Professional Guidelines for Instructors of Staff Employees

Read recommended guidelines about professionalism and effectiveness for instructors teaching courses for staff, and in particular, for those whose training is supported by UC San Diego Staff Education & Development.

In the interest of creating one consistent point of access to campuswide training, several departments within Business Affairs have integrated their training enrollment process into the UC Learning Center system administered by Staff Education & Development, a division of the Human Resources Department. In addition, there are over 140 university employees, and several external consultants, all of whom are subject matter experts providing instruction to UC San Diego staff, and whose courses are made available through UC Learning Center.

In the interest of assuring consistent quality and a workable process for serving clients throughout the enrollment process and training delivery, Staff Education & Development, in consultation with IT Services and Business & Financial Services, offers the guidelines below, and invites your support and commitment.

Professional ethics

• Treat all learners equitably and with the highest degree of respect consistent with the UC San Diego Principles of Community.
• Protect the confidentiality of course participants by preserving their anonymity when discussing courses or programs with anyone outside of the class.
• Ensure that participants respect the confidentiality of others by asking them to agree to avoid naming names both inside and outside of the classroom.
• Intervene when participants do not honor these confidentiality standards by reminding them of the guidelines.
• Conform to university and federal intellectual property regulations by appropriately attributing quoted material and graphics.

Commitment

• Honor commitments to teach the classes on the dates and times scheduled.
• Ensure that clients receive the accurate, timely, and correct information by consulting with the Staff Education & Development office by phone at (858) 534-4890 or e-mail before canceling or rescheduling a class or program.

Content

• Develop program content that is relevant and applicable such that learners’ evaluations usually indicate satisfaction that the program enhanced their skills.
• Develop program content which is consistent with the UC San Diego Principles of Community.
• Analyze course evaluations and improve course design as appropriate.
• Ensure learner retention, by developing instructional resource materials that are easy to read, appropriate for adult learners, and professional in appearance.
• Use established tools and techniques of professional training. For more information about these tools and techniques, please contact Staff Education & Development trainers for recommended reading, courses, and other resources.

Delivery

• Create an open and welcoming environment in which individuals feel comfortable expressing their ideas. Practice group facilitation skills that demonstrate understanding of the needs and sensibilities of a diverse work force such that learners typically report feeling free to share openly.
• Communicate information and ideas clearly and understandably such that learners usually report satisfaction with instructor’s communication skills.
• Provide activities which reinforce learning the subject matter, engage the learner, and promote a positive learning experience.

Logistics

• Set up the classroom before the scheduled class time and greet learners as they arrive.
• Make arrangements to test the changes to hardware or software used in a course prior to the day of the session whenever possible.
• Provide the standard evaluation form to learners for each program offered, collect them at the end of the class, and return completed forms and sign-in sheets to the Staff Education & Development Program Office at the end of each section or within one working day of the end of a class.
• Return the classroom to its standard setup when a class is over; turn off projection equipment and computers.

Training Support

• Coordinate with the Staff Education & Development office prior to marketing classes to targeted groups to ensure consistency of course information and to avoid duplication of contacts.