Resources Overview
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Academic Integrity
WCU’s official Academic Integrity Policy
Hunter Library Research Guide Write and Manage Citations
The WaLC’s Guide to Help Your Students Stop Plagiarizing
Accessibility
WCU’s Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR)
- Faculty Information from the Office of Accessibility Resources (OAR) – Faculty play an integral role in providing accommodations for students in their courses. The Office of Accessibility Resources works in partnership with faculty to fulfill the required accommodation needs of our students while balancing curriculum expectations.
WebAim https://webaim.org/
WCU IT Help Support Center: Canvas Accessibility and Accommodations Hub
Two common settings in Canvas to provide accommodations to students taking tests online:
- Instructure Community: Once I publish a timed quiz, how can I give my students extra time?
- IT Help Support Center: Letting a specific student take a Canvas Quiz at a different time than the other students
Active Learning
Think-Pair-Share
Harvey, Ashley (2025). Tired of Awkward Silences? Upgrade your Think-Pair-Share. Faculty Focus.
Kent State University Center for Teaching and Learning. Think, Pair, Share.
AI
The resources listed below have been curated to support you with artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI:
NEW: Western Carolina University AI Update (Fall 2025).
NEW: Information Technology (2025): AI at WCU.
WCU’s Syllabus Statement
WCU does not have standardized syllabus language for the use of AI since faculty and/or programs are free to make independent determinations about acceptable students’ use of AI in the classroom and in coursework. Faculty and/or programs are welcome to independently develop syllabus statements or policies for their courses. Some example statements from external sources can be found on the AI Chatbots FAQ page. If AI is permitted for use in a course, faculty are strongly urged to include instructions to students to exclusively use the approved AI platform, MS CoPilot.
Coulter Faculty Commons (2023): AI Chatbots FAQ.
Hunter Library Research Guide (2025): Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The report “Leading Through Disruption” presents findings from a survey of 337 higher education leaders on the current and future impacts of generative AI in teaching and learning. Conducted by AAC&U and Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center, it explores the challenges, opportunities, and transformative effects of AI on campuses nationwide.
Toor, Rachel (2025). Why Should Faculty Bother With AI? Inside Higher Ed.
Advice Guides for the Chronicle of Higher Education
Includes “evergreens” like How to Teach a Good First Day of Class, How to Be a Better Online Teacher, or How to Create a Syllabus.
Assignments
Transparent Assignments (TILT)
Stoeckle, Anabel (2022). TILT 2.0: How to Convey Your Expectations of a Class Assignment Effectively. Faculty Focus.
Course Design
Canvas Course Design Checklist
Penn State, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Flexible Instruction Teaching Guide.
Self-paced teaching guide offering materials and resources from best practices frot teaching, to using Canvas, and engaging students with activities and assessments.
Grading & Feedback
Elon University. Equity-minded Assessment: Practices for Grading and Feedback.
Short Courses
UNC Charlotte Center for Teaching and Learning. Short Courses / Part-of-Term Courses: Condensing Course Content.
Scholarship for Teaching & Learning (SoTL)
Supporting First-Gen Students
Ezarik, Melissa (2022). 9 Ways to Elevate First-Generation Student Support. Inside Higher Ed.
UC Davis Center for Educational Effectiveness (2023). How does being a First-Gen faculty member change the way you teach?
Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum, including a link to the Hidden Curriculum Design Thinking Worksheet.
Collins, Terence. For Openers… an Inclusive Syllabus.
Academic Integrity – Dean of Students
Supporting Gen Z Students
Supiano, Beckie (2024). Some Assembly Still Required. How K-12 reforms and recent disruptions created Gen Z’s baffling habits. Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Syllabus Resources
Required Institutional Policies and Student Support Resources (formerly named “Required Syllabus Content”; last updated 06/04/2025)
Syllabus Template, Resources, and Support
Reading Skills
Barre, Betsy (2024). Why Don’t Students Read? Podcast episode (~ 47 minutes) by Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Wake Forest University.
UMass Amherst Center for Teaching & Learning. How Do I Help Students Engage Fully with Course Readings?
Teaching Online
Regular & Substantive Interaction – Instructor presence and student/instructor interactions are key online course elements that foster student motivation, persistence, and success. In line with these findings, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requires all online courses for which students use Title IV funds include regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between students and instructors.
Page last updated 08/12/2025.