Teaching assignments for 2006-2007 are to be
made up soon.
The Committee which undertakes this task
depends heavily on the responses to this questionaire.
Please fill it out
and return it by
December 23, 2005
if possible
Don't forget - Once you complete the
form, you MUST click on the
Submit Request Button at the bottom of the FORM!
For detailed information on the course listings, you can go to the
on-line
course catalog.
General Considerations
Department of Physics
University of Washington
2005
Procedures and Considerations
Involved in Teaching Assignments
Proposed
teaching assignments are worked out by a committee consisting
the Department Chair and the two Associate Chairs. The committee chair
is Jim Bardeen, but the Department Chair has final authority and
distributes the assignment list.
The problem is to match faculty resources to student needs in such
a way that every faculty member has appropriate assignments.
The committee tries
to match faculty preferences (as indicated by the questionnaires) with
demand anticipated from enrollment trends. It also tries to meet the
goals of the graduate and undergraduate programs. This may be difficult
due to reduced staffing levels from retirements and departures.
Faculty are requested to list alternate courses, in the
event that it becomes necessary to reshuffle the assignments.
The teaching assignments form a system so interconnected that it is
impractical to proceed by discussing assignments individually with
all 50+ faculty members. In a few cases, where special
circumstances are involved, consultation is the rule. Otherwise,
the committee works out a complete
solution and then presents the result so that the entire faculty can
view the whole picture.
After the initial plan is presented, it will be possible to make
changes if a serious error has occurred or if an individual
feels very ill-suited to an assignment. If this is your case,
please contact the committee chair or the Department Chair at once.
The chances are large that you will be assigned to a lower-division
undergraduate course. Most assignments (about 60%) are to such classes.
The most frequently requested courses are upper-division undergraduate
courses which also are those least available (only 10% of the teaching
assignments).
When possible, a sequence of courses is assigned to the same
instructor
throughout a year so as to maximize continuity of presentation.
Many courses are rotated among faculty at a fairly rapid rate. As
a rule of thumb, it is assumed that anyone who teaches one of the principal
sequences for graduate or undergraduate physics majors has the privilege
of continuing for a second or third year, but ordinarily not for a fourth
year.
Advanced laboratories usually are assigned for longer periods, typically
for three to five years. Special topics courses and research speciality
courses are regarded as ``one-shot'' assignments.
On the other hand, specially developed courses in which a faculty
member has a vital interest may be assigned for rather long periods. (If you
wish to teach a course beyond the usual term, please indicate this in the
first item on the questionnaire or by a special note.)
About one in three assignments requires special qualifications of
the instructor (e.g., senior speciality courses, advanced laboratories,
advanced graduate courses, etc). While this creates attractive
opportunities for some, it greatly restricts what is available to others.
Visiting faculty may require special consideration. For example,
it usually is inappropriate to assign visitors to new courses or to
laboratories.
Unfortunately, some among us have been known to express an
arbitrary unwillingness to teach particular courses. The result is a further
narrowing of the opportunities for others.
These considerations, faculty preferences, and student demand for courses
somehow must lead to assignments that come out even. The system is so
over determined that in the end many reasonable requests and sensible
suggestions have to be ignored. Yet there is a finite chance that your
preference for a particular course someday may be met.
Teaching Request Form
Department of Physics 2005
University of Washington
Don't forget - once you fill out the form,
you MUST click on the
Submit Request Button at the bottom of this PAGE!
If successful, you should receive an email copy of your submitted information.
File translated from TEX by TTH, version 2.25. On 20 Dec 2000, 09:45.