RESOURCES AND GUIDES
Many of the below links can be found on the Courses@Penn landing page.
- Canvas: https://infocanvas.upenn.edu/
Canvas is both a content management platform for your class (a place to post weekly assignments, readings, syllabus) as well as a class communication tool. The link above is your guide to All Things Canvas, including access to workshops and one-on-one training to help you set up and organize your course site. The homepage includes a link to a Canvas Site Request Form. You must request your site new, each semester that you are teaching. You will be able to access materials or copy a site from a previous semester, if you've taught the class in the past.
For Canvas help, you can write to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu. They will most often respond within 24 hours.
- CaseNet: Academic Support in the College: https://www.college.upenn.edu/casenet
CaseNet is an academic support team in the College, charged with providing a centralized response to all College students in academic difficulty. Faculty are encouraged to use it for concerns about any student who may demonstrate the need for additional academic or personal support resources. This is especially helpful if you are not able to get in touch with a student at all.
- Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Innovation: https://cetli.upenn.edu/
The mission of CETLI is to help standing faculty, adjunct faculty, and teaching assistants achieve excellence in the classroom and in other venues where teaching takes place. For faculty they offer a range of workshops, conversations and individual consultations. Their resource guide for teaching is extensive.
- Grading
Grades are filed online via Courses@Penn. Only the instructor of record has access to the grade posting application. Quick guides are available there for more information, including partial grade submission and grade change procedures.
Penn Libraries are increasing virtual resources to support faculty and students. The link above connects you to librarians, offers a bounty of free e-books and film streaming services, and helps you utilize Canvas as a communication tool with your students.
- Zoom for SAS Faculty and Staff: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/zoom
Sign in with your Pennkey and Password to host online guest speakers. We've heard a ton of procedural tips, such as: Create a stable link, and post it as an announcement on your Canvas page. If you're having trouble with bandwidth, close all the applications on your computer before opening Zoom, and stick to audio only, skipping video. Let your group become familiar with the mute function, only unmuting themselves to speak, to reduce background noise.
- Virtual PC Lab: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/remote-teaching/vlab
SAS Computing and Penn Libraries have set up Virtual Labs that you can access anywhere. These virtual labs include many programs that are included on many campus PC labs.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Academic Calendar: https://almanac.upenn.edu/penn-academic-calendar
- Due dates for grades:
In the Fall term, grades are due the first working day in January after the winter break. This is usually by noon on January 3rd.
In the Spring term, grades are due by noon, 3 days from the last day of final exams. That day will be listed on the academic calendar, link above.
CLASSROOMS
In the School of Arts and Sciences, there are approximately 200 rooms available in 30 buildings throughout the campus, and 3,800 classes are scheduled into these rooms. This process is managed by a small team of helpful people in the Registrar’s office. We pass your room preference requests to the schedulers many months before the schedule for a semester is released, but we can’t guarantee you will get your first choice of space. We want you to be comfortable in the classroom you have, as do the schedulers, but given how tightly all spaces are timetabled throughout the campus, we appreciate your flexibility working with the space that you receive. This is especially true in the first couple of weeks of the semester, which is a high traffic time for change requests.
- Classroom request portal: https://roomscheduling.srfs.upenn.edu/portal/p/Home
Vicky can put in a change request for you, or if you are comfortable trying it on your own, you can put a request in to the schedulers using this interface. For additional classroom meetings during midterms, finals, or a big project, classroom space can be requested through the same system. The more lead time on these requests, the better the schedulers can accommodate you.