This page will succinctly address some of those questions with a short answer and a resource to consult or contact for further information. At the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), we see ourselves as a connection point. If you can’t find the answer you need on these pages or even if it does not seem like an issue pertaining to teaching and learning we are happy to point you to the right person/resource so do not hesitate to reach out (ctl@umsl.edu).
The UMSL Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers syllabus templates and helpful language as options faculty can adopt, adapt, or use as needed. These documents do not suggest that you must adopt these formats; they are provided as time-saving options for new faculty and help communicate campus resources often found in UMSL syllabi.
Explore the Syllabus templates here for in-person, blended, and online courses.
During final exam week, exams are not necessarily held at the same time that your class would normally meet. If administering a final exam for your course, be sure to consult the exam schedule for the current semester and notify your students where and when to expect your exam. The Office of the Registrar posts the Final Exam schedule on their website.
For online courses it is advisable to have a large window of time (e.g. 3 days) open for your exam. You can limit the amount of time a student has to take the exam (e.g. 2 hours) once started separate from the total window an exam is open for in Canvas. Consulate TeachingOnline@umsystem.edu to discuss with an instructional designer additional ideas for assessment in online courses.You should use the university's learning management system, Canvas, to communicate grades and assignment feedback to students. See the Canvas Guides for more information on using Canvas. However, our registration system, MyView, will be the final place to find your course enrollment rosters and post final grades. Access to MyView will only be granted once FERPA training is complete.
More information about using MyView.MyView allows you to search for next semester’s courses semester and beyond. MyView is managed by the Office of the Registrar who update these resources regularly for faculty and staff to use MyView.
Check with an administrative assistant or the administrative officer in your department, college, or school about faculty who have taught the course in the past and the availability of previous syllabi.
Log in to MyView, click on “Self Service” and then “Faculty Center”. Then click on t”My Schedule” and the people icon and finally “notify all students.” You can either email students directly from that location or copy and paste the email addresses into your UMSL email account.
You can also send a group email or select individual recipients via your course’s Canvas site.
The University Bulletin includes a description of undergraduate and graduate policies and programs at the University of Missouri-St. Louis for the current academic year.
The Faculty Manual is online. Some colleges and schools have specific manuals for their faculty, so check with the appropriate dean of your college or school to find out if there is a manual specific to your school’s or college’s faculty.
The Center for Teaching Learning administers end-of-course student feedback surveys through a system called CourseEval all information can be found on this website.
For advice on teaching decisions and on teaching UMSL students, you can consult with your department chair or the appropriate dean(s) in your college or school, all of whom will know about standard practices in your department, college, or school.
Also, the Center for Teaching and Learning offers confidential individual consultations with instructors. CTL staff can help you better understand your students’ learning and think through teaching choices. For instance, the CTL’s Group Instructional Feedback Technique (GIFT) service provides a useful way to gather and reflect on mid-semester student feedback.
The CTL also offers several syllabus templates that provide useful boilerplate language and a general structure. Please do not feel as if you cannot be creative in your syllabus design. The CTL can consult and provide feedback on your syllabus.
The library has a wealth of resources for supporting research and teaching, including research guides, subject liaisons, citation management, and course reserves.
Canvas is UMSL’s course management system which provides a collection of tools for course materials and collaboration.
There are many ways you can learn more about Canvas as well as our many other eLearning tools.
All instructors with courses assigned for the upcoming semester in PeopleSoft will be emailed a personalized link to access the Verba Collect site. Once you access the site, you will be prompted through the process of submitting adoptions for your assigned courses. Details about the Verba Collect site can be found here.
Contact information for the Triton Store:
1 University Blvd #209
St. Louis, MO, MO 63121
(314) 516-5763
umsltritonstore@umsl.edu
Many departmental administrative assistants and administrative assistants will order desk copies for you, so it may be helpful to check with them first. (Note that the Bookstore cannot order desk copies for you.) Textbook adoptions for fall semester courses are usually due the April prior to the fall semester.
You can find your room assignment by searching for your course in MyView.
Once you know where you will be teaching, use the interactive campus map to find the location of the building.
You can find the classroom technology, support, tours and contact information for training opportunities at the Instructional Support Services (ISS) website.
This handout provides information about the various systems and technologies available at UMSL. The Office of eLearning has a list of teaching tools and resources available to support those teaching tools.
