Get Connected

• HSSU Email & MyHSSU – IT will email your login info; if not received, contact the IT Helpdesk. MyHSSU is where you manage courses, enter attendance/grades, submit forms, and access Canvas and email. Your HSSU email is the only one that connects to Canvas and LinkedIn Learning, so check it regularly.

• Canvas – You'll get an invite when assigned to a course. No invite? Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

• LinkedIn Learning – Invite comes from CTL within your first week of classes. No personal LinkedIn account needed.

Know Your Resources

• Faculty Guide – Quick reference for university policies and procedures.

• Center for Teaching and Learning – Your go-to for Canvas, LinkedIn Learning, and teaching prep questions.

Get Oriented

• Review your onboarding schedule with your department/College/School to discuss teaching, research, and service expectations, departmental procedures, and other role responsibilities.

• Attend the Fall/Spring Faculty and Staff Institute to meet other HSSU offices and learn how they support you.

Use these resources to ensure your courses are ready to students before the first day.

• Course Syllabus- Use this template.

• Canvas Orientation Guide- All faculty are assigned to the Canvas Orientation Guide which includes step-by-step resources and guides for setting up your course in Canvas.

• Review the Regular and Substantive Interaction requirements for teaching to ensure you are meeting the standards.

• Academic Resource Center (ARC)- The ARC not only provides tutoring and other services for HSSU students, but also houses the ADA Coordinator and Testing Services. Please review these resources. If you have questions about accommodating a student or arranging for testing accommodations, please reach out to the ADA Coordinator or Testing Accommodations.

• Before you publish your course, be sure you have completed the following:

  • Completed the Canvas Checklist.

  • Reviewed the University Minimum Use Standards.

  • Reviewed RSI requirements.

  • Confirmed your student roster. The official course roster is found in MyHSSU on the Faculty tab.

    • If there are students appearing on the MyHSSU roster that are NOT in Canvas, please email the Course number and section (e.g. ECON0101-50) and student’s name and student ID number to the Registrar and copy the CTL.

    • If there are students appearing on the Canvas roster that are NOT in MyHSSU, please email the Course number and section (e.g. ECON0101-50) and student’s name and student ID number to the Registrar and copy the CTL. These students are likely not registered for the course. They should not be allowed to attend until you have received confirmation of their status. If they are not registered, they will be removed from the course.

    • If a student is NOT on MyHSSU roster, and is marked inactive in Canvas, that means they have dropped the course. No other action is necessary.

Use this semester timeline to stay on top of attendance, communication, student support, grading, and key academic milestones.

• Weeks 1-2

  • Verify student attendance in MyHSSU.

  • Submit roster discrepancies to the Registrar’s Office and copy CTL.

  • Encourage students to visit the Academic Resource Center (ARC) for tutoring.

  • Watch for early student at-risk behaviors and use FinishLine (in MyHSSU) to submit early alerts for at-risk students.

    • Early absences

    • Chronic tardiness

    • Poor self-care

• Weeks 3-6

  • Verify student attendance in MyHSSU.

  • Submit roster discrepancies to the Registrar’s Office and copy CTL.

  • Use FinishLine (in MyHSSU) to submit early alerts for at-risk students.

    • Sudden drops in grades or missing assignments.

    • Missing classes or chronic tardiness.

    • Lack of participation or disengagement.

    • Poor self-care.

  • Meet with advisees (as appropriate).

  • Maintain office hours.

• Midterm

  • Submit midterm grades in MyHSSU.

  • Connect students with Support.

  • Address Canvas concerns with the CTL.

  • Submit early alerts for students failing at midterm.

• Weeks 8-14

  • Continue monitoring attendance and performance and submitting early alerts as necessary.

  • Advising for next semester.

  • Encourage tutoring.

  • Promote course evaluation completion. An auto-generated email will be sent when course evaluations open, and reminders will be sent to both students and faculty.

• End of Semester

  • Administer final exams.

  • Submit senior grades by the early deadline established by the Registrar’s Office.

  • Submit remaining final grades in MyHSSU by the deadline.

Use this information to improve your teaching and document your professional growth.

• Review

  • Access and Review your student Course Evaluation results through Watermark following the end of the term.

• Report

  • Update faculty activities, scholarship, and professional development through Watermark Faculty Success (COMING SOON!).

• Grow

  • Review the CTL Calendar for opportunities to participate in CTL workshops and events. Full-time faculty must attend at least one synchronous CTL event per month.

  • Review the CTL Resources page to link to other opportunities offered by the CTL.

  • Read the weekly CTL emails and monthly CTL newsletters for more information, deadlines, tips, and resources for improving teaching and innovation.

• Reflect

  • Identify what worked, where students struggled, and what you want to revise in the next version of the course.

You do not need to know which office owns every process. Start with the category that best matches your question.

• Teaching and Canvas

  • Center for Teaching and Learning

• Course and Department Questions

  • Department Chair or Dean

• Grades and Academic Records

  • Registrar’s Office

• Assessment and Watermark

  • Office of Assessment

• Student Academic Support

  • Academic Resource Center

  • Writing Center

• ADA/Accessibility Services and Testing Accommodations

  • ADA Coordinator

  • Testing Accommodations

• Technology Access

  • Information Technology/HelpDesk