Teaching FAQs

Getting Started with a New Course Grading Issues
Getting Started with TAing Support Services for Students
Setting Up Course Materials Support for & Feedback on Teaching
Getting Started with a New Course

How do I schedule my course time and room location?
  • Check with your Department Assistant for specific department procedures
  • Clearly state your preferences in writing well in advance of your course, including: length of class(es), time of day, which day(s), AV preferences, campus location, etc
  • Choose a time according to the schedule guide (PDF). Available times vary depending on the day

How do I use a smart classroom?
  • Schedule an orientation if you're using a Smart Classroom for the first time: 7-ROOM (7-7666)
  • Bring your laptop to the tutorial if you'll be using it to teach in the room
  • Visit NUIT's Smart Classroom web page

What is CAESAR?
  • CAESAR (Computer Assisted Electronic Student Access Route) gives students and instructors protected access to personal and course information
  • Use CAESAR to see rosters (including student pictures to help learn names), enter grades, etc.
  • Submit a form (PDF) to get instructor access to CAESAR
  • CAESAR access
How do I get a Blackboard site for my course?
  • An empty Blackboard site will be automatically generated for you the quarter before you teach
  • Students will automatically be added to the course 1-2 days after they register through CAESAR
  • Give yourself a few weeks to personalize the site
  • Please note: you need to visit the Course Management web page to make the course site available for students to be able to see the site
  • Get online help or attend an orientation session
How do I work effectively with my TAs?
  • Meet with your TAs before your course begins to discuss your expectations and clarify any questions
  • Be prepared with clear answers to the questions on this guide for TAs (PDF)
  • Meet regularly with your TAs, especially before and after exams/major assignments to reduce confusion about grading

What are freshman seminars?
  • Discussion-based and writing-intensive courses limited to 15 students a class
    • Designed to help freshmen students adjust to writing and thinking at the college level
    • All WCAS freshmen must take two seminars: 1 in fall with their academic advisor and 1 in winter/spring
  • Graduate students may only teach a winter/spring seminar, since they cannot serve as advisors
  • Submit a course description the quarter before you teach: check with dept assistant for details
  • Contact Tessie Cachola in the Dean's office with any questions

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Getting Started with TAing

How do I know what my TA responsibilities are?
  • TA duties vary considerably across departments and courses--there is not a standard set of duties across the university
  • Be sure to ask your department and the instructor in charge of the course what you will be in charge of: Grading? Leading sections? Leading labs? Office hours?
  • Use the TA questions guide (PDF) to help clarify your duties
How do I prepare to TA for the first time?
  • Attend the New TA Conference, offered each fall
  • Talk with graduate students in your department, particularly those who have TAed the same course
  • If you are nervous about talking in front of a group, practice your first few lessons in front of a friendly audience
  • Consider developing a syllabus for your sections to establish the policies you will enforce as a TA: attendance, participation, grading, etc.
How do I establish a good working relationship with the instructor in charge of the course?
  • Meet with the instructor before the course begins and address the issues on the TA questions guide (PDF)
  • Be proactive when questions arise during the quarter
  • Schedule regular meetings with the instructor to keep communication lines open
  • Be professional in your interactions with the instructor and students
How do I minimize student complaints about grades?
  • Address the grading issues listed on the TA questions guide (PDF) with the course instructor
  • Create a rubric (scoring guide) if one was not provided to help you stay consistent when assigning points
  • Make sure to put enough comments on student work so that you will remember why you assigned the grade you did
  • Grade all the answers to a single question at one time to help you stay consistent (especially on essay/short answer questions)
  • Establish a policy for how students should bring up grading concerns:
    • Have students only bring up concerns in writing or during office hours, to avoid arguments during class time
    • Consider having students provide written justification for grade disputes with citations from the class or readings
How do I get feedback on my TAing?

