FAQs - Teaching Online

What does the instructor training cover?

• Successful completion of SNHU Online’s instructor training course is required before you will be assigned to teach. There is no charge for the training, as it is considered a part of our investment in the professional training and development of our faculty.
  
• Once you have been approved, you will be notified of the training to which you have been assigned. You are permitted to request to postpone the training one time in exceptional circumstances. Weeks 1 through 3 will involve Blackboard training and/or test out only. This module will be facilitated, but self-paced. Those enrolled will be required to complete a checklist of activities designed to demonstrate the proficiency required in Blackboard to design an effective course due no later than Friday of the third week. Weeks 4 through 8 of the term will be centered on pedagogical issues and best practices for teaching online.
  
• Please be aware that SNHU Online is in the process of migrating to a new delivery format, in which courses will be enhanced with content and activities designed to meet the learning objectives. While all courses will still be delivered through Blackboard, faculty will require additional training before being assigned to any courses in this new format. If you are approved to teach one of these courses, you will be contacted with information regarding enrollment to the required two week training course.
  
• The amount of time you will need to invest in the course will depend upon your experience with Blackboard. On an average, as with most of our online courses, we expect a commitment of no less than 8 to 10 hours per week.

How long does the application process take?

• While it is our goal to process your application and get you through training as soon as possible, it may take as many as 6-9 months before we can offer you an assignment. This will depend on the speed in which your application file is completed and approved, the scheduling of your instructor training, and the scheduled rotation of courses.

When will I be scheduled to teach a class?

• Upon successful completion of the training course, you will be placed in our active pool of faculty.  Instructors are assigned on a term by term basis with no guarantee of assignments each term.  Your work through the program will be as an independent contractor, and you will receive a 1099 at the end of the year.
  
• In an effort to help instructors plan their teaching schedule, we will contact them 12 weeks before a term start date to determine their interest in teaching for us.
  
• Formal Assignment Notifications are mailed out 10 weeks prior to the term start. To confirm the teaching assignment, instructors must notify Faculty Support by the designated date on the Assignment Notification.

Is the class already designed or do I need to do that?

Currently there are two formats to the classes we offer at SNHU:

Typical courses:
 You are given access to the Faculty E*source area where SNHU Departmental syllabi (and other resource materials) are posted. You must take the Learning Objectives, the Topics, and in almost all circumstances, the assigned textbook(s) from these guiding documents and prepare a course syllabus for your specific online course using the SNHU Online syllabus template (also provided in E*Source).
You are responsible for the production of original course content (lecture notes, supplemental presentations/case studies/group work) yourself using the tools and techniques you will study in our Online Instructor Training.

 “Content Enhanced” courses:
SNHU Online’s content enhanced course development pairs an instructional designer with a subject matter expert (SME) to develop the course. Courses are developed to be student-centered, media-rich, and objective-driven.  The courses are geared for reusability and emphasis is placed on consistency of content, scope and rigor, implementation of best practices, and outcomes-based learning approaches.  The course would be provided to you along with a course handbook, your guide in course preparations and insight into ways you can still add your own thoughts and insight to the course. You will be notified should your course be delivered in the new model.

Note: We stress to the students the importance of original/correctly cited work. All materials presented by our instructors must of course adhere to these same standards. Check the Faculty Handbook and Blackboard areas where “Plagiarism” is explained in “Policy” and “Discussion” areas.

 What is the compensation for teaching a class?

• With a master's degree, the university allows us to offer $1800 per 8 week course, and $2100 per eleven week course (undergraduate and graduate). For terminal degree holders, we begin at $2100 and $2400, respectively. There may be a premium added for special certifications and/or disciplines of critical need.

What is the pay schedule?

• Undergraduate: Your base salary will be divided into two payments that will be disbursed in the fourth and the eighth week of the term. For instructors who are teaching a 16-week course, one-quarter will be disbursed every fourth week of the term.
  
• Graduate: Your base salary will be divided into three payments.  One third disbursed in each of the fourth, eighth, and eleventh weeks of the term.

  Please note: direct deposit is not available to independent contractors. Disbursements are mailed directly to your home.

How many students are in a class?

• Most courses are capped at 19 students. Some writing intensive courses, such as Eng/Lit are capped at 12 students per class. In order for the class to run, there needs to be a minimum of 5 students registered for the class.

Are the classes asynchronous?

• All courses are asynchronous, as most of our students and faculty are located around the globe.
  
• Faculty may include OPTIONAL synchronous elements to their courses (Office Hours, Skype, etc.), but will need to accommodate students in different time zones.

What is the length of our terms?

• All four graduate terms are 11 weeks in duration, and start (approximately) in September, January, March and June each academic year.
  
• Most six undergraduate terms are 8 weeks. There are some accounting and finance courses that are 16 weeks in length. You will be informed of term start dates in your Assignment Notification.

Are there proctored exams?

• No, all exams are online, without proctors.

Can I choose to use my own textbook?

• The Department Chair at the main SNHU campus determines the required text(s) for each course.
  As the instructor, you have the option to use supplementary reading materials in your class. If you wish to ‘require’ a supplementary text in your course you will need to submit a “textbook adoption” form (with justification) to the department chair for approval. Having taught a class once using the Departmental text, you can request an alternate textbook, assuming that you can demonstrate its superiority. Contact Faculty Support to discuss how to go about this. The final decision will always reside with the Departmental Chair in discussion with the SNHU Online Chief Academic Officer.

Can I obtain a desk copy of my textbook before being assigned to a course?

• All textbooks and/or editions are subject to change at any time during the year, therefore we highly encourage you to wait before requesting desk copies until you are “officially” assigned to a course, in an upcoming term.
  
• The policy states that adjunct faculty will be responsible for obtaining their own textbook(s) and any available ancillaries from the publisher. Each term a book list goes out along with directions and publisher contact information for ordering your own textbooks.