# Faculty onboarding

From first sign-up through a teaching term. Verify, join sections, upload materials, author work, enroll students, and teach day to day.

This guide walks faculty from first account creation through a running term on SOL.

**Live app:** [https://www.strat-ops.net/learning](https://www.strat-ops.net/learning)

SOL is invite-only at most institutions. New accounts start as **students**. After we verify your school affiliation, we promote you to **professor**.

## The teaching loop

Once you can sign in as faculty, the intended path is:

1. **Join** your section(s) with a faculty enrolment code
2. **Upload materials** (syllabus, notes, slides) under **Materials**
3. **Author** a draft course from those materials (lessons, practice, quizzes)
4. **Review and release** only what you approve
5. **Share** the learner enrolment code with students
6. **Teach** with the course tutor, assessments, Attention queue, and analytics

Grading is one pillar of that loop, not the whole product. See [About SOL](/docs/about-sol).

## At a glance

| Step | Who | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | You | Sign up / sign in with your **school email** |
| 2 | You | Notify us that you need professor access |
| 3 | SOL / admin | Verify and set your role to **Professor** |
| 4 | Admin | Create course(s) and section(s); share **faculty enrolment codes** |
| 5 | You | Join each section with the faculty code |
| 6 | You | Upload materials → author → release work |
| 7 | You | Share the **learner enrolment code** with students |
| 8 | You | Monitor Attention, gradebook, and analytics |

Optional later: connect an AI agent via **Agent Access** (see [Agent Access](/docs/professor-agent-access)).

## Before you start

Have ready:

- Your **institutional email**
- Course / section names for this term
- A way to reach your SOL admin or operations contact

You do **not** create the course catalog yourself. Admins create courses and sections; you join with a faculty code.

## Step 1: Create your account (school email)

1. Open [https://www.strat-ops.net/learning](https://www.strat-ops.net/learning)
2. Choose **Sign up** (or `/learning/signup`)
3. Register with your **school email** when possible
4. Complete verification if prompted, then sign in at `/learning/login`

### Right after sign-in

New accounts are **Student** by default. Until we promote you:

- You land on the **student** dashboard
- You will **not** see Faculty sidebar items yet

Do **not** enroll in sections as a student while waiting. Wait for the role change.

## Step 2: Notify us for verification

Tell your SOL admin (or operations contact) that you need professor access. Include:

- Full name
- School email on the account
- Institution / department
- Courses and sections for this term
- Preferred start date / term

> If your institution already has a SOL admin, they can promote you from **Dashboard → People** without an external ticket.

## Step 3: Role set to Professor

After promotion:

1. Sign out and sign back in (or hard-refresh)
2. You should land on the **Faculty** dashboard
3. Sidebar includes Overview, Sections, Materials, Authoring, Assignments, Attention, Analytics, Agent Access (labels may vary slightly by release)

If you still see the student dashboard, confirm the admin changed the correct email account.

## Step 4: Receive faculty enrolment codes

An administrator provisions the course and sections. Each section has:

- **Faculty enrolment code**: for professors / TAs to join as teachers
- **Learner enrolment code**: for students

Keep faculty codes private.

## Step 5: Join your sections

1. Open **Faculty → Overview**
2. Enter the **Faculty enrolment code** under **Add a section**
3. Confirm the section under **My Sections**

Repeat for every section you teach. From the section page you can copy the **learner** code for students.

## Step 6: Materials, authoring, and release

This is the core of SOL as a teaching layer:

1. Open **Materials** for the course. Upload files or add allowed URLs. Wait until status is **Ready**.
2. Open **Authoring**. Generate a draft outline from materials. Refine in chat.
3. **Publish (inactive)** creates hidden lessons / quizzes / discussions for your sections.
4. **Release** makes them visible to enrolled students.

Details: [Course materials](/docs/professor-materials) and [Authoring from materials](/docs/professor-authoring).

You can still compose quizzes by hand under **Assignments → New quiz** when you prefer.

## Step 7: Enroll students

Students do **not** get in-app email invites. Share the learner code out of band (syllabus, LMS announcement, slide).

1. Copy the **Learner enrolment code** from the section page
2. Tell students to sign in and enter that code on their dashboard
3. Point them at [Student getting started](/docs/student-getting-started)

Check the roster on the section page. If someone cannot join, confirm they used the **learner** code, not the faculty code.

## Step 8: Teach day-to-day

| Where | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| **Overview** | Snapshot of sections, recent work, Attention preview |
| **My Sections** | Roster, codes, assigned work, gradebook |
| **Materials / Authoring** | Keep the course grounded in your files |
| **Assignments** | Quizzes, lessons, discussions, interactives (H5P-inspired or imported .h5p) |
| **Attention** | Unsure or pending grades; regrade or resolve |
| **Analytics** | Concept gaps and lesson completion |
| **Attempt** pages | Inspect rubric matches, adjust scores |

SOL drafts and scores. You stay the grader of record. See [Grading and Attention](/docs/professor-grading).

## Optional: Agent Access

Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or similar via MCP under **Agent Access**. See [Agent Access](/docs/professor-agent-access).

## Checklist

- [ ] Signed up with school email
- [ ] Role confirmed as **Professor**
- [ ] Joined each section with a faculty code
- [ ] Uploaded materials and waited for **Ready**
- [ ] Authored and released at least one lesson or quiz
- [ ] Shared learner enrolment code with students
- [ ] Confirmed at least one student on the roster
- [ ] Know where **Attention**, **Gradebook**, and **Analytics** live
- [ ] (Optional) Set up Agent Access

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | What to try |
| --- | --- |
| Still on student dashboard | Sign out / in; confirm the correct account was promoted |
| Invalid enrolment code | Use the **faculty** code to join; codes are case-sensitive as issued |
| Students cannot find the course | They must use the **learner** code; there is no public catalog |
| Materials stuck processing | Wait, then retry; check file type / size with your admin |
| Empty Authoring outline | Confirm materials are **Ready** for that course |
| Items stuck in Attention | Open Attention; regrade or resolve; escalate if systemic |

## Related guides

- [About SOL](/docs/about-sol)
- [Course materials](/docs/professor-materials)
- [Authoring from materials](/docs/professor-authoring)
- [Grading and Attention](/docs/professor-grading)
- [Course analytics](/docs/professor-analytics)
- [Agent Access](/docs/professor-agent-access)
- [Student getting started](/docs/student-getting-started)