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Setting Up Course Materials

How do I order books for my course?
  • Request desk copies (free of charge) from the publisher when you order books
  • NU does not require you to order your books from a particular vendor. Options include:
How do I order course packs for my course?
  • A course pack is a package of supplemental readings for students.
  • Submit course pack requests at least 3-4 weeks in advance through:
    • Xanedu (Chicago) obtains copyright clearance for you
    • Norris (Evanston) obtains copyright clearance for you
    • Quartet Copies (Evanston) does not obtain copyright clearance
What do I need to know about copyright restrictions?
  • Generally, 10% of a book or 1 single article from a journal/periodical can be used without asking for copyright permission from publishers
  • Read more about copyright & guidelines
How do I reserve books and documents for my course?
  • Students may check out reserve materials for a short loan period through the library
  • Submit course titles in the NU Library system to the library's Reserve Department to place them on reserve
  • Submit titles of articles/other documents to Electronic Reserve to digitize them for classroom use
  • Copyright permission requests for reserve items are managed by the Reserve Department
  • Submit reserve requests 3 weeks before they are needed
  • Reserve up to 20 items per course
  • Each electronic reserve item may be up to 45 pages in length
  • Read more about Course Reserve
How do I reserve media for my course?
  • Reserve video titles through the Marjorie Mitchell Multimedia Center (2nd floor of the library)
  • The Multimedia Center has more than 20,000 video titles available for checkout
  • Search for titles through NUcat: Under 'Limit to (optional):', choose 'videorecording'
  • Visit the Multimedia Center and Digital Media Services web site
How do I stream media for use in my course?
  • Include images, sound, video and text in digital formats with the help of Digital Media Services (DMS)
  • DMS will provide a secure streaming link that you can add to your Blackboard site
  • DMS is in the 2nd floor, East tower of the library
  • Read more about Digital Media Services or submit a streaming request
How do I make needed copies for my course?
  • Departments often issue copy codes to instructors for a limited number of copies per class
  • Check with your department for more information

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Grading Issues

What do instructors need to know about finals week?
  • No exams may be given during Reading Week (only for WCAS students)
  • Blue books are available in the Dean's office of your school
  • The registrar's office offers scantron services for exams/surveys by appointment only
  • Read more about scantron services on theRegistrar's scanning information page
How do instructors submit grades? How do I minimize grading complaints
  • Include a clear grading policy in your syllabus that addresses the following:
    • How much will each aspect of the course contribute to the final grade?
    • What is your policy on late assignments?
    • What is your policy on extra credit?
  • Provide clear instructions on all assignments:
    • Consider the assignment from the perspective of your students
    • If using Blackboard, make sure all links work and all instructions make sense
    • Complete all assignments and exams yourself to make sure they are fair and doable
  • Consider allowing students to submit drafts of major assignments:
    • Provide comments yourself or ask TAs to provide comments
    • Alternatively, students can give peer feedback to reduce your time giving comments
    • If using peer feedback, be sure to provide guidelines (PDF).
  • Develop a grading rubric (scoring guide) that you share with students:
    • Rubrics should reflect the relative importance you place on different criteria. See the (Office of Academic Assesment's suggestions for constructing a rubric).
    • Share and discuss rubrics with your TAs to minimize any confusion that may arise

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Support Services for Students

What support can I get to help students with classroom research? What tutoring services are available for undergraduates? How do I maintain academic integrity in my course?
  • Talk to your department/colleagues about how to respond to plagiarism effectively
  • Include a paragraph on academic integrity in your syllabus
  • Consider addressing the following questions, either in your syllabus (recommended) or in class:
    • What is your policy on making past exams available?
    • What is the scope of permitted collaboration?
    • What citation conventions do you want students to use in your course?
    • What materials may be used during exams or on other assignments?
  • Use Blackboard's 'SafeAssign' tool to check for plagiarism using online examples
  • Establish an examination procedure which includes efforts to maintain security such as: alternating seats, alternating exam formats, limiting access to exams to TAs or proctors
How can I address the needs of students with disabilities?

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Support for & Feedback on Teaching

How do I get feedback on my teaching before the course ends? What are CTECs?
  • The CTEC (Course and Teacher Evaluation Council) system is a repository for student feedback on courses and instructors, and provides online access to end-of-term course and teacher evaluations
  • Managed by the Registrar (NOT Searle Teaching Center)
  • Instructors can submit 3 additional questions to include with the usual course feedback questions
  • You will automatically receive an email mid-quarter to allow you to add the instructor questions and set a CTEC link on your class web page
  • Students who do not complete CTECs will not have access to view CTEC results the next quarter
  • Visit the Office of the Registrar web site to read more about CTECs
Where can I get resources and ideas for my teaching?

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