Teaching Manual Helpful Resources

Overview

The College Library has a wealth of resources, some of which are highlighted in the sections below. These resources can be accessed by visiting the Library in person or by going to the following website:
https://www.tompkinscortland.edu/library

Reserves

You can reserve items, your own or the Library’s, for use by your students in the Library. Students are free to make copies of reserve material or request a digital loan of a chapter. Digital chapters can be borrowed for two hours at a time. You can also reserve any of our videos to use in your classroom or to post on Brightspace for your students.
https://www.tompkinscortland.edu/library/textbooks
https://tc3.libanswers.com/faq/371229

Reference

Librarians are available Monday-Friday, 8-4. If you have students struggling with finding, evaluating, or integrating sources into their writing, you can connect them with librarians - walk them over to us, connect them with our live chat on the library website, or have them use our “Ask a Librarian” page to connect via email, chat, or one-on-one appointment.
https://tc3.libguides.com/ask

Research Instruction

Librarians are available to meet with your class to help them with their research. You can bring your class to our computer classroom for hands-on instruction; in some cases, a shorter demo in your classroom or an online session is more appropriate. We can also create customized class guides to steer your students to the most appropriate sources of information for your assignment.
https://tc3.libguides.com/research_instruction

“For Faculty” FAQs

Online FAQs, including some specifically for faculty, are available to help with common questions.
See https://tc3.libanswers.com/faculty
General library FAQs are at https://tc3.libanswers.com/

Alternatives to Textbooks

The College is actively pursuing alternatives to expensive textbooks. The Library can help you with three options:

• Open Educational Resources (OER):
  https://tc3.libguides.com/OER

• Coursepacks:
  https://tc3.libanswers.com/faculty/faq/373527

• Linking to library resources:
  https://tc3.libanswers.com/faculty/faq/320275

Recording Equipment

To request audio or video recording equipment, send an email with your course name and section, date, and start and end times to tc3library@tompkinscortland.edu.

Academic Integrity

Library staff will consult with you about preventing and detecting plagiarism in your classes.
https://tc3.libguides.com/plagiarism_faculty

Located on the second floor of the Library, the College Teaching Center (CTC) enhances student learning by promoting the profession of teaching. The CTC provides information and opportunities for professional development as well as a space where faculty can get together to talk informally about issues of teaching and learning and make use of various resources. Paid mentorships are available. The CTC runs a number of programs during the school year. More information can be found on the college website:
College Teaching Center

Please follow this link for detailed information about the Curriculum Committee, which is responsible for reviewing and approving curriculum changes, including new program/course creation and revisions of Master Course Syllabi.
https://mymailtc3.sharepoint.com/Curriculum/SitePages/Home.aspx

Applied learning opportunities for students can be used to enhance class curriculum and provide invaluable hands-on learning experiences to reinforce classroom concepts and networking opportunities for students. The College implemented Handshake during summer 2021, which is a career management system that manages internships, job opportunities, and supports the administration of applied learning opportunities for faculty. Handshake is administered by the Department of Workforce and Employer Partnerships (BIZ). Please contact Carrie Coates Whitmore, clw@tompkinscortland.edu, ext. 4334, to learn more about Handshake and how the department can support your applied learning efforts, and exploring opportunities with local employers.

Independent Study Course

An independent study course is designed as a substitute for a traditional course that is needed for the student(s) program of study but it is not available in a particular semester. The most common reason for an independent study is due to a regularly scheduled course having low enrollment and needing to be cancelled by the Provost’s Office. The course name, description, and learning outcomes are the same, but fewer students are in the course than is typical, including courses of only one student. Though other reasons may be valid, the independent study option should not be used as an alternative to inadequate planning by a student or inconvenient timing. It is expected that only instructors who normally teach the course will teach an independent study course. Regular tuition and fees will be charged for each directed study credit. Approval for an independent study course during any semester must be granted by the Provost or designee. Independent study courses may be run utilizing typical scheduling times, with fewer students than a typical class or utilizing alternatives (one-on-one meetings, projects, etc.).

