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3 Instruction-Related Matters:

3.1 Classroom Assignments and Scheduling

Departments schedule courses approximately six months before each semester. Please discuss your preferred schedule (including preferred classrooms) with your department chair. In general, changes in schedule are very difficult to accommodate close to the beginning of each semester. Changes in room assignment can sometimes be accommodated: please see your department chair and/or administrative support coordinator for more information.

3.2 Textbooks

Textbooks are generally ordered from the University Bookstore through the department office staff about 3 months before the start of class. It is very important to forward textbook orders in a timely fashion. If you are using a selection of journal articles or excerpts from textbooks instead of a textbook, you should see the University Bookstore at least three months before class starts. Copyright permissions often take several weeks to months to process. The textbook manager is Tim Willis, ext. 5-8570; textbook@csulb.edu. Some departments have preferred texts for multi-section courses. Please see the department chair or course coordinator before ordering textbooks for your section.

The University Bookstore houses a Campus Copy Center. Faculty can have their own "course paks" made available for student purchase. The manager of the center is Chris Ramirez, ext. 5-5050; cramirez@csulb.edu.

3.3 Syllabus

One of the best “tools” in a faculty member’s instructional portfolio is her/his class syllabus. Syllabi come in all sizes and shapes, but most faculty at CSULB would probably agree that a good syllabus is one that: (1) defines learning outcomes clearly, (2) allows for grading of work early enough in the semester so that students can withdraw due to academic performance, (3) provides a clear schedule of major learning and competence milestones, including a final exam, which is required for every course, and should count no more than 1/3 of the course grade; and (4) provides contact information for you, and a list of your office hours during the semester. Some faculty also include: (1) clear definition of student classroom behavior do’s and don’ts, (2) conditions for makeup of student work, (3) web site support, (4) extensive bibliographies, etc. as essential syllabus elements, (4) University policy on plagiarism and cheating.

Syllabi should be given to students the first day of class, and should also include a copy of the current College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics withdrawal policy. If you would like to see copies of typical syllabi from your department, please see the department administrative support personnel, as they are required to archive all syllabi each semester. They will also collect a copy of your syllabi at the start of each semester.

3.4 Class Rosters – First Two Weeks:

Just before classes start, rosters will be placed in your department mailbox. Please check these lists carefully. It is your responsibility to call roll during the first class session, to determine how these lists match reality. We recommend that you tell students to obtain and retain a current written record of their classes. Most students know that they must attend classes for which they are enrolled during the first week, or they risk being dropped. Students will generally leave messages on your voicemail or email, or in your department mailbox if they are absent, but still wish to be enrolled. If there are students wanting to add your class the first week, but no space is available, you can administratively drop the students on your initial roster but absent the first week, thus freeing up space for students on the waiting list. The administrative drop procedure is described in some detail on a memo attached to your rosters. You should not automatically administratively drop students if they are absent the first week, unless there are more students vying for seats than there are seats available.

Students are informed during orientation to campus that they have the responsibility for withdrawing from classes. Students not on your initial list can be added to the roster, as room facilities permit. Most departments in the College leave it up to instructors to grant permission to add class. In some instances, permits need to be issued through the department staff. Please contact your department office to find out the specific process for placing permits for students to enroll. Department permits do not mean that a student is added to your class. Once a student has a permit, it is up to her/him to take the next step and enroll.

3.5 Class Rosters – Census Date:

By the end of the third or fourth week of classes, rosters for all your classes will again be placed in your department mailbox. These rosters, called “census rosters” are very important documents that should be used exclusively as your class lists, as they represent the final enrollment lists for classes. These rosters, and these rosters alone, are recognized by the university as official enrollment lists. It is suggested that you take roll in your classes, as class size permits, the class meeting after rosters are received. Any student not on the list should be asked to either: (1) institute a late add request, or, (2) leave the class.

3.6 Late Adds to Classes:

A student who attempts to enroll after census must provide Enrollment Services with a detailed justification for their failure to add a class in a timely fashion and pay a late fee. Late adds are officially and stringently discouraged by the university as the university receives no credit or funds for the education of "late adds." There are instances, however, in which instructors or departments are responsible for a student’s late add situation. The only way that we can help students to add after census is for departments to acknowledge that they (the department) have made a "technical error" in some aspect of the student's enrollment, and that this error led to the student's inability to add before the deadline. In other words, departments MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STUDENT'S LACK OF ENROLLMENT. The Chair should then write a letter to Enrollment Services, via the Associate Dean for Instruction in the College, describing the nature of the technical error. This memo must be on department letterhead. In most cases, the department chair will ask the instructor to write the memo, but the chair must co-sign it. If the Associate Dean supports the department’s petition on the student’s behalf, then he/she will sign the memo, and give it to the student to carry to Enrollment Services. Please DO NOT send over memos that students have written on their own behalf, with a co-signature from the department chair. Please DO NOT send over hand-written notes. Please refer all students who have failed to enroll due to personal circumstances, My CSULB (web), or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) problems, etc. directly to Enrollment Services.

