Instructional Resources & Logistics

Contents

• Mandated Course Syllabi & Assessment
• Confirm Section Assignments Online
• Lecturer/TA Office Hours & Keys
• Room Reservations
• Instructional Lab Access
• Instructional Printing
• Instructor Stationary Supplies
• Laptops for Lecturers
• Textbook Copies
• Computing Support & Storage
• Exams
• Course Grading
• Scantron Machine Services
• Course Evaluation System
• Fieldtrip Transportation

Mandated Course Syllabi & Assessment

All course syllabi are due prior to the first day of instruction. 

It is the responsibility of each primary instructor of record to submit a syllabus for each of their assigned courses. Submissions of syllabi are due within the CatCourse (Canvas) system prior to the start of instruction for students and course accreditation purposes. The file should be posted in the files section in PDF format.   Below are a couple helpful links for academic appointees to familiarize themselves with using CatCourses to upload and create course content. Additionally, there is a link to archived NatSci course syllabi for the benefit of current/former students and academic appointees. Please email snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu to request syllabi prior to Fall 2016. 

• Canvas (CatCourse) Instructor Guide - Table of Contents
• NatSci Course Syllabi (Fall 2016 - Spring 2019)

   

Confirm Section Assignments

Census is on the third week of every semester. 

All instructors must confirm if their assigned courses are accurately reflected in the UC Merced Course Schedule for the respective term. The data in the UC Merced Course Schedule and your access to CatCourse (Course Management System) is directly populated from Banner (Student Information System).  A schedule census of all courses is reported to the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) on the third week of every semester as noted above. Additionally, end-of-term course evaluations are generated for each instructor based on the assigned courses on the UC Merced Course Schedule and to assure students complete evaluations for the correct instructor please confirm you are assigned to the correct course sections. 

Please report to NatSci Curriculum & Instruction (snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu) to correct any NatSci instructor schedule discrepancies on the UC Merced Course Schedule as soon as possible prior to instruction and especially census. 

Lecturer/TA Office Hours & Keys

Lecturer/TA Office Hours & Room Reservations – Updated Policy

TAs and lecturers are responsible for securing their own space for office hours.

• Department-Managed Room: A designated room within the department is available and commonly used for office hours.
• Alternative Rooms: Those who prefer to hold office hours in a different location must independently reserve space through EMS. The department does not facilitate these reservations.
• Reservation Responsibility: All reservations for office hours, exam review sessions, or other instructional needs must be submitted and confirmed directly by the TA or lecturer via EMS.

Keys are no longer issued by Faculty Support, as room access is managed through individual reservations.

Room Reservations

• Instructional Space Reservations* for events can be requested using the Astra Schedule Event Request Form. Room reservations are made for the following events: general meetings, reoccuring meetings, clinic hours, alternate exams, testing, review sessions, TA Office Hours, videoconferencing, etc. Nethier Astra or EMS should be used to reserve space for an academic courses, all academic course schedule requests must be emailed to your school’s curriculum manager for approval.
   
• How to Submit a Room Request on Astra Schedule 
• Classroom Reservation Policies & Procedures
   
• Non-Instructional Space Reservations* for events can be requested on our new EMS (Event Management System) Room Reservation System using your UCMnet ID to login. EMS should not be used to reserve space for an academic course, all academic course schedule requests must be emailed to your school’s curriculum manager for approval.The campus has been engaged in a project to implement a Room Reservation System that streamlines the reservation process for non-instructional spaces. Features of the new system EMS include:
   
• Ability to view room details like photos, amenities, and available configurations
• Ability to book rooms through Outlook (for Windows users) or through a convenient web portal (for all users)
• All non-instructional spaces including outdoor spaces are viewable in one system
• Ability to search for space according to your space needs (features, capacity, etc.)

https://rooms.ucmerced.edu/ 

Instructional Lab Access

All lab access will be set by the first day of instruction and only CatCard accessible. If you do not have access to the labs for which you will need access in order to teach your first section, please contact:

• For Computer Linux Labs: soe-it@ucmerced.edu
• For Life Sciences Labs: Dr. Jim Whalen (jwhalen2@ucmerced.edu)
• For Physical Sciences Labs: Dr. Donna Jaramillo-Fellin (djaramillo-fellin@ucmerced.edu)
   

Instructional Printing

UCM Copy and Mail Services is replacing campus printers and transitioning to Pharos System Prox readers for CatCard access to copy services and will completely retire the use of instructional copy codes. Moving forward, CatCard access for instructional copy services will now be requested for you by your department of hire prior to your first day of instruction and will be terminated at the conclusion of your teaching appointment.  Instructions are available here. 

