College Professor Semester Manager

Semester Preparation

• Update syllabi for all courses
• Prepare first 3 weeks of lecture materials
• Set up LMS (Canvas/Blackboard) course pages
• Schedule office hours and post to syllabus
• Order textbooks and course materials
• Review and update TA responsibilities/assignments

Weekly Teaching Cycle

• Finalize this week's lecture slides and materials
• Grade and return last week's assignments
• Hold office hours and respond to student emails
• Review student progress and flag at-risk students
• Prep discussion questions or in-class activities

Research & Service

• Dedicate 2 hours to current research project
• Review literature and add to annotated bibliography
• Draft or revise manuscript section
• Prepare for or attend committee meeting
• Review and respond to peer review requests

Deep Research Block (2+ hours)

Write or Revise Manuscript

Exercise or Walk

Disconnect from Work by 7 PM

Read Outside Your Discipline

Submit Research Paper for Publication

• Complete data analysis and results section
• Draft full manuscript (intro, methods, results, discussion)
• Internal review and co-author revisions
• Format for target journal and submit

Improve Student Engagement & Course Ratings

• Incorporate 2 new active learning techniques
• Conduct anonymous mid-semester feedback survey
• Implement changes based on student feedback
• Review end-of-semester evaluations and plan improvements