Salisbury University |  Instructional Design & Delivery Newsletter | August 22, 2023

August 23 - Establishing a Community of Belonging

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the annual Faculty Development Day 8:30 a.m.-noon Wednesday, August 23, in the Guerrieri Academic Commons Assembly Hall (Room 462), with the theme Establishing a Community of Belonging.

Our keynote speaker is Dr. Kathy Obear, current president of the Center for Transformation and Change, who is nationally recognized as an expert in helping organizations develop the capacity to create equitable, inclusive and socially just environments.

Review the agenda for the event and register today! We look forward to seeing you there.

August 22 - MyClasses Quick Start Virtual Workshop

Tuesday, August 22 from 5 - 7 p.m. via Zoom

Designed for adjunct faculty, but open to all faculty - this workshop is intended to quick start the use of MyClasses Canvas for your course. Faculty (including adjuncts) are encouraged to bring their syllabus and learn the Canvas environment and progress through the steps to setting up their course. Learn how to post your syllabus, setup your course navigation and homepage, create content and establish your gradebook calculations by working with Assignments. This workshop will be customized based on the needs of the participants. Register to attend virtually via Zoom.

Syllabus Template and Tips

As you are making final touches to your course syllabus, review ID&D's Rethinking Your Syllabus article for tips on how develop a syllabus that sets the tone and sense of community for your course. An ADA accessible syllabus template is also provided.

The University provides a central course-related (e.g. syllabus) policies website. Instead of adding each statement to your own syllabus, it is recommended that faculty who the statement below in their syllabus. Also, a link to the SU Course-Related Policies and Resources is included on every course menu within the MyClasses learning management system.

Faculty are encouraged to use the following statement in their syllabi:

University Course-Related Policies: Salisbury University expects that all students have read and understood all of the Course-Related University Policies and Resources and thereby agree to honor these standards. Important course-related policies and resources include, but are not limited to:

The INSERT ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT/UNIT considers academic misconduct as a serious offense and ALL incidences are subject to disciplinary action including, but not limited to, separation from the University.

Notice and Support for Students with Dependents

The SUWF Notice for Students with Dependents (as a suggested syllabus statement) is  available as a page that you can easily important to your courses via MyClasses. To "Import from Commons," you can use the instructions in the Canvas Commons knowledgebase article (SU Login required).

MyClasses Authentication Change

Over the summer, the MyClasses authentication changed to a new login screen. Users will be asked to enter their entire email address (e.g. scgull@salisbury.edu for faculty or scgull1@gulls.salisbury.edu for students) instead of just their username. 

Engaging Your Students From the Start

Classroom Climate: Building a positive classroom climate begins with you, the instructor. Plan an activity early in the semester to allow students to get to know you as well as other students in the course. Fostering an environment with personalization and student cohesiveness increases student satisfaction and positively effects learning. 

Give Students a Reason To Be in Your Course:While many students may register for your class for their personal interest, others may end up in your class without understanding the value of what your course has to offer. The beginning of the semester is the ideal time to help students understand why your course is important and how the content will be relevant to them so that they are excited to spend time and effort in your course.

Set Expectations: It is important to communicate and clearly present all types of expectations in the online course, including what you expect from the students, what students can expect from you, time commitment for pacing work and etiquette guidelines for communication. 

Examples to implement in your course can be found in the Engaging Your Students From the Start article.