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Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences

CAS Adjunct Faculty Guidebook

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Here you will find theoretical and practical information of all sorts to help you teach UB students. Explore, enjoy, benefit and e-mail Interim Associate Dean Deborah Kohl if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the content of this guidebook.

Table of Contents

If you are teaching at the Universities at Shady Grove, reference the Universities at Shady Grove Faculty Guidebook.

The Hiring Process

Adjunct faculty members are initially hired by division chairs, program directors or core course coordinators (that is, full-time faculty members or administrators) within the College of Arts and Sciences. Some adjunct faculty members have applied in response to an advertisement, others are professional colleagues of existing faculty members and some are UB alumni or staff members. Adjunct faculty members must meet certain educational and professional standards to be appointed to teach courses at the bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral levels.

  • Adjunct faculty members’ salaries are based on the level of course they will teach and the highest degree they have earned. The College of Arts and Sciences does not distinguish among ranks for adjunct faculty members.
  • The hiring process requires recommendation for hire from the academic program, approval by the associate dean, completion of certain application forms and submission of various documents.
  • Some documents have to be completed only the first time that you are hired to teach as an adjunct faculty member; other documents need to be updated and resubmitted every semester that you teach. View a list of these two categories of documents.
  • Adjuncts do not have to fill out a timesheet for their adjunct teaching responsibilities. During the spring and fall semesters, adjuncts are paid three times, or once each month, given the contract is submitted to the Office of Human Resources by the beginning of the semester. When teaching a summer course, you are paid once. For more information, see the Office of Human Resources Adjunct Faculty FAQ.
  • Pay dates

    Spring 2013
    • adjuncts who are contractual employees of UB: Feb. 20, March 20, April 17
    • adjuncts who are full-time faculty or staff employees of UB: Feb. 27, March 27, April 24

  • Paystubs are not distributed to your UB mailbox in hard copy. Those employees who have not applied for direct deposit will receive their paychecks via mail, at their home addresses only. Learn more about UB Payroll.

Adjunct faculty members should address questions related to the courses they will teach to the faculty member who hired them. They should address questions about the hiring process and contracts to Sonja Journee (410.837.5355), administrative assistant in the Office of the Dean, AC 249.

Getting Started

  • Administrative Support
    Your divisional administrative assistant or academic program specialist can provide support in:
    * locating your mailbox and the division's adjunct office; you are encouraged to check your mailbox regularly for student correspondence, University notifications and student evaluation packets.
    * photocopying
    * placing textbook orders
    * identifying and completing various academic forms: administrative withdrawal, grade change, request for Incomplete "I" grade, etc.

    • Identify the administrative support for your school or division.

      Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences (APPL, PSYC, SOCI)
      Marcia Dean, administrative assistant
      410.837.5310
      Academic Center, Room 209

      Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies (CSCE, HIST, IDIS 301, IDIS 302, LEST, PHIL)
      Kathryn Kelley, academic program specialist
      410.837.5323
      Academic Center, Room 201

      School of Communications Design (CMAT, CWPA, DESN, ENGL, IDIS 304, PBDS, WRIT)
      Marian Savige, academic program specialist
      410.837.6038
      Liberal Arts and Policy Building, Room 317

      Division of Science, Information Arts and Technologies (COSC, IDIA, MATH, BIOL, CHEM, ENVS, PHSC)
      Nikita Anderson, academic program specialist
      410.837.6222
      Academic Center, Room 200
  • Computer Accounts/UB NetID
    Your NetID allows access to MyUB, email, UB office computers, the campus wireless network and computers in UB computer labs. NetIDs for adjunct faculty members are active for one calendar year from the start of their contracts. If the contract is renewed, so is the calendar year of NetID account activation. If you teach at least one semester per year, you should not experience interruptions in your account activity. Once an account is deactivated (meaning you cannot use it to log in to UB systems), it is maintained as an inactive account for approximately two semesters; should you be rehired during that two-semester period, the account can be reactivated easily.
    • Note the Faculty and Staff link on the UB website. This section contains news and links pertinent to faculty and staff.
  • MyUB: our electronic gateway to all transactional business
    Through MyUB, our secure online portal for transaction business, you can access your email and your personal data storage drives (M, R, H and S: see the OTS glossary for more information about these drives). You can also view course-related information, enter grades and email your rosters.