Giving students advance notice of proctored exams is mandatory—it is required by the HLC and the Code of Federal Regulations in instances where there may be proctoring fees passed on to the student. If you plan to offer proctored exams for your classes, please work with your campus Registrar and course schedulers to ensure that your class attributes/notes are updated appropriately.
The UMSL Testing Center provides proctored exams for fully or partially online courses, classroom makeup exams, accommodative exams for students registered at Disability Access Services, special institutional and departmental exams (placement, test-out, independent study, etc.), professional certification and licensure exams and paper to Canvas exam conversions. Contact information and a full list of services provided by the UMSL Testing Center can be found on their website.
If you need to request a room change for a course on the schedule, and it is after the schedule has been publicized for students to see, you will need to have your departmental representative request the change using CourseLeaf Section Scheduler (CLSS). Please allow 24-48 hours after this change is submitted for the change to be processed (if available).
If this request is before the schedule has gone live, please contact your department and they will submit the change. Please note, only those designated with access to make room changes will be allowed to submit the request.
Grades are due 48 hours (not counting Sunday) after the end of the semester. ALL rosters must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the Tuesday following the end of the class. Note, entering your grades in Canvas is only the first step. You must also transfer your grades to MyView and finalize them there.
MyView is the Official Faculty Web Grading site. If you did not complete FERPA during your onboarding, you will need to before you can enter your grades. See instructions on how to complete FERPA. It will take 24-48 hours for you to gain access to MyView after completing this training.
If you have not accessed MyView within the past six months it is possible that your MyView account could be “locked”. Please try logging into MyView to check your status as soon as possible. If you are not able to log in, please contact Kathy Miguel at miguelk@umsl.edu.
For a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots of the process of submitting grades please consult the registrar’s webpage.
One of the first things you'll want to do is register your vehicle for a parking permit. Faculty can park in any faculty or student lot on campus. After following the link below, you can log in with your SSO ID and password to register your vehicle. You will need to know the vehicle's license plate number. After registering, expect to receive your parking pass in the mail (campus or traditional) within 7 business days. If you don't receive it, reach out to the Parking and Transportation office for help . Parking and Transportation also offers free vehicular assist should you ever have a dead battery, flat tire, or some other issue.
Arriving via Metro? UMSL has two metro stops on the red line, UMSL-North Station and UMSL-South Station. Please consult the campus map to identify the station closest to the classroom you'll be teaching in if you will be taking the Metro to campus. UMSL also has free shuttles that drive between North and South Campus at regular intervals.
If you will be printing on campus, you will need an ID card to access any on campus printer. Some buildings also have card access points to gain access to the building and/or classroom. Check with your department to see if this applies in your area. You can have your Triton ID card made in the Millennium Student Center, Room 190 . Before a card can be made for faculty or staff, they should be in Peoplesoft.
Once in Peoplesoft, faculty or staff need only bring a Driver’s License, State ID, Passport, or other government-issued photo identification to have their TritonCard made.
Disability Access Services (DAS) handles requests from students for reasonable accommodations for appropriately documented disabilities and will provide the student with a letter/email to present to you with information about required accommodations and any assistance in providing accommodations as the need arises.
Note you are not able to initiate the process with DAS on behalf of the student. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate the accommodation request. For questions email das@umsl.edu.
UMSL Counseling Services
Contact UMSL Counseling Services
Counseling Services is staffed by qualified and accredited mental health professionals. We're dedicated to making a difference in the lives of students by providing a safe, confidential environment to focus on issues from your past, your present, and your future.
UMSL CARE (Campus Assessment, Response and Evaluation)
Make a CARE Referral
On college and university campuses, behaviors of concern are often unreported. Multiple people across campus may have small bits of information, but no one person has all of the pieces. The accumulation of information helps identify a person at risk, allowing for early intervention, prevention and support.
Members of the campus community are encouraged to make a CARE referral when concerned about a student, regardless of how insignificant the concern may seem.
The CARE process is meant to be a non-punitive, holistic approach to assist and support students who may be in distress. After a referral is made, case managers partner with students to develop action plans that promote student success.
Other resources:
UMSL offers a variety of resources designed to meet the learning and academic needs of undergraduate students.
(provides counseling services for all members of the university community)
(provides individualized, drop-in and group tutoring services)
(provides consultation services for undergraduates seeking help with their writing assignments)
Math Center (The Math Center offers free individual assistance on a walk-in basis to students needing help with mathematics courses from basic math through calculus.)
This handout helps identify who to contact for different types of situations you may encounter with students.
