Instructional Resources

Below you will find several resources to aid you throughout the academic year. We’ve listed these in the order of importance so that you can get started preparing for your first semester. 

Department Guidelines for Graduate Teaching Associates

Additional department specific resources available at https://philosophy.osu.edu/graduate-student-resources#Teaching. (5/5/2020) 

Office Hours

Regular announced office hours are required of all instructors and teaching assistants for at least one hour each held on two different days.

GTA Duties Form

All GTAs should meet with their instructors before the course begins to discuss their responsibilities and estimate their total workload using this form. GTAs should be asked to work no more than 20 hours on average per week and no more than 30 hours in any given week.


Teaching Mentorship and Evaluation

For GTAs serving as graders: Instructors should provide some training on how to grade that is appropriate to the course. Such training might involve, for instance, a discussion of what grade assignment is appropriate for submissions of different quality. 

For GTAs also teaching recitations: the instructor should attend one recitation section near the beginning of the term and one near the end of the term. At the end of the semester, the instructor offers a written evaluation (i.e. a form B) of the performance of each GTA, whether they are only grading or also teaching recitations, to be placed in the student’s file.

For instructors: All instructors will have their teaching evaluated on a regular basis by the Teaching Evaluation Committee, i.e. once per year. You can also request to have your teaching evaluated by a faculty member who will write you a teaching letter for the academic job market.

Job Market Preparation

You need someone to write you a teaching letter for the academic job market. This must be someone who has observed your teaching and ideally on more than one occasion.

You will also need to design a teaching portfolio, which includes a teaching statement, sample syllabi, and numerical and discursive SEIs. You should solicit feedback on your teaching portfolio from the person who writes your teaching letter as well as your advisor and the placement director. You can also get feedback on teaching portfolios from UCAT.

Student Evaluation of Instruction

All instructors are required to obtain numerical and discursive SEI Reports. These will be collected and stored in the instructor’s file by the Department, but you should also keep your own copies. More information on SEIs at registrar.osu.edu. 

Syllabus (for Primary Instructors)

Below are helpful resources for required elements and language for your syllabi. If you’d like to review current syllabi for a particular course, we can easily provide those for reference. 

Getting Started

CarmenCanvas

Carmen Canvas | CarmenCanvas provides a set of integrated web course tools that can be used to supplement a class taught mostly face-to-face or can be used to teach an online course. Most instructors will activate their course in CarmenCanvas particularly to share course materials and the syllabus.

Textbook Ordering

For instructors seeking affordable or open materials, visit affordablelearning.osu.edu.   

Barnes and Noble | The on-line service, FacultyEnlight, is the preferred method for ordering textbooks through B&N. FacultyEnlight provides access to all required information the bookstore needs to fulfill orders conveniently in one location.  It also stores individual faculty and book ordering information for quick and easy ordering in the future.  Assistance:  Please direct textbook order questions and questions regarding desk copies* to Brad Clucus, Textbook Manager at 614-247-2220.   

Course Packets. Instructors using a course packet along with class texts should include a note on the official book order stating that in addition to class texts supplemental materials will be made available. The instructor should contact students directly via e-mail at the earliest opportunity to inform them of the availability of the course pack. Instructors using ONLY a course pack should submit the book order form indicating "no text," and contact students directly via e-mail as soon as possible to indicate availability through UniPrint or other provider of the instructor’s choosing. A "no text" entry will prevent the course from appearing on the bookstore’s list of non-responsive sections.

If you choose to provide your own materials using your CarmenCanvas site or distribute in another method, we encourage you to check with Copyright Resources Center inside the University Libraries. This office supports faculty, staff, and students by providing education and guidance on the application of copyright law to facilitate education and research including classroom use and permissions.

Instructional Policies and Assistance

Academic Misconduct. The Committee on Academic Misconduct (COAM) is responsible for reviewing all cases of plagiarism or any other act that compromises the academic integrity of the university. If you suspect that a student has violated the University's Code of Student Conduct, COAM recommends that you notify the student of your suspicions (this is not mandatory). This can be done via a personal, private conversation and a witness is recommended. In addition, please contact the chair immediately to discuss the allegations and to write a letter of acknowledgement before proceeding. Visit COAM's site for more information about these processes, policies and tips on how to prevent academic misconduct.  

OAA Guidelines on Academic Misconduct

ASC Information Technology Services (Departmental computing issues only) | If your university issued computer/equipment is malfunctioning, please contact ASC Technology Services at asctech@osu.edu or by submitting an online ticket. If you would like to speak with someone directly, feel free to contact Arts and Sciences Technology at 614-688-4447 or asctech@osu.edu.

Buckeye's Guide to Academic Policies. This comprehensive document is published from the Registrar's office and contains all the relevant academic policies you'll need. 

