online Teaching

Online and hybrid courses are more effective when designed with the delivery mode in mind. Our Online Teaching page can help you start planning your online or hybrid course, identify UAA tools for each step, and maximize student learning and engagement.

If you are teaching an online course with no set meeting time, make sure you follow the expectations for Regular and Substantive Interaction and are up to date on your required training. 

Learn about Online Teaching

Regular and Substantive Interaction

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is a standard used by the federal government and our accrediting organization (NWCCU) for UAA's online courses. If your course is Online - Set Time, it already meets RSI standards. If your course is Online - No Set Time (asynchronous), you will have to be more intentional in meeting RSI requirements. Learn more about RSI, and take our Teaching Online - No Set Time training, which is required every 5 years for instructors teaching these courses. (Please see UAA’s Teaching Online policy for alternative ways to meet this requirement.)

Learn more about Regular and Substantive Interaction

Course Design Resources

• The Instructional Design page has a variety of resources, and contact the team to get direct support in course design
• Course Design Trail Guides are asynchronous professional development course design modules intended to expand faculty's knowledge and skill with course design and development. Each module walks through key concepts and UAA resources to build an effective course. Although the modules focus on online learning, the design process and resources also apply to courses delivered on campus
• Universal Design for Learning guide and What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?, AHEAD (video, 2:52): Universal Design for Learning is a framework which helps faculty design courses for a wide group of students. If you can provide students with a flexible path to learning, they may not have to self-identify as needing special help