Welcome to the new academic year! It is hard to believe that I have begun my third year as Dean, as it has gone by so quickly, but I also feel very much at home, thanks to all of you. We have a lot of exciting work ahead this year.
In this special edition of the Dean’s Office Digest, you’ll find classroom and space guidance, calendar information, and syllabi resources that you may find useful as we begin the fall semester.
Whether you’re a returning faculty or staff member or you are joining our community for the first time, we’re excited to support you as we embark on another year of exceptional teaching, mentorship, research, and service.
Have a great start to the semester!
– Jackie Krasas, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Classrooms & Learning Spaces
CHANGE TO POLICY: NO RESET OF FURNITURE AT END OF CLASS
This fall, the College will drop its expectation that all faculty, staff, and students reset College learning spaces with mobile furniture to the room’s default configuration.
CLASSROOM SAFETY INFORMATION
Since Summer 2024, the University has upgraded more than 300 spaces with locks and panic buttons. Review DeaconOne’s guides (click on the article and review the PowerPoint and Word Doc attachments) on using classroom safety features on the DeaconOne Portal.
RESERVING ADDITIONAL SPACE
Interested in reserving space outside of class time, or an alternative location for a one-off class session?
DeaconSpace is our campus-wide reservation system. Faculty, students, and staff may access this system to reserve space for one-off uses, e.g., office hours, meetings, talks, and presentations, study groups, workshops, etc. Most reservation requests require at least 48 hours’ notice as they are routed to their space managers.
Please Note: DeaconSpace should not be used to schedule regular class meetings or to facilitate a room change request except by academic coordinators. All academic scheduling, e.g., for credit-bearing classes, goes through your academic unit in collaboration with the Office of the University Registrar.
UPDATED COLLEGE LEARNING SPACES USAGE EXPECTATIONS
Updated expectations, including the new guidance dropping the return of a room’s furniture to a default configuration, are listed below as well as on the College Faculty Guide:
- Honor academic scheduling and room reservations by starting and ending your class or event on time and exiting the room at the end of your time.
- Everything brought into the room must be removed when you leave.
- Clean the whiteboards or chalkboards.
- Trash should be deposited in recycling or trash bins.
- Turn off the technology and lights when you leave.
- Close the door and any windows when you leave.
- Much of our newer classroom furniture is mobile. The College does not expect classrooms with mobile furniture to have a default furniture layout; we encourage experimentation with varied layouts that support student learning. Many recently renovated College classrooms with mobile desks, chairs, and/or tables feature sample layouts affixed to walls to give you ideas.
- Arrive early enough to configure space for you and your students’ teaching and learning. Encourage your students to help you with moving furniture if needed, or ask them for suggestions about layouts that will facilitate the day’s plans.
- Dry-erase markers, chalk, and Expo cleaner are disposable and moveable resources; your best bet is to carry your own, obtained through your department’s central supply or your academic coordinator.
- If you remove any furniture from a classroom during one of your classes, return it where you found it before you leave. Classes are assigned, in part, to rooms based on their student capacity and all students need a place to learn.
- Specialized learning spaces such as labs and studios may have their own training and expectations; please work with the local space manager.
CONTACTS
- For urgent technology concerns or questions, submit a ticket to IS.
- For other building-related emergency problems, such as a water leak or extreme temperature, call Facilities at (336) 758-4255.
- For non-emergency concerns, contact the space manager or ask your academic coordinator who to contact.
- College leadership on academic space-related projects: Laura Giovanelli: Associate Dean of Learning Spaces and Provost’s Office Academic Director for the Bicentennial Comprehensive Campus Space Plan.
- College classroom technology and space renovations: Brent Babb — Associate Director, Infrastructure (IS) and Chair of the Learning Spaces Committee.
- Consultations for designing pedagogy to align with a learning space: Anita McCauley, Director, Curriculum and Assessment (CAT).
Preparing Your Syllabus
Each semester, we enter a new academic relationship with a new group of students. A course syllabus outlines the nature and expectations of that relationship, as it tells students what we expect of them and what they can expect from us. Providing a clear, specific, and inviting syllabus sets the tone for our courses. It also establishes a foundation for success as students follow our guidelines for achieving course goals.