3.7 Late Withdrawals:

In the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, students are allowed to withdraw from classes for serious and compelling reasons, including grade performance, up until the end of the eighth week of classes [see (3-a) attached sample withdrawal form]. Withdrawals before census must be initiated by the student through the Voice Response Registration (VRR) process. Withdrawals after census, but before the ninth week, require that students obtain the signatures of instructor and department chair on a withdrawal form, and then bring this form to Enrollment Services. After the eighth week, withdraws are permitted for serious and compelling reasons, other than grade performance, up until the 12th week, again, requiring signatures of instructor and department chair. After that time, withdrawals are only allowed for serious and compelling reasons that are clearly beyond the student's control. Usually these withdrawals will involve total withdrawal from the university, and must have signatures of the instructor, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Instruction.

Late withdrawals after census are officially and stringently discouraged. You are not responsible for withdrawing students. However, it is important to have enough graded student work by the end of the fifth or sixth week to allow the student to make an informed decision as to whether or not he/she should withdraw for academic reasons.

3.8 Classroom Situations

3.8.1 Makeups for Missed Work. Although there is no official university policy regarding makeups for missed work, instructors are encouraged to consider makeups for students who have valid medical or personal reasons for missing exam dates. An individual instructor’s makeup policy should be documented in the syllabus.

3.8.2 Student Privacy. Students have the right to have personal information kept confidential. In addition, you should be careful to keep SSN’s confidential, as these are used as identification for many purposes. For example, if you post grades or other class information by SSN, use only the last four digits, NEVER the entire number. While teaching a class, you may become aware of personal information about students. You may not divulge to any source information concerning the political and/or sexual orientation activities, advocacy, or personal life style of current or former students.

3.8.3 Students with Disabilities. Both by law and by CSULB’s commitment to accessibility, you must make reasonable accommodation to their needs. It is the student’s responsibility, however, to inform you of the need for reasonable accommodation of her/his disability as soon as the need for such accommodation can be known. It is useful to remind students of this responsibility in the syllabus and during your opening discussion with your class. If you have questions concerning the extent of the accommodation seemingly required by an individual in your class, please discuss the situation with colleagues in your department. The office of Disabled Student Services (5-5061) also serves as an information source and evaluates students’ needs. This office also will often proctor tests for students with disabilities.

3.8.4 Religious Holidays. Section 89320 of the CEC states: “The Trustees of the California State University shall require each state university, in administering any test or exam, to permit any student who is eligible to undergo the test or examination to do so, without penalty, at a time when that activity would not violate the student’s religious creed.” It is legitimate for an instructor to inform students that if they fail to provide sufficient advance notice, the instructor is not obligated to make last minute adjustments later on, either for the class as a whole, or for specific individuals. Again, it is best to write your individual policy concerning advance notification of exam rescheduling due to religious holiday conflict in your syllabus, and to announce your policy during the first week of class. In general, most instructors require that students give them written notice of their religious holiday observances during the first week of class, in order to minimize disruption to the class schedule.

3.8.5 Cheating/Plagiarism. Definitions of cheating and plagiarism and the procedure for dealing with allegations of cheating and plagiarism are included in the CSULB catalog and in the Schedule of Classes. Again, it is worthwhile to include references to the CSULB catalog section in your syllabi and to state your policy with respect to cheating/plagiarism during the first class meeting.

3.8.6 Attendance and Disciplinary Challenges. You will find that there are some students who do not attend class regularly. The general CSULB policy is that students are expected to attend class, but this is not supported by a requirement of class attendance. If you wish to mandate attendance in your class, be aware that you must keep written attendance records as the basis of grades assigned. Most instructors find that the best way to ensure regular attendance is to schedule “pop” quizzes or other in-class assignments. Occasionally, a student will come to you with personal or medical problems. Please refer students to the University Counseling Center and/or Student Health Center. Remember that student confidences are just that – confidential. In an emergency, dial 911 on any campus telephone.

Disciplinary challenges may also occur when a student becomes disruptive in class, or harasses another student or faculty member. Please talk with your department chair if and when a classroom discipline problem occurs.

