Friedman School Faculty Resources
Click on the tabs below to find helpful links for faculty resources at the Friedman School and Tufts University.
Important Notices about Benefits
Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President - Policies
Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave
Massachusetts paid family and medical leave is a new state program authorized by the Massachusetts “Grand Bargain” law. This leave program goes into effect January 1, 2021. Tufts will be administering this leave program through a Commonwealth approved private plan available here: https://access.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/documents/hr/hr-DPFML-Approved-Private-Plan.pdf. For more information, including information about how to apply for a leave, see https://access.tufts.edu/massachusetts-paid-family-medical-leave-pfml
Family Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal requirement the university must abide by. The FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:
- For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care, or child birth;
- To care for the employee’s child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
- To care for the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
- For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job.
- To address certain qualifying exigencies related to covered active duty in the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Reserves (“Qualified Exigency Leave”), or up to twenty-six (26) weeks to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness (“Military Caregiver Leave”).
To be eligible for FMLA leave, a faculty member must have worked for the university for at least twelve months, and for at least 1,250 hours in the year preceding a requested leave, and must have worked at a worksite within seventy-five miles of a Tufts worksite that employs at least fifty employees.
A faculty member meets the FMLA eligibility requirement of having worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, if he/she has worked at least half time for two consecutive semesters during the twelve months preceding a requested leave.
For more information about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) refer to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the Tufts University Employee Handbook.
NEW! Required Course Syllabus Format and Guidelines for the Friedman School Faculty
NEW! Resource Guide for the Friedman School Course Syllabus Template
Curriculum and Degrees Committee (C&D) Course Proposal Qualtrics Form
(Click here prior to completing the Qualtrics form if you would like to see all of the questions in advance)
Please access the Friedman Syllabus Workshop Handout HERE. A recorded training and handout are available by request.
Where to Start
Many of the curated resources below are found at Teaching@Tufts, a collaboration between the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) and Tufts Educational Technology Services (ETS). This site provides a wealth of resources in the below topic areas as well as a schedule of training and development sessions.
- Online Course Design
- Online Teaching
- Online Assessment
- Online Technology
- Training and Development Sessions
Asynchronous Online Course Design Tutorial
- This asynchronous self-paced version of the above Online Course Design Institute features the same content and will introduce you to ideas and skills for adapting an existing traditional face-to-face course into an inclusive, student-centered online course. This course is designed to model design features and tools you may wish to include in your course.
CELT (https://provost.tufts.edu/celt/)
- Visit the CELT page for links to teaching resources (not just for online teaching) including workshops, roundtables, and to sign up for the CELT newsletter that announces upcoming training opportunities.
- CELT Workshops
- CELT regularly holds workshops and events to support teaching and promote teaching innovation. Check the link for upcoming programming. Some prior events may be available as recordings. Most, but not all of the content on this site is also listed on Teaching@Tufts Training and Development Sessions.
- Upcoming workshop: Expand your Toolkit: Advanced Synchronous Engagement Techniques
- Tuesday, Jan. 5th; 11-12 pm
- Tuesday, Feb. 9th; 10-11am
- Tuesday, Mar. 16th; 10-11am
- Tuesday, Apr. 6th; 10-11am
- Tuesday, May 4th; 10-11am
1:1 Consultation with ETS (edtech@tufts.edu)
- The resources in this compendium should help get you on your way, but if you need help, email ETS for a 1:1 consultation.
- This resource is promoted by CELT and is provided by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) where they offer resources and recommendations that can be immediately put to use by instructors, to benefit both faculty and students. These resources are divided into six key topic areas for teaching remotely:
- Welcoming students to the online environment
- Managing your online presence
- Organizing your online course
- Planning and facilitating quality discussions
- Recording effective micro lectures
- Engaging students in readings and micro lectures
How to be a better online teacher
- This resource is an advice guide from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
- You will find advice on how to make your online pedagogy as effective and satisfying as the in-person version, including:
- 10 essential principles and practices of better online teaching
- Common misperceptions
- How to find help
Make the Switch to Remote Teaching & Learning
- This resource provides ways to switch a classroom learning experience to an online learning experience.
- There is a helpful grid that shows what is typically done in a face-to-face class and then next to it, provides how it can be done remotely with tips and tricks. They show this side by side comparison on multiple topic areas including “communicating with students,” “sharing and organizing materials,” “engaging with students,” and “assessing learning.”
