Guidance for subbing for a colleague on a short- or long-term basis

This guide offers strategies for Writing Program faculty who are covering classes for their colleagues. The first part covers short-term planned or unplanned scenarios, and the second covers longer-term scenarios where the instructor has taken a leave of absence. In all cases, the expectations and guidance below are intended to be supportive rather than prescriptive. The Writing Program understands that situations like this are challenging and that grace and flexibility are key for students, the faculty who are absent, and the faculty who are subbing for them. 

Guidance on covering for a colleague on a short-term basis

If a colleague asks you to cover a class in advance due to a planned absence, or if they have an unplanned absence but are still able to provide a lesson plan, here are some things to keep in mind:

• It’s usually helpful to share a short report via email about how the class(es) that you covered went. You can note if you were able to complete all the planned activities, how students handled them in general, and if there were any questions or issues that came up that the instructor of record will want to address when they return.
• You can take attendance using a roster if your colleague was able to provide one in advance. If not, you can pass around a sign-in sheet for students to write their names on. It’s a good idea to note anyone who arrives late or leaves early – and, if you’re able, it’s even better to make note of who did a particularly strong job participating.

If you’re subbing for someone on short notice and they were not able to provide a plan in advance, the Writing Program still has resources that can help!

• Our Teaching Writing site has a collection of low-stakes activities organized by course level that supplement each course’s Essential Lessons. These are open for anyone to use and can be lightly adapted as needed depending on what other information, if any, you have about the course from the instructor of record.
• There are also core activities that correspond to each Essential Lesson organized by course level – again, these can be adapted as needed by anyone.  

When subbing for a colleague on a short-term basis, it is appropriate to correspond with them via email – but keep in mind that they may not be able to respond quickly. This is different than when a faculty member goes on long-term leave as described more below. 

Guidance on covering for a colleague on a long-term basis

If you are assigned to cover for a colleague who has gone on a long-term leave, here are some things to keep in mind:

• When someone has taken a formal leave of absence, they are not allowed to use their BU email or otherwise communicate with colleagues about work during their leave. If you have questions or concerns, contact a member of the Director team rather than the colleague you are subbing for.
• Generally speaking, long-term subs are responsible for the class prep, feedback, and grading for as long as the original instructor is on leave. 
  • If the instructor who went on leave has been able to hand off materials (assignments, lesson plans, etc.), subs should use those to the extent possible. 
  • If it does not seem feasible to do everything that was planned on the original syllabus, subs are empowered to adapt the existing materials to the best of their ability. 
  • If the instructor is unable to provide some materials in advance, substitutes are responsible for creating them. 
  • While long-term subs will often have to exercise some judgment in these ways, the Director Team is always available as a resource.
• If the instructor of record is going to return before the end of the semester, substitutes should be ready to hand off materials and records, including any grading they completed during their coverage. In general, the substitute should grade work that is passed in during their coverage. Please communicate with the Director team if a major round of grading falls during the original instructor’s transition back to work.  
• Special considerations may arise when it is unclear if the faculty member on leave will be returning to finish the semester or not. The situations that necessitate long-term leaves can be fluid, so flexibility and reasonable expectations are necessary among all parties. 
  • Subs are always welcome to contact the Director team if they have questions or concerns about course materials.
  • In situations where multiple faculty are covering different sections for a single instructor of record, it is not the responsibility of any of those individual faculty to coordinate or oversee their colleagues teaching the other sections. 
  • Any questions or concerns about continuity among sections should be addressed to the Director team. Any coordination will be done with the intent to minimize challenges for the instructor returning from leave and not to micromanage those who have been covering for them.