3.9 Assigning Incompletes (Policy Statement 99:19 - Grades and Grading Procedures):

Occasionally, a student will not be able to finish a class due to a medical or personal emergency. If this emergency occurs before the last few weeks of the semester, it is probably appropriate to support a student’s withdrawal from class. If the emergency occurs during the last few weeks of a semester, the instructor may feel it appropriate to support assignment of an incomplete. An incomplete does not allow a student to retake all material. It only allows a student to complete the portion of the course not finished.

The general rule of thumb is that an incomplete should be assigned: (1) if about 2/3 of the coursework has been graded, and (2) if the instructor and student believe that this will be a successful course of action for the student. To assign an incomplete, faculty must fill out an incomplete form, that outlines what has been graded, what remains to be graded, and what the default grade would be if the incomplete were not fulfilled. The student should co-sign the form, and the department then forwards it to Enrollment Services with the grade roster for the class. Students have a year to clear an incomplete. Extensions of incompletes beyond one year are only granted for extraordinary medical and personal circumstances.

3.10 Grading Practices:

3.10.1 Grade Rosters. These will appear in your department mailbox just before final exams. Please hold these rosters in a secure place until you are ready to assign grades. Of all the deadlines in an academic calendar, perhaps the most important is the due date for grade rosters. Graduation, convocation, birthdays, etc., all pale in significance. It is essential that grades be handed in to department staff by the deadline set in the department.

One designation that CANNOT be assigned on a grade sheet is a W for Withdrawal. This is because withdrawals aren’t grades, they are administrative actions, and handled through Enrollment Services procedures ONLY (see withdrawal policy, above). One designation that can be used if a student stops coming to class, does not take any tests, or does not complete any assignments, is a U. A U stands for Unauthorized Incomplete. This carries with it the grade of F, but is often more appropriate than F for those students who have not been in attendance during the semester, and who have not officially withdrawn.

Because grades are important records, they should be assigned with great care. Please check and recheck your final grade assignments before placing grades on the official sheets. Please remember to sign and date each grade sheet.

3.10.2 Grade Changes. This leads us to the topic of grade changes. These are officially and stringently discouraged. Department grading practices are audited at several levels. Grades should only be changed if some “technical error” has occurred in the grading sheets. This might include: grade miscalculation, finding of a “lost paper," instructor’s eye skipped over a name on the roster by mistake, student changed their name and instructor never knew so could not identify student to assign a grade, etc. Technical errors do NOT include: student complained so much that instructor assigned new grade, student did impromptu “makeup” work or “extra credit” after the end of the semester, etc.

In general, finding grading errors and correcting them as soon as possible after the end of the semester is the best course. In any event, grades cannot be changed after one year, as discussed in the attached policy statement.

3.10.3 Grade Appeals. Appeals occur when students dispute grades on the grounds that they are “capricious or arbitrary”. (1) The first course of action is for the student and instructor to discuss the grade issues. (2) If no resolution is found at the instructor level, then the student should discuss the grading issue with the department chair. (3) If that discussion yields no consensus, then the student may enter into a formal grade appeal, which requires convening of a department-based committee. (4) In the event of a more formal appeal process, both student and faculty must supply information to support their “case." The burden of proof is placed on the student, but such documentation as faculty grading sheets, etc. are also subject to scrutiny. Grade appeals can only be initiated within the regular semester immediately following the semester or special session in which the course was completed. Therefore, faculty should keep copies of their grading sheets, any student work, syllabi, handouts describing grades and grading practices, etc., for a year after a class has been graded. (See Policy Statement 99-16 for a more detailed description of the University's grade appeal procedure.).

3.11 Curriculum Processes

3.11.1 Developing Courses. As a new faculty member, you will no doubt be developing new courses in your specialty, as well as helping to teach existing courses within the department. The official policies governing course development and approval are outlined in great detail in the “CSULB Curriculum Handbook”. This binder should be available in each department office for reference. Administrative Support personnel and Department Chairs usually have extensive knowledge of the procedures for bringing new courses into existence, and modifying old courses.

Before developing a new course, take the time to research existing courses. Does your course overlap with other courses in your department, other departments, other colleges? CSULB Academic Senate policy officially discourages duplication of courses. You should discuss your course ideas with other faculty in your department.

All curricular actions, such as adding, changing, or deleting courses, must be approved at both the department and college level. After approval at the college level, course actions are reviewed by all colleges through the “open review period." Courses may be “challenged” by other department or colleges, which is one reason why it is appropriate to discuss course creation with other faculty members before putting a course proposal forward.

3.11.2 Developing Programs. A program is a set of courses leading to a certificate, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree. Again, please talk extensively with other faculty and your department chair before developing a new degree program.