Balancing Synchronous and Asynchronous Instruction
- About the limitations of synchronous instruction, from Inside Higher Ed.
5-Low-Tech-Time-Saving-Ways to Teach During Covid 19
- Basic approaches to teaching online instead of in the classroom, from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The HyFlex Option if Campuses Open this Fall
- Creating blended or hybrid courses that include on-campus and online activities.
An Online Course Review Checklist
- Utilize this course review checklist to ensure you have prepared all essential and strongly recommended course elements.
Online learning objectives building tool
- A quick interactive tool that will help you develop learning objectives.
Engaging Students and Eliciting Interaction While Teaching Remotely
- An essential component of the learning process comes from the interactions that students have with the instructor, the course content, and their fellow students. There are a number of things instructors can do to foster and manage interaction in an online learning environment. This resource provides questions and ideas for solutions that came out of a virtual roundtable among instructors preparing to teach remotely.
Maintaining connections with your students while teaching remotely
- It is important to keep finding ways to help students feel connected to you, to each other, and to the course content, as well as to let them know that you care about them and their learning.
- This article shares ways to create this community and set expectations in an online learning setting.
Class Discussions at a Distance
- This ETS resource describes best practices for facilitating asynchronous discussion forums and activities in an online class.
Fostering Inclusion and Equity in Remote Teaching
- This resource presents six tips to promote an inclusive and equitable remote learning space given this moment.
USC Equity-Minded Syllabus Review
- An inquiry tool for promoting racial and ethnic equity and equity-minded practice in developing your syllabus.
Rice Univ. Inclusion, Equity, and Access While Teaching Remotely
- A discussion of how remote teaching creates challenges in equity and access and provides suggestions for how to address these challenges.
Cornell Intro to Universal Design for Learning
- Introduction to an approach that strives to meet the needs of all learners.
Accessibility in Online Classes: Guide for Tufts Faculty
- Discusses a number of issues about teaching materials, such as slides, font, graphics, and more.
Best Practices for Online Accessibility Checklist
- A practical approach to making course material and AV tools accessible to a wide range of students.
- This resource provides ideas on how to stay connected to students while teaching remotely. You will want to consider both synchronous and asynchronous options to make sure that students have equitable access to your support.
Working with Teaching Assistants Remotely
- TAs can be involved in promoting student engagement, developing content, and facilitating smooth virtual experiences. There are a range of ways that the instructor and TA can work together to offer the best support for learning and engagement.
- This resource provides examples of some responsibilities that TAs can help with in both synchronous and asynchronous remote classes.
How can I use my syllabus as a tool for inclusion?
- Your syllabus can be a powerful tool in creating an inclusive learning environment. It conveys your priorities as an instructor and sets the tone and your expectations for the course. This resource provides an overview of how to revise your syllabus to set an inclusive, supportive climate for learners.
Virtual Teaching Tip: Asynchronous Discussions
- * This resource provides suggestions for translating principles for in-class discussions for use in online discussion forums.
Canvas Course Design Institute: Using Canvas Discussion Forums
- * An excerpt from the CELT Canvas Course Design Institute, this Word document covers how to incorporate discussion forums into your course as you design it.
Canvas Training for Faculty and Staff
- A Canvas-based collection of resources including a general introduction to Canvas, how to utilize Canvas to communicate with students, how to use the Pages, Files and Syllabus tools, how to create discussions, assignments and quizzes, and how to use the gradebook.
Canvas Trainings and Open Labs
- This Canvas@Tufts site offers on-demand and live training as well as drop-in sessions to help you get up and running with Canvas. Review the schedule for upcoming scheduled trainings or select one of the on-demand options.
Canvas Student Orientation and Training
- A Canvas orientation and training that can be shared with students so they can learn how to utilize the various features of Canvas, from understanding the dashboard to participating in discussions and submitting assignments.
Getting in touch with your students via Canvas
- Provides tips for the Announcements and Conversations functions in Canvas.
- This FAQ addresses how to create reading lists through Tufts libraries and how to add links and share with students.
Ways to engage students when teaching remotely with Zoom
- For faculty who would like to utilize Zoom for synchronous teaching and/or possibly hold office hours with Zoom, this resource provides useful pedagogical suggestions.
Live Polling and Classroom Interaction Overview: Poll Everywhere
- Poll Everywhere is a live interactive audience participation platform which can be used for student engagement, classroom response, and assessment.
Live Polling and Chat guidance from Professor Will Masters
- This is a recorded session on Active Learning in Lectures using chat and interactive polling.