    • Logging in to MyUB

      There are three ways to log in to MyUB:

    • e-communications
      All official UB email business must be conducted via a UB email account; your UB email account can be forwarded to your personal email address for your convenience. (See the official email policy.)
      • everything you've ever wanted to know about UB emailand more

        • Access your email through Outlook Web Access

          1. Log in to the MyUB portal.
          2. In the Tools section (upper, right-hand corner), click on "Email" (top left icon).
          3. Outlook Web Access will open in a new window.

        • Email your entire class

          You can email your entire class using My Faculty Center on the MyUB portal.

          1. Log in to the MyUB portal.
          2. Click on My Faculty Center.
          3. In your class schedule, click on the class roster icon for the appropriate class. 
          4. At the bottom of the roster, click "Notify Listed Students." (You can also email a selected group of students by clicking on the check boxes next to their names and then clicking "Notify Selected Students.")
          5. You'll see a screen from which you can email these students.

          You can learn more about how to view your class roster or browse portal help topics.

        • Assignment submission through FTP

          The University provides special drop box-style FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites as alternatives to using Sakai and email for student work submissions (especially if they're submitting large files). Rather than asking students to email you their assignments, thus requiring you to save attachments from individual emails and organize them for storage, students can "drop" their assignments into the FTP drop box. This method prevents students from seeing each other's work but allows you to access the assignments through the FTP site or download them as a group to your computer.

          To set up an FTP drop box, contact the Office of Technology Services, 410.837.6262.

      • frequently asked questions (about all things electronic)

      • Viewing your class schedule

        1. Log in to the MyUB portal.
        2. Click on My Faculty Center.
        3. Select the appropriate term.
        4. Your schedule for the selected term will display.
    • entering grades (PDF)
    • online course management
      Access UB's online course management tool, UBOnline (powered by Sakai), from the Tools menu in MyUB.
      Learn more about UBOnline or contact Terry Ross (410.837.5078), program manager in the e-Learning Center.

      To access UBOnline, use your UB username and password.
    • human resources information
      The HR Self Service area of MyUB allows you to view and change your personal information (My Personal Information link), view current and past paychecks (View Paycheck link), and view and update your education and personal development information (Education and Personal Dev link) with the Office of Human Resources. Note that you should notify the Office of the Dean about education and personal development updates, too, as these can positively influence your salary.
      You can also browse other pertinent human resources information in the Human Resources Information area of MyUB.

    • Syllabus

      A syllabus for a college- or university-level course can have a variety of purposes. Foremost is that of informing its students what standards, requirements and outcomes will be expected of them in the course. The course syllabus is not a true contract, but in many ways it expresses an "informal agreement" between the instructor and the students. Students will ordinarily hold instructors to the content of the syllabus throughout the course. And conversely, instructors will hold students to that content throughout the course.

      A second purpose is to inform other colleges and universities of the content of a course so they may determine if it is equivalent to a similar one that they offer, necessary when students transfer out of the University of Baltimore or graduate and then go on to pursue a higher degree.

      A third major function of the syllabus is to present accreditation bodies with a thorough understanding of curriculum and instruction practices. Professional accrediting bodies will examine the integrity of departmental instruction and will look to course syllabi as part of their evaluation process.

      For faculty members in tenure-track positions, syllabi may also be used as part of the tenure and promotion process in the evaluation of teaching.

      For all of these purposes, the construction of a syllabus cannot be taken lightly. It must represent a true picture of the content and expectations of the course. Since it may be both an internal and external document, certain elements should be present for the purpose of clear identification and explication. The following components of a course syllabus are based on these four uses of the syllabus and the audiences likely to view it.

      Ordinarily, the instructor is responsible for the course outline and syllabus; however, for required courses (including many general-education and program-requirements courses), certain content may be mandated as part of the course. The course coordinator or program director can provide you with this sort of information and may also be able to give you some sample syllabi from other instructors.

    • Maintaining Your Class Roster

      At the start of the semester, faculty members are expected to take attendance and verify that all students who are attending their class are on the official class roster and that no student whose name is on the official class roster has failed to attend the class.

      College of Arts and Sciences policy prohibits students who are not registered for a particular course from attending those classes. Instructors may not permit any student to sit in a class with the hope that they will be allowed to register late or that the instructor will overload the class. Students seeking late registration for a class that is full should be referred to the Office of Advising. Individual faculty members may not overload classes.

