2.7.1.1.1 Curriculum Development
2.7.1.1.2 Course Offerings and Content
2.7.1.1.3 Absence and Class–related Duties
2.7.1.1.4 Availability and Office Hours
2.7.1.1.5 Responsibilities of Faculty Teaching Graduate Courses
2.7.1.3.3 Recruitment of Prospective Students
2.7.1.3.4 Academic Community Cooperation
2.7.1.3.5 Committee Membership
2.7.1.3.7 Student Organization Advising
2.7.1.3.8 Meetings and University Functions
2.7.1.3.9 Attendance at Commencement
Faculty members shall be expected to fulfill basic responsibilities in teaching, scholarly activity, and service in accordance with principles of academic freedom and professional ethics as described in Chapter 2 of this Manual. Specific basic responsibilities include the following, together with other such responsibilities appropriate to and approved by individual Colleges or agreed to by mutual consent of faculty members and their Department Heads and Deans.
2.7.1.1 Teaching Activities
A definition of teaching activities for faculty includes but is not limited to the following areas:
2.7.1.1.1 Curriculum Development
Although administrative faculty and students may make proposals, the primary responsibility for the development of new courses, deletion or changes in existing courses, the initiation of new programs, the discontinuance of existing programs, or other program modifications lies with the faculty.
All proposals concerning curricula, regardless of the source of initiation, shall be reviewed by the appropriate University governance units in accordance with established procedures.
2.7.1.1.2 Course Offerings and Content
Faculty members are responsible for planning and presenting course material; establishing course objectives and requirements in accordance with University policy and making them known to students; selecting and ordering texts and supplemental materials in accordance with University policy; preparing, administering, and grading assignments; and assigning grades.
2.7.1.1.3 Absence and Class–related Duties
1. Class Cancellation, Rescheduling. Faculty members shall meet their classes unless the Department Head has approved a substitute, class cancellation, reschedule, or replacement by a substitute activity. This obligation extends from the first day of classes through the end of final examination week.
2. Class Meeting, Punctuality, Alternate Instruction. Faculty members shall meet their classes punctually. If for some valid reason faculty members are unable to meet a class, arrangements shall be made to offer alternate instruction as approved by the Department Head.
3. Evaluation of Student Work. Faculty members shall report evaluation of student work to students with appropriate comments and/or grades. All courses shall have appropriate evaluations of student performance. Where applicable, departments and colleges may have specific guidelines for the number and scope of these student evaluations. A final examination is required in all classes. The method of grading used for a class is to be explained to the students at the beginning of the course. Each faculty member is expected to post a grade reflecting each student’s standing to date in each undergraduate course by the seventh (7th) week of each regular semester and submit a final grade at the end of the semester. Blanket grades (giving the same grade to each student for the sake of expediency) are specifically prohibited. Seventh week grades are not permanently recorded on the student’s official academic record. Faculty will be notified by the Office of Records and Registration of specific times or changes in procedure. (See the Nicholls State University Catalog for information on grading system, quality points and averages)
4. The Grade of I (Incomplete). The incomplete (I) grade should only be used when, due to circumstances beyond his or her control, the student is unable to complete all requirements for a course. The grade of I will not be given to a student doing unsatisfactory work. If an “I” is deemed appropriate by the instructor of record, a course completion plan (located on the internal administrators’ drive—V drive: Admins>ACADEMIC FORMS) shall be filed with the Department Head. The course completion plan shall outline work completed with an evaluation and an outline of the work to be completed. This plan shall be signed by the instructor of record and the Department Head and a copy shall be sent to the student at the student’s address of record. (See the Nicholls State University Catalog section on I grades). The section below titled Maintaining Records contains information about keeping records for the I grade.
5. Grade Accuracy. When grades are posted, they should be accurate and final. If faculty members discover that a clerical error has been made, they will be given permission to change a grade. Faculty members, however, should give sufficient time and care to the grading and recording process so that there will be no mistakes. (See also the Nicholls State University Catalog sections on grade changes and course repeats).
6. Also, concerning the grade of F: The federal government requires schools to determine the amount of Title IV funds a student has earned when he or she has ceased attendance in all courses by “officially” or “unofficially” withdrawing from the school. Official withdrawals occur when the student notifies the school through the resignation process. Unofficial withdrawals occur when the student stops attending classes but does not notify the school through the official resignation process. The amount of Title IV assistance earned is determined by the amount of time the student spent in academic attendance. The school and the student are both responsible for returning portions of the unearned aid to the appropriate programs.
The University currently has a procedure in place to calculate the refund policy on students who officially withdraw; however, the university does not have a policy for those students who unofficially withdraw. The requirement for unofficial withdrawals is not new, but it has recently become a huge audit issue.
To do the refund calculation, the student’s last date of attendance needs to be determined at an academically related activity. Examples of academically related activities are: an exam, a tutorial, computer–assisted instruction, academic counseling, academic advisement, turning in a class assignment, attending a study group that is assigned by the school, or attending a class meeting.