Live Polling and Classroom Interaction Overview: VoiceThread
- VoiceThread is a video and audio collaboration platform which allows instructors and students to post media objects and generate rich online conversations around a given topic.
- VoiceThread integrates into Canvas and can be installed on your course’s Canvas site by request.
Tufts Library’s Remote Resources for Faculty and Students
- In this Q&A, Tisch librarians describe library resources and share how the libraries can assist faculty with accessing resources, developing assignments and working with students remotely.
Library Research Guide for Faculty
- This Hirsh Health Sciences Library guide has resources for faculty on how to add library content to their syllabi, reading lists, lecture slides and more.
Hirsch Library Book Reserve Request Form
- Use this form to place books on course reserve.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Teaching: How to Make Breakout Rooms Work Better
- A teaching-and-learning expert shares approaches for making videoconferencing rooms work
- Log in using your Tufts username and password to review analytics on your Canvas content to see if students are engaging with the material
Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction
- This book consists of ideas and suggestions for organizing online courses to facilitate high engagement with online learners, including online icebreakers, team activities and reflective activities.
Canvas: How do I add an announcement in a course?
- Announcements are a great way to provide students with course updates, resources and check-in as a way to increase engagement. ETS recommends periodic video announcements as an ideal way to connect with students, virtually. Review this resource for steps on creating an announcement.
- Evaluating a course is useful for informing revisions to the course. Students’ feedback about their experience and learning can be collected with: surveys, informal conversations, performance on assignments. This resource explores the various tools for collecting feedback.
Gathering Midterm Student Feedback During Remote Learning
- Formally gathering feedback from students in the middle of a semester can help both faculty and students understand what’s helping or hindering student learning and allow for course correction. This article offers suggestions for midterm evaluation techniques.
- Smaller, more frequent opportunities for feedback on learning with low-stakes assessments such as quizzes provide authentic experiences or reflection on learning. This page provides ideas and suggestions for how to integrate online assessments into your course.
- Review these technical basics to ensure that you can effectively connect and teach online.
Training for Working and Teaching Remotely
- Provides information about TTS self-help guides, live workshops and 1:1 consultation. Primarily focused on Zoom and WebEx.
- Links to virtually all the tools that are used to create and deliver online courses.
Keep Teaching: Online Technology
- ETS overview of technologies for creating and delivering asynchronous and synchronous components of courses.
- This page provides information to help identify which tools are best to create videos and lectures for your course.
- These guides offer user-friendly step-by-step instructions, text and images for the technologies you will use to create and deliver your courses, including Zoom, Kaltura, and Echo360 Personal Capture.
Video and Lecture Capture Overview: Echo360
- The Echo360 Lecture Capture system allows instructors to record, edit, and publish live lectures and screencasts.
Video and Lecture Capture Overview: Kaltura
- Kaltura’s media tools include Kaltura My Media, Kaltura Media Gallery, Kaltura Capture, and Kaltura Video Editor. This suite of tools allows instructors to create, upload, edit, organize, and distribute video and audio for use in courses.
Video and Lecture Capture Overview: WebEx
- Host and attend audio and video conferences, presentations, and meetings through WebEx. This page provides an overview of WebEx features and how to get started.
Video and Lecture Capture Overview: Zoom
- Covers a range of topics for Zoom videoconferencing.
6 Tips for Producing Do-It-Yourself Videos at Home
- This resource provides some simple steps you can take, regardless of the tool you use, to maximize the impact of your videos with students.
Make Super Simple Videos for Online Teaching (Video)
- This 11-minute YouTube video provides helpful tips for creating simple videos for classes.
How can I edit captions on My Media videos?
- This Canvas page provides step-by-step instructions for how to edit captions on your videos in My Media
- Grading
- Before the last day of classes, if a student is at risk of not passing a course with a B minus grade (or a Satisfactory (S) grade), it is recommended to discuss with the student the potential option of an Incomplete (I) grade or to consider a ‘Withdraw’ from the course. These two options will often prevent a student from being placed on academic probation and losing their financial aid/scholarship
- It is at the instructor’s discretion to offer a student an opportunity to take an incomplete in their course. All that is needed is completion of the Incomplete Request Form
- A student may drop a course up until the last day of classes. All that is needed is an email to Friedman’s Registrar, and a “W” grade (late withdrawal from a course) will automatically be posted to the student’s record.
