4700 - General Responsibilities of Instructors

CONTENTS:

A. Registration Duties
B. Course Objectives and Grading System
C. Proscribed Subjects
D. Academic Dishonesty
E. Warnings for Unsatisfactory Academic Performance
F. Administration of Classes

A. REGISTRATION DUTIES. In 4310, which concerns academic advising and counseling, it is stated that the responsibility of faculty members to perform those functions is second only to that for teaching. At the time of preregistration and registration, the volume of student advising and of other steps in the process is very great and very concentrated. All faculty members, and many staff members, may be called on and should be available to assist during this period. Some may have duties assigned by their deans or departmental administrators; others may assist with the central registration under the registrar's supervision. Performance of some of the routine steps in preregistration and registration should be delegated to adequately instructed and supervised nonfaculty personnel so that faculty members can be primarily concerned with the curricular guidance of individual students.

B. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND GRADING SYSTEM. Instructors are expected to take some time in the first or second class session to discuss course objectives and to explain the grading system that is to be used. In particular, the extent to which grades are affected by attendance should be made clear at the beginning of the course.

C. PROSCRIBED SUBJECTS. Under the UI's charter, "no instruction either sectarian in religion or partisan in politics shall ever be allowed in any department of the university."

D. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. Instructors should proctor examinations diligently and should investigate all cases of suspected or alleged dishonesty in their classes. (See 2300 II. Also see regulation O-2 in the catalog.)

E. WARNINGS FOR UNSATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE.

E-1. It is an instructor's responsibility to send a "Warning" notice whenever repeated absence or inadequate work on the part of a student is noted. They should not hesitate to issue warnings; the purpose is to benefit the student--not to harass or cause additional difficulty. Each notice should indicate "warn" or "counsel," as appropriate.

E-2. The number of absences may be considered excessive when it exceeds the number of credits assigned to the course. Notices reporting absence should show the date of each absence during the period covered by the notice. (A student who is absent because of illness may explain the absence to the instructor, and the instructor will decide whether the explanation justifies excusing the absence. An instructor may verify a student's report that he or she was at the Student Health Service for treatment by calling the director. The Student Health Service does not provide written excuses. See regulation M in the catalog for procedures applicable to absences that are officially sanctioned.)

E-3. A supply of official "Warning" notice forms (pink slips) is available in departmental and college offices. When an instructor has filled out one of these, it is sent to the Registrar's Office where it is duplicated and then sent on, usually within 24 hours, to the student's academic dean. In this way, these officers are enabled to make early investigations and take appropriate corrective action.

E-4. The student's dean and the administrative officers concerned have the responsibility to act promptly on each warning submitted by instructors. Whenever "counsel" has been indicated, a report of the disposition of the case should be sent to the instructor. One valuable result of prompt follow-up is the early detection of cases of informal (unofficial) withdrawal, in which a student has ceased to attend classes and possibly left UI without anyone's knowledge. Discouraged, homesick, or bewildered students can often be assisted, frantic calls from relatives can be avoided, and vocationally misdirected students can be referred to the Counseling & Testing Center.

F. ADMINISTRATION OF CLASSES.

F-1. Priority of Enrollment in Oversubscribed Courses or Sections. If the number of students who preregister for a given course section exceeds the enrollment limitation, the students are given preference for admission in the following order: (1) those who expect to graduate before the course is offered again, (2) those who show evidence of extraordinary circumstances, subject to the judgment of the unit, and (3) those who have completed the greater numbers of credits (i.e., other factors being equal, the more credits completed, the higher the student's priority). Order of preregistration is irrelevant. This provisional placement of students in classes on completion of preregistration is made known to them before the end of the semester. This provisional placement is validated by the student's formal registration at the beginning of the succeeding semester.

F-2. Admission to Class. Instructors admit to class only those students whose names appear on the class roster or for whom the instructor has signed an "add" card; instructors have the authority, however, to grant or deny access to classes by visitors. Instructors are not authorized to make any change in a student's study list. (See regulation C in the catalog for procedures that are to be followed for changes in registration and regulation O-6 for changes in section.)

F-3. Class Rosters.

a. Immediately following registration, class rosters are sent by the registrar to all instructors via departmental administrators. Prompt checking of the students attending a class against the roster is important; students cannot receive credit for a course in which they are not registered--even though they may attend regularly and complete the requirements. After the first four weeks of classes, students can register for a course only by petition through the dean and with the instructor's permission. A student who is attending a class and for whom the instructor has no evidence of enrollment should be referred to the Registrar's Office.

b. Rosters for courses or sections that are not being given should be marked "course not offered," signed by the instructor and departmental administrator, and returned to the registrar.

c. After the two-week registration period, corrected rosters are sent to instructors via departmental administrators.

F-4. Syllabi. Faculty shall provide syllabi to registered students and to their unit offices at the beginning of each term for courses for which they are responsible. Each syllabus shall include expected learning outcomes for the course and describe an example of how at least one learning outcome will be assessed.

F-5. Grade Reports. The academic calendar specifies dates near the middle and at the end of each semester on which grade reports are due (at midsemester, for undergraduate courses only). Shortly before these dates, the registrar sends class lists, with instructions for their use in reporting grades, to instructors via departmental administrators. As a general rule, at the end of a term, the final grades for a course should be filed within 72 hours after the time scheduled for the final examination in the course.

F-6. Disclosure of Grades on Class Work. (See 2200 V and 2600 for policies concerning student records and improper disclosure.) The posting of individual students' midsemester or final grades or the grades they receive on daily assignments, quizzes, projects, term papers, examinations, or any other academic work is a violation of the rights guaranteed to students. The same is true of leaving graded papers (for students to search through and find their own) in hallways, offices, etc. Instructors may post, or otherwise release, statistical summaries of grades when individual students are neither identified nor identifiable.

F-7. Grade-Record Books. Grade-record books that are issued to instructors become their personal property upon receipt and need not be turned in when an instructor leaves the employ of UI.

F-8. Recording of Lectures. Students may electronically record lectures only with the consent of the instructor or as an approved ADA accommodation and with appropriate notification to the instructor.

Version History

Amended July 2019. Learning outcomes language was added to subsection F-4 to address NWCCU accreditation requirements.

Amended July 2018. Language added to clarify ADA(AA) requirements in subsection F-7.

Amended January 2014. Minor grammatical changes.

Amended June 2009. Updated changing department names.

Amended July 1990. Editorial changes.

Amended May 1984. Added subsection A.

Adopted 1979.