      By the end of the first month of the semester (first two weeks of a summer semester), faculty members should notify the Office of Records and Registration if a student has never attended their class. The faculty member may complete paperwork for a WA (withdrawn administratively) grade and submit the request to the dean’s office. Faculty members must file any request for a WA grade prior to the “last day to withdraw with a W” (about eight weeks into the semester). Likewise, a student can file a request for a W grade. If, at the end of the semester, a student has not petitioned for a W grade and the faculty member has not requested a WA grade, then the student who has not had sufficient attendance to pass the course must be issued an FA grade; this last is computed into the student’s GPA just like an F grade would be.

      To prepare for situations in which students attend class “now and then” or who miss considerable classtime and then want to resume attending, faculty members should include an attendance policy in their syllabus. Students who do not meet the attendance requirement can be issued a WA grade prior to the “last day to withdraw with a W."

  • Academic Calendar
    See the academic calendar for the current semester.
  • Textbook Ordering

Logistics

  • UB Bee Card
    Bee Cards are required to access the Campus Recreation and Wellness center and to use library services, including checking out library books. Showing your faculty ID at the Barnes & Noble at the University of Baltimore makes you eligible for a 10 percent discount. Bee Cards may also be necessary for eligibility for various faculty/teaching privileges and discounts with outside vendors and retailers.

    • Parking

      Adjunct faculty members can park in campus facilities by registering and paying for a parking account that provides them with a parking access card.

      Two payment options for adjunct parking accounts include:

      • a flat monthly rate of $15 per month if your annual salary at UB is less than $24,999; this allows you to park only in the Maryland Avenue Garage (see the campus map).
      • a tiered pay-per-park rate based on the number of hours you park and the deposit you put on your parking access card; this allows you to park in either the Maryland Avenue or Fitzgerald garages or in the Cathedral Street Lot (see the campus map).

      If you have already created a UB parking account, contact the Office of Parking and Shuttle Management at 410.837.6573 to reactivate it; you will need the white, plastic parking access card that was issued to you when you created the account.

      Before creating your parking account, make sure you have the following information handy:

      • your UB ID number (listed on your paycheck and accessible on your MyUB MyHR page by clicking "Payroll, Taxes and Salary," then "View Paycheck," then locating "Employee ID"; note this is not your UB username) and UB email address
      • your vehicle information (make, model, color, license plate number and state of issuance) for every vehicle you plan to park in a UB parking facility
      • your driver's license number and state of issuance
      • your payment information, including your credit/debit card number and card expiration date.
      • If you do not yet have an employee ID number, contact Tong Li, 410.837.5274.

      To apply for a flat monthly rate (recommended):

      1. Access the PMI Web site for UB parking registration.
      2. Select the link for adjunct faculty.
      3. Select the link "1) Regular Monthly Parking Account."
      4. Select the link "Click here to setup a parking account."
      5. Fill out the form. Type your UB employee ID number into the first field, which requests "Faculty/Employee #."
      6. Select "Non-Premium" from the "Monthly Rate" drop-down menu.
      7. Click "Submit."
      8. You will navigate to a "thank you" screen, and you will receive an email confirming your registration.

      To apply for a pay-per-park rate:

      1. Access the PMI Web site for UB parking registration.
      2. Select the link for adjunct faculty.
      3. Select the link "2) Daily Garage Parking via Pay-Per-Park Account."
      4. Select the link "Click here to setup a parking account."
      5. Complete the form for the Contact Information, Account Setup, My Vehicles, Terms and Initial Payment tabs, clicking the "next tab" button to progress from one tab to the next.
      6. After completing all the tabs, click the "Submit Request" button.
      7. You will navigate to a "thank you" screen, and you will receive an email confirming your registration.

      Once you have created your parking account, you will receive an email confirmation regarding when you can pick up your parking access card from the Office of Parking and Shuttle Management, 1104 Maryland Ave. (a white townhouse next to the Maryland Avenue Garage). Contact Casey Cole at 410.837.6858 if you need to make alternative arrangements to pick up your card. Contact Tong Li, 410.837.5274, with general questions.

      Visit the UB parking website for more information.