- Before the last day of classes, if a student is at risk of not passing a course with a B minus grade (or a Satisfactory (S) grade), it is recommended to discuss with the student the potential option of an Incomplete (I) grade or to consider a ‘Withdraw’ from the course. These two options will often prevent a student from being placed on academic probation and losing their financial aid/scholarship
- Changing academic advisors
- If requested by student
- Student meets with Academic Dean
- Student may, but is not required to, discuss with existing or proposed new advisor
- Student submits email request to the OSA and Academic Dean
- Academic Dean approves
- Office of Student Affairs reports change to old and new advisor
- If requested by academic advisor
- Academic Advisor meets with student to suggest a change
- Student may request or advisor may request Academic Dean to initiate
- Academic Dean approves
- Office of Student Affairs reports change student and to old and new advisor
- If requested by student
- Academic Integrity
- Tufts University Student Life: Avoiding Plagiarism: Learn about plagiarism and the writing support available to Tufts students to strengthen writing without plagiarism
- Health Science Library
- Amy Lapidow: Research & Instruction/Circulation Librarian: Amy Lapidow can be contacted for assistance with recommendations, instructions and help finding resources in the library
- Research Guides@Tufts: Plagiarism: This page defines plagiarism, provides reasons for citing and helpful resources
- HSL Writing Consultants: Free writing assistance is available to all health sciences students at Tufts’ downtown campus. Health Sciences Writing Consultants support projects such as research papers, clinical articles, personal statements, theses, doctoral dissertations, conference papers, proposals, posters, and abstracts
- Citation Management Tools: Citation tools are an effective way to keep track of your research, manage citations and generate bibliographies
- Ed Saltzman’s Academic Integrity PowerPoint AY 2020-21
- Course exemptions
- Students are eligible to exempt from a Friedman course if they have completed prior equivalent coursework; click here to review the Exemption Petition form Fall Semester Deadlines
- Course offerings in SIS
- The Pre-Registration Period for Spring 2023 courses will take place in late October 2022. Stay tuned for the date SIS will open for students to enroll in their courses.
- Directed Study Courses
- The Curriculum and Degrees Committee has mandated that degree students can enroll in a Certificate online course via the mechanism of a directed study course (3 SHUs with a letter grading basis). https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/registrar/forms
- One stipulation is for the directed study course to integrate extra graduate-level work (e.g. an additional paper or longer paper, an additional discussion leader paper, a literature review, etc.). The nature of this extra work is determined by the Certificate program director, Diane McKay, in consultation with the Certificate course's instructor(s).
- MNSP students are also able to enroll in select pre-approved Certificate courses via a directed study course. (https://nutrition.tufts.edu/students/registrar/forms). Consult with MNSP program director, Lynne Ausman, for the list of pre-approved Certificate courses.
- Leave of Absence
- If students need to request or a extend a Leave of Absence, they must submit a formal request to the Assistant Director of Student Affairs and the Academic Dean by the first day of classes
- Cross Registration
- For cross-registration at another Tufts School, students submit requests via SIS.
- Students may enroll in a total of four non-Tufts cross-registered courses (e.g., Harvard School of Public Health and the Boston Consortium Schools (Boston College, Boston University, and Brandeis), and as many as they like at Tufts but only courses that have course subject number above 100 will count toward their degree (undergraduate courses with a number below 100 will not count (e.g., ECON 0033).
- Students can cross-register at other Tufts Schools, as well as at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Boston Consortium Schools; click here for the cross-registration process for students
- Simmons/Friedman & Public Health Certificate Program
- Friedman/Simmons DPD curriculum information and more: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/simmons
- Dual degree students
- Friedman students interested in the MS/MPH dual-degree program should arrange to meet with Aviva Must after the start of the semester.
- Friedman students interested in the UEP dual-degree program should arrange to speak with Laurie Goldman at UEP in Medford and for Fletcher’s MALD or MIB dual-degree programs students should speak with Laurie Hurley at Fletcher in Medford.
- MS-MPH Advisors Cheat Sheet: https://publichealth.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/Course%20Equivalents%2004.10.18.pdf
- Doctoral program resources –
- Doctoral Student Document Box: Doctoral students must be invited to access this Box folder by an owner of the box. Please email the OAFA Administrative Coordinator.
- PhD Students on Registrar website
- Milestones
- The Doctoral program includes multiple requirements and milestones that have been developed to promote academic and professional development. The major requirements are listed below and are followed by a tracking sheet document that may be used by Doctoral students for the purpose of tracking progress and planning as steps and requirements are completed.
- Detailed Action and Timing to Complete Fulfillment of PhD Degree Requirements
- Doctoral students are required to keep track of their milestones and submit these to phdforms@tufts.edu
- The Doctoral program includes multiple requirements and milestones that have been developed to promote academic and professional development. The major requirements are listed below and are followed by a tracking sheet document that may be used by Doctoral students for the purpose of tracking progress and planning as steps and requirements are completed.
- Forms for PhD Students
- Policies and Procedures Handbook
- Doctoral Officer
- The Doctoral Officer’s role is to provide guidance and help foster engagement among doctoral students. The Administrative Coordinator provides support to the Doctoral Officer with the following yearly events:
- New Doctoral Student Orientation
- Doctoral Student Coffee Hours
- Doctoral lunches
- Individual Development Plan (IDP) Workshop
- Contact: Sean Cash, sean.cash@tufts.edu
- The Doctoral Officer’s role is to provide guidance and help foster engagement among doctoral students. The Administrative Coordinator provides support to the Doctoral Officer with the following yearly events:
- The International Center Boston Campus contact is:
- Neriliz Soto-Gonzalez is the Assistant Director for the International Center. She is the Friedman School’s main contact for guidance related to international students. Contact Neriliz at Neriliz.Soto_Gonzalez@tufts.edu.
- https://icenter.tufts.edu
- https://icenter.tufts.edu/immigration/
- Graduation Checklist: Important information and reminders for upcoming graduates.
- Degree requirement worksheets
- Transcript Request Information
- Log into SIS with your Tufts username and password to download an Unofficial Transcript or request an Official Transcript.
- Alumni benefits
- Update contact information with the Alumni Relations team.
- Join the Tufts Friedman School Alumni Association Facebook and LinkedIn groups. We post jobs, information about events, alumni opportunities, etc.! If you find yourself living in or moving to the following regions in the United States, you may also join the Facebook groups including: Boston, DC, New York, and San Francisco.
- Join the Tufts University Career Network LinkedIn group, Tufts University’s largest career networking community for alumni and students of all Tufts schools, faculty, staff, employers and friends. This is a forum to share career-related information and jobs and internships, request informational interviews, and provide advice across industries and geographic locations.
- Join the Tufts Online Alumni Directory: Please register today to search the directory for all Tufts alumni worldwide, network with alumni, take advantage of library privileges, and more!
- Create an @alumni.tufts.edu address (via the Tufts Online Alumni Community): In addition to forwarding your @tufts.edu address, you can create a Tufts Alumni email address. This is also an “alias” and it will allow you to forward for life. Tufts alumni email is not an email program that will allow you to view, read, and store mail. It is a mail forwarding service.
- For information regarding your library privileges as alumni, please visit the "Get Started with Access for Alumni" page on the Hirsh web site: http://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/get-started/access/alumni. You may also use the Hirsh's "Ask Us" page: http://hirshlibrary.tufts.edu/research/ask-us.
- Tufts Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LRAP): LRAP helps qualified Tufts graduates employed full time in the public or nonprofit sectors repay a portion of their annual educational loan debt. Applicants must be in repayment or grace period status on their Tufts-certified student loans. The LRAP application deadline is once per year and is always December 1st. Please visit the LRAP website to get more information and to access the application, or contact the LRAP office at lrap@ase.tufts.edu with any questions.
- Free Classes: All alumni are eligible to take one Friedman course per semester free of charge, pending space and approval of the registrar.
- Internships
- Students in the AFE, FANPP, and NICBC degree programs are required to fulfill an internship (a minimum of 320 hours is required for the internship unless the Division Chair specifies otherwise).
- The internship contract form requires your approval, as well as the Division Chairs' approval. It is important that the approved contract is submitted to the Office of Student Affairs prior to the student starting their internship.
- Career Resources
- The newly established Ellie H. Block Career Services Center has a new Director:
- Internship support
- Funding for internships is available by contacting the Ellie H. Block Career Services Center. While most students seek funding during the summer, there are other opportunities available during the academic year.
- In the 2020-21 Academic Year there will be no discretionary funds to be provided to Division Chairs/Program Directors
All student forms can be found on the Registrar webpage Student Forms
To submit a research ramp up request to the Academic Dean, please upload a completed research ramp up request form and any additional pertinent documents (as one PDF) through the Research Ramp Up Submission portal. The consolidation of request materials will help streamline the review process.