500 ACADEMIC POLICIES
505 ACADEMIC ADVISING AND STUDENT REFERRAL
510 ATTENDANCE PRIVILEGES (STUDENTS)
515 CLASS LISTS
520 CLASSROOM POLICIES
523 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
523.1 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND FACULTY
523.2 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND STUDENTS
524 HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH
528 CLASSROOM RECORDKEEPING
530 ENROLLMENT OPTIONS
531 SECOND BA
533 DROPPING VS. WITHDRAWING FROM CLASS
535 FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (BUCKLEY AMENDMENT)
540 UNDERGRADUATE GRADING SYSTEM
540.2 GRADE CHANGES
540.3 GRADE DISPUTES
540.4 GRADE REPORTING
540.5 PASS/FAIL
541 GRADUATE GRADING POLICY
545 GUEST SPEAKERS AND HONORARIA
560 STUDENT CONDUCT CODE
505 ACADEMIC ADVISING AND STUDENT REFERRAL
The Academic Advising Office provides information, guidance, and referral assistance to students both on academic and on personal matters related to their college career. Because the goal of Academic Advising is to give academic direction to Columbia’s students, active faculty involvement in the advising process is encouraged. It is important for faculty to get to know both the Advising Office and the advisor assigned to his/her department for both referral and consultation purposes. However, faculty members are reminded of their advising responsibilities (as detailed in 330 FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES). For further details, see Section 700.
510 ATTENDANCE PRIVILEGES (STUDENTS)
Attendance and punctuality standards must be made clear and included in every course syllabus that is distributed to your students at the beginning of each term. Many departments adhere to a no-more-than-three-absence attendance policy. Individual faculty members are encouraged to check as to a specific departmental attendance policy. There is no College-wide attendance policy. You will be notified when any student has withdrawn from your class. At the end of the term, a final grade of “F” can be assigned to students who do not meet class attendance standards and do not withdraw.
A student’s registration form is a written contract between the student and the College. The student agrees to pay tuition and fees for the privilege of attending classes and using institutional facilities and equipment. Unless a student voluntarily drops/withdraws from a class or is administratively withdrawn, the student may attend class. Class attendance privileges, however, may be suspended when a student’s behavior is disruptive (see Section 520 Classroom Policies). Faculty are advised to consult with their Chair and the Dean of Students before suspending attendance privileges. An instructor may deny a student’s admittance to a class session once the class has begun if policies on punctuality have been made clear and distributed in writing to students. Having been denied admittance to one class session does not, however, preclude a student from attending future class sessions provided the student observes the punctuality requirements established for the class.
Standards of attendance and punctuality imposed by faculty and/or departments may be measurements of student performance and as such should be reflected in the evaluation of the student. A student cannot be denied the right to continue attending a class because the number of absences or tardies that would result in a failing grade has been exceeded. Policies on permissible absences and tardies must be made clear and distributed in writing to students.
Faculty are advised to keep accurate and up-to-date records on their students’ attendance and punctuality.
515 CLASS LISTS
Class lists showing the names of those students officially registered in a class are provided by the Registrar four times each semester and are available through the OASIS system (see Section 846 Email and OASIS). The first class list provided by the Registrar reflects class enrollment at the end of registration; the second list reflects class enrollment at the end of the revision period (first week of school). These two lists are for your records; they do not have to be returned to the Records Office.
Only those students whose names appear on a class list are officially registered for the class. A student attending a class, whose name is not on the list, should be directed to the Records Office.
A third class list is provided at the end of the fourth week. This list is used to assign “FX” grades. The FX grade is an attendance grade. The Undergraduate Student Handbook describes it as “Failure, Non-Attendance.” FX grades are to be submitted by every instructor for each class at the end of the fourth week of the term. Students who have never attended the course at any time should be given a FX grade on the fourth week class roster sent to each instructor for that purpose by the Registrar. If the student has attended at least one class session, the FX grade is not to be given. The FX grade also functions academically as a failing grade in students’ programs, and carries all the weight of an F.
The FX grade is important in financial audits performed periodically by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission; and it can become a factor in audits performed by the federal student aid-granting agencies. Therefore accuracy and timeliness are essential in submitting this information.
The FX grade has an immediate effect on a student’s eligibility for financial aid. Failure to attend class during the first four weeks of the term results in a decrease in the dollar amount of aid eligibility.
The fourth class list is the sheet upon which you’ll record final grades and will be mailed to your home. (See section 540.4 GRADE REPORTING.)
520 CLASSROOM POLICIES
Policies concerning classroom conduct are covered in a variety of sections of this Handbook. Faculty members should refer to the appropriate section for such information. Faculty are expected to observe and enforce institutional policies, especially where this is stipulated by law. Specific mention is made here of additional policies not covered elsewhere in this Handbook.
Each instructor is required to construct and provide each student with a syllabus that will include the following information:
- Document date
- Course number and title
- College name and address
- Instructor information (phone number, email address, office hours)
- Required texts and materials
- Content introduction
- Course description
- Course rationale
- Goals and objectives
- Grading policy and evaluation procedures
- Attendance policy
- Course calendar
- Disclaimer statement
In addition, instructor should consult departmental guidelines for further information to be included on the syllabi. Copies of all syllabi are to be kept on file in the department office.
A file of all current master syllabi is maintained in the Provost’s Office.
· The use of tape recorders by students in the classroom must be explicitly approved by the instructor. Generally such approval will be automatic for students with physical handicaps that make such use necessary. Where the instructor plans to use tape recorders for purposes other than those directly related to the teaching of a class, prior notice must be given to students.
