ACE Instructors

Policies and Procedures for LAU ACE Instructors

Dear Instructor,

Welcome to the Lebanese American University’s Academy of Continuing Education arm (LAU ACE). This unit provides state-of-the-art professional development opportunities to lifelong learners who wish to pursue their learning journeys.

LAU ACE strives to exceed students’ expectations through assuring quality standards.

In order to ensure successful management of all learning events at LAU ACE, please find below a set of guidelines and policy statements that instructors must conform to.

A. General rules and guidelines prior to the learning event:

1. You are asked to provide a resume and fill out all forms and other official documents and attestations requested by LAU HR. The documents should be submitted to LAU ACE personnel who will then compile all necessary papers and submit them to HR.
2. Upon submission of all requested documents, the HR department at LAU issues your contract. You are asked to pass by LAU ACE to sign it before the course start date.
3. You need to provide a course syllabus with a clear content set in logical sequence according to the learning needs and the skill level of participants. The time frame, activities, assignments, exams, and learning outcomes should be clearly stated.
4. Any material for photocopying and/or printing needs to be sent at least one week prior to the course start date.
5. In case you need additional course material for the course, you are to inform the LAU ACE Director or Deputy Director. The decision to include said material depends on the course budget as decided by the LAU ACE Director.
6. You are strongly encouraged to use Blackboard for all learning material, exams, and other communications with learners.
7. Course material is the property of LAU ACE unless you request to retain the intellectual property on the material(s) you provide during your courses by submitting the request as per Appendix A below. These rights will only apply to works created by you, personally.
8. You should not use any copyrighted materials during any learning session unless a disclosure is documented and a written approval is received from the original owners of the materials, should you wish to use materials other than your own.
9. You should abide by LAU’s anti-discrimination policy “based on age, race, color, religion, creed, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, marital status, nationality, disability, political affiliation or any other basis protected by applicable law” (as stated under LAU’s Anti-Discrimination policy section 1.6 ).
10. For Non-Lebanese instructors, LAU HR rules will be applicable.

B. General rules and guidelines during the learning event:

1. You need to set a classroom protocol and ground rules during the first session by highlighting LAU ACE’s absence policy, grading procedures, exams and projects requirements.
2. You need to cover all teaching points as stated in the syllabus during each session.
3. On the first day of classes, the Director or Deputy Director of LAU ACE might pass by your class for a few minutes, to introduce you, ACE, and the course.
4. At LAU ACE, you are expected to lead by example. Make sure to always be on time, take attendance, and abide by the agreed agenda and syllabus. In case of any changes, you need to inform the LAU ACE administration.
5. You need to inform the LAU ACE’s administration in case of absence or any class schedule changes. Those changes are subject to approval procedures.
6. You need to include practical activities in classrooms (exercises, role plays, group activities, and discussions, among others) coupled with professional examples of the topic at hand.
7. You need to provide participants with the required learning material.
8. You need to comply with the LAU ACE attendance policy of 80% of class hours.
9. You agree to refrain from advertising any proprietary programs or materials during any learning event. In case of any exceptions to this policy, you need to submit a signed “Request for Approval to Disclose Proprietary Interest” form prior to contract signature, as per Appendix B below. For any approved requests, you need to disclose the proprietary information immediately after discussion of the learning outcomes at the beginning of the learning event, and these Proprietary Interests will be appropriately referenced in instructional materials published by LAU ACE.

C. General rules and guidelines after the learning event:

1. In case the course has any grades to be submitted, you need to enter them on Banner as per the course deadline.
2. Students will fill an online evaluation sheet on the last day of classes. Results will be shared with you electronically for feedback.
3. If the release of payment is finalized and sent from LAU ACE to HR before the 20^th of each month, then you get paid on the 5^th of next month, i.e. after 15 days. Otherwise, the payment will have to wait for the 5th of the consecutive month.
4. You need to provide the LAU ACE program Coordinator with all signed attendance rosters after completing the course requirements within two days of last session.
5. You need to provide a summarized evaluation/assessment for each participant.
6. You need to provide the program coordinator with all participants’ assessments results and a list of participants including those who failed and those who successfully completed all the requirements within two days from the last class session.
7. It is your duty and responsibility to update all learning materials and implement any lessons learned towards continuous improvement for your learning events.
8. Your remuneration will be upon completion of the task for workshops (short courses) and on equal installments for long courses.
9. Your last payment is approved only after submission of the final grades and course evaluation sheets.
10. Ethically and professionally, you agree to refrain from making any post-course contact with the students outside the scope of LAU ACE, especially when it comes to further education. LAU ACE works hard to retain students, and your help is highly appreciated.