Skip to main content

Semester Essentials

Timeline of the Semester: Deadlines, Due Dates, and Preparing for the First Day of Class

As soon as you get hired:

  • Print out the list of Questions to Ask Your Department Chair and ask these at the department as soon as you can. These questions are important to ask because departments differ greatly in their requirements and expectations of instructors.
  • Sign paperwork in your department (usually there is a hire letter).
  • Once paperwork is processed through PeopleSoft (you may have to wait until your department finishes this paperwork), look up your NID (network ID) on the myUCF portal.
  • Sign paperwork in Human Resources, bringing along your Social Security card and driver’s license (or passport).
  • Check with your department if there is a central coordinator who orders textbooks.
  • Request a coursepack of photocopied material that you want students to buy with their books, if desired. Coursepacks are instructional materials and must be reported as part of the textbook adoption process.
    • They can include book chapters, journal articles, illustrations, notes, or other reading materials used to supplement or replace traditional textbooks.
    • Instructors of record must supply one copy of all coursepacks to the UCF Bookstore or Computer Store, as appropriate, four to eight weeks prior to the start of classes. The UCF Bookstore or Computer Store will reproduce the materials and make them available to students. See UCF Policy 4-405.2 Coursepacks for more information. 
  • Go to the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) Webcourses@UCF Faculty Tour page to get started with setting up the online portion of your courses.
    • Webcourses@UCF is UCF’s branded implementation of the Canvas learning management system (LMS), managed by CDL.
    • Course sections are automatically created 10 days prior to the start of each semester, but can be requested earlier using the Faculty Webcourse Manager.
    • It is also possible to request a “special programs section” (fake course shell) to build content initially, with the plan to transfer into your official Webcourses sections later.
    • UCF does have different course modalities possible – the most common are P (“in person”), W (“Web, or 100% asynchronous online), and M (“mixed”, with some mixture of online and in-person).
    • If you don’t see the courses you expect on the Faculty Webcourse Manager, it’s possible your departmental scheduler has not assigned you to those courses (they are listed as taught by STAFF). Inquire at your department.
  • Review any syllabi you inherited from previous instructors of your courses, and ensure you understand the course objectives and the internal structure/logic of each course.
  • Modify any syllabi you are given from a previous instructor of record to make it your own. You may find it helpful to consult the syllabus section on our website.
    • Remember that all instructors are required to use Simple Syllabus to post their syllabus within Webcourses.
  • Order a parking permit online at the UCF Parking Services webpage. At UCF, your license plate is your permit, and back-in parking is prohibited so that license plates can be read from the street/driving lane.
  • Place materials on Course Reserve at the Library, if desired. More information about this can be found on the UCF Libraries website for Course Materials and Course Reserves.

60+ Days before the start of classes:

  • Textbooks are due 60 days before classes begin per a state requirement. Contact the bookstore about textbook orders with AIP, and refer to the Provost’s page on textbook adoption.
  • Verify with your department whether you are teaching any General Education (GEP) courses that are required by law to post syllabi earlier than the rest of campus.
  • Look over the information for Simple Syllabus, the official syllabus tool of UCF.

Two weeks before the start of classes:

One week before the start of classes:

  • Download your class roster from myUCF.
    • Log in to the portal, click on “Faculty/Advisor Self Service” near the top left, and click on “Instructors.”
    • Next, select “View Your Class Schedule.” The three-person icon can be clicked to view the roster, and if you wish to download to Excel, that link is near the top-right of the roster.
      • If a course is listed with “STAFF” as the instructor rather than your name, you may have to ask someone in your department to print the roster for you.
    • Click here to watch a video tutorial.
  • Access and print, if desired, student photos.
    • Here is a full video tutorial.
  • Take note of the course modality.
    • The traditional face-to-face course is coded “P”,
    • fully online and asynchronous is coded “W.”
    • A class that is half of both is “M,” and there are a variety of other types of modalities.
  • Take note of your class meeting location (if face-to-face modality).
    • Note: if you exported the roster to Excel, you will only find the student info, and it doesn’t include the class meeting time, day(s) of the week, or room—you must view these while still online using the Class Roster tool on myUCF or ask the person printing your roster from the department to make sure that information is included.
  • Look up the location of your classroom by consulting our acronyms list, and then looking for the building on the campus map.
  • Download and examine this document to know what technologies to expect in your classroom.
  • Preview your classroom(s). How will you use the classroom space? Will you need to bring any equipment that isn’t already in the room, like a slide advancer or lapel microphone? Will you need dry-erase markers? What about evacuation procedures?
  • Ensure that your syllabus is visible in your course by the first day of class, as required by State rules. UCF uses a third-party tool called Simple Syllabus rather than uploaded PDF/DOCX files. Here is a quick tutorial.
  • Ensure that you have an academic engagement activity prepared in your Webcourse for the first week of class.
    • This needs to be an assignment worth 1 pt or more, must count toward semester grade, and should not be deleted all semester long. A graded discussion board post is what many faculty choose.
    • More information on this requirement can be found on the CDL Academic Engagement webpage.
  • Send a welcome message to students and consider attaching a link to the syllabus so those who find the workload not a match for their expectations can drop early, and allow other students to take their place.

