Question for anyone who has taught at a college

[Amethyst]

 

Is it common practice to hand over your classroom material (powerpoints you've created yourself, exams, homework and classroom assignments, etc) to a colleague when you are leaving the (community) college? 

[skimomma]

In my experience, yes.

[Bootsie]

It has varied a lot in my experience.  Some depends upon how extensive the materials are and why the person is leaving.

[Moonhawk]

DH did not do this when he stopped as an adjunct at a community college. Instructors made their own materials and it seemed pretty tailored to their teaching style/emphasis, even if they were working from the same text books. 

[SKL]

Mine was a long time ago, but I did not turn over anything I made myself ... I don't think.

[bolt.]

I work as an adjunct and have never been asked to do this in any formal way. Of course I do post everything to the student access system, so I guess they are still there for anyone from admin to look at if they want to. Now I'm wondering if I should be taking those down to tidy up after myself digitally.

I have, from time to time, been asked to email a copy of something I've done well (like a rubric) which I assume is used somehow to guide newer/other instructors. And the syllabus of each course is on record at the school too.

[skimomma]

27 minutes ago, skimomma said:

In my experience, yes.

Quoting myself to elaborate a little.

I was not "required" to do this but it was strongly encouraged.  But for every class I taught, I was given access to the previous instructors' materials.  Some I altered and used, others I didn't.  But it was super helpful to have insight into how the classes were previously taught.  By the time I left, I had developed all of my own materials, metrics, and outcome statistics.  I passed them along to the next instructors without a second thought.  I mostly taught classes in which I was the sole instructor but in other classes in which there were multiple sections taught by multiple instructors, we always collaborated to some extent.  I think of it as intellectual property that I was paid to develop and therefore does not "belong" to me.  

[Bootsie]

3 minutes ago, bolt. said:

I work as an adjunct and have never been asked to do this in any formal way. Of course I do post everything to the student access system, so I guess they are still there for anyone from admin to look at if they want to. Now I'm wondering if I should be taking those down to tidy up after myself digitally.

I have, from time to time, been asked to email a copy of something I've done well (like a rubric) which I assume is used somehow to guide newer/other instructors. And the syllabus of each course is on record at the school too.

It is my understanding that universities have backups and can resotre information that was in one of these online shells at a previous date even if you take things down.  

[Amethyst]

41 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Amethyst
Nvm

[skimomma]

9 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

Interesting that the only one (so far) who did not do it was a male. Do females just go along with this because we want to play nice? (Not saying your dh is not nice. Applauding him for standing up to the pressure, if that is what he did)

Totally anecdotal but all of the materials that were given to me when I started were developed by male instructors as I taught in an overwhelmingly male-dominated field.

[Bootsie]

I have found these requests vary depending upon if someone has left after a semester has been completed or if someone is leaving mid-semester.  I have also seen that it varies depending upon if someone was teaching an independent class or if someone was in charge of cooredinating classes.  When I left a university, I left behind copies of all of the materials I had developed for a coordinated lab section that were intentionally developed for others to use; I did not leave behind my individual course prep materials; I don't know that my individual course materials would have made much sense or have been of much use to anyone else. 

[Amethyst]

3 minutes ago, Bootsie said:When I left a university, I left behind copies of all of the materials I had developed for a coordinated lab section that were intentionally developed for others to use; I did not leave behind my individual course prep materials; I don't know that my individual course materials would have made much sense or have been of much use to anyone else. 

This PART of the issue. If I hand over my powerpoints, I know that it won’t always make sense to someone else. It might even make me look not thorough. But I don’t just READ the powerpoints. I elaborate. A lot. And use whiteboard. My notes are scribbled on papers that I’d be embarrassed to hand over. (But this is only PART of the issue)

[Bootsie]

1 minute ago, Amethyst said:

This PART of the issue. If I hand over my powerpoints, I know that it won’t always make sense to someone else. It might even make me look not thorough. But I don’t just READ the powerpoints. I elaborate. A lot. And use whiteboard. My notes are scribbled on papers that I’d be embarrassed to hand over. (But this is only PART of the issue)

My teaching notes are somewhat like notes I took in college--I attended class and paid attention, so I was bombarded by the "I didn't go to class, can I borrow your notes."  I could respond, "Sure, oh, by the way, do you know shorthand?  If not, you probably won't understand them"  

[sgo95]

My DH was an assistant professor. He did not receive any materials and did not pass any on. He had to develop his own class.

[ktgrok]

My husband teaches various classes, some semesters it is one thing, some semesters it is another. And yes, whoever created the class hands over the stuff for the class to the other person who will be teaching it. Which meant my husband spent a LOT of time redoing one course that the original instructor hadn't bothered to update in years (can't do that in technology fields!)

[QueenCat]

Dh said he has never been asked to turn over any teaching materials he created. He's never known who was teaching those classes next as he either taught at a satellite campus on a military installation or from home.

