Welcome to SCPS!
You are joining over 120 faculty experienced at teaching adult students. Below please find a collection of resources available to you.
Employment Policies
- Employment of Academic General Faculty Members
- Faculty Wage Employment
- SCPS Employment Policy for Faculty
Academic Policies, Procedures and Forms
- Commitment to Diversity
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The School of Continuing and Professional Studies endeavors to make access to degrees, credentials, workplace-relevant skills, and academic excellence inclusively available to all, by building, resourcing, and sustaining a community of continuing education instructors and learners. This is a community, and a school, in which students and instructors of diverse race, ethnicity, veteran status, socio-economic level, national origin, religious belief, physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and political ideology, participate in, contribute to, and benefit equally from the academic exchange. We strive for a diverse learning environment where differences are respected and appreciated, effective teaching is promoted, greater learning outcomes are produced, and students are better prepared for an increasingly diverse and rapidly changing workplace.
- Academic and Disability Services
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For Faculty and Staff:
Please see UVA's Accessibility page for Faculty and Staff for a complete list of policy and resource information.
For Students:
It is the policy of the University of Virginia to accommodate students with disabilities in accordance with federal and state laws. Any student with a disability enrolled through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies who needs accommodation (e.g., in arrangements for seating, extended time for examinations, or note-taking, etc.), should contact the Student Disability Access Center and provide them with appropriate medical or psychological documentation of his/her condition. Once accommodations are provided, it is the student’s responsibility to follow up with the instructor about logistics and implementation of accommodations.
If students have difficulty accessing any part of the course materials or activities for their classes, they should contact the instructor immediately. Accommodations for test-taking should be arranged at least 14 business days in advance of the date of the test(s). A student’s academic dean is also available to assist with accommodations, particularly for temporary or emergency situations. Please email SCPSaccommodation@virginia.edu
Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Access Center.
- Academic Grievances
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Students who have a grievance related to a course, with a faculty member, or related to the services provided by School of Continuing and Professional Studies faculty or staff should pursue the grievance as follows:
- Concerns related to an SCPS course or faculty member not resolvable between the student and faculty member should be discussed with the appropriate School of Continuing and Professional Studies’ academic program director.
- If the concern is not resolvable at this level, the grievance should be filed with the Associate Dean for Academic Programs of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The Associate Dean’s decision may be appealed by the student to the Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
- If the grievance is related to the Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, the student may contact the Vice President and Provost of the University.
- If the concern is related to the Vice President and Provost, appropriate documentation should be presented in writing to the President of the University.
- Auditing a Class
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Students who wish to audit a course (enroll in credit courses without earning academic credit) may do so on a space available basis, with the permission of the instructor and program director. Credit or audit status must be indicated at the time of registration. Admission requirements are the same for auditing students as for students enrolled for credit.
An AU (audit) cannot be changed to a letter grade. Auditing a class does not relieve the student of the responsibility for meeting the standards established for the course. A grade of W is recorded for any student who discontinues the audit after the drop deadline or who fails to meet the instructor’s standards. Students who audit courses are responsible for full payment of tuition and fees. - Student Attendance
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Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Instructors establish attendance and participation requirements for each of their classes. Course requirements, regardless of delivery mode, are not waived due to a student’s absence from class. Instructors will require students to make up any missed coursework and may deny credit to any student whose absences are excessive. Poor attendance may result in the student receiving a failing grade. Instructors must keep an attendance record for each student enrolled in the class to document attendance and participation in the class.
- Emergency and Inclement Weather Notification
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If it becomes necessary to postpone a class meeting due to an emergency or inclement weather, notification of such closings and postponements will be made on the School’s web site and the Inclement Weather line at 434.924.4364. Faculty may also notify students via University email.
Students are responsible for checking the SCPS web site, Inclement Weather line, and University email prior to travelling to class.
