Resources for Course Planning

WashU’s academic calendars aggregate the calendars for all schools, showing important dates, as well as links to calendars showing important holidays.

Canvas

Starting in Fall 2018, the University began a transition from Blackboard to Canvas. During the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters, both learning management systems (LMS) were available to Washington University faculty. As of Fall 2019, the University supports Canvas. Information about Canvas, including training and support.

Course Scheduling
Individual departments schedule courses with the Office of the University Registrar.

Contact your department’s administrative assistant to ask about the process in your department.

All day-time classes on the Danforth Campus (with the exception of Law classes) will begin 10 minutes after their published start time. For example, a 10:00-11:00 am class will begin at 10:10 and end at 11:00, and a 2:30-4:00 pm class will begin at 2:40 and end at 4:00 pm. This practice allows students and faculty time to walk from one class to another.

Course Packets (Guide to copyright and fair use)
Faculty preparing course-packets of photocopied readings for their students often do so at Kinko’s-FedEx in Mallinckrodt Center, or at Hi-Tec Copy Center at the corner of Forest Park Parkway and Big Bend Boulevard (across from the northwest corner of the Danforth Campus). If you are planning to prepare a course packet, or to provide copies of printed materials for students by some other means—including the Libraries’ reserve systems (see below), you should consult the University’s guide to copyright and fair use.

EGrades
Using this tool, you can submit midterm and final course grades electronically. You can also submit grades directly to EGrades from the Blackboard grade-book.

Facts
You can find demographics and other information on Washington University’s students, as well as its faculty and academic programs. You can learn much more about what to expect of your students and of the experience of teaching at Washington University by speaking with your colleagues or by participating in Center for Teaching and Learning programs.

Faculty and Staff page
This page on the University’s Web site contains a list of additional resources that you may find useful.

University Libraries
This web portal gives you access to the collections at the University libraries, as well as the MOBIUS catalog, through which you can search for and request books from universities across Missouri. You can also access Olin Library’s reserves (library.wustl.edu/units/reserve/reservesinfo.html), which allow you to place material on reserve for your students.

Syllabus Template and Suggestions for Preparing a Syllabus
The Center for Teaching and Learning maintains a page on preparing a syllabus, as well as a syllabus template that may be downloaded and adapted.

WebFAC
WebFAC allows you to manage your roster, to access rosters of past courses, and to connect to Course Listings and EGrades. If you are an advisor, you can use WebFAC to see a list of your advisees and to access the Arts & Sciences curriculum planning tools. WebFac also provides you with contact information for your own students’ academic advisors, whom you can contact to address concerns about an individual student’s progress.

WebSTAC
Students use WebSTAC for a variety of purposes, including planning curricula, registering for classes, and checking grades.