The syllabus does important work, and every student deserves to benefit from having one for every class they take. While all of this information may be included in the Canvas site for your class, a printable version of the complete syllabus also needs to be available to all students. (This version will also be collected for accreditation purposes.)
RECORDING IN CLASS GUIDANCE
First, and most importantly, you are in control of how you manage your classroom, which includes whether students may make audio or visual recordings. If you do not wish to allow students to make recordings of your classes, the best place to indicate that rule is on your syllabus or Canvas or both.
If you wish to develop a statement about recording, you can use the statement below as a guide. You are in no way obligated – this is entirely voluntary and we provide the example simply as a tool. Please feel free to craft the tone and specifics to suit you and your class. It is important to note, however, that a student’s official accommodation may include recording in some fashion. How to handle that is incorporated in the statement below.
Syllabus Statement for Faculty Restricting Recording:
Recordings, photos, transcriptions, streaming, copying, or similar efforts to capture audio or video of the class or instructional content, in whole or in part, is prohibited except with the advance written permission of the instructor. If instructor permission is granted, any distribution of the recording is prohibited. Students with specific electronic recording accommodations authorized by the University do not require instructor permission; however, the instructor must be notified of any such accommodation prior to recording. Any distribution of such recordings is prohibited. Violation of these instructions will result in a Student Code of Conduct referral.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
You may find the following resources helpful as you prepare your syllabus:
Other potentially useful resources:
- Syllabus, William Germano and Kit Nicholls
- The Course Syllabus, Judith Grunert O’Brien, Barbara Mills, and Margaret Cohen
SYLLABUS LANGUAGE GUIDE
Click to view information to include in your syllabus:
Faculty Name, Contact Information, and Preferred method(s) of Contact
Consider explaining how they should address you, as many students may not know how to do so appropriately. Recommend setting expectations about response times.
Course Title, Course Number and Section, Term (Semester and Year), Meeting location(s), Meeting Times
Consider listing any prerequisite courses. Also note if any class meetings will be held virtually.
Office Hours and Meeting Location(s)
Faculty are expected to be available a minimum of three (3) hours per week (across all classes offered) to consult with students beyond classroom or lab instructional times.
Course Description
Explain the primary purpose, content, and methods of the course. The most recent bulletin language for the course will suffice, but you might consider how to make the course description more informative and inviting given your audience.
Course (or Student) Learning Outcomes
List the content and skills students will learn by the end of the course
Required Materials
Include all the materials students will need to complete the course successfully. Indicate any recommended materials; note that it may be helpful to include a brief explanation of the benefits of any such materials. If materials will be available online (via Canvas, course reserves, etc.), include information for accessing them. Consider the total cost of required materials to make them affordable for all students.
Grading Method
Explain how grades are calculated, including the weight (value or percentage) of individual assignments in the final grade. Include your grading (or point) scale.
Required Assignments, Assessments, and/or Other Activities
List all assigned work required for successful completion of the course. You can include the complete set of instructions for each assignment and (estimated) due dates; alternatively, you might include just a brief description of each requirement here and provide separate detailed prompts for individual assignments. The point is that students need to be informed of the work they are responsible for completing and when. It is also helpful to tell students the anticipated amount of time various assignments likely require; remind them that for every credit hour of the course, they should expect to spend two (2) hours outside of class weekly (ex. 3 credit hours means 3 hours of class time and 6 hours of effort outside of class each week)
Course Policies
- Attendance & Class Participation
- Late or Missed Assignments
- Technology Use in the Classroom
- AI Use
Each of these course components must be addressed (even if only to say that you do not have a specific set of expectations). Explain how you account for classroom/lab/studio attendance. List any specific expectations for class/lab/studio conduct, including the use of technology (beyond that required for individual student academic accommodations). Explain your expectations and procedures for dealing with late assignments or assignments missed due to absences. (See the bulletin for language regarding expected attendance and University-excused absences.) Include instructions for how and when generative AI platforms may or may not be used in your course.