Classes held at the Northern Virginia, Thomas Nelson, and Tidewater community colleges, the Roanoke Higher Education Center, the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, and employer sites are governed by the closing policies of those institutions/organizations. - Faculty Awards
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SCPS Faculty Award
The Adelle F. Robertson Award is presented to recognize a faculty member who has demonstrated sustained excellence in providing new knowledge, instruction, or public service, through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, to the people, organizations and institutions served by the University. This award recognizes commitment to excellence in continuing education and public service, which characterized the life of Dean Adelle. F. Robertson, who served as Dean of the University of Virginia Division of Continuing Education from 1978-1986. The award will be focused on excellence in teaching for the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The award carries a $2500 stipend.
Congratulations to our 2023 winners, Anne Marie Plunkett and David Horton from the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program!
Award Criteria
The award may be given in areas of teaching, public service or scholarship. Nominations for the award can be made for any member of the University of Virginia Faculty (regardless of employment status) who has, through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies:
- Made significant contributions in the field of teaching for the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
- Demonstrated exceptional commitment to student learning through advising, mentoring, etc., and made significant contributions to student learning and student success outcomes (graduation, job placement, etc.)
When nominations open each year, the online form will include full details on the award criteria, nomination process, and submission guidelines.
UVA Faculty Awards
UVA honors excellent teaching through several awards, fellowships, and grants. Some of the awards are administered by the Provost’s Office, other awards by the Center for Teaching Excellence.
The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost issues a call for nominations each fall. The selection committee considers nominees for all Open Awards across 9 separate categories for which they are eligible.
Visit the Provost's web site for a complete list of awards, details, and deadlines. - Grades
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Courses carrying a School of Continuing and Professional Studies subject area (mnemonic) use the following grading system: A+, A, A-; B+, B, B-; C+, C, C-; D+, D, D-; F. S (satisfactory) and U (unsatisfactory) are used for some course offerings. For noncredit courses, the grade notation is N (no credit). Students who audit courses receive the designation AU (audit). The symbol W is used when a student officially drops a course before its completion or if the student withdraws from an academic program of the University.
When the School of Continuing and Professional Studies offers courses in collaboration with other schools of the University, these courses follow the grading system of their associated schools, as outlined in each school’s section of the Record.
Credit/No Credit Students enrolled in degree programs in other schools of the University of Virginia should consult with the appropriate school before selecting the credit/no credit (CR/NC) grading option. Students enrolled in certain courses for professional development may select the CR/NC option. Courses taken with this grading option may not be transferred into a degree program.
Grade Changes No grade may be changed after it has been submitted to UREG (Office of the University Registrar) without the approval of the school’s dean or dean’s designee. The dean or designee may authorize a grade change only in accordance with the school’s grade appeal policy or when an instructor certifies that, because of an error in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted. Grades cannot be changed after a degree is conferred, or more than one semester following the end of the course, whichever comes first. The dean or his/her designee is also authorized to change incomplete or missing grades to an F or Withdrawal. Instructors must submit grade changes via the Student Information System (SIS). Please also see Incomplete Grades section.
Incompletes A grade of incomplete (IN) should be a rare occurrence. If late in the term, circumstances arise beyond a student’s control and all other coursework is complete, the student and instructional faculty may negotiate an extension for submission of final coursework. Prior to the final class, the student must request an IN from the instructional faculty in writing; the instructional faculty must initiate the SCPS Request for a Grade of Incomplete Form and submit the signed form to the SCPS Registrar. The student must complete all course requirements and submit the completed work to the instructional faculty by the faculty’s imposed deadline, at which time the faculty replaces the IN with a letter grade. Typical extensions are for no more than 30 to 60 days beyond the final class meeting. If the work is not completed by the designated agreed upon deadline and a letter grade is not entered, the IN automatically defaults to an ‘F’. Only in extreme cases will this deadline be extended; extensions require approval of the SCPS Registrar or the Associate Dean for Student Services & Enrollment Management. A degree or certificate will not be awarded while an Incomplete grade remains on the transcript. A student may not request an Incomplete in an attempt to raise his or her grade. An incomplete that is not removed by the assigned date will be converted to a grade of F (failure). Only the appropriate instructor may authorize removal of an Incomplete designation. Degree-seeking students who receive an IN (incomplete) or an F (failure) in any course cannot enroll in another course unless the Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies grants permission. - Additional Policies, Procedures, and Forms
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- Academic Credit
- Bias Reporting
- Community Safety
- Conflict of Interest
- Copyright/Privacy/Web Policies
- Drug and Alcohol Use
- Firearms
- Grading Practices
- Honor at UVA
- Student Wellbeing
- Learning Environments
- Nondiscrimination/EEO/AA
- Sexual Assault Prevent Training Modules
- Privacy of Academic Records
- Recording Lectures/Distributing Course Materials
- Respect@UVA
- Student Rights & Responsibilities
- Use of University Equipment
- Use of University Facilities
Personnel Resources
- Changing Your Name or Address, Accessing Tax and Direct Deposit Information
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UVA uses Workday for managing HR-related tasks. You can log into Workday here. All personal information that was previously entered and submitted via the Self-Service portal is now be managed in Workday.
