Department and Division Policies and Procedures Fall 2007

1. Be sure to check your email at least once a week.  I send out announcements and requests via email.  This vastly simplifies the difficult task of keeping in touch.  I check my email regularly so this is a good way to get in touch with me with questions and concerns. 

2. Do not give a student special permission to add a closed class.  (The one exception to this policy is online classes.  If you are the instructor in an online class, please discuss this with me.)  Do not allow any unregistered student to remain in your class past the first week of classes.  I will not give any student permission to enter a closed class unless they have been dropped from the class due to an error that Oakton made.   We have added additional sections, and there are many open classes.  (Right now, Non-Western Philosophy in Skokie needs more students.)
   
   
3. Hand out your syllabus at the first meeting of your class.  Remember that this is your contract with your students.  You must abide by the specified learning objectives.  You cannot change your policies or requirements that you specify in your syllabus; you must abide by what you have stated.  Fairness to students requires that this syllabus contain a description of the topics you will be covering and the approximate dates on which you will be covering these topics, so please do not simply hand out the generic syllabus.  Your syllabus should also give the exact dates of any tests and the exact dates when assignments are due.  Your syllabus should also explain how you will calculate the grade, and your syllabus should clearly specify how to get in touch with you.  Please remember that your syllabi should be professional in appearance. Use the syllabi that are available on the website, and study the documents on the web site that discuss syllabus construction. In accordance with a decision made by the department this fall, beginning next semester all department faculty are to submit their syllabi to the department chair for review at least two weeks before classes begin.
   
   
4. Hand in one copy of your syllabus to the Division 3 in Des Plaines or the Faculty Support Office in Skokie on the first day of class, and please hand in a second copy to me.  On the first day of class, you must also give the Division 3 Office a copy of your schedule and office hours.
   
   
5. Make every attempt to be at all your classes and to be on time.  If you must miss a class, you must make every attempt to secure a substitute, and you must notify both me and the Division 3 Office.  Substitutes are paid.  Make every effort to substitute for your colleagues if you are asked.  Please give me permission to put your telephone or email on a list for other instructors.  Please note that you need to be present and conduct class activities on evaluation days.  You cannot decide to end the semester early even if your class agrees.
   
   
6. Grades must be turned in online beginning in Spring, 2006.  You will receive communications about this new procedure.  Late grades may mean that students are denied admission to another school or that they lose financial aid.  Late grades also mean that the Division 3 office staff must fill out grade changes for every student in your class.
   
   
7. Keep records of attendance and grades in the grade books provided by Oakton.  Fairness to students requires this, and if there is a grade appeal, you will need to give your records to the Dean.  Adjuncts need to turn in this grade book at the end of the semester.
   
   
8. Recommend your best students to the Honors Program.  In general, any student with an A average should get such a recommendation.  You will receive a form to send to Richard Stacewicz in the middle of the semester.
   
   
9. You may be asked to participate in formal assessment activities.  For example, in some classes you may be asked to give your students a brief quiz at the end of the semester.  It is essential that you follow the appropriate assessment procedures since we must give the assessment report to the Dean and Academic Vice-President and since our accreditation depends on this.
   
   
10. Give a short biography for the website if you haven’t done so.  If you have suggestions about philosophy or humanities sites to which our site should be linked, let us know.  Work towards having your own home page if you haven’t already done so. 
    
    
11. Do not allow cheating or plagiarism.  Talk with your students about academic integrity.  Formulate assignments that are difficult to plagiarize.  Use the Web to check questionable papers. Do not use the same exams from semester to semester.  In every instance where there is a violation, file the form entitled Faculty Resolution of an Academic Integrity Complaint or file a formal complaint if there is not a resolution.  Do not give students a “second chance.”  Filing the resolution form is giving students a second chance already.
    
12. Hold office hours in one of the adjunct offices, and give students a way to contact you.  Giving out your Oakton email address is usually the best way to maintain contact. You should return email messages from students promptly.
    
    
13. The chair or another full-time faculty member designated by the chair will observe the teaching of all new adjunct faculty during their first semester.  The teaching of long-term adjuncts will be observed every few years.
    
    
14. Please support the Oakton events that the department sponsors and the events on which our department members work such as Cultures Week, Women’s Day, public forums, and the performing arts.  You can best support these events by incorporating some of them into your instruction or by requiring that your students attend at least two or three Oakton events as part of their participation grade. These events will be featured on the department web site.
    
    
15. A class to which you are assigned may be dropped due to low enrollment (under 10 students).  If a full-time faculty member looses a class, this full-time faculty member must bump an adjunct faculty member.  If a long-time adjunct loses a class, that adjunct may under certain conditions bump adjuncts with less seniority.  Please see the adjunct contract for details. This department makes every effort to prevent bumping.  You can assist in this effort by helping to advertise and support all our classes.
    
    
16. The department meetings held during Orientation Week each semester are mandatory.  It is certainly understandable if a department member occasionally misses one of these meetings.  However, repeated failure to attend is not acceptable.  Adjunct faculty members are also invited to all department meetings that occur during the semester.  These meetings, as well as division meetings, are not mandatory for adjuncts.  Adjuncts will be compensated for attending department meetings as described in the adjunct contract.
    
    
17. If you have a problem, call me.  Adjunct faculty should tell their students to bring complaints to me.  This prevents students from contacting the Dean, President, etc.  I can usually work with you and the student to resolve the problem.
    
    
18. I advise you to read the adjunct contract carefully and to take advantage of the benefits to which you are entitled such as tuition-free classes at Oakton and small stipends to attend conferences.