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Osher Instructor Handbook 

Welcome to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Diego State University! Please review the following information in preparation for teaching your course. 

What is Osher? 

  • Bernard Osher is a community leader in San Francisco who founded the Bernard Osher Foundation in 1977 to improve life through higher education and the arts.
  • One of Osher’s programs is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute that operates on 124 campuses of higher education throughout the country. 
  • The Osher Foundation also established the National Resource Center which operates out of Northwestern University in Illinois. 

What is SDSU Global Campus? 

Osher @ SDSU is a program under San Diego State University Global Campus. SDSU Global Campus offers a wide variety of lifelong learning classes, seminars, and certificate programs. Career advancement courses are offered in many areas of management, leadership, and quality improvement while self-enrichment courses range from accounting to web design. Additionally, the SDSU Global Campus offers more than 50 certificate programs, online courses, English language programs, and many other learning opportunities locally, regionally, and around the world. The Global Campus main office is located in the Gateway Center at 5250 Campanile Drive, Suite 2503, San Diego, CA. The Osher office is located in the Extended Studies Center at 5701 Hardy Ave, Suite 303, San Diego, CA. 

Who are Osher members and what do they appreciate? 

Osher members are adults aged 50 and better who typically have advanced degrees and are either retired or soon to be retired. Many are former teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, engineers and other professionals. Most have had successful careers and are very engaged people who thrive on learning new things and enjoying the company of a like-minded community of lifelong learners. 

Osher members appreciate: 

  • Learning for the sake of learning without tests, homework, or textbooks.
  • Well-prepared instructors who are knowledgeable and interesting. 
  • Outlines for each lecture, PowerPoint presentations, video clips and other visual aids. 
  • Use of a microphone to facilitate hearing, if available. 
  • Lecture plus some discussion and Q&A. 
  • Repeating questions before answering. 
  • Beginning and ending classes on time. 
  • Taking a short break midway through class. 
  • Receiving reading lists and other related resources. 

When will classes be confirmed and other details sent prior to start?

  • At least 4 days before the first meeting of your course, an Osher staff member will confirm whether your class will run based on the number of enrollments. We encourage you to promote your class to increase enrollments (see details on ways to promote your course below). 
  • You are responsible for adhering to all laws regarding the use of copyrighted materials whether duplicated by you or by the Osher office. Copyright questions, including whether content is subject to copyright, and should be directed to Montezuma Publishing at (619) 594-7552. Violation of copyright law can subject individuals and institutions to federal criminal penalties. Any materials determined to be in violation of copyright laws will not be duplicated and will be returned to you. 

What do I need to know prior to the first course? 

  • If you have any materials for your course, please send an electronic version of your materials to the Osher email or upload it to a provided google folder. We ask if you have a PowerPoint presentation, that you email it to Osher staff at osher@sdsu.edu at least one week prior to the start of the course so we can share the file with our IT department and have a local file in case there are any issues. 
  • If you have anything you would like to send out to those enrolled prior to the start of the course, please provide this to Osher staff at osher@sdsu.edu so we can send it out to the students via email. 
  • If you have any handouts for the course, we are happy to print them and have them available. If you have any course materials that you would like printed to share with your students, we kindly request that you send us the files at least 3 business days before each class meeting. This will ensure that we can make them available to the students in a timely manner. The limit for print materials is 4 pages, we prefer double-sided printing wherever possible. If you have any questions or concerns regarding course materials, please contact us at osher@sdsu.edu. 
  • If you are unfamiliar with the technology in the room, feel free to email osher@sdsu.edu to set up a time to come in to test and become familiar with the equipment. 

How could I promote my course? 

As an introduction to the spring and fall terms, the Osher Institute hosts a Semester Kickoff event on campus for current and potential participants. This course preview of each term has been successful in increasing memberships and enrollments and gives instructors the opportunity to promote their course(s). Instructors are given 1-2 minutes (per course) to present. Please consider this opportunity to be your personal marketing tool for generating enrollment in your course. We will send you a detailed invitation prior to the event. 

Another option is to post your course on social media to spread the word to your personal Osher @ SDSU Instructor Handbook 7/2026

network. Please tag Osher @ SDSU on Facebook or Instagram (if using those social media outlets) and link to our website 

(https://globalcampus.sdsu.edu/program/osher-lifelong-learning-institute/osher-sdsu/) so that potential students may easily register online. We are on Facebook @sdsuosher and Instagram @oshersdsu. 

What to do on the first and last days of class? 

  • Arrive at least 20 minutes before the start of each class meeting to test computer access and AV equipment. 
  • Global Campus IT staff will be available 15-20 minutes prior to the start of the course to help you set up your presentation, test any audio or videos in your presentation, and to set up the microphone if you choose to use one. ○ Classrooms are open 20-30 minutes prior to the start of the course. 
  • If available, a Class Ambassador or Osher staff member will introduce you and welcome students. 
  • On the last day, an Osher staff member or a Class Ambassador will encourage students to complete electronic course evaluations which they will be sent via email. Instructors receive evaluation summaries via email after the conclusion of each term if there is something to review for a future class. 