All Campus Copier Locations:

• SE1: 247, 270, 347
• SE2: 265
• COB2: 215, 399
• Academic Office Annex (AOA) Hallway
• SSM 350A
• ACS 112, 124, 258A and 344

Copy support is provided by SNS Curriculum Support (snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu) only when a course doesn't have TA support or an exception is made for extenuating circumstances such as a peak workload period for course TA(s) or an abrupt leave of absence. All instructors are expected to plan accordingly or coordinate with their TAs regarding printing tasks well in advance.  Copying exams is not a service our administrative staff can guarantee on short notice but will make every effort to accomodate emergent exam printing requests as timely as possible.

Instructor Stationary Supplies

Basic stationary supplies are provided to NatSci instructors. Supplies can be requested from your respective Department. Please view the stationary items and front desk services available to NatSci instructors below.

 Services & Supplies:

• Report/troubleshoot Printer Issues
• Portable Projector Checkouts
• Package Deliveries
• List of Stationary Supplies available to NatSci instructors. 
• Scantron Forms for Grading Only: No. 882-E (Green),  No. 106173 (Blue), No. 223127 (Red), Item Analysis No. 9700 (Green)

Laptops for Lecturers

How to Request a Laptop for Lecturers:

• Contact the School of Natural Sciences (SNS) Curriculum Office as soon as your appointment begins by email at snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu
• Provide your full name, course(s) you are teaching.
• A laptop will be assigned to you for instructional use.

If your laptop becomes inoperable, SNS Curriculum can provide a laptop to ensure your teaching duties are not interrupted.

How to Request a Temporary Laptop:

• Contact the SNS Curriculum Office as soon as possible by email at snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu
• Provide your full name, course(s) you are teaching, and a brief description of the issue with your laptop.
• A temporary laptop will be assigned to you for instructional use until your primary device is repaired or replaced.

Important Notes:

• Laptops are intended for instructional use while teaching for SNS and are subject to availability.
• If your primary laptop becomes inoperable, SNS Curriculum can provide a laptop to ensure your teaching duties are not interrupted.
• Please return the laptop once your teaching duties for SNS end.
• Any technical issues with the device should be reported immediately to IT.

For questions, please reach out to SNS Curriculum at snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu

Textbook Orders & Copies

You can view submitted course textbook materials by term at our UCM Campus Bookstore site.

Primary instructors should submit their course textbook orders to UCM Text Books (textbooks@ucmerced.edu) 1-2 months prior to the first day of instruction. Please note publishers will only provide complimentary textbook copies for courses with submitted textbook titles. Please email the Course Materials and Market Manager, Danielle Nodine (d.nodine@follett.com) with textbook course materials, pricing, hard/soft format options, bundling, sourcing, etc. Please contact Danielle Nodine to request Inclusive Access for your course, interactive digital course materials at reduced costs in comparison to printed textbooks.

Faculty/Lecturers should work with the appropriate publisher representative to acquire desk copies for their own use by contacting their Publisher representative using one of the links below. If your publisher is not listed below you may source your own desk copies using the Faculty Center website.

Textbook Publisher Contact List

SNS Instructional Support works directly with the Campus Bookstore & publishers to obtain desk copies for Graduate Student Teaching Assistants (TAs). TAs can request electronic textbooks via the request forum linked below. If e-books are not avaliable, a physical copy will be ordered as an alternative. Lecturers receiving physical copies will be notified and must schedule an appointment with the NatSci Front Desk (SE1 370) to pick up their textbook. Please contact snscurriculum@ucmerced.edu regarding desk copies for TAs. 

Instructional Computing Support/Storage

If you are teaching a lab course using Linux, instructional computing support should be requested by the School of Engineering via email soe-it@ucmerced.edu. If you are teaching a computer lab course using Windows, you may request support by contacting our IT Help Desk. 

Box is the primary storage service that is available to faculty, staff and students depending on your academically appointed role. Below is a brief description of storage which can be found on the link preceeding the description.

• Box Storage is a cloud-hosted file storage service and is available to all active staff, faculty or students with a UCMNetID. Box supports file sharing and collaboration through a robust set of synced editing, commenting, and task assignment functions, along with delegated file and folder security.

Exams

Academic integrity is the foundation of an academic community and without it none of the educational or research goals of the university can be achieved. Academic integrity applies to research as well as undergraduate and graduate coursework/exams. Existing policies forbid cheating on examinations, plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. UC Merced students are held to high standards of personal and professional conduct in compliance with the UC Merced Academic Honesty Policy and the UCM Code of Student Conduct. 

