General Information for New Instructors
(and those who have not taught General Chemistry in awhile.)
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me (Stacy Sparks, ssparks@mail.utexas.edu) or Greg Browning (Chemistry Undergraduate Course Office, 1-1567, g.browning@mail.utexas.edu). The Undergraduate Course Office staff (Greg, Shari, Jeff) have a wealth of knowledge and can probably answer most questions you come up with about university policies, classrooms, and materials or can at least point you in the right direction.
Classroom technology:
We have a PC and Mac in the rooms, with dual screens in most rooms and a document camera. A USB drive works great. UT also provides WebSpace for all faculty. You can use this to upload your files and download them in the classroom.
Size of your class:
The Undergraduate Course Office can provide you with your current and expected enrollment numbers.
Testing facilities (Does UT have a Testing Center?):
No testing center, other than some facilities for students with disabilities. Exams are given during class time or in the evenings. Greg's office handles special needs students who get extended time, reduced distraction testing, etc.
Supplies:
Check with the Undergraduate Course Office
Making copies:
Talk to Linda in the University Copy Center, Welch 2.228. For a small number of copies, there is a copy machine in the Undergraduate Course Office.
Scantrons:
The scantrons for current use are printed in orange and are titled “University of Texas Homework Service”. There is a longhorn symbol in the upper left corner. The scantron has a name field, a field for the UT EID, and a 3-digit version number area. (Hint: Always generate 3-digit version numbers.) The back of the answer sheet has a periodic table with current values for atomic weights. Also included are some common constants, conversion factors, and water heat capacity data.
Exam Copies:
Please leave three hard copies of each exam with Shari. This is a return to our previous exam policy, as collecting pdf versions was problematic.
Traditional and Electronic Course Instructor Surveys
All instructors are required to give course instructor surveys in every class every semester.
The university has sent out various emails discussing the two types of surveys – scantron and electronic. Essentially, the main point they were stressing is this: (Sections below excerpted from UT emails from the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment and the Committee of Counsel on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, Standing Committee of the Faculty Council)
- The Texas Attorney General is responsible for enforcing and interpreting the Act and has held that handwritten student comments are excepted from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act because handwriting is identifiable, and personally identifiable information about students is confidential pursuant to federal law. Moreover, the University is not under obligation to type those comments that might then make them available. The situation is significantly different for the eCIS.
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Typewritten student comments are presumed to be available for release to the public under the Texas Public Information Act, provided that any personally identifying information about the author or other students was first redacted. These anonymous comments could be available for collection, posting and archiving on various external, third party websites or by other means.