Apply to be an AUx Instructor

Andrea Malimisura, former AUx Instructor & Assistant Director of First Year Advising, facilitating her class
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Instructor Position Description

The AUx Instructor serves as a role model, teacher, and mentor to their AUx students. It is the Instructor’s responsibility to attend weekly AUx class sessions and hold weekly office hours for their students. In collaboration with the AUx Peer Facilitator, the AUx Instructor prepares weekly lesson plans including dialogue facilitation and active learning components. The AUx Instructor is responsible for adhering to the co-facilitation model, the standardized curriculum, and AUx program policies including grading rubrics.

A commitment to an adjunct faculty member is contingent upon the actual enrollment in the course.

Please note that the AUx Instructor position is distinct from the AUx Instructor & Advisor, Senior Instructor & Advisor, and the Associate Director of First Year Advising positions, as those are full-time roles.

  • Must be able to obtain and maintain an adjunct faculty appointment
  • A master's or terminal degree in a relevant field
  • Willingness to participate in ongoing training prior to the start of the semester and throughout the semester
  • Evidence of an equity or anti-racist mindset
  • Preference for faculty or staff member at American University, as well as alumni and doctoral students
  • External candidates with relevant experience are also welcome to express interest
  • AU staff and faculty need to have written approval to teach AUx from their department chair or supervisor or program director
  • High preference for candidates who can teach in-person
  • Co-facilitate weekly section of AUx with a Peer Facilitator
    • Each section meets weekly for 75 minutes
  • Synthesize assigned online content, compile supplementary readings, and research to inform classroom instruction
  • Mentor first-year and transfer students regarding their academic, cultural, and psycho-social adjustment to American University, making appropriate referrals to campus resources
  • Hold weekly office hours
  • Meet weekly with AUx Peer Facilitator counterpart to coordinate course planning, instruction, and classroom logistics
  • Provide mentorship and support to Peer Facilitators as they continue to develop their facilitation, lesson planning, and leadership skills
  • Grade and provide thoughtful feedback on all assignments through Canvas in a timely manner
  • Adhere to the co-facilitation model, the standardized curriculum, modality of the course, and AUx program policies including grading rubrics

    • While instructors with the AUx Program are encouraged to use their expertise and creativity to highlight topics, modifications should not alter the purpose of the course, the general orientation of the course arc, course level learning outcomes, and purpose of the assignments.

If you are interested in teaching AUx1 or AUx2, contact Izzi Stern, Director, AUx Program at istern@american.edu, to submit a statement of interest and resume. Your statement needs to address the following questions:

  1. What is motivating your interest?
  2. What is your relevant background in facilitation and what evidence do you have of effective pedagogy (or a plan to develop as a teacher if this is your first time teaching)?
  3. What is your relevant experience with the subject matter and content of the course?
  4. How have you demonstrated or will you demonstrate an equity-based/antiracist/inclusive mindset?
  5. How would you like to be evaluated in your teaching? Select from the below list:
    1. Mid-semester teaching evaluations through Center for Teaching, Research, & Learning (CTRL)
    2. Student focus group data through CTRL
    3. Program Director observation
    4. Faculty peer observation (e.g., using the SOE recommended process, CTRL process, or other)
    5. Adjunct faculty self-designed teaching evaluations (e.g., mid-semester survey, student feedback, or other that were developed by the adjunct faculty member themselves)
    6. No additional forms of evaluation. Only Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) responses will be used for reappointment.
    7. Other, please specify:

To discuss evaluation further, interested applicants can also reach out to Izzi Stern, Director, AUx Program at istern@american.edu to schedule a meeting time.

Following submission of your materials, Izzi Stern, Director, AUx Program will request a meeting to hear more about your interest, relevant background, and share information about the courses and adjunct appointment process.

If selected, information provided in your statement of interest will be used in your adjunct appointment package assembled by the AUx Program.

The AUx program will work with selected candidates to assemble appointment packages for consideration by the School of Education for an Adjunct Faculty Contract. The School of Education is committed to cultivating a vibrant and richly diverse, inclusive, equitable, and antiracist learning community, which they want to see reflected in their faculty appointments. For more information on the School of Education's commitment to antiracism, please visit their website here.

Appointment packages will need to include the following:

  • Written approval from supervisor/department chair/program director (for internal hires)
  • Resume/CV
  • Bio/statement describing evidence of teaching effectiveness and equity-based/antiracist/inclusive
  • Memo of support from the Dean of Undergraduate Education
  • The adjunct appointment forms
  • Additionally, internal and external applicant will need to complete the same application process as new adjuncts (a link to the online form will be shared with selected candidates)

Once reviewed by the School of Education, the appointment will need to be approved by the Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs before being routed to Human Resources. Candidates will then be prompted to complete the background check process, and submit their hiring forms.

The adjunct salary for this position is determined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Adjunct Union & AU. Adjunct faculty members hired for the first time at American University after June 1, 2013, are obligated as a condition of continued employment to either: join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 500, which represents AU's adjunct faculty; pay an agency fee to SEIU to cover the costs of representation; or claim exemption under one of the exempt categories listed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, adjunct appointments also go through an evaluation and reappointment process every three years.

While the AUx Instructor position is distinct from the AUx Instructor & Advisor, Senior Instructor & Advisor, and the Associate Director of First Year Advising positions, all Instructors who work with the AUx Program must go through the adjunct appointment and reappointment process.

A commitment to an adjunct faculty member is contingent upon the actual enrollment in the course.

The AUx program will work with selected candidates to assign them to a section(s) based on availability. Candidates must have their adjunct appointment approved and active to formally be confirmed and added to the schedule of classes.

A commitment to an adjunct faculty member is contingent upon the actual enrollment in the course. If it becomes necessary to cancel the course for any reason, you will be given the maximum amount of notice possible. If cancellation occurs after the beginning of the semester, you will receive a prorated stipend for the number of classes actually taught.

The AUx program will monitor enrollments in section and projected enrollment needs leading up to each semester and through the first week of classes to determine whether a section needs to be canceled.