Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Social Work

Position Summary

The Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver manages the following four MSW Programs: (1) Denver Campus MSW Program with in-person courses on the University of Denver Campus in Denver, CO and occasional online teaching opportunities, (2) MSW@Denver with only online teaching opportunities of courses that primarily run on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, (3) the Four Corners MSW Program in Durango, CO with in-person teaching opportunities on Fridays & Saturdays, and (4) the Western Colorado MSW Program in Glenwood Springs, CO with in-person teaching opportunities on Fridays and Saturdays. GSSW is looking to hire adjunct instructors for the 2024 - 2025 academic year to teach a variety of graduate courses across these programs.

GSSW courses are categorized as foundation curriculum in social work and as concentration-focused practice, theories, policy, research, and values courses. GSSW concentration courses span topics of advanced social work practice: aging; children & youth; child welfare; health & wellness; mental health; organizational leadership, policy, & practice; family systems; and ecological justice. Throughout our MSW curriculum we strive to promote anti-racism and anti-oppression through the integration of this content into our courses, through the diversity of voices represented in our course materials, and in the way we approach how we teach courses. This posting will serve for multiple openings across programs. More information about the schedule of classes may be found on the Registrar’s Office Online Course Schedule.

Essential Functions

In addition to following the University of Denver’s policies and procedures, principal responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Complete required new faculty trainings (i.e., GSSW new adjunct orientation, Technology training for MSW@Denver Program).
• Teach course in the assigned modality per program and course schedule once or twice a week, depending on the course.
• Prepare and maintain the learning management system (i.e., Canvas) course container.
• Prepare to teach the course by attending course-specific onboarding meetings, reviewing the readings, and becoming familiar with the course learning objectives, assessment requirements, and asynchronous / synchronous learning activities.
• Meet with students as needed and strive for responding to student inquiries within 2 business days.
• Assign and explain expectations for papers, exams, and other deliverable assignments as appropriate.
• Grade and offer feedback on assignments in a timely manner.
• Support the collection of evaluative feedback through mid-quarter and end-of-quarter / final course evaluations.
• Attend any quarterly course-specific, quarterly program-specific, or bi-annual academic affairs virtual meetings.

Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development Additional Responsibilities:

• On occasion, existing adjunct faculty may be hired to support additional course-related duties for a given quarter. Tasks include the following:
  • Work with lead faculty and section instructors to gather input about course revisions and iterations.
  • Respond to initial questions about course content and expectations to support section faculty during the quarter
  • Facilitate the start-of-quarter welcome meeting for a given course with any instructors teaching that quarter.
  • Assist with technical fixes within learning management system for the course (i.e., course reserve reading links, other links or content).
  • As needed, work with lead faculty to develop course content and learning activities.

Overload Faculty Additional Responsibilities:

• On occasion, existing appointed faculty may be hired to teach additional courses in addition to standard workload. Tasks include:
  • Consult and confirm approval with your supervisor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to confirm availability to teach a course above standard workload for the upcoming quarter.
  • Teach additional course at the overload payment rate, following the essential functions listed above.

Substitute Faculty Pool:

• On occasion, existing adjunct and appointed faculty may be hired to provide substitute coverage for a class session of an existing course. Tasks include:
  • Complete the quarterly survey to provide your availability by program, modality