[Amethyst]

So, here’s another part of the problem. When I left the one college, I was not at all happy with the college. They had let go one of the best teachers there (for financial reasons) and I knew the program would suffer without her. It did suffer.  A year later, I left very unhappy with the school. Two years later and they have since recruited her to come back. Good for her. They are now paying her much more than when she left. I’m happy for her. I like her. But she is back working at a school that I am still quite upset with (for a variety of reasons). I feel like I’m handing over my material to the enemy (not her, the school). Sigh. 

[skimomma]

Unless your contract states that your materials are the school's property, I don't think you have to provide them.  Are they suggesting you must do this or just asking?

[Amethyst]

3 minutes ago, skimomma said:

Unless your contract states that your materials are the school's property, I don't think you have to provide them.  Are they suggesting you must do this or just asking?

Not at all. I no longer work at the same college. My former work-friend will be teaching my old class at my old school. She asked if I had anything I would be willing to share. I know that I will hand over a lot. (Not my hand-written notes) It just irks me and I’m trying to figure out why. 
 

This same friend handed over things to me when I taught my very first class. I was surprised and incredibly grateful to her. (True, it was just the textbook’s powerpoints that I could have accessed online myself, but still.) 

[regentrude]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

Is it common practice to hand over your classroom material (powerpoints you've created yourself, exams, homework and classroom assignments, etc) to a colleague when you are leaving the (community) college? 

I teach at a university, not cc.
I have inherited the materials from the previous instructors for the two classes I took over, and the colleague who is teaching the second class in the sequence has received all materials created by the previous instructors for his course. (I have not used any of them verbatim, but they were helpful for creating my own course)
I am sharing all my materials, including the videos for my online classes, with the colleague who teaches my course during the summer session. 
We are keeping a library of old exams for the foundational courses that gets passed on to whoever instructor is teaching.

ETA: All previous instructors mentioned above were male tenured faculty. I am female and non-tenured.

Edited September 22, 2021 by regentrude

[elegantlion]

My information is from two universities in the field of history. While a syllabus might be available, previous materials would not unless offered by the leaving instructor. The only time I've seen it is if there is already an established syllabus for a standardized survey level course. Historians tend to craft their courses in very individual ways based upon their own expertise. 

I do know there are instructors in other disciplines who inherited materials but only because they were given the class on a late notice. There are adjuncts, not full-time faculty.

 

 

[skimomma]

15 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

Not at all. I no longer work at the same college. My former work-friend will be teaching my old class at my old school. She asked if I had anything I would be willing to share. I know that I will hand over a lot. (Not my hand-written notes) It just irks me and I’m trying to figure out why. 
 

This same friend handed over things to me when I taught my very first class. I was surprised and incredibly grateful to her. (True, it was just the textbook’s powerpoints that I could have accessed online myself, but still.) 

In that case, it is totally up to you.  It sounds like more of a favor for a friend rather than the school asking you.  You are perfectly within your rights to decline or only provide what you are comfortable providing.

I also want to say that I cannot speak for practices at a community college.  My experience is as a non-tenured instructor at a university over the span of 13 years.  Sharing was the norm but not required.  My contract did not address it at all.

[Bootsie]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

So, here’s another part of the problem. When I left the one college, I was not at all happy with the college. They had let go one of the best teachers there (for financial reasons) and I knew the program would suffer without her. It did suffer.  A year later, I left very unhappy with the school. Two years later and they have since recruited her to come back. Good for her. They are now paying her much more than when she left. I’m happy for her. I like her. But she is back working at a school that I am still quite upset with (for a variety of reasons). I feel like I’m handing over my material to the enemy (not her, the school). Sigh. 

So is this individual in contact with you and asking if you would be willing to share the materials?  To me, that is very different than a school telling you to turn over the material.  It sounds as if it has been a couple of years since you have taught this class; if I were in that situation, I probably wouldn't have all of the materials organized in one spot to hand over and would not spend a lot of time gathering and organizing information unless it was a dear friend.

[Amethyst]

9 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

So is this individual in contact with you and asking if you would be willing to share the materials?  To me, that is very different than a school telling you to turn over the material.  It sounds as if it has been a couple of years since you have taught this class; if I were in that situation, I probably wouldn't have all of the materials organized in one spot to hand over and would not spend a lot of time gathering and organizing information unless it was a dear friend.

I have stayed in touch with this person after she left the college. It has been two years since I taught it and I do have almost all of it in one place and quite organized. I think I will send her everything that I have on my computer, and she’ll have to fill in the blanks herself (because I’m not going to hand over my scribbled notes). It’s a lot of material! I was just looking over it all, and I was impressed with all the extra items I have, not just powerpoints and exams. Case studies, worksheets, thoughtful homework assignments, review activities, creative role-playing activity. It makes me miss it. I still have this hope/fantasy that maybe I’ll teach it again some day. Sigh. 

[scbusf]

I have taught as an Adjunct at several community colleges and universities. I have never been asked to do this. It would make me uncomfortable to do that.