Tips and Tidbits Relevant to Teaching at Carnegie Mellon University
This document presents information that previous years’ incoming faculty have told us they wish they had known before teaching at CMU. If you discover something about teaching at CMU that we should add to this document, please let us know!
Note regarding COVID-19 safety: This document contains information pertinent to typical face-to-face teaching and campus life. Please note that many CMU procedures, services, and opportunities have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following sites may be useful in answering questions on this topic:
Getting Online
To log on to many of the online resources mentioned in this document (and other services such as email), you will need an “Andrew ID” (named after Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon). Ask your department administrator for help, if you do not have one.
Grading
Mid-semester and final grades are submitted via the S3 Faculty Course & Grade Info system. You will receive an email notice in advance of the respective due dates with the relevant link and information. Note that, although you may give plus (+) and minus (–) grades at mid-semester (except for “A+” which is not allowed), final grades for undergraduates are limited to letters only (e.g., A, B, C). Final grades for graduate students, however, may include pluses and minuses (even “A+”). Also note that a failing grade is indicated by the letter “R” (for “retake”), audit is “O," and incomplete is “I.” Note that some graduate programs have different cutoffs for failing grades and some do not allow A+ grades for graduate students. Ask your colleagues if there are any departmental grading policies or conventions you should know about.
Course “Units”
At CMU, each course has an associated number of “units." These units are roughly equivalent to “credits” or “credit hours” at other universities. When planning your courses, you should keep in mind that the standard workload for students (i.e., hours spent per week on course activities, both during and outside of class sessions) should correspond to the number of units for the course. For example, in a 9-unit, full-semester course that meets three hours a week, you can expect students to work an additional six hours outside of class.
Mini-Courses
These intensive courses run for ½ a semester, but contain a full semester’s work. Mini courses are scheduled into six sessions (M1, M2, M3, etc.) throughout the academic year. Each “Mini” is approximately seven weeks long, with two Mini sessions occurring per Fall, Spring, and Summer Semester annually. In mini-courses, a student’s weekly workload should correspond to twice the number of course units. For instance, in a 6-unit Mini, a student’s total effort spent on the course, both during and outside class meetings, should be 12 hours per week.
Course Management System
Canvas, our course management system, offers faculty and students a convenient way to create and use a course website. Besides making it easy to distribute handouts and collect papers, Canvas has additional features for generating and administering online learning activities and assessments. See Canvas or contact 412-268-9090 for more information and/or to request a Canvas website for your course.
Reserve Materials for Courses
Course materials may be placed on reserve in two ways. Hard copies of books can be placed on reserve at the Hunt Library circulation desk, and electronic resources can be posted on the library webpage. For instructions, information, and relevant forms, go to the CMU Hunt Library webpage. Click on “Using the Library” in the top (horizontal) menu bar and select “Course Reserves” from the drop down menu.
Rosters and Wait Lists for Courses
A roster of the students enrolled in your course as well as a list of students on the waiting list may be obtained via the S3 Faculty Course & Grade Info system by clicking on the course number of your course listing. For the first few weeks of the semester, faculty may also access a photo roster of their students via this website. A photo roster can be helpful for learning students’ names. Note: You will need your Andrew ID to access this information. Different departments handle the transfer of students from a waitlist to the course roster differently, so be sure to ask what the procedure is in your department. Bear in mind that Carnegie Mellon students often “shop around” for courses during the first week or two of each semester; thus the number of students enrolled in a class can change substantially during the first several weeks of class. If you are planning for group work, you may want to wait to form groups until rosters stabilize.
Enrollment Services and Academic Calendars
(includes services that some universities call the “Registrar”): Students access their academic and financial information through enrollment services, also known as “the HUB”. The enrollment services website has links relevant to faculty’s needs as well: academic calendars, schedules of classes, and final exam schedules (when they are made available).