Enhanced Independent Study Course

What is an enhanced independent study course?

a. Intended to expand a student’s learning experience beyond the normal program curriculum
b. Not intended as a substitute for an existing course
c. Provides the student with an opportunity to pursue/research a subject in more depth, and in a more independent manner than would be possible in a traditional course
d. Each hour of credit should reflect a minimum of 45 hours of work
e. Can be sponsored by all programs and disciplines and listed under the relevant discipline and a 280 course number, e.g., BIOL 280, ENGL 280

How is an enhanced independent study developed?

a. Eligibility Criteria – The student must demonstrate the ability to undertake independent work in the specified area.
b. Specific prerequisites, role in curriculum, i.e., program, liberal arts or unrestricted elective, minimum completed credits, GPA, or other requirements may be established by individual programs/disciplines.
c. The student consults with a faculty member in the semester before the independent study. If the faculty member agrees to supervise the study, a proposal/learning contract is prepared.
d. The learning contract should include a title, description of the project, credits to be awarded, learning objectives, content (topics, learning and research activities, etc.), required student/instructor meetings, bibliography/reading list, outcomes (presentation(s), paper(s), journal, etc.), and grading criteria.
e. The learning contract must be signed by the student and the instructor, and then submitted for review and approval by the Provost or his designee. Independent studies supervised by an adjunct faculty member must be approved by the program/department chair.

The Global Initiatives office coordinates the College's study abroad programs, the Global Connections dual-degree program, and the Disney Academic Exchange Program; advises and supports F-1 and J-1 students; maintains international partnerships and leads campus internationalization efforts.

Please feel free to take your class on a relevant field trip. File the required forms (Notice of Off-Campus Activity and Volunteer Driver Information) including a current class list indicating which students will be transported in which vehicle at least two weeks in advance through the Provost’s Office. This information will be shared with the Campus Police in the event of an emergency or if any students need to locate the rest of the class. The information will also be shared with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. Students who are not in good conduct standing (status less than deferred suspension) are generally not allowed to travel with the College. You will be notified if one of your students is not allowed to travel. Students may request permission to travel if on deferred suspension by submitting a letter to the Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards outlining their specific request and including rationale for why they should be permitted to travel. Please refer to the Field Trip Insurance and Off-Campus Control Activity Policies in the Administrative section of this manual. Required forms can be downloaded from the Tompkins Cortland portal (see transportation section). Login is required.
https://mymailtc3.sharepoint.com/SitePages/Home.aspx?RootFolder=%2FShared%20Documents%2FForms%20%2D%20Faculty%20and%20Staff%2Ftransportation&FolderCTID=0x0120001CA732629908BE4CB3CE681B3996FCA0&View=%7B2162887C%2DEAA5%2D47C4%2D9CF4%2DFFC533B5EC80%7D

A college vehicle may be available for field trips. Additional inquiries should be directed to the Provost’s office.

Field Trip Insurance

The College does carry liability insurance, which protects staff and volunteers of the College should they be liable for negligence while supervising, teaching, or acting in an official capacity on a field trip. This coverage also covers the staff member and the College for any accident occurring while driving a College-owned vehicle. Students and staff who drive to and from a field trip in private vehicles are covered by their own automobile insurance, not the College’s. The College’s insurance coverage would not extend to liability for negligence while operating a private vehicle.

The College strongly recommends that individuals using their personal vehicles for College business have the following minimum coverage: limits of at least $300,000 combined single limit, or bodily injury per person of $100,000/$300,000 per occurrence and property damage per accident of $100,000 are recommended with respect to the motor vehicles to be used for that purpose.

College Vehicle Use

College employees may be able to use College/FSA vans for sporting events, field trips, etc. Drivers must be free of any driving related convictions and must be an approved driver by the Transportation Manager. Van use is managed by the Athletics Department. For more information or to become an approved driver, please contact van@tc3.edu. If you wish to take your class on a field trip, you must submit the required paperwork at least two weeks prior to the trip to the Provost’s Office. This must be received prior to a van reservation.

You are welcome to invite experts in your field to visit your class. If a particular speaker would be of interest to the public, they may be invited for the class session also. In any event, please make sure guests are welcomed properly when they arrive at the College and directed or escorted to the appropriate class location. The College rarely has funding available to reimburse guest speakers; however, you should check with your department chair to see if stipends are available.

Furniture

Faculty are asked not to rearrange classrooms, except for chairs and tables with wheels. If furniture is moved, you need to put the room back into its original configuration at the end of the class.