Thus, as grade grades are posted, if a student is issued a grade of “F,” “I“, or “U” faculty shall indicate the student’s last date of attendance in that course by following the procedure listed below:
o If the student took the final exam, faculty shall enter the date the final exam was taken.
o If the student did not take the final exam, faculty shall indicate the last documented date of attendance in an academically related activity in that course.
7. Pressure on Faculty Concerning Grading. Faculty members are not to be subjected to or yield to pressure from anyone concerning grades. Any form of pressure is a violation of Academic Freedom as described in Section titled Academic Freedom in this Manual.
8. Student Appeals. The faculty should be aware that a student has a right to appeal a final grade according to the process described in the University Catalog and the Student Policies and Procedure Manual. The student has 30 days of when the final grade was posted to attempt an informal resolution with the instructor, 60 days of when the final grade was posted to file a Final Grade Appeal Form with the head of the faculty member’s department, and within 90 days of when the final grade was posted to provide a copy of the Final Grade Appeal Form to the Academic Dean. The Academic Dean will informally review the merits of the complaint and attempt to facilitate a resolution before initiating the form process. (Section below titled Maintaining Records contains information about keeping records.)
9. Student Evaluations of Faculty. Faculty members shall participate in the approved college program for collecting data regarding students’ perceptions of teaching and learning.
10. Course Syllabi. On the first day of class, faculty are required to have available course syllabi for all students in each course being taught. These syllabi must then be filed with the department. The following information is required in all syllabi:
- Syllabus revision statement. This syllabus is subject to revision, but not without prior notice by the instructor. Must be documented with revision date.
- Instructor’s name (rank and title are optional)
- Instructor’s office location, Nicholls email, phone number, and office hours.
- Course description and prerequisites exactly as it appears in the current Catalog.
- Class meeting details. Location and time for in-person classes; Online/Hybrid courses add in relevant meeting/format details, including length of course.
- Required text and other supplies. List all required textbooks with edition numbers and ISBNs. Also list any supplementary hardware or software, lab equipment, or materials.
- Exam proctoring information, if the course requires proctoring.
- Student learning outcomes. Learning objectives that can be measured. (For example, “Upon completion of this course, students will be able to (1) distinguish…, (2) demonstrate…, (3) apply…, (4) develop…, (5) solve…, (6) create…).
- General education learning objectives, for designated general education courses.
- Course content. Provide a chronological outline, table, or schedule of topics/modules covered in the course. This section may also include due dates for assignments listed in the requirements section below.
- Course requirements. List each task, assignment, activity, or assessment the student must complete as part of grade in the course (e.g., research papers, exams, case studies, presentations, supplementary readings, participation, field trips, etc.) Note: Requirements must be more demanding for graduate students taking an undergraduate course for graduate credit.
- Final exam date or final project due date. If you are giving a final exam, the exam date should match the university’s final exam schedule for the section time.
- Methods of evaluation. Explain how the final course grade will be determined, including the relative worth/percentage of various requirements, the grading scale, and policies/penalties for late or incomplete work. You may want to include a table.
- Grading scale.
- Make-up procedure.
- Drop Date Statement: The last day to drop a course with a “W” is: (Final date for automatic W when dropping a Full Term course or resigning from the University. Last day to drop or resign from Term A or Term B, regular and online classes.)
- Attendance/Punctuality Policy. Insert your specific attendance expectations, parameters for tardiness, and how they may impact the student’s grade
- Lab safety rules, for laboratory courses.
- Course artificial intelligence (AI) policy. See the Nicholls Academic AI Policy.
- Chain of command. If you have concerns about this course outside of what your instructor can address, please follow the university’s established protocol:
1. Contact your professor or advisor again to find a potential solution.
2. If the concern is not resolved, contact the Department Head:
Department Head Name: [Insert Name]
Department: [Insert Department]
Email: [Insert Email] | Office: [Insert Office] | Phone: [Insert Phone]
3. If the concern remains unresolved, contact the Dean of the College:
Dean Name: [Insert Name]
Email: [Insert Email]Office: [Insert Office] | Phone: [Insert Phone]- University syllabus statement. For all campus-wide Nicholls State University academic policies and information (including student conduct policies and campus resources) that apply to this and every other course, please refer to the University Syllabus linked on the left menu of the Canvas course page.
- The following information is strongly recommendedfor all syllabi. However, if any of the following are a part of evaluation, they must be included:
- Career competencies covered in course.
- Institutional or program learning outcomes covered in the course.
- Field trips/conference information.
- Extra credit policy.
- Course evaluation dates.
- Smart Device Use & Classroom Behavior Policy. Insert specific policies for your course that are in addition to the Nicholls Syllabus statements. For example: policy on use of phones, smart watches, and glasses in your class (you may specify that simple exposure of these during an exam is considered dishonesty), distracting behavior, use of computers for purposes other than class related, etc.
- Prerequisite knowledge and skills.