Adjunct Faculty Online Orientation

All Adjunct Faculty Members

This section is designed to get you started with the basics.  The orientation is divided into three sections.  All adjunct faculty should review the section First Things for All Adjuncts.  For those of you teaching traditional face-to-face courses, please see the section Face to Face Teaching Start Page, and if you are teaching a distance education class, you can review the Teaching at a Distance section.

• GET PAID.  After you have been notified of employment, adjunct instructors are required to complete personnel forms (I-9, W-4, etc.) available from the Human Resources office. These forms must be completed prior to the beginning of the first semester in which you are teaching.  They should be updated whenever there is a change of address, citizenship status, or W-4 status. If you do not follow these procedures, your paycheck may be delayed.  Employment eligibility verification requires certain documents (i.e., U.S. Passport, Driver’s License, Birth certificate or original Social Security card).  Also send a copy of your transcripts to your academic department.  Check with your department chair or administrator for additional, or more specific employment-related requirements.  

• GET ACCESS.  In order to perform many of your responsibilities, you will need to make sure you have access to Pioneer Portal (the university's electronic access point for information and services), Email, Blackboard (Learning Management System) and other important systems BEFORE your first day of class.  For more information on these systems and how to access them, please check the TWU Help Desk website.  

• GET HELP.  There are a wide range of resources and people to support your teaching at TWU.  The best place to start for most questions is with your academic department.  Your department chair and the administrative staff are excellent sources of information.  You can find links to the departments as well as other support resources on the Academic Affairs home page.  For technical questions you can contact the TWU Helpdesk.  Additional instructional resources are available in the Lifelong Learning instructional design wiki.

• SHARE INTERESTS AND GET INVOLVED.  As an adjunct, you have a unique opportunity to build relationships with your fellow instructors - both full time and adjuncts - as well as staff and students.  TWU sponsors a variety of professional development, community, and social opportunities for faculty and staff.  Watch the TWU calendar of upcoming events, and the TWU webpage for the latest information.

• HELP YOUR COLLEAGUES.  This orientation is designed with you, the adjunct faculty member in mind.  If you have ideas, contributions, or questions about this resource wiki, please contact Michael Stankey, Associate Provost, or Michael Simmons, Assistant Vice President, Lifelong Learning.  It is our goal to keep the content relevant and that we meet the needs of new faculty - so anything you can add will be helpful!

• GET STARTED.  Jump to the FIRST THINGS FOR ALL ADJUNCTS page to see how to get going with your classes at TWU.  The First Things page lists the basic procedures and academic requirements for classes at TWU.

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First Things for All Adjunct Faculty

Teaching at a Distance Start Page

Face to Face Teaching Start Page 

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