Course Syllabus

University of Delaware · Faculty Affairs
New Faculty Orientation
Your Canvas course syllabus: what it covers, how it's organized, and how to use it all year long.
Self-paced Open all year 6 modules
Course Overview

This Canvas course is your home base for getting started at UD. It's built to meet you where you are: whether you're teaching your first semester at UD or diving straight into your scholarship, there's a track for you.

Instead of front-loading everything at once, the course spirals a few key topics, like building your UD network. You get a light mention early on and a deeper home base to return to once you've settled in.

6
Modules
2
Parallel tracks
∞
Revisit anytime
What You'll Gain
  • Get campus-ready and set up your accounts and teaching tools before you even arrive
  • Find your people on day one: dean, chair, HR liaison, and mentor
  • Get your first semester running, whether that means building a syllabus or getting proposals and research computing set up
  • Grow into UD's wider network of governance, community, and professional development over your first year
  • Know exactly where to come back to when you need deeper support
How It's Organized

Topics spiral. Your UD network isn't taught once and dropped. You get a light mention early, then a deeper home base later, so you meet each idea again once it's actually useful.

Two tracks run in parallel. Starting in Module 3, the course splits so it fits your first semester, however you're spending it:

Teaching track Scholarship track
Your Journey Through the Modules
1
Module 1
Before You Arrive
 Welcome, get oriented, and set up your accounts before day one.
2
Module 2
Your First Week
 Get campus-ready, set up your teaching tools, and learn where to get help.
3
Module 3
Your First Semester
 Teaching and Scholarship tracks run side by side. Follow one or both.
4
Module 4
Your First Year
 Grow in teaching, scholarship, governance, and community engagement.
5
Module 5
Your UD Network
Home base
 The deepened home base for everything the earlier modules introduced briefly. Return to this one as often as needed. 
6
Module 6
Your Ongoing Support & Resources
 Your reference page, available whenever you need it.
Modules 2 and 3 give you the essentials early. Module 5 is where that content grows into its full, lasting home.
How to Use This Course
Start anytime
Work through Module 1 before you arrive, then move at your own pace.
Pick your track
In Module 3, follow Teaching, Scholarship, or both, whichever fits your semester.
Come back often
Content you saw briefly early on has a deeper version waiting in a later module.
Use Module 5 as home
When you need your network, mentors, or IT support, this is where to look.
Getting Help
  • In Module 2, Your First Week, look for the "Know Where to Get Help" page: CILLT, the Virtual Welcome Bar, and the Keep Calm and Teach On workshop.
  • CILLT can connect you with a faculty development partner or instructional designer any time, not just at orientation.
  • Everyday tech questions go to the IT Help Desk and Knowledge Base, both linked in Module 5.
Need help right now?
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Faculty Affairs · University of Delaware
New Faculty Orientation Canvas Course · udel.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-affairs