Latest revision as of 18:24, 12 August 2008

IAM Faculty Handbook

Courses, Syllabi & Grading

+ / - Scale

All Interactive Arts and Media faculty must use this scale

Supply percentages/point system for: assignments, tests, quizzes, projects, and participation.

Scale – faculty must comply with the grading scale listed below and must be stated on your syllabi.

+/-

Grade		        Points
A	Excellent	93-100
A-		        90-92
B+		        87-89
B	Good	        83-86
B-		        80-82
C+		        77-79
C	Fair	        73-76
C-		        70-72
D	Poor/Passing	60-69
F	Failing	        59 or less

It is up to the individual instructors to determine how a particular grade will be weighted (i.e. final is 25% of final grade.)

It is important that students are given timely information as to their status in your class. You should be giving the students weekly in-class and homework assignments. These assignments should be returned quickly with a letter grade and appropriate comments. Also, it is helpful to provide students with a summary of their grade-to-date on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Please inform students that are failing the class before the 8th week withdrawal deadline.

Please contact your Coordinator if you are having problems with students or if you have questions regarding student performance, behavior, or any language or learning issues, etc.

Semester Grades

At the end of the semester, you are required to submit a copy of your final grades and attendance reports to the office. Print out and keep an electronic copy of your grade sheet at the end of each semester but also send digital copies to your Coordinator and Sallie Gordon. (You will receive an email from Oasis when you update your grades - simply forward on that email.)

This list is in addition to the list of grades that is turned into the Records Office via OASIS. Please submit your final grades into OASIS by the deadline given.

Minimum "C" POLICY

Minimum Grade for IAM Majors - A minimum grade of ‘C’ is required in order for this course to count toward a student's major in Interactive Arts and Media. If you do not complete the course with a ‘C’ or better, you will be required to re-enroll in the course until you reach this benchmark. Be advised that if this course is a prerequisite for other courses, that the failure to achieve a grade of ‘C’ or better WILL impede the progress of your studies.

Incomplete Policy (college-wide)-

Undergraduate Incomplete Grade Policy http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/incomplete.htm

An Incomplete Grade (I) can only be issued for an undergraduate student who has met one of the following criteria: 1. The student has successfully completed all course requirements to date but is faced with unexpected circumstances during the final weeks of the semester resulting in the inability to complete course requirements by the end of the semester. The student must have, in the instructor’s estimation, the ability to complete missed course requirements outside of class and by the end of the eighth week of the following semester. The instructor must agree to evaluate the student’s work and replace the Incomplete grade before the end of the following semester. An agreement specifying work to be completed and a due date must be signed by both instructor and student and approved by the Department Chair. In the event that an instructor is no longer employed by the College, a program Coordinator, Director, or the Department Chair can evaluate the work and assign the course grade. 2. An external supervisor for an Internship has failed to submit a final report and grade recommendation by the deadline for grade submission or the Internship conclusion date falls beyond the end of the grade submission deadline. The Internship Coordinator /faculty member is responsible for obtaining the final evaluation and submitting a letter grade to replace the Incomplete by the eighth week of the following semester. An agreement specifying the need for the final evaluation from the external supervisor must be signed by both instructor and approved by the Department Chair. In the event that an instructor is no longer employed by the College, a program Coordinator, Director, or the Department Chair can evaluate the work and assign the course grade

An "Incomplete" grade will be granted rarely, and only in conformance with college-wide policy. For the full policy statement and a copy of the Student-Faculty Agreement for Incomplete Grade Form, go to http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/incomplete.htm. Note that incomplete grades are granted at the sole discretion of your instructor. Incomplete grades are granted extremely rarely.

We strongly discourage instructors from giving incomplete grades. The Coordinator and Chair must approve any incomplete grade before the grade can be issued. If an instructor chooses to give a student an incomplete for a semester grade, it will be that instructor’s responsibility to oversee the completion of the semester's work. Be sure that the student fully understands what is expected of him, and that he knows the final date that work will be accepted.

A copy of the contract required between faculty and student is available at http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/incomplete.doc . A copy of the contract is given to the student and one is stored in the department office. The contract spells out exactly what work needs to be completed and provides a time line for the completion of the assignments. That way there is no confusion on the part of the student as to what he/she needs to do. An incomplete that has not been changed by the end of the following semester automatically converts to an “F”.

Under no circumstances should a student complete work by attending the same class the next term. If a student has missed so much as to need to attend classes, he should not be given an incomplete. They must register again for credit.

After the student has finished the incomplete work, the instructor will need to complete a grade change form. These forms are available in the records office in the 600 S. Michigan building and via a link in the left-hand column of Oasis. After completing the form, the instructor should submit the form to the Chair for approval. The form will then be sent to the Academic Dean for approval.

Late Work and Makeup Exams

Because this has become something of an issue, we feel it is important to have a department wide policy regarding late assignments and makeup exams.

Students will be expected to complete assignments on time! It is important to specify a due date with each assignment. We will leave it to your discretion as to whether you will accept late assignments and downgrade them accordingly, or will not accept late assignments. Whichever policy you set, be sure that it is clearly stated in your syllabus. There are times, however, when consideration must be given. Judge each case on its own merit. (Note that Oasis has a wonderful bit of functionality where it will accept electronic submissions of assignments and automatically deducted an indicated number of percentage points from the final grade.)

Please apply the same policy to makeup exams. If you elect to give a student a make-up exam, you must be responsible for proctoring the exam.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance standards should be made clear to the students at the beginning of each term. The official department policy is that a 3rd unexcused absence during the semester will result in a grade of “F”. Instructors have the discresion to recognize a particular absence as excused or unexcused.

Please check oasis to see if any student has withdrawn from your class. At the end of the semester, a final grade of “F” will be assigned to students who do not meet class attendance standards and do not withdraw.

Since attendance is part of the grading criteria, it is important that you take attendance carefully each class session. Extremely important: Any student who is not on your official class list is not enrolled in your section and should not be allowed to stay in your class.

You should keep the students for the entire time during the first class. This is your chance to show the students who you are and how you teach. And is an opportunity to make sure that the student is enrolled in the appropriate level class. Do not add students to your class list unless you have been notified that the student is officially enrolled in your class.

NEW SYLLABUS GUIDELINES

http://www.colum.edu/Administrative_offices/Provost/Policies_and_Procedures.php Syllabus Guidelines and Template

The form will soon be available as a template to use in OASIS.

FOCA instructors should also include a section of information about the General Studies requirements. That includes information about the course NOT a requirement for students entering 2005. This information is on file or check with any full-time faculty member and they will be able to download this information for you.