Finding a Faculty Sponsor
Make sure you check with and understand the specific DeCal guidelines with prospective sponsoring departments. For example, a faculty may agree to sponsor your DeCal but if the topic of your DeCal does not meet department expectations, the department chair (of the department in which the faculty teaches) may renege on the sponsorship. Please read Developing a Course and Policies Facilitators Should Know concurrently with this page to understand your role as a future student-facilitator.
Sponsor’s Eligibility
The Faculty Guide to Campus Life – What is involved in sponsoring a student-facilitated course? describes the different types of special studies courses. The Special Studies 98 and 198 website includes procedures for 98 and 198 courses and contains the relevant forms to download.
If an individual has been approved to teach as an instructor of record for an academic unit, he or she may “sponsor” a student-facilitated group study course as the instructor of record. The faculty sponsor can be a permanent faculty member or a lecturer. A lecturer is required to sign a Waiver of Compensation (see the Department Chair for details). According to some department regulations, a faculty member can oversee only one P/NP undergraduate course per semester, including DeCal. Please check with undergraduate advisors and other departmental officials in charge of DeCal affairs regarding the eligibility of your sponsorship.
Approaching Prospective Sponsors
Facilitators oftentimes ask their professors to become the faculty sponsors for their DeCals. However, in our experience, the best faculty sponsors are those who have an interest in your topic and with whom you get along. This may take some research on your part. If you don’t know where to start, feel free to ask your prospective departments to recommend faculty sponsors.
As a facilitator, you will want to approach your faculty sponsor as early as possible, but not before you have a decent idea of what you’d like to do. It is always good to make an appointment ahead of time to talk with them so that they are prepared and have time to meet with you. It’s not always so easy to find a sponsor, regardless of how good your idea is. Also, many facilitators, including some of us on the board, had many rejections before we found sponsors for our classes. Our best bet is to start Early!
Ideally, choose someone with whom you’ll have a good rapport and who seems that they might have time to devote to your class. The sponsors should have some respect for you and what you are trying to accomplish through your class. For many facilitators, finding a faculty sponsors is a very unique, if not a downright frustrating, experience. Don’t be afraid to go to office hours. Make sure you are ready to present your class proposal, be knowledgeable about the issues you want to raise. This person might end up eventually writing you a letter of recommendation, be sure to choose wisely and represent them well, doing a DeCal is a commendable and challenging thing!
Facilitators are primarily responsible for what goes on in their classes. They are the people that the DeCal program will hold accountable. But the University recognizes professors as teachers and students as learners, so the administration requires both a faculty sponsor to create the Special Studies course and the Dean or Chair of the Department’s signature. This means that the faculty sponsors and their departments are putting themselves on the line for DeCal. As long as facilitators act responsibly in their courses, there will not be any problems.
Two Important Notes
For those who want to explore some specific steps to secure faculty sponsorship, the board recommends the Haas Scholars Program’s How to Find a Faculty Mentor. The techniques discussed can provide a helpful guide for DeCal facilitators as well. The UCFTR also has a very helpful How to Find a Faculty Sponsor Guide.
The Sponsoring a Course website is created to collect the different resources available and explain the requirements and responsibilities that the faculty sponsors and their departments will assume when they sponsor DeCal courses. Use this to your advantage. Tell them about this website among the others listed in there. There is nothing more appealing than presenting a thorough assessment of your proposal. Faculty members will appreciate that you have considered both the academic and administrative aspects of starting a DeCal. Believe it or not, faculty members may not know the steps. You would be in a very awkward situation if a professor agrees to sponsor your course, then asks you “What should I do now?” and you don’t know the answer!
For more information, you can contact us by calling 510.642.9127 or e-mailing decalprogram@gmail.com. We would be more than happy to assist you.
Updated November 13, 2007.