Faculty Responsibilities

Absence

If a class must be canceled, faculty members should notify the school dean/department chairperson, the Academic Dean and the students concerned. Faculty are encouraged to collect student e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers at the beginning of the semester so they can so notify students if they must miss a class. Remember students often come from a distance, leave children with sitters or may not feel well themselves. When students are to be notified of a class cancellation by the posting of a written message, the Office of the Academic Dean or someone designated by that office will post the notice except at those times when notification is urgently needed and the Office of the Academic Dean is closed. If the faculty member is kept from class due to inclement weather, also notify the Campus Assistance Center. The College rarely closes for inclement weather.

Academic Advising

All full-time faculty members are expected to do academic advising, usually for their own majors, but also for students outside their school/department. Advisors are encouraged to act as mentors for students and to serve as a campus resource, assisting them to meet their academic and life goals. All degree-seeking students are assigned a member of the faculty, or, in some programs, a professional advisor for academic advising. Students are required to meet with their advisor each semester prior to registration, but are encouraged to confer with their advisor regularly about curriculum, career, and individual development concerns. The typical advising load for faculty is 20 to 25 students. New faculty must receive training prior to advising students.

Effective academic advising is one of the criteria considered in promotion and tenure decisions. Advisors should be familiar with the Advising Handbook. They are responsible for maintaining students’ confidentiality, knowing and accurately interpreting college policies and procedures. They are also responsible for keeping accurate advising files for their advisees.

Academic advising includes:

1. Providing academic and career information to students
   1. helping students explore and develop realistic academic goals
   2. answering questions about academic policies and procedures, or referring students to the appropriate office
   3. knowing campus and community resources that could assist students
   4. discussing links between academic preparation and employment opportunities or graduate school
   5. assisting students each term with course selection and registration.
2. Supporting students’ personal development
   1. getting to know students personally and recognizing their various stages of growth and development
   2. aiding students in decision-making, self-understanding and intellectual growth
   3. promoting a positive educational experience.

The Office of the Academic Dean assigns advisors to students and handles any subsequent change of advisor based on a student’s request or an advisor’s recommendation.

Academic Alert Notices

Faculty should use an Academic Alert Notice to notify students that they are not progressing satisfactorily in class due to absence, poor preparation, missing assignments, poor performance on quizzes, tests and papers. This warning is a formal way of indicating to a student that steps need to be taken in order to improve class performance and should be sent at the first sign of difficulty along with suggestions about what the student needs to do to improve. A notice may be sent at any time during the semester. Copies are also sent to the student’s advisor and the Associate Academic Dean, who will contact the student to discuss his/her academic progress. Notice forms are available in the Academic Dean’s office or online.

Academic Appeals

Provisions have been made by all schools/departments for academic appeals. A copy of the procedure to be followed in case of an appeal may be obtained from the appropriate school dean/department chairperson or the Academic Dean.

Academic Dismissal from the College

1. Student whose cumulative academic GPA falls below 2.0 for two consecutive terms with a minimum of 12 credits is dismissed.
   The Academic Dean’s Office notifies students of dismissal via certified mail at the end of each term, including summer, but not Winterim. Appeal procedures are included.
   
   A student who is dismissed must sit out for at least a year and then may reapply to the College through the Admissions Office. To be readmitted students should have successfully completed coursework at another institution, such as a community college.
   
   A dismissed student has the option to appeal his/her dismissal for early reinstatement for the upcoming term by following the appeals procedure.
2. Procedures for Appeal of Academic Dismissal
   1. A student may appeal dismissal only once
   2. A student must appeal dismissal in writing. The written appeal addressed to the Associate Academic Dean must be received before the Appeals Committee meeting. In this letter the student must outline the basis for the appeal according to the following grounds:
      1. extenuating circumstances that could not have been anticipated before the deadline for dropping courses;
      2. substantial and well documented evidence of academic improvement which indicates ability to do college level work, i.e., achieve at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
3. The student must appear before the Appeals Committee to explain his/her reasons for appealing. Students should contact their academic advisor or other faculty member who can speak in their support. The advisor or faculty member is encouraged to accompany the student to the Appeal Hearing.
4. The Appeals Committee* will review the appeal and submit its decision to the student. The decision of the committee is final.

The initiation and process of appeal are the student’s responsibility. Students are encouraged to check with the Financial Aid Office before making an appeal regarding their eligibility for aid if reinstated.

* The Academic Dismissal Appeals Committee is a subcommittee of the Admissions Committee. The Committee hears all cases of academic dismissal. The Committee is comprised of:

• Associate Academic Dean, Chair
• Dean of Students
• Three faculty members

Academic Honesty Policy

Faculty should include the two paragraphs below on their syllabi, on a continuing basis, and take time at the beginning of each semester to discuss with students, especially how the policy and its violations apply to their particular course and discipline and electronic information sources they will be using.

As members of a scholarly community dedicated to healthy intellectual development, students and faculty at Edgewood College are expected to share the responsibility for maintaining high standards of honesty and integrity in their academic work. Each student should reflect this sense of responsibility toward the community by submitting work that is a product of his or her own effort in a particular course, unless the instructor has directed otherwise. In order to clarify and emphasize its standards for academic honesty, the College has adopted this policy. The following are examples of violations of standards for academic honesty and are subject to academic sanctions:

“Cheating on exams; submitting collaborative work as one’s own; falsifying records, achievements, field or laboratory data, or other course work; stealing examinations or course materials; submitting work previously submitted in another course, unless specifically approved by the present instructor; falsifying documents or signing an instructor’s or administrator’s name to any document or form; plagiarism, or aiding another student in any of the above actions.”

Evaluation

• How students will be assessed during the semester; how final grades will be awarded (weighing of various requirements).
• What are the means for students to give feedback and access course (e.g. midterm feedback, end-of-term course evaluation).

Center for Academic Integrity

Ten Principles of Academic Integrity for Faculty

1. Affirm the importance of academic integrity
   Institutions of higher education are dedicated to the pursuit of truth. Faculty members need to affirm that the pursuit of truth is grounded in certain core values, including diligence, civility, and honesty.
2. Foster a love of learning
   A commitment to academic integrity is reinforced by high academic standards. Most students will thrive in an atmosphere where academic work is seen as challenging, relevant, useful, and fair.
3. Treat students as ends in themselves
   Faculty members should treat their students as ends in themselves–deserving individual attention and consideration. Students will generally reciprocate by respecting the best values of their teachers, including a commitment to academic integrity.
4. Promote an environment of trust in the classroom
   Most students are mature adults, and value an environment free of arbitrary rules and trivial assignments, where trust is earned, and given.
5. Encourage student responsibility for academic integrity
   With proper guidance, students can be given significant responsibility to help protect and promote the highest standards of academic integrity. Students want to work in communities where competition is fair, integrity is respected, and cheating is punished. They understand that one of the greatest inducements to engaging in academic dishonesty is the perception that academic dishonesty is rampant.
6. Clarify expectations for students
   Faculty members have primary responsibility for designing and cultivating the educational environment and experience. They must clarify their expectations in advance regarding honesty in academic work, including the nature and scope of student collaboration. Most students want such guidance, and welcome it in course syllabi, carefully reviewed by their teachers in class.
7. Develop fair and relevant forms of assessment
   Students expect their academic work to be fairly and fully assessed. Faculty members should use– and continuously revise–forms of assessment that require active and creative thought, and promote learning opportunities for students.
8. Reduce opportunities to engage in academic dishonesty
   Prevention is a critical line of defense against academic dishonesty. Students should not be tempted or induced to engage in acts of academic dishonesty by ambiguous policies, undefined or unrealistic standards for collaboration, inadequate classroom management, or poor examination security.
9. Challenge academic dishonesty when it occurs
   Students observe how faculty members behave, and what values they embrace. Faculty members who ignore or trivialize academic dishonesty send the message that the core values of academic life, and community life in general, are not worth any significant effort to enforce.
10. Help define and support campus-wise academic integrity standards
    Acts of academic dishonesty by individual students can occur across artificial divisions of departments and schools. Although faculty members should be the primacy role models for academic integrity, responsibility for defining, promoting, and protecting academic integrity must be a community-wide concern–not only to identify repeat offenders, and apply consistent due process procedures, but to affirm the shared values that make colleges and universities true communities.

© Center for Academic Integrity. These “Ten Principles” first appeared as “Faculty and Academic Integrity” in the Summer 1997 issue of Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education. Gary Pavela, editor.

Adapted from: Geist, N.K. (Spring 1993). “Confronting Cases of Academic Dishonesty: Where Policy and Practice Meet.” Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education
Kibler, W.L., Nuss, E.M., Paterson, B.G. & Pavela, G, (1988). Academic Integrity and Student Development: Legal Issues, Policy Perspectives.
Asheville, NC: College Administration Publications.

Academic Standing

Good Academic Standing

To be in good academic standing, a student must have a semester GPA and cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 with no grades of Incomplete. The GPA is based on all courses attempted on a graded basis except pass/fail courses and remedial courses.

Warned: Incomplete

This action is received whenever a student receives one or more incomplete grades. (N.B. This is a temporary status that will revert to the appropriate academic action when the Incomplete is removed).

Warned

A student will be warned if the semester GPA is below 2.0. Continued academic performance at this level can lead to academic probation or dismissal.

Probation

A student will be placed on probation if the cumulative GPA is less than 2.0. While on probation, a student who takes an Incomplete may not register for the following term. (NB. If semester and cumulative are both below

2.0, a student will receive probation rather than a warning.

Dismissal

A student will be dismissed from the college if the cumulative GPA is less than 2.0 for two consecutive terms (excluding Winterim), with a minimum of 12 cumulative credits attempted.

Attendance at College Functions- Academic Attire

Faculty members are required to attend Commencement ceremonies in full academic attire. They are also required to attend meetings of the Faculty Association and College Assembly. Faculty are also encouraged to attend other College functions throughout the year, e.g., theater and musical productions, gallery openings, sports events, ceremonials and religious events, etc.

Faculty will have the opportunity to purchase, through the College Bookstore, retainable academic attire during their first year as a member of the full time faculty. Otherwise they will either have to purchase their own through another vendor, or rent the attire from the Bookstore for each Commencement ceremony.

Change of Address

Faculty will notify the Academic Dean’s Office and the Business Office of a change of address or telephone number.

Early Alert Committee

The Early Alert Committee, composed of members of the Learning Support Services and Dean of Students offices, works to assist students who may be in academic difficulty. Faculty concerned about their students’ progress have several means of notifying students of their concern: Academic Alert Notices, Mid-Semester Progress Reports for at-risk students, mid-term grades for freshmen and sophomores. The Early Alert Committee gets copies of these reports and will contact students and their advisors to help get students connected to appropriate campus resources or offices.

Final Examinations

Final examinations are held at the end of each semester and must be taken by all students at the scheduled hour. The Registrar will formulate an evaluation week schedule (2-hour period per class) and it is the policy of Edgewood College that:

1. All final exams be given at the assigned time.
2. All final papers, projects, take-home examinations, etc., be due at the assigned time.
3. The Registrar is directed to attempt to distribute faculty and student loads equitably throughout the week.
4. A student who has three or more exams one day may arrange with one of the instructors to reschedule examination.

Due Date for Final Grades: Final grades are due 48 hours after the scheduled final exam time. Normally late grades result in a call from the Academic Dean.

Please keep in mind: when you end the semester early, e.g., by giving the final during the last week of class or having a take home during the last week of class, other faculty find that their students are unable to give them the attention they expect. Faculty who hold students to the posted final exam date also find it disconcerting that other faculty will, with apparent ease, allow students to take exams early to accommodate travel and other plans.

Grade Reports

Student grade reports are mailed to the student at his/her permanent address at the end of each semester if financial and/or Library obligations have been met. Grades are also available to students online on EdgeReg.

Grading System

The quality of a student’s work is expressed in grades and grade points. The scale is:

Incomplete Grade Policy

Incompletes may only be given when they are initiated by the student and the proper procedure is followed (See incomplete policy in Section VI of this handbook).

Incomplete Policy

Incompletes may be given only when they are initiated by the student and the proper procedure is followed.

1. Student submits a ‘Request for Incomplete’ to instructor. Request form must be signed by the student and instructor before it is filed with the Registrar’s office. Request for Incomplete must be filed before the instructor submits the grades.
2. Reasons for Incomplete must be for illness or emergency- i.e., a situation beyond the student’s control, which makes the student unable to finish the class. Student must have attended regularly and done work up until the point of the Incomplete. Incompletes may not be given by the instructor for missed exams or late work.
3. If student has not formally requested an Incomplete and missed exams or did not complete the course work, an A-F grade must be given for the work that has been done to date according to the grading policies outlined in the course syllabus.
4. Incomplete work must be submitted and a grade given within 10 weeks of the close of the term in which the Incomplete is given.
5. Incompletes may not be given on-line. If the grade is left blank and an Incomplete Request form has not been submitted, the Registrar will insert a grade of “F” for the class.

Sample Request for Incomplete form

Request for Incomplete form  

Midterm Grades

Instructors are asked to submit midterm grades for freshman and sophomores at approximately the 7th week of class. These grades are sent to students and advisors as an advisory progress report, but are not part of a student’s permanent record.

Office Hours

Holding regular office hours is a primary responsibility of all full time faculty. Faculty members should post a schedule of their office hours next to the door of their offices, on syllabi, etc. If faculty so desire, they may indicate that they are also available by appointment.

The schedules requested by administrative offices should be filled out accurately and returned promptly, because these forms are used in scheduling faculty committee meetings and contacting faculty in the case of an emergency.

Office Space

The Academic Dean assigns office space to faculty.

Student Course Evaluations

It is the policy of Edgewood College that students will be given the opportunity to evaluate each of their courses and professors near the end of each semester. Evaluation forms will be distributed to each faculty member weeks before the end of each semester or will be available electronically.

The results of online evaluations will be returned to school deans/department chairpersons and then to the individual faculty member.

Syllabus Guidelines

A syllabus for each course you teach should be given to each student. An electronic copy should be sent to the Library Circulation Supervisor, currently Julie Wendt (wendt@edgewood.edu) .

Suggested Syllabus Format:

General information

• Course title & course number (incl. Foundations designation)
• Semester & year in which course is being taught
• Instructor’s name, phone number(s), voice mail extension
• Instructor’s office and office hours

Description of course

• Include prerequisites, where applicable (see catalogue)
• If a Foundations course, how this course will fulfill Foundations objectives approved by the Faculty (see General Education: Rationale, Goals and Objectives, Means)

Course objectives

• Include specifics about your goals for the course and how the course will fulfill those goals
• Give an indication about your instructional methods (use of lecture, discussion, small group, AV)

Course requirements

• Number and kinds of assignments, papers, tests, quizzes, projects and when due
• An indication of how these requirements will be evaluated
• Attendance expectations

Curriculum Guidelines

• Texts required and recommended for the course; supplemental bibliography, if needed
• Topics to be covered and dates on which they’ll be addressed
• Reading assignments and dates material will be covered
• Course policies (e.g., for late papers, research guidelines, missed quizzes)

Any provision for changes in the syllabus during the semester & how modifications will be communicated to students.

Travel Guidelines

Funds for travel by faculty members for professional purposes and/or College-related functions may be available through schools/departments or through general College funds administered by the Academic Dean (see Faculty Development Policies).

It is highly recommended that individuals who travel on College business and use their own cars have $500,000 liability insurance policy. The College provides insurance coverage for individuals who use College vehicles and, although additional insurance protection is provided by the College for persons who travel on College business in their own cars, the individual employee’s personal insurance company is the primary insurer in the case of an accident. Any excess losses over and above the primary insurance would then come under the liability policy of Edgewood College.

Faculty members who transport students in a College-owned or private vehicle are reminded that they and the College are liable in case of an accident. Therefore, it is recommended that the students be asked to sign a waiver of responsibility, which can be obtained from the Business Office.

In addition; Before transporting students, or other faculty /staff, a faculty member must gain approval to drive by submitting a copy of their driver’s license to the Business Office at least 5 business days prior to departure.

The Business Office will contact the college’s insurance carrier to gain approval for the faculty member to transport others on official college business.

Workload Guidelines

(Approved by the Academic Assembly: April 25, 1988)

Guidelines governing faculty teaching and workloads should be flexible, allowing for consideration to be given to a number of variables. These variables include size of school/department, number of majors, number of advisees, size of classes, supervision of student teachers, chair responsibilities, committee assignments, number of course preparations, ratio of full-time/part-time faculty in a school/department, etc.

A normal load consists of:

When course offerings and faculty assignments are being determined, deans/chairs and individual faculty may negotiate with the Academic Dean if it is apparent that the above variables significantly affect an individual’s workload. Consideration may be given of released time, banking of credits, extending the normal work assignment over a 12-month period. Credit to be given for studio, labs, student teaching supervision, etc., should approximate common practice at Edgewood and other similar institutions or required state/national accreditation standards. The individual school/departments in consultation with the Academic Dean will formulate a well-defined description of a normal workload for their respective school/departments. Independent study would be remunerated within certain parameters.