Course Preparation

Syllabus

Stanford Teaching Commons provides resources and examples for syllabus creation on their Optimizing the Syllabus page. Please refer to the Center for Teaching and Learning's Online Syllabus Template for required texts and suggested formats.

In particular, the Acknowledgement of Challenging Times on page 4, Support Services on page 8, and the Office of Accessible Educations’ Academic Accommodations statement on page 14, should be included in all syllabi.

Canvas

Canvas is Stanford University's primary learning management system. Instructors use Canvas to assist with course administration, such as posting materials, sending announcements, conducting online exams and quizzes, posting schedules, and more. Students access Canvas to download their courses' readings, lecture videos, lecture slides, syllabuses, and more.

Initial access to Canvas is granted by the Canvas administrators in the office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning (VPTL). Contact the help desk at canvashelp [at] stanford.edu (subject: Instructor%20Access%20Needed) (canvashelp[at]stanford[dot]edu) to obtain instructor access to the Canvas platform.

Canvas Sign-In

Help Resources for Canvas

Course Reader

The preferred method for distributing course materials is Canvas, Stanford's online course management program, and we strongly encourage all faculty to use that resource rather than printed course readers.  

For faculty who prefer to use the traditional method of a printed course reader to assign book extracts, articles, and handouts, please review the following information carefully.

If you will be assigning book extracts, multiple articles, handouts, etc, assembling a course reader is recommended. Course readers are produced and sold at the Stanford Bookstore. Materials for course readers should be submitted directly to the Custom Publishing desk on the lower level of the Bookstore six weeks before the quarter begins to allow sufficient time for Bookstore staff to obtain copyright permissions and make copies. Readers requested less than six weeks from the beginning of the quarter may not be available by the first day of classes. When ordering the reader, the instructor may request a copy for themselves and the TA, if applicable. This can be picked up at the textbook department on the lower level of the Bookstore. Materials submitted to the Bookstore will be returned to you by the end of the quarter.  Course reader requests can be sent to coursematerials [at] bookstore.stanford.org (coursematerials[at]bookstore[dot]stanford[dot]org).

If you prefer to use an outside vendor to create and distribute your course reader, please provide the vendor with the actual book so they can secure appropriate permissions, and so that all photocopying costs are folded into the price of the reader. The Department copiers should not be used to create a master copy.

The Art Department is not responsible for purchasing or producing any course readers or course reader materials. If you have questions about course readers, please contact the Student Services Specialist. The Art Library does not purchase course readers to place on your course reserve. If you wish to place a reader on reserve you must either supply the library with your personal copy or purchase an additional copy.

Text Books

All texts are ordered through the Stanford Bookstore and must be submitted eight weeks before the beginning of the quarter to ensure textbooks are available for students by the beginning of the quarter.  

Textbook requests can be sent to coursematerials [at] bookstore.stanford.org (coursematerials[at]bookstore[dot]stanford[dot]org). Requests must include:

• Title
• Author
• ISBN
• Quantity
• Course Number/Title
• Whether the text(s) are required or recommended to students

Alternatively, textbooks can also be ordered online by following the steps:

The Department is not responsible for purchasing course textbooks for student use. For TA copies refer to “Desk Copies” section below. If you have any questions regarding textbooks, please contact the Student Services Specialist.

TA Desk Copies

The desk copy program is intended to provide TAs with textbooks required to assist a course. For courses with an enrollment of 10 or more, the Department can request desk copies from the publisher. Send desk copy requests to the Faculty Support Specialist two (2) months before the start of each quarter.

Requests must include:

• Title
• Author
• Publisher
• ISBN
• Edition
• Number of desk copies requested (enough for any TAs)
• Date books were ordered from the Bookstore
• Estimated course enrollment

Desk copies take 6 to 8 weeks to arrive, and are not guaranteed from the publisher. If the Department is unable to obtain enough copies of the book for all TAs assigned to a course, the TA(s) may purchase copies and be reimbursed by the Department. Most publishers will only provide one desk copy per 25-50 students enrolled in a course.

Desk copies requests not received by the Department's deadline become the responsibility of the faculty member. The TA may purchase a copy and submit the receipt for reimbursement from the faculty member's research account.

Studio Classroom Etiquette

Janitors do not come into the studios during the quarter except to empty the trash. Department staff are not expected to clean up after students. Please encourage your students to clean up after themselves throughout the quarter.

At the end of each quarter the studio students are required to remove all their work and materials from the classrooms, lockers and storage areas. Any items present after the posted deadlines will be discarded.

Studios should be left as close as possible at the end of the term to the condition in which they were at the start of the quarter.

Also, please ensure your classroom is stocked with paper towels, soap, and latex gloves. Contact the Studio Lab Manager if supplies need to be re-ordered.

A/V Support

Please see Classroom Requests