Faculty & Staff Resources

Prepare for the Semester

Syllabus

Syllabus deadline: Have a finalized syllabus available on the first day of class.
Syllabus contents: Major due dates, grading percentages, and class expectations.
AI policy: State how students may use AI in your courses.
Remember: Your syllabus is a contract with students. Avoid major policy changes after the semester begins.

Office Hours

Schedule: At least three hours each week in your office or the Math Lab.
Post: Include office hours in your syllabus and post them outside your office.
Choose reasonable times and provide a private way for students to discuss confidential information.
Send your schedule to the secretaries for your door card.
Room use: Schedule department common areas, including the graduate suite, before using them. You may use your assigned mentoring space; consult Erin M. before scheduling TMCB 155A.

Textbooks

See the flyer below for information about digital course materials at BYU.

Digital Course Materials Flyer (PDF)

Prerequisites and Enrollment

Know the prerequisites for every course you teach and do not assume students have taken material from a course that is not listed as a prerequisite.
Do not exceed the classroom’s capacity.
Direct students to the Mathematics request-forms page for add, audit, and waitlist requests.

Add, Audit & Waitlist Forms

Copies and Handouts

The department can copy exams, syllabi, and handouts.
Provide at least 24 hours’ notice—more when possible.
Send requests for posters, snacks, projects, or similar student-staff support to Erin Gren.

Additionally, review student ratings from the prior semester. The department is aligning course learning outcomes with BYU’s outcomes; the curriculum committee may ask for your input.

Classroom Policies

Attendance and Outside Sessions

Do not require attendance at review or homework sessions outside class.
Do not require additional work from students who do not attend.
Optional review sessions should be short and focused on student questions.
Do not introduce new material or give answers to exam questions in review sessions.
Respect students’ obligations outside your class.

Canceling or Missing Class

Do not cancel except in an extreme emergency.
If you must miss class, first ask another faculty member to cover it.
In unusual circumstances, an experienced graduate student may be appropriate.
Undergraduates should not substitute.
Graduate research students should not be expected to cover classes while you are traveling.
Notify the department if you must cancel.

FERPA

Follow FERPA regulations when returning graded homework or exams.
Do not leave graded work where students can see one another’s scores.

Classroom Treats

BYU-funded snacks or treats should be limited to once or twice per semester, including finals. Univ 101 is the exception to this rule.
You may supplement this with items purchased with your own funds.

Grading Standards

Course Grading & Calibration

For multi-section courses, keep grading standards roughly in line with other instructors and prior semesters.
Discuss grading or assessment calibration with another instructor when needed.
Reference service-course averages: MATH 213—3.10; MATH 290—3.25; MATH 314—3.15; MATH 334—3.20.

Graduate Course Grades

MS students: C+ is the lowest grade that counts toward the program.
Ph.D. students: B is the lowest grade that counts.
Give students the grades they earn, but counsel students during the semester if their performance is below the program standard.
Qualifying-exam courses: Students must earn an A or A−. Base a significant portion of the grade on individual work that you evaluate.
Contact the graduate committee with questions.

Exams & Testing

Exam Responsibilities

Create and typeset your own exams, or contribute to common exams when applicable.
Instructors should grade their own exams unless a graduate TA is specifically assigned exam grading.

Proctored Exams

Required: MATH 112, 113, 213, 290, 314, and 334 must use a proctored setting—in class or through the Testing Center.
Recommended: Use a proctored setting for other courses whenever possible.
Contact Emily or Michael if you believe an exception is warranted.

Testing Center Deadlines and Procedures

Give the Testing Center at least three days’ advance notice. You may schedule semester exams in advance.
Every test must have a barcode. Get one from the secretaries before copying the test.
Bring tests to the Testing Center by noon the day before the exam. Tests are not available for pickup until after noon the day after the test ends.
For student-staff delivery, provide the delivery sheet and copies to the secretaries before 11:30 a.m. If the secretaries need to print the test, provide it before 9:30 a.m.
Secretaries generally make Testing Center runs at 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Let them know exam-scan dates at the beginning of the semester.

Testing Center Policies

Student Staff

For hiring, course assignments, grading hours, and student employee requirements, visit Hiring Students.

Hiring Students

Your Responsibilities as the Instructor

Set appropriate duties: Assign undergraduate graders homework grading only. They are not TAs; do not ask them to answer student emails, have face-to-face contact with students, or share personal contact information with students.
Protect grader privacy: Hide undergraduate graders in Learning Suite.
Handle grading appeals and feedback: Address appeals about how problems were graded and provide useful feedback.
Grade exams: Grade your own exams unless a graduate TA is specifically assigned exam grading. Undergraduate graders must never grade exams.
Monitor timeliness: Remind graders when work is late. If delays continue, contact Jen for a graduate student or Spencer for an undergraduate student.
Clarify graduate TA workload: Contact the Graduate Committee with workload questions.

Contacts for Hiring Students

Graduate TAs or graduate graders Graduate Committee

Undergraduate graders Spencer Anderson

Teaching Tools & Resources

Use the university’s teaching systems and support resources for course communication, materials, and instructional help.

Learning Suite

BYU’s Learning Suite provides course communication and student management tools.

Learning Suite for Instructors

Canvas

Canvas is also available for course management.

Get Started with Canvas

Center for Teaching and Learning

Find faculty teaching information, help, and instructional resources through BYU’s Center for Teaching and Learning.

Visit the Center for Teaching and Learning

Useful AIM Screens

Open AIM

CLS01: Class Schedule Proof
CLS02: Course Offering
CLS03: Department Course Summary
CLS04: Contact Class Roll
CLS05: Instructor Schedule
CLS08: Classroom Information
CLS09: Room Assignment
CLS10: Class Schedule Record

CLS11: Free Room Chart
CLS12: Room Search
CLS16: Exam Department Schedule
CLS17: Exam Student Schedule
CLS18: Exam Instructor Schedule
CLS19: Exam Daily Schedule
WAITLIST: Waitlist Queue Management
CRS1: Course Detail