First Day of Class

The first day of class might seem to be a daunting prospect the first time you teach, but staying organized and planning the day well can make the experience a pleasant one. Here are some ideas to make the first day go as smoothly as possible:

  • Bring dry-erase markers and erasers with you.
  • Be early; set up any technology long before class begins so that you have extra time to fix problems that arise.
  • A few minutes before the scheduled start, be available for student questions. If no one approaches you, engage students seated nearby in small talk.
  • Start on time to set a good precedent for the rest of the semester.
  • Consider not starting by distributing the syllabus and discussing the course policies. We recommend you leave the syllabus discussion for the last part of the class period.
  • Introduce yourself and mention how you’d like to be called. Some instructors like to establish their credibility by relating personal stories relevant to the discipline being taught.
  • Lay out a good atmosphere and climate. The first day sets the tone for the entire semester, so structure the first day with the climate you prefer, be it formal, relaxed, or humorous. Research suggests that the things students most value in a professor are enthusiasm, objectivity, and a sympathetic attitude toward the problems that students face.
  • After introductions and icebreakers, consider starting with your course material directly. That sends a signal that your class is rigorous and the schedule is disciplined.
  • Discuss the syllabus at the end of the first class period. Some instructors assign the syllabus as reading for a quiz to ensure it gets read, and others ask their students to sign a paper to signal their receipt of the syllabus. The latter action bolsters the view of the syllabus as a contract with students, which may well be how the syllabus will be treated in questions of disagreement that escalate to department chairs. However, be aware that while stressing the contractual side may elevate student responsibility, it may have undesirable rhetorical side-effects. If the syllabus is perceived as just a contract, students may view education as purely transactional in nature; they become “consumers” paying for their degrees, which can create unwanted grade expectations.
  • Encourage students to visit your office hours.
  • Communicate to students how they can reach you and how you will use Microsoft Teams, as well as how long it will take you to reply to their inquiries.

First two weeks of class:

  • Students may freely add and drop classes during the first week. Adds and Drops are not processed after the start of the second week, so your roster will be stabilized at that time. For more information about the academic calendar in any given semester, visit UCF’s Academic Calendar webpage.
  • Start holding office hours as specified on your syllabus. Students tend to worry they are disturbing you, so make an effort to put them at ease when they arrive. To avoid misunderstandings, it’s best not to hold office hours in a closed room; at least leave the door partly open.
  • Link students to this extensive guide to effective study skills, and stress to them the importance of quizzing themselves on your content multiple times per week.

Throughout the semester:

  • The deadline for students to withdraw from the course occurs several weeks after the add/drop week. This process does not need to involve you. Any students still on the roster who have not withdrawn can simply be given failing grades.
  • It’s good practice to create your own course evaluations and distribute these to students part way through the semester. Though they are often called “mid-semester evaluations,” they are arguably most effective when given three to five weeks into the term, leaving you enough time to implement any worthwhile ideas.
    • We have a template calling for general comments, and one asking specific questions. You can freely customize, and deliver however you want (on paper, in Webcourses, or via Qualtrics)
  • Encourage students to meet with you to discuss any difficulties they face in the semester, especially in the early parts of the semester.
  • Use the student referral button in your Webcourse (under Faculty Tools) to report to the Student Success team any issues related to mental health, classroom attendance/absenteeism, or academic performance. These professionals will reach out to the students to offer help as needed.

Ending the semester—final exams, reporting grades:

  • Students are given the chance to evaluate the instructor with the Student Perception of Instruction (SPOI) form, which they complete on myUCF.
    • Students are prompted when the evaluation period begins (two weeks prior to the final class), and can complete the evaluation at any point before the end of classes. The questions they will be asked can be seen here. The timing is regulated by the Registrar’s Office.
  • Look up the date and time for the final exam and communicate it to your students.
  • Do not give the final exam during the last class session (although a chapter test is fine). UCF requires that all classes do meet during final exam week, even if you don’t take a final test during that session.
  • To submit grades to the Registrar, you will use myUCF. Note that in some departments, there may be specialized instructions in addition to the university ones.
    • Students with an “F” grade receive special scrutiny from the Registrar, so you will be asked to indicate the last date the student attended your class. If you do not know, write your best guess.
    • Some courses and departments allow you to report “NC” (no credit) in place of a “D”. Higher than an “F” and lower than a “C”, this grade is only for courses that have met certain requirements and must be pre-approved. Check with your department chair if in doubt.
    • If a student is requesting a grade of I, or incomplete, consult with your department chair before agreeing to do so.
      • The “I” (incomplete) grade is usually used in the event of a last-second emergency, such as unexpected hospitalization so that a student had to miss the final exam. If no such unexpected event occurs, the “F” grade is more appropriate.
      • Note that “I” grades must be changed later via the grade-change process.
  • Withdrawals are preprinted as W on the grade sheet and cannot be manually added.
  • If you are using Webcourses or “myUCF Grades,” be sure to download a final backup of the records before the system is reset between semesters.
  • Keep your grade records a minimum of three years, though it would be wise to keep them in perpetuity.