Teaching Responsibilities | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Teaching Responsibilities

Faculty Teaching Responsibilities

Teaching is a basic employment responsibility of all faculty regardless of rank and academic appointment. Measurable and sustained contribution to teaching is expected of all faculty. Excellence in teaching is one performance area supporting promotion and/or tenure of a faculty member. Faculty members document their individual contributions to teaching in their annual merit review reports and in their promotion/tenure dossiers.

Teaching involves much more than delivering material in a classroom. Teaching activities include: course planning, designing effective exams and WEB notes, classroom discussions, laboratory mentoring, and patient bedside teaching. Teaching responsibilities are a VERY HIGH priority. Faculty teaching assignments, coordinated through the Chairs (and division heads-Pharmacy Practice), are defined prospectively at least 6-8 months in advance. Each course team leader is responsible for ensuring that the course is delivered in the prescribed manner as approved through the faculty Curricular Affairs Committee (CAC).

Listed below are general principles of faculty teaching responsibilities:

Team Leaders: Arrange

  • Place top priority of developing a true team approach to the course; avoid having individual faculty
  • Arrange team planning meeting several months before the course begins. All team members should be involved in setting course goals and objectives, selecting teaching materials, determining examination methods, determining teaching schedule, and assuring continuity within the team etc...
  • Arrange at least one full team meeting within the first one-half of the course offering, if feasible.
  • Arrange a post-teaching meeting within one month of the course completion or when student evaluations are available. The team shall create a team report summarizing those elements which the next year's team need to consider updating or changing. This report should go to the CAC.
  • Serve as the overall course and team coordinator: arrange team meetings, finalize syllabus preparation by the appropriate deadlines seeking entire team input, and ensure that academic and school policies are met. Team leader holds final responsibility for reaching team decisions on grades, second chance, and daily teaching schedules.
  • Submit final grades through TechSiS (soon to be Banner) by prescribed School and University deadlines.
  • Assist first year team members in preparing class materials, reviewing learning objectives, reviewing exam questions, and instruction on use of WebCT or VCS, if used.
  • Ensure that textbook, software, lab equipment, etc... are ordered and available on time.
  • Serve as the lead contact person for students with regard to grades, exams, and course policies.
  • Serve as the lead contact person for other faculty and administrators.
  • Serve as the contact person for adjunct and guest faculty providing them with all information necessary to participate in the course and writing post lecture thank you letters.
  • When necessary, write exam questions for ‘guest’ faculty.
  • Ensure that faculty course materials are placed on the Web at least 24 hours in advance as much as possible.
  • Coordinate exam and course project schedules with other team leaders using the School's Master Schedule maintained by Student Affairs.
  • Involve all team members in the course throughout the entire course offering and evaluation process.
  • Coordinate faculty scheduling of ‘office hours’ to optimize accessibility to students (listed on syllabus).
  • Administer the course second chance evaluations; assisted by other team members.
  • Encourage student participation in the electronic student course evaluation system.
  • Address academic dishonesty situations for the team involving administration and staff as directed in policies.
  • Address unusual student problems for the team.
  • Coordinate ‘post mortem’ review by the team and ensure consistency from year to year in course delivery or lead necessary major course revisions.



Team Members:

Team membership is assigned for a one year period and involves activities prior to the scheduled course offering (syllabus preparations, case preparation, etc.), during course delivery (critically reviewing other faculty teaching activities, peer evaluation of exams etc.), and after course delivery (critical review, analyzing course evaluations etc.).

  • Serve as team member as facilitated by the direction of the team leader.
  • Attend team meetings and participate in other course activities as agreed to by the team. Team member responsibilities may include: precepting lab practicals, monitoring group presentations, serving as class proctors and assistants, grading exercises, precepting exams, administering oral exams and reviewing exams prior to administration. (Team membership involves substantially more activity than planning the syllabus).
  • Work with other team members to establish and uphold course objectives, competencies, and policies.
  • Be available and prepared to serve as back-up for other team members in case of illness, unavoidable conflicts etc...
  • Be willing to assume team leadership responsibility if needed; or prepare for team leadership in following years.



Individual Instructional Faculty:

  • Deliver all instructional sessions as scheduled. If illness or other unavoidable conflicts arise, contact the team leader and other team members to arrange coverage. If coverage cannot be arranged, contact the Department secretary who will attempt to find coverage among the faculty at large. Generally, faculty will make up this time at a later time by switching class sessions. (A potentially fatal flaw in academia is to ‘miss’ a scheduled class time; all efforts should be made to avoid ever canceling a class.)
  • Report to class on time (generally 10 minutes before start of class) and have materials for class ready to begin class on time. Also, end class on time; avoid going over which causes problems for subsequent courses.
  • Prepare course materials within the time frames agreed to by the team and monitored by the team leader (syllabus material, lecture handouts, quizzes, cases, exercises etc). Avoid creating extra work for other team members by being late with exam questions, course materials etc....
  • Cover assigned topic; avoid excessive duplication with other lectures and courses.
  • Share exam questions with other team members prior to the exam; seeking constructive feedback.
  • Place materials on the WebCT at least 24 hours before the scheduled class time.
  • Fulfill the expected hours of teaching as defined in teaching assignments and help cover unanticipated needs.
  • Schedule and fulfill predefined office hours during which students can seek individual help.



Teaching Responsibilities
August 16, 2007