For questions related to access and use of Workday, please contact the HR Solution Center (434.243.3344, or askhr@virginia.edu).
Software, Platforms and Technical Support for Instruction
- Technology Expectations for Instructors
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Email
Email is the School's official means of communication with all SCPS faculty and students. All SCPS faculty members are required to establish a UVA email account.Document File Formats
Instructors should plan to create and use documents in their instruction that are easily viewable by their students. Since Microsoft Office is used extensively by SCPS students, formats that are readable by Office, Open Office, Google Apps and other document readers should be used. Adobe’s PDF format is widely used, therefore documents that should only be viewed without allowing editing or revision by students should be in PDF format. Faculty planning to use unusual document file formats should provide direction to students on where they can obtain free readers to view the documents or you should convert them to formats to which students have access.
Computer Hardware
For minimum faculty computing requirements at SCPS, please see Currently Supported Computing Technologies at UVA.Network Connectivity
At an absolute minimum, your high-speed network connection should be rated at 3 Mbps download and upload speeds. - How to Set up Your UVA Email Account
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Email is the School's official means of communication with all SCPS faculty and students. You must establish a UVA email account before you can create a Canvas site for your class, before posting your class overview and syllabus to Canvas, and before you teach your first class. You must also establish a UVA email account prior to accessing the Student Information System (SIS) to retrieve class rosters, post final grades, and more.
Setting up a UVA email account requires you to:- Obtain your UVA Computing ID
- Obtain your System Generated UVA Password
- Establish access to your UVA email
Note: University faculty are required to sign into University systems using NetBadge. NetBadge is a digital “badge” allowing access to protected resources for faculty and students on the UVA network, such as the Student Information System (SIS) and Canvas .
Whenever you are presented with a NetBadge Web Login, you will use your UVA Computing ID and System Generated UVA Password to gain access to these systems.Please follow Steps 1-3 at https://in.virginia.edu/itchecklist
If you are a returning faculty member and need assistance with your password, please contact the UVA Help Desk at 434-924-4357.Still Need Assistance?
If you have trouble with any of these steps, please send an email to SCPShelpdesk@virginia.edu and explain your situation. This desk is staffed Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
- Student Information System
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SIS is the University of Virginia’s centrally-supported Student Information System. Visit the SIS Help Center to familiarize yourself with the vast array of Resources for Faculty, including information on how to sign in/sign out of SIS, retrieve class rosters, enter final grades, and more.
You must establish a UVA email account before you can access SIS to retreive class rosters, post final grades, and more. Email is the School's official means of communication with all SCPS faculty and students. - Canvas
- UVA Libraries
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Access the UVA Libraries.
- Technical Assistance and Troubleshooting
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Canvas Troubleshooting & Technical Questions
Please see the Help page on the UVA Canvas portal or click the Help button in your course site (located on the left side of the page at the bottom of the navy-blue Global Navigation menu).Canvas User Guides
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/tkb-p/Instructor
UVA Computing ID, Password & Electronic Resource Issues
SCPShelpdesk@virginia.edu
Zoom Support
Visit the UVA Zoom homepage, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Zoom Help & Support”
UVA ITS Helpdesk
Available 24/7 by phone, email, or live chat: https://in.virginia.edu/helpdesk
Designing An Engaging Online Class
idtteam@virginia.edu