UCM Code of Student Conduct can be found here: https://osrr.ucmerced.edu/student-conduct

Please use the following as the first question on your exams:

By completing this assignment/exam, I acknowledge and confirm that I will not give or receive any unauthorized assistance on this assignment/examination. I will conduct myself within the guidelines of the university academic integrity guidelines.  A link to this document can be found here. 

Course Grading

Lecturers and primary course instructors are expected to coordinate grading timelines and duties to ensure final grades are submitted before the deadline.  It is advised that contingency plans are in place in the event an instructor is unable perform grading duties due to emergent circumstances.  Depending on the date of the final exam, the grading process may extend into the week after instruction.

Please see the links below for step by step instructions for submitting mid-semester & final grades.

• Submitting Mid-Semester and Final Grades Step-by-Step Guide
• Mid/Final Grades Tool Overview and FAQ

Scantron Machines

SNS supports and maintains two Scantron machines, located in SE1 347– only SNS instructors and teaching assistants have CatCard access to those rooms. Below are brief descriptions of each machine:

Scantron 888p+ Machine - SE1 347 - Green Form No. 882-E

1. Mark the Answer Key
   - Mark the key using the same form marked by students
   - Find the key marking row directly above question 1
   - Mark the scoring option you prefer
   - Mark the correct answer to each question
    
2. Score the Test
   - Turn the Scantron machine on using the power switch located on the back right side of the machine
   - Press Start
   - Feed the answer key
   - Feed the tests one at a time
   - Turn the machine off

Link to Compatible Scantron Machine 888P+ Forms
Youtube Video on How to Operate 888P+ Scantron Machine
 

OpScan 4ES Scanner - SE1 347 - Red Form No. 223127 + Blue Form No. 106173

The OpScan 4ES scanner is a digital grader connected to a password protected laptop installed with software that grades and can generate statistical grading reports for additional analysis.  The scanner will not print anything on Scantron forms or create images on the form. Please email snscurriculum@ucmerced to request the laptop password with your primary instructor attached.

OpScan 4ES Scanner Grading Instructions
Link to Compatible OpScan 4ES Scanner Forms
Youtube Video on How to Operate OpScan 4ES Scanner

OpScan 4ES Scanner Operator's Guide

Scantron Machine Instructions (step-by-step)

Please contact your course(s) primary instructor and or your fellow graduate student TAs for on-the-spot help from peers. Typically an experienced peer is able to help within minutes of sending an email. SNS Curriculum Support can also facilitate communication for assistance. 
 

Course Evaluation System

Student course evaluations are used as an important source of information for the future improvement of courses and instruction. At the end of each term of instruction, students enrolled in natural sciences classes are sent a link to complete their course evaluation via Class Climate, our online course evaluation feedback system. After all grades for the class have been posted, instructors and teaching assistants are sent a link to review their evaluations.

Instructional Course Fieldtrips

Instructors coordinating course fieldtrips please review the UCM Instructor Field Trip Packet ahead of your planned course fieldtrip.

NS Curriculum & Instructional support only assists with transportation for course fieldtrips. All types of course fieldtrip transportation requests should be submited as much in advance as possible prior to the date of your fieldtrip. Both campus and off-campus rentals are reserved on a first-come-first-serve basis and rentals can be especially limited during school graduation season.

Important Course Fieldtrip Forms - NatSci fieldtrip participants must provide any of the following applicable forms to the NatSci instructor fieldtrip coordinator:

• UCM Waiver of Liability Form (Required)
• UCM Waiver of Liability Description of Activities Attachment (Required)
• UCM Incident Report Form (If applicable)
• UCM Photo Release Form (If applicable)
• UCM Instructor Fieldtrip Guidelines

TAPS Rental Vehicles 
Vehicles are available for rent by faculty, staff and students for events and university business. Vehicles are available for pick up during TAPS office hours. Instructors & Staff: To request a vehicle, call Fleet Services or TAPS for availability, then complete a Vehicle Reservation Request Form. Contact SNS Travel via snstravel@ucmerced.edu and kvillegas@ucmerced.edu to request a transportation FAU for your reservation. 

All drivers must: 

• Have submitted a DMV Pull Form to UCM Taps (fleetservices@ucmerced.edu)10-days prior to driving a campus vehicle
• Be affiliated with UC Merced
• Possess a valid CA driver’s license
• Be present to sign out the vehicle and receive the key

Deadline, Forms, Grading, Accommodating Students, FERPA

Important Office of the Registrar information can be found at the following link tailored specifically for instructional faculty and staff: https://registrar.ucmerced.edu/faculty.

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