Keys

Adjunct Faculty who need keys to classrooms for use beyond typical working hours of the College, should get authorization from the Office of the Provost and then sign keys out from Dale Jacobs, Building Maintenance Worker, room 168, jacobsd@tompkinscortland.edu. Keys must be returned upon leaving employment at the College.

Posting

Nothing should be attached to the walls with any kind of tape. If there is a need for posting in the room, the boards are usually magnetic and the Facilities Department can provide magnets. If there is a need for more posting areas, you should work with the Facilities Department to meet your needs.

Smoking, whether tobacco products or e-cigarettes, is prohibited in all areas inside of the College, and is restricted to the designated outdoor smoking area at the red entrance on the east side of the building. Smoking Marijuana in all forms is prohibited at the College due to our Federal funding.

The College’s Information Security Protocol prohibits any personally identifiable information (PII) from being kept on removable media or shared electronically outside of college-owned systems. Dispose of hard copies of confidential files in secure bins for shredding documents located in both full-time faculty office suites. The most critical PII elements are social security number, date of birth, credit card data, and student ID numbers. When in doubt, contact Campus Technology to help you secure this information.

Prior to initiating research or sponsoring student research that involves human subjects, instructors must contact the Department of Institutional Research to ensure they are following College guidelines. The guidelines are listed on the Institutional Research website.
Institutional Research

Students wishing to conduct surveys or other research must obtain approval from Institutional Research staff, located in Room 229. For more information contact Malvika Talwar, MT056@tompkinscortland.edu, 844-8222, ext. 4410.

Copiers are available near the Copy and Mail Center, Room 240 as well as in the Faculty Offices, Rooms 220 and 241. In an attempt to be as much of a paperless campus as possible, please take into consideration what you are printing, and if it needs to be a hard copy, or digital. Online services, like Brightspace and Microsoft Teams can make for easy storage and access of information for students and instructors, and be carried over, edited, and saved from one semester to the next.

Mail: Adjunct faculty will be assigned a mail folder in the faculty suite (Room 220 or 241) nearest to the adjunct faculty office you’re assigned. Please check your folder weekly, as mail, important college documents, or messages will be delivered here. If you are teaching off-campus, you may request that all material from your folder be mailed to you.

Copies and Printing: The Copy and Mail Center is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm during spring, summer, and fall semesters. Email: CopyCenter@tompkinscortland.edu or call Ext. 4325.

Copy/Printing Services are available from the Copy and Mail Center or the suite secretaries in Rooms 220 or 241. Please provide your department budget code (from your Program Chair) with all copying and printing requests. Please give a completion date and allow adequate lead time for processing your requests (200 pages or less = 1 working day / 200 – 1,000 pages up to 3 business days / 1,000 pages or more or specialty binding completion will be based on current demand)

Copyright Information: All copyright materials are the responsibility of the person copying them.

Exams: To ensure secure and prompt handling of examination materials, the suite secretaries and the Copy and Mail Center have developed the following guidelines:

1. Place the exam/quiz in an interoffice envelope.

2. Fill out a work order being sure to include all pertinent information. A copy of this form is included following this section.

3. Attach the work order to the outside of the envelope.

4. Take it directly to the Copy and Mail Center (240).

5. If you copy the test yourself, please be sure to check the machine for your original prior to leaving.

6. Upon completion, exams are delivered to the suite secretaries.

Electronic Services: The Copy and Mail Center has full electronic services; you can send an attachment in your email for copying or you can store it on a flash drive or other storage medium. This includes both black and white and full color services. Email CopyCenter@tompkinscortland.edu to assure prompt service. The Electronic Submission order form is available in SharePoint. Log-in is required.
https://mymailtc3.sharepoint.com/SitePages/Home.aspx?RootFolder=%2FShared%20Documents%2FForms%20%2D%20Faculty%20and%20Staff%2Fcopy%20center&FolderCTID=0x0120001CA732629908BE4CB3CE681B3996FCA0&View=%7B2162887C%2DEAA5%2D47C4%2D9CF4%2DFFC533B5EC80%7D

We ask that you consider the environment and expense when copying materials for class. Our college has a great deal of technology available to instructors that can assist in lowering our use of paper and copying budget.

Teaching faculty with questions related to the topics below should direct them to the following individuals. A comprehensive directory is available on the college website.

Staff Directory