Adjunct Addendum

We’re glad you have joined us as an adjunct faculty member, and we hope that you enjoy your time on campus. We highly value the work of our adjunct faculty and recognize the importance of your contributions to the fulfillment of our mission and vision.

The East Texas A&M University Faculty Handbook provides current, new, and prospective faculty members a convenient guide to useful information that supports faculty success and engagement at the university. While there is information throughout the Faculty Handbook that adjunct faculty may need, the Adjunct Addendum provides a summary of the information that is more pertinent to Adjunct Faculty.

Within a university, adjunct faculty serve many different purposes. Some teach academic classes, some teach in lab settings, and some fulfill a variety of functions. As such, the information in this handbook may vary based on the type of course, campus location, semester or student for which you were hired. Do not hesitate to reach-out to your immediate supervisor if you have any questions.

As you complete the hiring process, you will receive communication via email or phone call from:

• Human Resources (HR): Representatives will communicate with you to complete the state-required hiring processes and forms.
• Training: Training is one of the branches of the HR office. During your hiring process, and throughout your employment as an adjunct faculty, you will receive emails from training@tamuc.edu to inform you of upcoming or past-due required trainings. These trainings are required either by the state or by the A&M System so please keep track of your upcoming trainings.
• CITE: (Center for Informational Technology Excellence [IT]). During hiring process, our IT office will help you get your TAMUC email activated and get you access to other online system. In the early phases of this communication, everyone will use your personal email account. Once your TAMUC email is activated, emails will shift to that address. Your TAMUC email account will typically be first.last@tamuc.edu; you will receive log-in information once your account is activated.

TAMUC’s online learning management system is called D2L and you will be given access to the D2L shell for your course(s) through IT. You may contact the IT office at:

• helpdesk@tamuc.edu: for help with classroom technology, your email or general questions
• online@tamuc.edu: for help with your D2L course shell
• Academic Program: You will receive regular communication from the academic program or department you were hired to teach, usually from the department head or the dean’s office. Especially when you complete the hiring process and begin your role as an adjunct, the academic department will be your primary point of contact regarding course assignments, curriculum and other needs. Throughout your employment, your university email will be the primary means of communication from your academic unit.

Since you will be working for a state institution, the hiring process may seem complex. A summary of the hiring steps is described below so you can track the workflow during the hiring process.

NOTE: New employees are not permitted to obtain access to course rosters or student information until the Criminal Background and I-9 Verification process is complete. When you receive these notices, please complete your tasks as soon as possible so you can access your classes and course rosters.

1. Employee must have completed the application in Workday.
2. If transcripts and updated CV were not included in the Workday application, the administrative associate or head of your academic unit will request these documents from you.
3. Department Head completes a Faculty Credential Inventory form.
4. The Administrative Associate submits Final Hiring Checklist
5. The employee will receive an email from Sterling Talent Solutions to complete the Criminal Background Check.
6. The employee will receive an email from HR to complete the Degree Verification Form.
7. HR completes the initial hire in Workday and notifies the Dept. Head to approve in Workday
8. The Budget Office completes the Costing Allocation for Hire for the department head to approve in Workday.
9. Employee receives email from HR to complete I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form.

NOTE: Workday does not allow onboarding to begin until the new hire is within 45 days of their hire date (typically on or near July 14, for an upcoming fall semester).

1. When the department head and administrative associate receive notice from HR that the Criminal Background and I-9 Verification process are complete, the administrative associate will complete the IT- Access Form to create a university email and access to D2L (learning management system). When this process is complete, you will receive information including ETAMU email, Campus Wide I.D. (CWID), and login credentials.
2. The academic department will complete the process to assign the appropriate classes to you’re your name should now appear next to your assigned class in the online schedule of classes, and you will have access to the course in D2L and myLeo.
3. Within 30 days of employment, all new employees are required to complete a series of online trainings. You will receive notifications on a period basis from training@tamuc.edu with instructions, link and timelines. Required trainings will also continue throughout your employment, as required for all Texas A&M System employees.

Syllabus: The university requires a syllabus for all classes. The university requires that all syllabi are posted in the D2L Shell (see below), and Texas House Bill 2504 requires the syllabus to be available on line. Each academic unit maintains specific processes to post syllabi so communicate with your academic department head or immediate supervisor. The Faculty Academic Resources (In the Classroom) section of this handbook includes Syllabus Guidelines and Helps for your reference.

Typically, each academic unit requires a copy of your updated CV or resume. Your department head / immediate supervisor may contact you to request a copy of your CV even if you submitted a copy with your application for employment.

The online learning platform for ETAMU is called D2L. There is a course page or “shell” for all courses, lessons and ensembles. The university requires all faculty to post course syllabi on D2L and to post a gradebook on D2L. In many cases, especially if you are teaching a general education course, there is a D2L shell template that can be copied into your current course section for you to edit as appropriate. For help, you may contact a full-time faculty member in your area, your department head, or email online@tamuc.edu.

Typically, your academic department will have selected a textbook for your course, especially if you are teaching a general education course. Contact a full-time faculty member in your area or your department head. Each semester, you may receive an email from your administrative associate announcing a call for textbook requests / submissions for an upcoming semester. Finally, to obtain a copy of the textbook for a course you will be teaching, contact your department head.

On the 12^th class day of each semester, all faculty are required to report Census Rosters. This is how the university confirms accuracy of course enrollment. In short, you will compare the registrar’s official course roster with the list of students who come to your class to ensure the registrar’s list is correct. You will receive emails each semester to notify you of the semester’s timeline for Census Rosters. This email will also include the instructions to complete this process.

Midterm grades are required for all undergraduate classes. You will receive each semester that will notify you of the semester’s timeline for Midterm Grades. This email will also include the instructions to complete this process.

The university publishes the final exam schedule for each semester. Faculty may not administer final exams at times that differ from this schedule. You can find the final exam schedule on the registrar’s website at www.tamuc.edu/registrar under the General Information tab.

Final grades are required for all classes. You will receive emails that will notify you of the semester’s timeline for Final Grades. This email will also include the instructions to complete this process.

In some circumstances, it is appropriate to assign an incomplete grade. Usually, incomplete grades are reserved only for extreme medical or family emergencies that a student may experience. To assign an Incomplete Grade, the faculty member and the student must submit a contract to complete the course requirements before the incomplete grade can be submitted. For more information, contact the department head and visit https://inside.tamuc.edu/admissions/registrar/generalinformation/grade.aspx

Additional information you may need is distributed throughout this Faculty Handbook. We encourage, especially to review the following sections:

• Faculty Academic Resources
• Faculty Employee Resources
• Faculty Guide to Student Resources
• Emergency Procedures and Resources