Teaching in the Program in Technical and Professional Communication Program (PTPC) offers an almost infinite variety of pedagogical and curricular possibilities. There are, however, a few important program-specific as well as institutional policies that must be adhered to. Continued employment in the program is dependent on compliance with these policies; if you feel you are not able to comply, please contact program director Josephine Walwema (walwema@uw.edu) as soon as you can.
If an ASE does not meet the requirements stated in the Quarterly Job Duties Agreement (QJDA), the TPC Director will meet with them and outline a set of strategies designed to help them fulfill departmental requirements and the policies below. If the above-mentioned requirements are not met by the end of the next teaching quarter, the instructor will receive a letter from the director detailing requirements that must be met. If the requirements are not met by the end of that quarter, the instructor may be ineligible to continue their ASE position in the English Department.
Training and Mentoring Policies
Teaching in the PTPC is a rich professionalizing experience for our instructors, and it is our aim to create as supportive and formative an environment as possible. If you do not feel you are getting the support you need, contact the program director for teaching related support.
1. PTPC Orientation
All incoming (those who have not taught for the PTPC before) instructors are expected to attend orientation. These hours are accounted for within their ASE contract. If instructors cannot attend orientation they must notify the program director upon application for employment in the program. Orientation dates and times will be provided at the time that an employment offer is made.
2. English 592
All incoming instructors must successfully complete the 3-credit course, English 592, during the Autumn quarter of the first year they teach in PTPC. This course is meant to provide a background in technical and professional communication pedagogy and disciplinary writing. Continued employment is contingent on instructors' participation in the course; if you cannot attend a session, please inform the program director as soon as possible.
3. Mentoring
All PTPC instructors (experienced and incoming) are expected to participate in ongoing mentoring and professional development. In order to stay current with program policies and best practices for teaching, you shall participate in two training and mentoring events each quarter for up to three hours. Relevant events will be publicized from which you may select events that speak to your own teaching interests and needs. The program director is also available for one-on-one meetings, class observations and feedback, or other support.
Instructional Policies
All PPTPC instructors should adhere to the following policies for each class that they teach.
1. Materials to Be Provided to the Department
You are responsible for providing the following items, at the time specified, to the appropriate person:
- Before the quarter, submit your office hours via Google form (to be sent to you by Administrative Coordinator Annee Fisher). You are required to hold a minimum of 2 office hours per week, in the location of your choice (see section 4 on office hours below).
- By the end of Week 1, complete and make available your digital course syllabus to Karen Wennerstrom at kmwstrom@uw.edu.
- (Optional) After the quarter, upload assignments and prompts designed by you and not already in the ENGL 288 Sharepoint.
- After the quarter, submit electronic copies of your course evaluations to Karen Wennerstrom at kmwstrom@uw.edu.
2. Course Syllabus
A course syllabus is an essential tool for communicating course content, policies, and structure. All PTPC instructors must complete a digital course syllabus design on the first day of the quarter that includes the information outlined below. The TPC Program has designed a model and detailed ENGL 288 course syllabus, which instructors can adopt and modify in their Canvas course site. Please note, the UW recommends digital syllabi and stipulates that they align with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. See here for guidelines. Creating a PDF syllabus is not recommended because making it accessible is a labor-intensive process that may require access to additional subscription-based software.
All ASEs must teach the first two sequences in the standard syllabus before pivoting to a third sequence of their liking. Required items for the syllabus include the following information:
- Name and number of the course, e.g., "ENGL 288: Technical and Professional Communication"
- Your name, email address, office location, office hours
- Course location
- Course description
- Learning outcomes
- Course content, assignments, and grading
- Student responsibilities
- TPC statement on anti-racist pedagogy
- Any relevant and required institutional syllabus statements, including the statement on religious accommodations, which must be included on all syllabi.
- A statement of your policy on AI usage for assignment completion, such as these models from the UW Center for Teaching and Learning.
3. Course Calendar
Instructors must provide their students with a course calendar indicating due dates. Such a calendar may change over the course of the quarter, in which case updated calendars should be distributed. This policy is meant to keep instructors and students informed and up-to-date about expectations and developments in the class. The ENGL 288 standard syllabus can be easily formatted into a course calendar in Canvas.
