For Incoming faculty

All of these resources are also housed in this Resources for New Faculty Drive Folder:

1. Navigating Transy's network and setting up direct deposit (updated April 2026)

2. Registrar (updated July 2026)

3. Library video or slide deck orientation (your preference), and a Quick Look doc (updated May 2026)

4. Academic Center for Excellence (slideshow has audio embedded in each slide - enter "Slideshow" mode and click on the audio icon on each slide for the best experience) (updated April 2026)

And as questions arise about the curriculum and academic regulations, many answers can be found in the Academic Catalog (an optional read for now).

Individual faculty members vary in the depth of their use, from uploading a syllabus to fully integrating all course materials into Canvas. Do use it yourself in some capacity. Our IT department loads shells for each of our courses for the school year in early August. 

Resources:

• Canvas Instructor Guide

• Canvas LMS Basic Guide

• Canvas for Students Guide

Before each Fall and Winter semester, the Dean's office shares a syllabus template. The purpose of the template is to showcase what types of information you ought to include in a syllabus or on Canvas, the use of Styles for screen readers, and to convey the mandated sections.  It’s pretty boilerplate, and you don’t have to use its formatting or content if you have developed your own. (For example, I don’t use this template! ~ Melissa) (However, you do need to make sure any digital document you share with students follows ADA guidelines for Title II & III. Check out this Document Design Checklist for help with Accessibility ~Julie).

The only parts you do need to include in your syllabus or on Canvas are the (a) legally mandated sections - Equal Opportunity, Harassment, and Non-Discrimination - and (b) recommended syllabus language - The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Online Conduct, and Statement of Community. If you use the “recommended” sections, you can reword as desired.

Part of our plan for world domination is to take over the syllabus template and offer more dynamic options. (Which is why we'll never conquer the world - that's a bad plan.) Until then, if you want to talk syllabus construction, we’re always happy to do so!

• Please share this Canvas page of academic resources with students by linking to it in your Canvas courses or on your syllabus.

• Include something about academic integrity, including an AI policy. Transy's academic integrity policy (Inside Transy --> Dean's Office --> Policies, Procedures, and Handbooks) allows individual faculty to choose their level of allowable/required AI use in courses (AI at Transy website). Do communicate something to students in your syllabus or Canvas! 

• Transy's Writing Center: Consider shouting out the Writing Center, Transy's space for supporting student (and faculty!) writing projects. The main page of their website provides a convenient link for students to schedule an appointment. The rest of their site contains info on the services they provide to students (Student Services, What to Expect), as well as a message for us faculty on how we can both facilitate student support and be supported ourselves.

Individual faculty are free to develop their own grading systems, and colleagues use a variety of approaches, from ungrading to wild-point systems (looking at you, Mark Jackson) to standard percentage systems corresponding to +/- letter grades (e.g., 90-92 = A-, etc.). 

For final grades, Transy does use a +/- letter grade system for final grades - for each student, you'll report a final grade through Self Service as a letter grade only. The Academic Catalog lists the possible letter grades and their corresponding GPA points. 

For midterm grades, you only have to give students an S (Satisfactory) or a U (Unsatisfactory). Students who receive a U will receive extra support from the Associate Dean's office and ACE.

Transy faculty, staff, and students currently have access to free ChatGPT for EDU accounts; use your Transy email to sign up, and make sure to choose the Transylvania EDU option if asked. Also, free NotebookLM accounts and access to Google Gemini, using your Transy account.

You'll hear more about teaching with and around AI - we annually offer workshops on the topic! In the meantime, feel free to browse the AI at Transy website.

The opening faculty retreat on Wednesday, August 26 for sure. We strongly encourage that you attend the New Faculty events the day prior, on Tuesday, August 25. 

The lower level of the library, on the corner closest to Broadway and Third. Enter the library’s front doors using your Crimson Card. 

The checkout desk is directly in front of you; go down the steps to the immediate left of it.

Take a left at the bottom of the steps and make your way down the hallway and through the study area. Take a left at the hallway past the curved staircase and elevator. We're right there!

If you get lost, the people at the checkout desk will happily help you find your way!

Yep! We're a Google Workspace campus, so many of us use Google Drive for documents. However, if you prefer Word, Excel, etc., here are IT's instructions to get access.