Volunteer Teaching Opportunities 

Many of the enriching educational experiences offered through Osher @ SDSU are made possible by instructors who generously volunteer their time and expertise. We welcome individuals who are interested in supporting lifelong learning through volunteer teaching opportunities. If you would like to learn more, please contact the Osher team. 

How to get general, technical and facility assistance? 

Osher Office: email osher@sdsu.edu with your questions and to schedule an appointment. Technical or facilities support: itsupport.global@sdsu.edu or (619) 594-5893. 

Technical or facilities support in the classroom: Dial x42285 from the classroom landline. 

Where to park? Parking is available in Parking Structure 6 (PS6 or P6), adjacent to the Extended Studies Center building. Osher will cover the expense of parking only on the days in which your course is scheduled. Please confirm your license plate number with osher@sdsu.edu prior to the start of the term. 

Policies and Procedures 

Nondiscrimination Please be sure to review the SDSU Nondiscrimination Policy prior to your course start date. 

Osher @ SDSU Instructor Handbook 7/2026

Non-Solicitation To aid in honoring our commitment to our students to have a solicitation-free learning experience, please refrain from: 

  • Selling your services or products to students 
  • Distributing business cards or promotional materials unless a student requests them • Adding students to your mail/email list unless they specifically request to be added 

Off-campus Trips or Meetings For liability reasons, any off-campus trips or meetings not identified and approved in your original course proposal should be vetted by Osher staff before arranging with students. This is the case whether or not the event is considered an SDSU/Osher sanctioned event since the students are SDSU students. 

Course Evaluations At the end of each final course meeting, students enrolled in your courses are encouraged to voluntarily complete a course evaluation. All evaluations contain the same questions across courses and are utilized to provide insight into teaching effectiveness and content interest. Evaluations will be shared with instructors after the completion of the term and prior to the start of the next term. Course evaluations may also be shared with Osher volunteer committee members. If you have any questions, please contact osher@sdsu.edu. 

Osher Instructor HyFlex Course Best Practices 

In order to accommodate the most members, we schedule HyFlex courses. This means the instructor can be present in the classroom OR online on Zoom. Alternatively, the students have the choice to be present in the classroom OR online on Zoom. 

Most current Osher members prefer to be in the classroom. However, they may choose at any time to attend online. They are not required to notify staff, they simply attend in whichever format suits them best on that day. 

Additionally, our current membership prefers the instructor be in the classroom. We allow for special circumstances to accommodate our out-of-state instructors or those who do not live near San Diego. 

Instructor in the Classroom 

When the instructor is present in the classroom, we request that you arrive around 20-30 minutes prior to the start of class to ensure everything is set up and running properly before the official class start time. You will work with our IT staff to communicate audio or video needs and to set up the presentation (if there is one). Most instructors choose to use a powerpoint presentation. 

We ask that you provide the best educational experience for all participants, whether they are in the classroom or online. It can be challenging as the participants in the classroom are directly in front of you and may be asking questions or having conversations. This can sometimes exclude those online so please check in with those online frequently to see if they heard the 

conversation. As the instructor, you may need to summarize the classroom conversation or repeat the question that was asked so those online are included in the discussion. 

Osher @ SDSU Instructor Handbook 7/2026

Each classroom is equipped with a microphone and we encourage you to use it. When using the microphone, individuals online can hear the instruction better. If participants in the classroom have questions or there is a discussion taking place, you can ask participants to use the microphone so they can be heard. 

Every HyFlex course will have a dedicated Global Campus staff member available to monitor the chat and troubleshoot any technical issues. Instructors have enough on their hands to run the course without having these distractions. The staff in the room will alert the instructor if there are any online questions in the chat or if there are any other issues with those attending online (such as not being able to hear the dialogue). 

Instructor Online 

When the instructor is presenting online, there may be participants in person or online. We ask that you provide the best educational experience for all participants, whether they are in the classroom or online. Please keep an eye on the chat and other functionality so that members in the classroom are included. When the instructor is online, the students attending online are front and center and the in person students can be excluded. 

Be sure to take a moment to ask all participants if there are any questions. Rolling through the material without giving an opportunity for students to ask questions can be exclusionary. 

If you have any questions or concerns about offering your course in this method, please let us know before you sign your contract. Once the contract is signed, we cannot make changes as members sign up for their courses based on what works best for them. If they were planning to 

attend online and that option is taken away, they may not want to participate leading to additional administrative work for Global Campus staff. 

We can be reached Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at osher@sdsu.edu if you have any questions or concerns. 

Thank you for all you do for our Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Diego State University!