Teaching Policies & Procedures: Classroom Policies

DEO Responsibilities

The DEO is responsible for final oversight of the undergraduate courses offered by the department and for ensuring that CLAS policies and procedures are upheld.  Many of these policies and procedures were created to make sure undergraduate students are treated fairly and that they have adequate information to make excellent choices.  Adherence to these policies and procedures helps the College to adjudicate issues fairly and swiftly if complaints should arise. 

Syllabus

The DEO must ensure that all syllabi for any given semester are collected before the semester begins and are reviewed for adherence to CLAS policies and procedures. In particular, DEOs should make certain that all syllabi contain all of the required components, including appropriate contact information and office hours. Additionally, no exams should be scheduled during the last week of classes and all final exams must be scheduled during final examination week. The DEO should educate the department about these requirements and provide the CLAS syllabus insert to instructors. Problems with a syllabus should be corrected before the semester begins.  More information may be found on the syllabus web page. Questions should be addressed to Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum.

ISIS Descriptions

The DEO should make sure that all courses on ISIS have current and useful ISIS descriptions.  Beginning with Summer 2010, ISIS postings must also include the ISBN numbers of required books; this new requirement is a federal mandate. The College also strongly recommends that a link to the course syllabus be included in the ISIS description.

Student Evaluations

The DEO is responsible for ensuring that all courses have student evaluations, including courses offered teaching assistants or adjunct instructors. Saturday and Evening courses, GIS courses, and courses taught in the summer and winter sessions must also have student evaluations.

Student evaluations of teaching must be kept on file as evidence of teaching effectiveness and are included in all reviews of teaching assistants and of tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty.

Academic Fraud

The DEO oversees academic fraud situations stemming from courses administratively housed in the department. When the DEO receives a report of academic fraud from an instructor, the DEO must review the information and forward the report to CLAS if warranted. The complete procedures for handling academic fraud should be read and followed by the DEO as closely as possible. The DEO should make sure all instructors in the department understand the academic fraud policy and procedures. Questions about academic fraud may be addressed to Kathryn Hall.

Grade Distributions

The Office of the Registrar posts a grade distribution report online each semester. These reports may be found in InfoBank under Miscellaneous Reports.

The DEO should review and approve all departmental grades, monitoring any significant divergences from the recommended collegiate guidelines. DEOs should raise questions or concerns about grades with Helena Dettmer, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum, who monitors departmental grading practices.

Under-enrolled Courses

The DEO is responsible for making sure that enrollment in courses and sections offered by the academic unit is closely monitored and that alternative plans exist if a course is cancelled. Undergraduate and graduate courses and sections with a low enrollment must be reported to the Executive Associate Dean as soon as possible after the end of the Early Registration period. The online low-enrollment form may be used. Every semester, the Executive Associate Dean reviews these reports and discusses low enrollment with the DEO. 

Independent Study Courses

Independent study contracts are required for all independent undergraduate courses and must be kept on file by the department. The DEO must also make sure that all undergraduate independent study courses are reported to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Curriculum at the end of each academic year or before the beginning of the fall semester. The undergraduate independent study report may be submitted electronically. Questions should be addressed to Associate Dean Helena Dettmer.