Teaching 

Canvas is our online teaching tool, and can be used to create a website for courses.

Please work with the Department Manager to process any new course requests or revisions.  Any new requests or revisions must first be run by either the Undergraduate Program Director or Graduate Program Director.  The Chair has final approval.

Course approval requests are submitted via the Curriculum and Approval Tracking System (CAT).  Requests require the uploading of a syllabus which must conform to the UCSC Committee on Courses of Instruction (CCI) Syllabus Requirements.

Senate Deadlines

 Online Courses - in recent years, most requests for online courses have been denied or only temporarily approved for Summer Session.  The academic senate committee is currently working on re-evaluating its requirements.  Please check back.

MyUCSC is the University’s online academic information systems portal. Faculty can view and print class rosters, email their classes, post and change grades. Click here for Faculty FAQs.

Science Testing Support provides testing accommodations for students with authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC).      If you have questions about testing accommodations, please contact testing.pbsci@ucsc.edu.

Permission numbers override course requirements and/or a closed status of a class. They do not override a closed secondary lab/discussion section.  Please contact the Department Manager to obtain permission codes for your course and/or increase the section size.

The Department Manager is responsible for the scheduling of courses based on the Department's current year Curriculum Plan. 

Planning for the quarter starts seven months in advance.  Enrollment projections are based on history. The Department Manager will send out two surveys to collect important information in order to complete the Registrar Scheduling Application System (known as CourseDog:)

• Large Lecture and Active Learning

• All other courses including grad courses

Please respond to these surveys by the stated deadline.  The  Registrar Scheduling Application System has hard deadlines. If we miss them - we can not gtd your requests will be met.

Before the start of enrollment, the Department Manager will send out a "proof" of the upcoming schedule.  This is the "last call" to make any changes or requests.  Requesting a large lecture or Active learning room change at this time will be pretty close to impossible.

UCSC Committee on Courses of Instruction (CCI) Syllabus Requirements.

Note:  The Department will collect your syllabi each quarter.  It must conform to the CCI Syllabus Requirements.

The Department receives an annual allocation from the Division.  The number of Teaching Assistants assigned to your course will be based on what that budget is.  We try to maintain an equal and consistent distribution system but may have to reduce the number of TAs for your course or reduce enrollment/sections to stay within budget.

In general, the Division expects lower division GE Courses:

TA ratio of 1: 100 students and up to each TA assigned to 4 sections.

Upper Division Lectures:

TA ratio of 1:60 students

It is up to the instructor to ensure that TAs do not work more than 20 hours per week. The department has limited funds to supplement support through the use of undergraduate Reader/Graders.

Assigning teaching assistants to courses is a complicated procedure. Course enrollments, financial support commitments to graduate students, budgetary constraints, and faculty needs must be considered. >>> Overall department instructional needs take priority over faculty and student requests. <<<

Teaching Assistants must receive their appointment letters no later than 30 days prior to the start of the quarter.  Please make sure the Grad Advisor has the "Description of Duties" to send with the appointment letters or we will send out a default version.

If you have a student who has been assigned as a TA and has received their appointment letter, we can not change the assignment to a GSR if funds suddenly come in. 

Created to both honor and renew the university’s longstanding tradition of outstanding teaching and bold educational experimentation, the Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) serves all members of the UCSC teaching community. The TLC uses research and equity-minded practices to strengthen the culture of teaching, promote student success and equitable outcomes, and support teacher-leaders at UC Santa Cruz, a thriving minority-serving research institution.