Academic Integrity Statement
Include a statement about expectations that students will follow the Honor Code regarding all academic work and that incidents of academic misconduct are reported to the Honor and Ethics Council. Please see the CAT website for example text.
Accommodation Policy
Include a statement inviting students to provide you with any documentation for University authorized academic accommodations so that appropriate steps can be taken. Please see the CLASS website for example text.
Additional Resources (as desired)
Consider including information about available resources and support services (Counseling Center, Writing Center, Tutoring Centers, CLASS, Title IX, Safe Office, etc.)
Course/Semester Schedule
- Final Exam: Date, Time, Length, Location
- Weekly schedule of required (and/or recommended) readings, assignments, etc.
- Acknowledge that schedules are subject to change. Consider noting important dates for students as well (such as Last Day to Drop or other relevant dates on the academic calendar). If your weekly schedule is available elsewhere (such as on a website), please indicate that in the syllabus. Canvas should not be the only source of information on the weekly schedule.
Important Dates
NEW FACULTY ORIENTATION
New Faculty Orientation materials for tenure-track and teaching professionals from last week’s event are available online.
Temporary faculty will receive their materials next week when they meet on Friday, Aug. 22, 8:30am – 2:00pm, University Activity Space, 1300 Carroll Weathers Dr., Winston Salem.
COLLEGE FACULTY MEETING IN SEPTEMBER
Our first College Faculty Meeting will be on Monday, Sept. 8, at 3:30 in Broyhill Auditorium in Farrell Hall. If you are able to make time for the meetings, please do attend and encourage your new faculty colleagues to do the same. Our Zoom option remains if you cannot attend in person. This time we set aside is so very important for all of us, not just for conveying the business of the College and GSAS, but for opening up space for conversation about the pressing issues we face at this unique and historical moment in higher education.
REGISTER TODAY FOR NEW STUDENT CONVOCATION
Wake Forest faculty are invited to attend New Student Convocation on Friday, Aug. 22, at 4 p.m. in Wait Chapel. Those who plan to join the academic procession should register online by Monday, Aug. 18. Those who need to borrow regalia can request it when registering.
FACULTY AND STAFF PARKING FOR MOVE-IN
Wake Forest will welcome a new first-year class on Wednesday, Aug. 20, when new student move-in begins at 8 a.m. Students and families will begin arriving throughout move-in day beginning around 7:30 a.m.
For faculty and staff scheduled to be on campus that busy morning, the University has recommendations for navigating campus. Read more on Inside WFU.
Academic Calendar & Information
COLLEGE FACULTY GUIDE
The College Faculty Guide includes links for New Faculty Resources, Faculty Awards and Funding, Governance Resources, Honor and Ethics Resources, International Scholar Resources, and Promotion materials for Tenure-Track and Teaching Professionals. It also includes a link to the Provost’s Office University Resources Guide for faculty.
THE 2025-2026 ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The 2025-2026 Academic Calendar provides important dates and deadlines for the Undergraduate College. Please visit the University Registrar website for the most up-to-date information.
REVIEW THE 2025-2026 RELIGIOUS HOLY DAYS CALENDAR
The Religious Holy Days of Observance Calendar for 2025-2026 will assist you, your departments, and your organizations in planning events, meetings, and curricular and co-curricular opportunities throughout the year. Please consider working with your students, who may be observing these days, on class attendance and assessments.
ADA ACCOMMODATIONS
For faculty and staff seeking ADA accommodations for fall, refer to this HR policy.
AED DEVICES IN BUILDINGS
As a reminder, AEDs are in all academic buildings. View locations online. To attend an AED/CPR training class, email Bridget Marrs, marrsbs@wfu.edu.
About the Digest
To share news with the College, fill out the Digest submission form. To share news on the Dean’s Office Digital Screen, fill out the Digital Screen submission form. If you wish to unsubscribe from the Dean’s Office Digest, contact Bethany Leggett.
For more information about the College of Arts & Sciences at Wake Forest University, visit the College’s website at college.wfu.edu.
Faculty can find resources available on the College Faculty Guide website.