It is the policy of UW-Madison departments to provide reasonable accommodation for qualified employees with disabilities. TA or Academic Staff instructors needing accommodation to perform the essential functions of their positions should contact their supervisor or Spring Sherrod (spring.sherrod@wisc.edu) who will connect you with the accommodations coordinator in L&S Human Resources.

English 100

English 100 Instructors–Teaching Assistants (TAs), Teaching Specialists (TS), and Lecturers–teach one or more courses in the English Department Composition Programs under the supervision of a course director. The course director serves as the immediate supervisor of the instructor. In the case of English 100, an associate director (Teaching Faculty) is the secondary supervisor. Additional support and assistance are also provided by graduate student TA assistant directors. The duties of English 100 instructors include, but are not limited to:

Attendance

1. Instructors must be available for work, which includes training, from the first day of the contract period through the last day of the contract period. Instructors are not normally expected to work on holidays when University offices are officially closed, but in some cases rescheduling of duties could be necessary, and instructors may need to carry out some of their work during periods when University classes are not in session.
2. Instructors must attend on time, all scheduled program and section meetings. Instructors must also be available to meet with the course director to discuss any concerns and questions that come up during the semester.
3. Instructors must hold all regularly scheduled classes and conferences, as described in the program guidelines. If unable to meet with students due to illness or necessary travel, Instructors must inform the director as much in advance as possible and make reasonable efforts to find an appropriate substitute teacher or provide appropriate alternative instructional activities.
4. Instructors must hold one hour of regularly scheduled office hours each week, on campus. Office hours may be scheduled to allow students to meet through video chat or in some other way that meets the needs of students and the spirit of office hours. Instructors must also be available to meet with students outside of regularly scheduled office hours, at a time mutually convenient to the instructor and the student, for students who cannot meet during regularly scheduled office hours.
5. Instructors must report to the appropriate composition program administrator any missed classes or trainings. When possible, this notice will be given before the absence/cancellation, especially when the absence/cancellation is known well beforehand. Instructors will be expected to meet with an administrator to receive any information or work that was presented in a missed meeting/training.
6. All first-time English 100 instructors attend four days of orientation training before the beginning of the fall semester. This includes the all-staff meeting. In addition, new instructors attend weekly staff meetings for the first eight weeks of the fall semester. These meetings are a requirement of the  appointment, and participation is essential to development as an effective teacher of writing in the English 100 program. Experienced English 100 instructors must attend the required one day of orientation in the fall. All English 100 instructors are required to attend the one day of orientation for the second semester. In addition, all instructors past the first semester of teaching are required to participate in professional development meetings or activities as arranged each semester.

Communication and coordination

1. Instructors must follow the program guidelines in letter and spirit regarding class aims, activities, assignments, content, and grading, and must consult with the director/associate director if they have questions or concerns about these instructions. This includes explicit instructions from the program’s director(s)
2. Instructors must read all course-related emails (or other formal and informal communication) from the course director and other program administrators and respond in a timely way if a response is requested.
3. Instructors must comport themselves professionally at all times with students and fellow staff members in classes, meetings and in all communications.
4. Instructors must schedule an official observation of their teaching during their first semester of teaching and must meet with whoever conducts that observation to debrief about their classroom performance.

Grading and record-keeping

1. Instructors must keep accurate and complete records on the performance of all the students in the instructor’s classes.
2. Instructors must return student work in a timely way and in accordance with the instructions of the program.
3. Instructors must grade final portfolios/projects and then compute and record final grades in a timely manner as directed by the program. Instructors must meet with program administrators for a review of their final grades prior to end-of-semester submission.

Copy Policy

In collaboration with the department at large, the English 100 program is actively working to reduce the amount of paper that is used. Please follow the suggested guidelines and principles as closely as you can. If you have questions or would like assistance in teaching with fewer physical handouts, feel free to reach out to a member of the admin team.

Copy Code

Each instructor has been assigned an individual copy code by the department.

Guidelines

All instructors must use Canvas, which is fully supported by the UW. Using an online delivery method as a regular feature of your course allows you to easily provide e-copies of materials, which should be available and archived for students.

On average, instructors should limit photocopying to the equivalent of 3 one-page handouts per week, including writing assignments. (A page can be double-sided.)

We assume you will provide a printed syllabus and calendar to students, but we encourage you to consider streamlining it by directing students to the course readings on policies, which are provided in your Canvas site

Principles to Keep in Mind

• Consider delivery methods in relation to differing pedagogical needs.
• Be concise but not cryptic.
• Practice and explore methods for document design to help students focus on what’s important—and to save paper.
• Help students identify important information and develop strategies for remembering it.
• Become familiar with the technology in your classroom and learn how to use it. If technology is not readily available in your classroom, you can email support@english.wisc.edu in order to reserve the English Department’s projector. If your lesson plan absolutely requires access to the projector, be sure to reserve it well in advance. Additionally, projectors can be checked out from College Library on a first come, first serve basis.
• It’s reasonable to ask students to print out their writing or make copies to bring to class on workshop days.