Classroom Services (Instructional Rooms only) | If you are experiencing technological issues or need software installed, equipment delivered, etc., please visit Classroom Services or call (614) 247-4357 (HELP). 

Class cancellations | In the event that you need to cancel your class and you know ahead of time, try to find a substitute instructor or schedule an assignment for work outside the classroom. For unexpected absences, contact the Philosophy front desk as soon as possible and, if necessary, we can post the cancellation notice on the door. Be sure to communicate this as soon as possible with your students. The office staff cannot provide proctoring assistance or instructional services.

FERPA: Privacy of Student Records | All instructors are required to comply with the Family Educational and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) which sets forth requirements designed to protect the privacy of student education records. For instructors, this means 1) that grades must not be posted unless accompanied by an identifier that is unrecognizable by anyone other than the student and never emailed; 2) rosters, etc. must not be left in public or semi-public areas; 3) references must not contain grade or grade-point information unless the student has given prior written consent. Other protected information that should not be divulged includes students' social security number, race or ethnicity, gender, nationality, academic performance or disciplinary records. You can self-enroll in an online BuckeyeLearn Course to learn more about this federal policy. 

Retention of Student Materials | Per university rules 3335-7-231(B) and 3335-7-23(A), instructors are required to store student coursework for the current semester plus two terms and then destroy. You should return student work or make it available for student's inspection (after you have evaluated/graded/marked) during the semester in which the work was submitted to meet class requirements. In the case of final exams or final projects, you should make the work available no later than the 14th day of the subsequent semester. Remember, it is a violation of FERPA to leave graded papers in a public folder for student pick up. Be sure to leave these with the front desk! Any work remaining will need to be retained and shredded to protect student privacy. 

Room assignments | If the classroom does not meet your instructional needs, please let the office staff know as soon as possible as space is a premium at OSU. If you would like to view the types of classrooms OSU offers, visit the Classroom Services website. If you're having an issue with your classroom technology or need to request software installation, use this link or dial 4-HELP or (614)-247-HELP. 

Enrollment Management for Instructors

Instructors with full classes will likely have students on the waitlist inquiring about the potential for them to add the class. In addition, instructors receive enrollment requests after the first Friday, when instructor permission to add a class becomes mandatory. Our department policy concerning student enrollment requests of this nature is to defer to instructors and let you decide whether or not you wish to allow students to enroll over the listed course capacity or after the first Friday.

Instructor permission may be given in the form of a physical signature on the permission to enroll form or in an email approval to the student. They can take this email and attach to the form as your permission. 

  1. Encourage students to enroll in an open section over a waitlisted full class.
  2. Encourage students to attend lectures and keep up with assignments while on the waitlist during the first week of the semester. These students will be ready to jump in if they receive your permission to enroll.
  3. Have students wait until after the first Friday of the semester to get special permission to enroll in your course. There is often roster movement during the first week of the semester and students may get into the course without special permission. If they have not been enrolled in the course by the first Friday, encourage them to speak with you then for permission to enroll. SIS waitlists are only active until the first Friday of the semester. During the second week of the term, students must have instructor permission to enroll.
  4. Know that enrollment after the first Friday is up to you. Generally, the department encourages you to consider permitting students into your course up through the second Friday if you are not at course capacity. However, you do not have to grant permission for students to enroll in your course after the First Friday for any reason. Consider the burden to yourself before allowing additional students to enroll, particularly if you will be taking students above the course capacity. Additional enrollments are not recommended for first time instructors.
  5. Determine how you want to prioritize student enrollment after the First Friday. Some instructors choose to prioritize students in the order they were on the waitlist. Others prioritize graduating seniors.
  6. Have students forward your email permission to add the class to their primary academic advisor. You won’t have the technical permission to enroll any students, so please email the student permission to enroll and instruct them to forward the permission to their primary academic advisor. Permission from the instructor can be granted to students up through the end of the day on the second Friday of the term. To give advisors enough time to process these requests, it is recommended you grant students permission to enroll by noon on the second Friday. 
  7. NOTE: Some students will be unable to add the class even if you wish to let them off of the waitlist or enroll after the first Friday. These students may have financial holds on their accounts or may have overloaded their courses and will need to petition the University to allow for an increased number of credits that semester. Students can sort these issues out with their primary academic advisor to properly enroll.
  8. It is not recommended that you permit students to enroll past the second Friday. After the second Friday, students must petition the University for permission to enroll, in addition to having instructor and departmental permission. However, you may consider this in exceptional circumstances. Should this arise, contact the Program Coordinator for further assistance.

Teaching and Instructional Resources

Below are resources that you may find helpful as you begin your course. These include internal offices that you may find helpful to enhance your instruction as well as policies, calendars and student support resources.

Technology Resources