CFU Teacher Guide

 Dear Instructor,

Thanks for making a CFU connection! We know you’ll give your classes lots of great personal energy. Please study this guidebook carefully and master its contents. We intensely recommend that you take it with you to your classes as a reference.

Be Prepared to Be a Problem Solver

CFU puts great responsibility on its teachers to make classes go smoothly. We will try to support you from the staff side, but be prepared to solve problems. (i.e.: room setup, temperature, lost students). Included in this guide is information about CFU’s rented classrooms. If you are using CFU classroom space, please contact the Programming department (303-785-2321/2322) to learn how to unlock doors, particularly (although not only) if your class is in the morning. It is your responsibility as an independent contractor to make sure you are able to gain access to your teaching space.

Read your Course Description

Read over your course description and make sure you are prepared to fulfill its promises. Students see course descriptions as “warranties” of what will happen in class, and what they will leave with. If your course description is the least bit unclear, or inaccurate in its promises, then move with vigor to change it before it goes to press. After publication, consider yourself honor-bound to give students what the catalog promises.

Contact Programming Before Each Section of Your Class

E-mail or telephone programming at least two days before each section. You need to confirm the time and location of your class. We simply cannot run the risk that students will show up only to find an empty room and no teacher. If you do not receive a call from us, do not assume this means your class in not being held! Please pay serious attention to this point.

Confirm the Location of Each Section of Your Class

Do not trust the location printed in the CFU catalog. We frequently need to juggle rooms after we go to print. We will, of course, try to confirm any changes with you by phone or mail. If you need to know exactly which room you have been assigned, you may call the CFU Facilities Manager directly at (303) 321-6522.

Please clean up after yourself, turn off all lights, close the windows and leave your classroom as soon as possible after your class is over. There may be another class scheduled in the same room shortly after yours, and if you are the last class for that day, the lockup crew should not have to wait for each student to personally converse with the instructor before exiting the facilities. Please encourage any “stragglers” to continue their conversations with you in the parking lot, at a coffee shop, over the phone, etc.

Procedures for Canceling Classes

There is no acceptable reason for canceling your class, outside of a serious medical situation. You are expected to hold class for a minimum of one student, unless this has been revised with the Program Director at the time of contract signing. Students are not given refunds or credits if they are suddenly unable to attend class or have a change of plans, and teachers must respect this and adhere to that same mindset. Canceling or postponing classes may result in termination of the contract between CFU and the contracting instructor, and the instructor may be asked to defray some of the expenses incurred.

Plan to Arrive at Least 30 Minutes Before Your Class Begins

Be prepared! Arrange the tables and chairs in the configuration best suited to your class. If you are using CFU space, please inform our Facilities Manager of your classroom setup. Also, bring your instructions about getting into CFU facilities (see third heading above).

Don’t Let the Weather Scare You!

This is Colorado, and it takes a serious storm for us to postpone classes! If classes are postponed due to weather, you will be notified, otherwise, it’s business as usual.

Collect Admission Tickets During Class

Students who have registered early will come to class with tickets that they need to sign (for liability purposes) and remit to you as proof of payment. Students who do not come to class with a confirmation ticket should:

Fill out blank tickets (enclosed in your teacher’s packet). Preferably they should have their confirmation number on the ticket. Confirmation numbers consist of two letters (a registrar’s initials) followed by several numbers.

People who registered shortly before class time should fill out blank tickets, also being sure to include confirmation numbers they were given.

People who have not yet registered should contact our registration department at (303) 399-0093 and register over the phone using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. They will then be able to fill out a blank ticket, using the confirmation numbers they have just received. If your class is held outside of normal registration office hours, you may sign them up on-site, and collect payment in the form of a check (made payable to CFU), or by taking a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover number and expiration date.

Materials fees are payable to you directly. It’s a good idea to bring sufficient cash to “make change” for students.

Tickets and Invoices Must Be Submitted Within Four Weeks After Your Course Ends

Instructors are paid according to the number of satisfied students in attendance. It is imperative that you collect each signed confirmation ticket. You will not be paid without the following: an invoice to meet federal independent contractor regulations, all money collected for in-class registration, if any, and all signed student tickets. Please be aware that the students must sign the class ticket as proof of attendance and acceptance of the standard liability waiver. You are paid only for the signed tickets you turn in.

If a student drops your course, we cannot pay you for their ticket. We can only pay for satisfied students who take the whole course and do not ask for a refund or transfer.

Teacher Payments

Checks will be sent the second Friday after your invoice and tickets have been received. For example, if CFU receives your invoice and tickets on Monday, May 6, your check will be mailed on Friday, May 17.

Familiarize Yourself with CFU Student Policies

Familiarize yourself with CFU student satisfaction and refund policies. Do NOT negotiate specific outcomes with dissatisfied students. Have them call CFU registration and lodge a “dissatisfied student claim”.