Adjunct Instructor, Graduate School of Social Work

University of Denver•Denver, CO

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) at the University of Denver is seeking to hire adjunct instructors for the 2026-2027 academic year to teach a variety of graduate courses across its four MSW programs: the Denver Campus MSW Program, MSW@Denver (online), the Four Corners MSW Program (Durango, CO), and the Western Colorado MSW Program (Glenwood Springs, CO). GSSW courses cover foundation curriculum in social work, as well as concentration-focused practice, theories, policy, research, and values. Concentrations include advanced social work practice in areas such as aging, children & youth, child welfare, health & wellness, mental health, organizational leadership, policy & practice, family systems, and ecological justice. This posting is for multiple openings across these programs.

Requirements

Master’s Degree for courses categorized as a theory, research, policy, or values course.
Master of Social Work (MSW) and two-years post-MSW practice experience for any ‘practice’ course in the MSW curriculum.
Successful facilitation experiences for adult learners in trainings, groups, or teaching.
United States work eligibility, and reside and work within the United States.
Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to read and interpret documents, to draft and/or edit documents and correspondence, to communicate effectively in both written and verbal modes to individuals and groups of adult learners.
Basic mathematical proficiency.
Excellent interpersonal skills.
Ability to work independently and effectively prioritize and meet deadlines.
Experience with a variety of computer applications, including proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, Zoom video conferencing, internet and email applications.
Willingness to upgrade professional and computer skills.
Ability to articulate teaching approaches used in professional graduate education programs.
Strong user of Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Strong commitment to inclusion in higher education.
Strong attention to detail and strong customer service orientation.
Ability to prioritize workload, anticipate needs, and work effectively within a large university setting and across faculty and administrative roles.

Nice To Haves

Master of Social Work

Responsibilities

Complete required new faculty trainings (e.g., GSSW new adjunct orientation, Technology training for MSW@Denver Program).
Teach course in the assigned modality per program and course schedule once or twice a week, depending on the course.
Prepare and maintain the learning management system (Canvas) course container.
Prepare to teach the course by attending course-specific onboarding meetings, reviewing readings, and becoming familiar with course learning objectives, assessment requirements, and asynchronous/synchronous learning activities.
Meet with students as needed and strive for responding to student inquiries within 2 business days.
Assign and explain expectations for papers, exams, and other deliverable assignments as appropriate.
Grade and offer feedback on assignments in a timely manner.
Support the collection of evaluative feedback through mid-quarter and end-of-quarter/final course evaluations.
Attend any quarterly course-specific, quarterly program-specific, or bi-annual academic affairs virtual meetings.
Work with lead faculty and section instructors to gather input about course revisions and iterations (Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development).
Respond to initial questions about course content and expectations to support section faculty during the quarter (Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development).
Facilitate the start-of-quarter welcome meeting for a given course with any instructors teaching that quarter (Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development).
Assist with technical fixes within the learning management system for the course (Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development).
As needed, work with lead faculty to develop course content and learning activities (Ad Hoc Course Coordination or Development).
Consult and confirm approval with your supervisor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to confirm availability to teach a course above standard workload for the upcoming quarter (Overload Faculty).
Teach additional course at the overload payment rate, following the essential functions listed above (Overload Faculty).
Complete the quarterly survey to provide availability by program, modality, course, and day/time to serve as a substitute (Substitute Faculty Pool).
Monitor and respond to email requests when substitute coverage is needed that matches survey responses (Substitute Faculty Pool).
Coordinate with the instructor of record for whom you will be providing substitute coverage on learning objectives, activities, and assessment for the class session (Substitute Faculty Pool).
Substitute teach the needed class session (Substitute Faculty Pool).
Provide an email update regarding any follow-up related to substitute coverage to the lead faculty and GSSW Academic Affairs, including a summary of hours worked (Substitute Faculty Pool).