»Request a consultation

CETL offers confidential, one-on-one consultations on instructional strategies and course design. These can range from short enquiries related to a specific aspect of a colleague's class to a full review of a course—structure, delivery, assignments, and grading.

As well as consultants working directly in CETL, we have seven trained Peer Consultants from around the university, all highly respected teachers in their fields and ready to help you think about your own courses.

»Learn about our Peer Consultants 

Consultations are typically most effective face-to-face, though we can also do them over the phone or by e-mail. Our aim is to help faculty find solutions or alternatives with which they are comfortable, since the same approach will not work for all faculty, nor for all groups of students.

The more information you're able to provide us about your course, your students, and your own personal style, the easier it should be to help work out strategies that are most likely to lead to satisfaction in your teaching and in the students' learning.

Below are examples of the kinds of consultation enquiries we receive:

• Revising the syllabus
• Changing or redesigning assignments
• Developing in-class activities
• Dealing with classroom incivilities
• Creating grading criteria
• Encouraging group discussion
• Enhancing student motivation
• Making the most of classroom diversity
• Working with non-native English speakers
• Providing helpful feedback
• Finding evidence in the literature to support the work you are doing

CETL’S WORK WITH FACULTY IS:

FORMATIVE - CETL’s role is to support faculty in thinking about their teaching and their students’ learning. We offer suggestions and ideas. CETL is completely separate from any summative (judgment-based) evaluation and is never involved in Rank and Tenure (R&T) or hiring/re-hiring decisions. We do not write letters of recommendation for R&T files or for Chairs.

CONFIDENTIAL - Our conversations with faculty—even who we work with—remain confidential within CETL. Occasionally CETL staff discuss these consultations among themselves to be able to track trends in teaching-related issues or to brainstorm good advice or resources to offer faculty. One exception to our policy: By law, we are required to report any racial or sexual harassment or threat of physical harm to oneself or others.

VOLUNTARY - Faculty come to CETL because they want to, not because they are under duress. If a colleague “strongly suggests” that someone consult with CETL, that person is under no obligation to do so (by agreement with the Provost’s Office). Because all our consultations are confidential, we will not divulge—to department chairs, deans, or the provost—who has worked with us.