4. Office Hours
All instructors are required to hold a minimum of two office-hours per week held at once or on different days. Office hours may be held in your Padelford office, virtually, or may be held elsewhere on campus, if you choose. Office hours and locations must be communicated to your students, stated in your syllabus, and updated quarterly with the English Department staff in Padelford A-101.
General guidelines for holding office hours can be found at the Teaching@UW Office Hours page
5. Regular Class Meetings
ENGL 288 is a 5-credit course, which you are required to teach at all scheduled times throughout the term. If for some reason you are unable to hold class, please follow the English Department Sick/Leave/Cancelled Class Policy listed in #10 below.
6. Use of Remote Modalities and Affordances in the English Department
No more than 20% of your class meetings will be held outside the classroom. Note: This policy does not include required conference appointments, which substitute for scheduled class meetings. For information on missing class for un-scheduled reasons, please see #10 below.
7. Writing Conferences
As an instructor in the PTPC you must hold writing conferences with students each quarter. You may cancel a comparable number of class periods to accommodate for writing conferences in your and your students' schedules.
8. Assignments
In order for students to understand and practice writing as a process, all PTPC courses assign writing sequences (typically three, but sometimes two per course). Each sequence will culminate in a particular deliverable (the timing, stakes, scale, content, and form of each assignment will be developed by the instructor). Instructors are expected to inform students of their assignments and deadlines with all reasonable haste, and to communicate any changes as soon as possible. It is expected that all major assignment expectations will be distributed in Canvas and discussed orally.
9. Grading Student Work
Instructors are expected to grade and return student work within at most a week of being submitted by students. Feedback on major assignments should align with previously shared and discussed assessment criteria. Providing feedback is a formative form of assessment designed to help students learn. In accordance with FERPA, all student work must be protected and disposed of properly to prevent privacy breach. See Karen Wennerstrom for assistance in shredding sensitive materials.
10. Missed Class and Sick Leave Policy for ASEs
Instructors are required to hold class during all scheduled meeting times. If you need to miss your class forany reason (including illness, bereavement, childcare, or academic conferences), follow this procedure.
- Email the following people as soon as possible:
- PTPC Program Coordinator, Karen Wennerstrom (kmwstrom@uw.edu)
- PTPC Director, Josephine Walwema (walwema@uw.edu)
- Include the following information in your e-mail:
- Course number, meeting times and room number
- Dates you will miss
- Reason for missing class
- For a single day, your plan for class coverage or cancellation:
- Coverage: The name of a substitute (PTPC ASE or professor) or a description of your plans to convert missed in-person class to synchronous or asynchronous remote instruction.
- Cancellation: If you have not found a substitute, cancel your class by sending an e-mail notification as soon as possible to your students, the PTPC Coordinator, and the PTPC Director. If needed, we can notify your students of a class cancellation on your behalf.
- For more than a single day, your plan for class coverage:
- Email detailed lesson plans for missed days or plans for making up missed days with synchronous or asynchronous remote instruction to the PTPC Director.
- Work with the PTPC Director and substitute instructor for class continuity.
Beyond these basic guidelines for handling missed classes, please know that we understand that the circumstances for missing classes are various and that, accordingly, the ways we coordinate with you to support you and your students will also require a case-by-case assessment.
According to the bargaining agreement between the University of Washington and UAW Local 4121, you are entitled to limited sick leave and a personal holiday each academic year. Please note that absences in excess of your leave as outlined in the union contract may result in unpaid leave. You may read more in Article 17 of the contract.
Course Evaluation Policy
Each ASE teaching a course in the PTPC shall order and administer student evaluations each quarter that they teach and submit the evaluation report at the conclusion of the quarter to the PTPC Program Director.
>Student evaluations for ASE-taught classes are used in the following ways:
- To understand broader patterns of student experience across a program or over time
- To understand where we need to iterate or grow in our programs
- To identify when support may be needed on a group or individual level.
The English department does not use student evaluation data to determine ASE teaching appointments or to rank fellowship and award applications. ASEs who apply for teaching awards and other forms of pedagogical recognition may be asked to share student feedback, including course evaluations, but those evaluations are expected to be contextualized as part of a broader teaching portfolio, not treated as self-evident forms of data.
University Policies
Instructors at the University of Washington are required to abide by University Policies regarding privacy, sexual harassment, and copyright law. These policies are explained in the UW Policy Directory and several UW websites.
Areas of particular interest include: