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1.1 Faculty Guidance
1.1.0 Roles and Responsibilities
1.1.0.1 Office Hours
1.1.0.2 Academic Advisors
1.1.0.3 Start and End of Term Policy
1.1.0.4 Enrollment and Attendance
1.1.0.5 Faculty Meetings
1.1.0.6 Chair Consulting Responsibility
1.1.1 Conflict of Interest
1.2 Committee Guidance
1.2.0 Meetings
1.2.1 Voting
1.2.2 Committee Consultation Responsibilities
1.2.3 Committee Reporting Responsibilities
Faculty responsibilities are addressed in Part 1, Article III of the Constitution. Department Chair and Division Head authority and roles are established in Article II of the Bylaws. A further breakdown of duties and expectations for program faculty, department chairs, and division heads can be found at: link. Changes to this document are at the discretion of the Senior Vice President and Academic Dean in consultation with the Faculty Council.
Each faculty member should establish six or more hours per week that they will keep free insofar as possible and during which time they will be available to students who seek help, guidance, information, etc. It is most helpful to the students if not all office hours occur on the same day of the week nor the same time of day through the week.
Freshman advisees are assigned an advisor who is the faculty member for the first-year experience course. This faculty member remains the new student’s advisor until the student selects a major field of concentration. At that time, the student chooses or is assigned to an advisor in that field. Students must have a departmental advisor in each major. Students should contact the department chair in the department of the major to learn how advisors are assigned in that department. Normally, full-time students will transition from their first-year experience instructor to their major advisor by the end of their second semester.
Due to federal regulations, all course activity performed by a student must fall within the academic term in which the student is registered. The start and end date of academic terms are established by the institution.
Faculty should not enter into an arrangement with a student whereby the student performs work in one semester and receives credit for the work in a subsequent semester. All work performed by a student that is entered to the calculation of a final grade for a course must be performed during the semester for which the grade is entered. Students may be asked to do preparation, prior to the start of the semester (read texts, journal articles, attend training, etc.), but the preparatory work should not be entered into the grade for the course.
For example, a student is not allowed to complete an internship for credit during the summer without officially enrolling during the summer. The student may not enroll in the spring or fall semester for an internship completed during the summer. However, a student may be asked to read a book over the summer and be prepared to discuss the book during a course or internship upon starting school in the fall.
Instructors may make a recommendation to the Academic Actions Committee, composed at the discretion of the Senior Vice President and Academic Dean, that a student be withdrawn from courses and the rolls of the college for cause, which includes but is not limited to, excessive absences impacting the academic progress of the student. If this action occurs after the last date to ADD/DROP courses but prior to the last date of withdrawal according to the college calendar, a grade of “W” is recorded. If this action occurs after the last date of withdrawal, the instructor(s) will assign the appropriate grade. In cases of extended illness or other emergency situations, the Academic Actions Committee may approve a grade entry of “W” on the transcript. The student will be notified by the registrar of the college of the action taken by the college. If a student wishes to appeal this decision, they may request a hearing before the Admissions and Appeals Committee. The student shall present to the registrar of the college within three days following the notification of the decision a written appeal stating clearly what is being appealed and the rationale for the appeal.
The Academic Actions Committee serves to advise the Senior VP & Academic Dean in matters of probation, suspension, dismissal, and other academic matters as requested. The composition of the Academic Actions Committee is at the discretion of the Senior VP & Academic Dean, but normally includes the:
- College Registrar (who serves as committee secretary)
- Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
- Director of The Center for Academic Resources
- One Academic Coach from The Center for Academic Resources
- Dean of Students
- Director of Student Support Services
- One faculty member from the Admissions and Appeals Committee
The faculty as defined in Part I, the Constitution, Article II meets prior to the beginning of the academic year at the end of August and monthly therafter on dates to be determined by the President of the College. It may also meet as often otherwise as necessary to transact business and communicate important information. Classes are not to be held at the time of faculty meetings and all faculty members are obliged to participate. Any classes scheduled for the that time should be rescheduled for an open period during the week.
Department Chairs should regularly seek information and advice from program faculty, specifically as it relates to the structure of majors and minors, course scheduling, course substitutions, transfer credits, and advising loads.
At the first meeting of any committee, the chair should discuss conflict of interest with committee members. The following statement summarizes conflict of interest for committee members:
- Faculty members participating in hiring or review committees must exercise integrity and objectivity when making decisions. Committee members must be certain that conflicts of interest or other biases do not exist which may interfere with their ability to make an impartial decision. A conflict of interest or bias occurs when a committee member has a financial or personal relationship or interest which impairs the member’s ability to be fair and impartial. For example, a conflict of interest may well exist where a committee member will receive an individual financial benefit from a decision or where a committee member has a familiar or similar relationship with an individaul who may be affected by a decision. A person serving on a committee may conclude that they have an actual (or perceived) conflict of interest or bias and may remove themselves from involvement in a particular decision to be made by the committee. A committee member who is not certain whether a conflict of interest or bias exists may bring their concern about the conflict or bias to the attention of the appropriate dean, committee chair, or supervisor; in this event, the committee member must disclose enough information to enable the dean, committee chair, or supervisor to consider the matter fairly and openly. If the dean, committee chair, or supervisor determines either that a conflict of interest or other bias (or the appearance of a conflict of interest or other bias) may exist, the committee member shall be excused from participating in making that decision.
- A member of the committee or an individual who is the subject of a decision to be made by the committee may also raise a question as to whether a committee member has a conflict of interest or bias which may interfere with that committee member’s impartiality. The concerned individual shall bring the matter to the attention of the appropriate dean, committee chair, or supervisor. The dean, committee chair, or supervisor shall discuss the matter with the affected committee member; if the dean, committee chair, or supervisor determines that a conflict of interest or other bias (or the appearance of a conflict of interest or other bias) may exist, the member of the committee shall be excused from participating in making the decision at issue.
- A member of a committee who is excused from participating in making a decision in accordance with this policy does not forfeit their position as a member of the committee. The fact that an individual has been excused from participation pursuant to this policy shall not prejudice any personnel or other institutional decision made with respect to the committee member.
Although these guidelines have been created to be instructional for committees, the basic principles also apply to department chairs, division heads and others participating in hiring and review decisions and other departmental and College matters. This may include long-range planning within the department, discussions about specific curricular directions, how to assign overloads, etc.
All committees are expected to meet as needed to fulfill the duties assigned to them. This will typically require meetings at least monthly throughout the academic year.
When agreement on action items cannot be reached through discussion, a vote may be taken. A vote may be called by any of the eligible voting members of a committee. A simple majority of present voting members is required for passage.
Committees should regularly seek information and advice from campus leaders related to their responsibilities and duties. This consultation can take the form of e-mails or formal invitations to meetings.
All standing committees shall provide periodic updates to the Faculty Council as requested by the Faculty Chair. In addition, committees shall update their working rules by the end of September each year. These rules are to be sent to email are available at link.
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