UMD-CS-STICs.github.io/faq.html at master · UMD-CS-STICs/UMD-CS-STICs.github.io · GitHub

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<!DOCTYPE html>
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  <title>Student Initiated Courses</title>
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    <meta name="description" content="The Student Initiated Courses (STICs) program at The University of Maryland gives students the opportunity to design, develop, and teach courses on a variety of subjects under the guidance of a faculty advisor.">


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      <h1>FAQ</h1>
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          <h2>for everyone.</h2>
          <span class="divider"></span>
          <h3>Who can apply to teach?</h3>
          <p>
            Any student at UMD College Park may apply! Each course may be facilitated by 1 to 3 students.
          </p>
          <h3>How are student facilitators compensated?</h3>
          <p>
            It depends on the department the class falls under. Some departments may pay facilitators as TAs, some may require it to be volunteer service, and some may offer credit as a sort of independent study.
          </p>
          <h3>What should I do if I want to teach?</h3>
          <p>
            Visit the <a href="./apply.html">apply</a> page.
          </p>
          <h3>Who handles grading/grade disputes?</h3>
          <p>
            While the student-facilitators may handle intermediate grading on assignments like projects and quizzes, the instructor of record will be the one submitting final grades. The instructor of record also handles any grade disputes that escalate past a certain point.
          </p>
          <h3>What are the responsibilities of a faculty advisor?</h3>
          <p>
            For an informal summary of the role, check out <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c81bq5qzxsRwFHC6SItoWc0ya5Zxa4Bq7NvIAlWlfCc/edit?usp=sharing">this</a> document.
          </p>
          <h3>How many credits are STICs?</h3>
          <p>
            STICs are offered from 1 to 2 credits.
          </p>
          <h3>How many STICs can I take?</h3>
          <p>
            As many as you want! Keep in mind that STICs may or may not help you for major requirements.
          </p>
        </div>
        <div class="col-md-6">
          <h2>for administrators.</h2>
          <span class="divider"></span>
          <h3>How do course numbers work for STICs?</h3>
          <p>
            This is up to the department. Most departments are using special topics numbers (as they are perfect for one-off courses like this). Some other departments have created other numbers.
            <br><br>
            <strong>IMPORTANT NOTE:</strong> Once a course is created, things like the grading policy (pass/fail vs. standard letter grades) cannot be changed. In other words, if there is a course from 2009 that is P/F and a STIC wants to use that course number, it MUST be P/F.
          </p>
          <h3>How should these courses be inputted into SIS?</h3>
          <p>
            In a typical STIC, the student facilitator(s) will be the primary one(s) interacting with the students in the class while the faculty advisor works behind the scenes with the student facilitator(s). Therefore, the faculty advisor (who is the course’s instructor of record) should not be evaluated by the students in the Student Feedback on Course Experiences surveys. If not assigned properly, student feedback meant for the student facilitator(s) will instead be attached to the instructor of record, which could affect that faculty member’s teaching record for APT and also erroneously affect department averages.
            <br><br>
            To avoid these situations, IRPA has outlined these options as proper ways of assigning student feedback in STICs:
          </p>
          <ul>
            <li>
              No student feedback for anyone for that class, or
            </li>
            <li>
              If student feedback are desired, students should be listed as "Lab/Discussion Leaders" and should receive student feedback in that role. The faculty member is the only person who should ever be listed as the “Instructor of Record” and should not receive student feedback for the STIC. (In general, a faculty member who is the instructor of record for a course can only receive student feedback if students in the course have seen the instructor of record enough to evaluate them based on the list of student feedback questions <a href="https://umd-dit.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/courseexperiences/pages/36438283/Student+Feedback+on+Course+Experiences+Items">here</a>. In STICs that are primarily student-led and student-taught, this is not going to be the case.)
            </li>
          </ul>
          <p>
            Also when STICs are input into SIS, 100% of the teaching load should always be assigned to the faculty advisor. Under no circumstances should a student ever be assigned any teaching load at all in SIS, and under no circumstances should a student ever be the "Instructor of Record” or "Other Instructor" in SIS. Instead, student facilitators should be listed as “Lab/Discussion Leaders,” which still allows them to be evaluated through student feedback as mentioned above.
          </p>
          <h3>What happens if a student facilitator becomes unable to teach a course?</h3>
          <p>
            Hopefully the STIC has two facilitators so the other can take over. However, if this does not happen, the responsibility falls on the faculty advisor to decide what happens to the course + students.
          </p>
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      <h2>contact us.</h2>
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        Reach out to us at <strong><a class="email" href="#">stics@umd.edu</a></strong>
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