Counseling Resources for Students
Faculty are often among the first on campus to notice when students may be in need of counseling or psychological services. To find out more about your role in helping students in need, or if you find you have a situation you are unsure how to handle, contact Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) at 412-268-2922 or go to the Counseling and Psychological Services page.
Academic Support for Students
Students in need of academic help can find many resources at the Student Academic Success Center. Services include:
- Course Aligned Support (Supplemental Instruction, Peer Tutoring, Study Partners, and “Just In Time” Workshops).
- Skill Aligned Support (Academic Coaching, ITA Certification, Language and Cross-cultural Support, Communication Support and Workshops).
- and Other Support & Resources (Accomodations for a Disability, Tartan Scholars, Online Learning Guidance, and Other Resources).
College Liaisons
Faculty are encouraged to reach out to their College Liaisons (senior members of the Division of Student Affairs) regarding student concerns across a wide range of issues. Each college has one (or more) liaisons, see this page for the current listing.
Printing Resources for Undergraduates
With more course handouts delivered to students via websites (see Course Management System above), faculty should keep in mind that students get to print the equivalent of 800 single-sided, letter-sized pages per semester for free. Students must pay for any printing above that quota. For more information, see the computer services website.
Faculty Handbook
The faculty handbook contains relevant policies and procedures pertaining to faculty roles and responsibilities. View this document online.
Student Handbook
The student handbook is available online. Among other information, this handbook clearly describes CMU’s policy and procedures on cheating.
Academic Integrity
The university’s official policy on cheating and plagiarism and unauthorized assistance may be found here. In addition, the Office of Student Affairs and the Eberly Center jointly produced an online resource on how to promote academic integrity in your own classes that may be found at http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/academicintegrity/.
Exam Policies
The university’s official policy on exams may be found here. These policies include, for example, when final exams and final papers may be scheduled, the maximum number of exams a student may be required to take in a 25-hour period, and rules on take-home final exams.
Students with Disabilities
CMU’s Office of Disability Resources has information on disability services to support students here. To learn about your responsibilities in accommodating students with documented disabilities, click on “Policies and Guidelines” in the horizontal navigation menu.
Faculty Course Evaluations (FCEs) and Early Course Feedback (ECF)
There are two types of course evaluations used at Carnegie Mellon. The first is an optional Early Course Feedback (ECF) service, designed to gauge how your course is working to support students’ learning and administered 3-7 weeks into the semester (2-3 weeks into a mini course), so you can make any adjustments while the course is ongoing. An Eberly colleague can assist you with this process via one of two methods, an Eberly-led focus group or an instructor-led survey. See the Eberly website for comparisons of these two services.
The second type of course evaluation – conducted at the end of a course and administered through Enrollment Services – is Faculty Course Evaluation (FCE). See this page for more information on FCEs and to access FCEs submitted by students in your courses.
Undergraduate Course Meeting Policy
No undergraduate classes, exams, academic, or artistic activities (including: extra help sessions, rehearsals, ROTC drill, make-up exams, etc.) are to be scheduled on weekdays between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. Extra class time beyond those regularly scheduled must take place either before 4:30 pm or after 6:30 pm. This policy is not intended to reduce the rigor or vigor of the academic or artistic programs, but to ensure that students have a period in which they are free to carry on co-curricular activities and athletics. Scheduling classes, exams, or other academic and artistic activities makes it very difficult for the students to meet these commitments. Because we are all concerned about the quality of life at the university, this time must be held for the students.
CMU Course Syllabi: Faculty Senate Recommendations
A recent CMU Faculty Senate Resolution calls on CMU instructors to give students a syllabus no later than the day the course first meets or formally begins. In addition, this resolution makes a number of recommendations regarding the contents of your syllabus. To compare your course syllabus to the Faculty Senate’s recommended checklist, please see the Eberly Center’s webpage on writing a syllabus, which contains the recommended checklist.
To better inform the CMU community about current and past course offerings, especially students selecting among courses, faculty are strongly encouraged to share their syllabi via CMU’s Syllabus Registry.
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