  • Textbook Ordering
  • Printing and Copy Center
    Copy Cat Printing in the UB Student Center can print and copy course materials for you, but keep in mind that electronic and even hard-copy course reserves through Langsdale Library can be environmentally friendly, more cost-effective alternatives to sharing materials with your students.
    • copyright information
    • electronic reserves information
      Students have access, from both on and off campus, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to password-protected electronic versions of book chapters, journal articles, documents, Power Point presentations, spreadsheets, etc., that you identify for your courses. The library will handle copyright compliance, assisting faculty by seeking permissions, acquiring materials and help to sort out the somewhat complicated rules of Fair Use.
    • hard copy reserves
      In addition to electronic reserves, Langsdale Library also offers traditional hard copy reserves, allowing students to access books and media items (DVDs, VHS tapes, etc.) during library hours. Most reserves are held as "two-hour, in-library use only," but arrangements can be made to make reserve materials available for overnight or two-, three- or seven-day circulation.
  • UB Police
  • Photocopying and Faxing
    For information about how to photocopy and fax on campus and where the appropriate tools can be accessed, please consult your divisional administrative support.
  • Human Resources Information

In the Classroom

  • Academic Integrity
    • All UB students are required to complete satisfactorily the University's plagiarism tutorial.
    • Use

      • Turnitin

        Turnitin is a Web-based solution for managing writing assignments, via multiple phases of feedback and revisions. Its three interrelated services greatly accelerate the learning process, involving students in their own development, freeing instructors from the burden of tracking papers and promoting critical thinking while maintaining academic integrity.

        Turnitin is fully integrated with Sakai; simply select "Use Turnitin" when creating an assignment in Sakai, and a Turnitin originality report will be generated for any student submission for that assignment, generally within an hour of submission.

        To access Sakai, use your UB username and password.

        Getting help:

        • If you have further questions, reach Turnitin's technical support staff at helpdesk@iparadigms.com or 510.287.9720, extension 241. You can also contact Terry Ross (410.837.5078), program manager in the e-Learning Center.
    • Read the USM and UB academic integrity policies.
  • Classrooms
  • Tests, Exams and Assignments: stay tuned for additional content
  • Grades and Grading
  • Cancellation of Classes
    • weather and other University emergencies

      • Illness and personal emergencies

        If you need to cancel your class due to illness or personal emergency:

        1. email your entire class about their canceled class as early as possible.
        2. Contact your divisional administrative support as early as possible to allow enough time to post a sign on the classroom door. Specify the course name, course number, course day and time, and room.
        3. Notify the Office of the Dean (410.837.5355) that you have canceled your class and that you have made arrangements with your divisional administrative support to notify your students and to post a notice.
        4. Report seasonal or H1N1 flu instances (for yourself only) to your direct supervisor.

        Note that if you have already notified students of canceled classes (planned in advance) via your syllabus, reminding your divisional administrative support and the Office of the Dean a day in advance of your canceled class is sufficient.

  • Online Course Management
    Access UB's online course management tool, UBOnline (powered by Sakai), from the Tools menu in MyUB.

    Learn more about UBOnline or contact Terry Ross (410.837.5078), program manager in the e-Learning Center.

    If you wish to have a Sakai site for a fall 2011 course, contact Terry Ross (410.837.5078). To access UBOnline, use your UB username and password.
  • Langsdale Library
    Find, get and use library resources, including searching multiple catalogs and databases, taking advantage of InterLibrary Loan and getting research help.
    • Learn more about specific faculty services including electronic reserve requests, library instruction sessions, InterLibrary Loan requests and Library Liaisons.
  • Grievances
  • Special Student Issues

Wrapping Up the Semester

College Organization

The Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences offers seven graduate degree programs, three graduate certificate programs and 11 undergraduate degree programs across a wide range of disparate disciplines. Organization is key to keeping us running, so here's an overview of how we work:

  • You teach classes within one or more programs, each of which has a program director.
  • These programs are grouped into a school (which has an associated center of excellence) and divisions, each of which has a division chair.
  • All schools and divisions have an academic program specialist or administrative assistant to help with administrative tasks.
  • Most schools and divisions have an academic program coordinator to help with academic advising and other academic tasks.
  • The required courses in the upper-level general-education core are each administered by a course coordinator. The core courses required for students are WRIT 300: Advanced Expository Writing, IDIS 302: Ethical Issues in Business and Society, and either IDIS 301: World Cultures or IDIS 304: Arts and Ideas (CAS/CPA only).
  • The Office of the Dean is home to collegewide administrative staff, including the dean, associate dean, assistant dean and academic adviser.

Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences
Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies
School of Communications Design
Division of Science, Information Arts and Technologies

Resources