Checklist for the start of quarter.

You know you need to plan homework, quiz and exam schedule, grading scheme, and the first couple of lectures. Here's a checklist for some of those little items it's easy to forget to do.

On MyUW

• Request class email list. Even if you don't think you'll use it, set it up now. There's a one-day delay until you can use it, and later you might need to get a message about, say, a homework correction, out fast. (Remember that you have to use your @uw email, not your @math one, to send messages to your list.)
• Link to Class Website. Linking it here makes it easier for your students to find it, and may reduce the number of questions you get by email or in class the first day.
• Confirm time and place of Final Exam. You are required to give a final exam at the time given in the final exam schedule (linked on the Academic Calendar). If it turns out you want a different room than your usual classroom, say if your room is extremely crowded, someone in the Advising Office will be getting you the room and can also change the location listed in MyUW.
• Class list. Do you want a printout of the names and/or pictures? (Because of drops and adds, do this as late as is convenient for you.)

Check your classroom

• Getting there. How long will it take to get there through the first day campus crowds? Also occasionally you get a locked classroom, and need to make sure it will be open during the term, or else get a key.
• Check board type and visibility. Do you need chalk, whiteboard pens, and/or overhead pens? Are there multiple light level settings? Check switches on the wall and on the podium and on the computer screen, if any. If there are multiple levels, which one gives the best lighting of the board? Best lighting for using the overhead or projector? Write on the board or overhead (including some sub- and superscripts), then walk around the room. Is your writing large enough? Are any parts of the board obstructed from some seats? If so, can the obstruction be moved? If there are board spaces at the sides that will be inconvenient to use during class, can you use them for announcements or other information you will want to keep posted during class?
• Cleaning and supplies. If the board needs to be cleaned or erasers are missing or dirty, contact Custodial Services using the online request facility FS-Works. You may also email them or call them at 206-685-1500. Note: White board erasers start out white; when they are black and compressed to a solid surface, they work poorly and should be cleaned or replaced. To clean them yourself, repeatedly run water over them and squeeze against the sink or a paper towel, then let dry. They won't get white again, but will work much better after this process.
• Technology. If you want to project from your computer, do you need a key to access equipment? Or do you need to bring a projector to the room? For keys, projectors, and other help, contact Classroom Support Services at their office, 035 Kane Hall, 206-221-5000, or using their webform. This is also the office to contact if the overhead doesn't work or lacks transparency, or if you need help figuring out how to use other technology in the classroom. The Math Department also has a projector you can borrow. Be sure to try the projection system before the first day of class!

Course website

• Include the final exam date and time which you confirmed on MyUW (see above), with the statement, "The date and time of the final are assigned by the university and cannot be changed." Also state this information on the first day of class. Then students will have no excuse for making travel plans that conflict with the exam time, a situation that has arisen more often than you would think.
  
  List all quiz and exam dates or tentative dates. Even approximate information (e.g., "week of ..." or listing two possible dates) is helpful to students. It is highly preferable to choose firm dates at the start of the quarter and stick to them. If there is any reason you might change a test date, clearly label the date as tentative, or indicate this by giving only approximate information. It is NOT sufficient to put "All dates are tentative" at the top of a list; each test or quiz date that you might change should be individually labelled as "tentative" or "subject to change." Better yet, list both possible dates until you firmly decide on one.


• Deflect those requests for overloads! Add this, or something similar, to your website:
  "No overloads will be given until the fifth day of the quarter [or, until a date of your choice, at least the second class].
  For advice about getting into a full math class, see Registration Information: Closed Courses."
  Or, just say you will not give ANY overloads. You do not have to let in any extra students. Forty or fifty students is already quite large for these classes; letting in many more students will not be good for anyone's learning, in addition to increasing your workload (and that of your grader).
  
  Most students will get in if they follow the advice at the Registration link above, including signing up for "notifications" of class openings. Note that the Time Schedule is only updated once a day. For current data, check the "Enrollment Summary" link at top right of the Mathematics Time Schedule Page.
  
  If after several days you want to allow one or two overloads, send an email to advising@math saying which student(s) you will allow to overload. (Students must go to C-36 in person to get overloaded into a class.) If you wish, you can ask that an adviser to verify student claims of having course conflicts with other sections, being a math major, etc., before giving the overload. If you still have several students wishing to overload, give preference to seniors who need the course for their major and juniors for whom the course is prerequisite to other required courses.
  
  Under no circumstances should you give an overload to a student who is in another section of the course and just likes the time of your class (or, likes you as a teacher, no matter how complimentary this is!) better.


• You may wish to include some or all of the following links as "Other resources":
  The Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE) has math tutors, and sometimes runs review sessions for 300 level math courses.
  Student Counseling Center: individual and group counseling for career decisions and personal problems (including procrastination and test anxiety).
  Mathematics Department Tutor lists.
  Mathematics Department Policy on Course or Instructor Concerns

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Most recently updated on September 21, 2018