· Student work, whether created in the classroom or outside, in response to assignments integral to the course, remains the property of the student and may not be reproduced for distribution or publication without written consent of the student.
· Attendance policies are covered in 510 ATTENDANCE PRIVILEGES (STUDENTS)
· Faculty are entitled and expected to maintain a level of civility and decorum in the classroom consistent with the maintenance of an appropriate learning environment. Faculty are advised to consult if they have questions regarding student conduct or discipline. (See 560 STUDENT CONDUCT CODE or Appendix, Student Handbook)
· Visitors to the classroom may be approved on an occasional basis at the discretion of the instructor. Faculty should take into consideration safety issues and the possibility of class disruption when making this decision. Whenever possible consult with your department chair.
· When visiting lecturers are invited to conduct a class, the instructor is expected to be present to provide the continuity and context expected of an ongoing class.
· Classes must meet at their specified times and places, for their specified length, and for their specified activities. No class is to be cancelled, except in the most extreme instance. In such cases, the department must be notified with as much advance notice as possible. Please consult with your department for other class cancellation policies. Procedures for make-up classes should be arranged with students and clarified in advance in writing. Student attendance at these makeup sessions is voluntary and grades will not be affected by non-attendance.
· Smoking is not permitted.
523 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The Columbia faculty affirms its commitment to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity in the creative activity and research of faculty and students of the College.
In the spirit of this commitment, the College demands that faculty and students exercise the utmost care in planning and preparing work for distribution and/or publication.
523.1 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND FACULTY
Faculty are expected to state clearly their policy on use of student work and then must act in a manner consistent with that policy. Faculty are expected to get written permission for the use of any student work in exhibitions, publications, and collaborative projects before those projects are exhibited, published, or otherwise presented to an audience beyond the classroom in which the student generated the work. Faculty are expected to provide attribution to any original sources in their own work, as appropriate to their disciplines.
Appropriation of student work without permission or failure to credit students or other original sources may result in disciplinary action. Instances of such misconduct will be subject to departmental rules and to the judgment of the Provost who, after receiving a written report detailing the facts of the case, will decide the appropriate course of action to be taken.
In cases where a faculty member does not agree with the course of action taken, that faculty member may file a grievance according to procedures outlined in Section 370 GRIEVANCE.
523.2 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND STUDENTS
Faculty should make every effort to instruct students about the expectations of academic integrity in American institutions of higher education and in the need to uphold the highest standards of conduct in their creative work and research.
The Student Handbook states: “Academic integrity is one of the most cherished principles of the Columbia community. You must adhere to this principle: by understanding the nature of plagiarism and by not plagiarizing materials; by refraining from the use of unauthorized aids on tests and examinations; by turning in assignments which are products of your own efforts and research; and by refusing to give or receive information on tests and examinations to or from other students. If you violate these principles of simple honesty, you risk embarrassment, course failure, and disciplinary action. It is simply not worth it.”
For purposes of this policy, violations of academic integrity occur when work is appropriated without proper attribution of credit or when a student gives or receives aid on a test, examination, or other work where there had been no explicit permission given for such action.
The College cannot make a single policy about whether or not students may use work created in one class for fulfillment of requirements in another class. Therefore, faculty need to make their view of this policy clear at the beginning of the semester, especially if the reuse of work will result in an unsatisfactory grade or evaluation. If an instructor has expressly stated that multiple submission of work is disallowed, and a student is discovered to have violated this policy, the student will be liable for failure of the course. The student may also be liable to other disciplinary action, as indicated by the Student Handbook.
Before making a charge that the academic integrity policy regarding plagiarism or other unwarranted appropriation of work has been violated, an instructor should make a reasonable effort to locate the original source and gather evidence necessary to prove the violation. If it is certain that the student had been notified of the policy involved and still committee a violation, the instructor may assign a failing grade to the work in violation. If this failure is of sufficient weight to warrant a failing grade for the class, the instructor may assign such a grade. At the discretion of the instructor, the student may be advised to redo the work according to guidelines explicitly stated by the instructor. It is recommended that before undertaking any course of action regarding violations of academic integrity the instructor should consult with the department chair regarding the incident and any anticipated course of action leading to a resolution of the matter.
Check with your department for additional policies regarding Academic Integrity.
524 HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH
To ensure the psychological and physiological safety and well-being of any individual involved in a research project, and to protect the privacy of students and staff, any faculty research not applicable to the specific class in which the research is conducted, using students or staff as subject matter (including, but not limited to, surveys, questionnaires, observations, interviews, or experiments) requires review by the department chair and prior written approval of the Provost and the Dean of Students when it involves students, or the Provost and/or Dean of the appropriate School when it involves faculty, or the Director of Human Resources and the appropriate department or unit head when it involves staff.
528 CLASSROOM RECORDKEEPING
In order best to serve students and to help avoid personal embarrassment or litigation, faculty are advised to keep accurate classroom records each semester, and to keep them on file for at least one year thereafter. It is imperative that you keep an accurate class roll. Likewise, weekly quiz or project grades, test scores, grades of papers, reports, etc., should be recorded and kept. If attendance and punctuality are part of your grading criteria, students must be notified of this (as well as other curricular expectations) in writing at the first class meeting. Attendance, testing, and grading policies are generally determined by the individual faculty member, but departmental policies may vary. It is prudent to consult with your chairperson, if in doubt, to avoid conflicts with existing departmental policy.
530 ENROLLMENT OPTIONS
Students may enroll at Columbia College Chicago in any of the following categories: