Academic Policies and Practices
This site will orient you to teaching at the college. It reviews some strategies for successful teaching and covers basic academic policies, practices, reporting systems and requirements. Your first resource for answering questions should be your academic departments. They have lots of experience supporting new adjuncts entering their programs.
Columbus State Students
Institutional Student Success Goals
- Increase the percent of students earning 15 college credits within their first year of college enrollment.
- Increase the percent of students completing gateway College Mathematics and English courses within their first year of college.
- Increase the percent of students who persist from their first year to their second year.
- Increase the percent of students earning 24 college credits within their first year of college enrollment.
- Increase the percent of students completing a degree or certificate at any institution within six years.
Chosen Name
Columbus State believes the inclusion of diverse experiences is critical to the success of everyone at the College. One way we demonstrate inclusion is through the collection and use of chosen names, pronouns, and gender identities. A chosen name is simply a name that a person uses in their daily life that is different than the name appearing on their legal records. Students and employees can share their chosen name at the point of initial application or employment, or they can add/change a chosen name later.
Course Outlines and Syllabus
All CSCC courses have a Blackboard shell that instructors are required to use to house the syllabi, course calendar and grades.
All course syllabi must be posted to Blackboard before the first day of classes. For faculty teaching traditional sections, you can also distribute a paper copy to your students during the first week of classes. Each course has a primary syllabus that can be modified by the instructor. Each department can also set specific guidelines for what must be included in a course syllabus. This can include course calendars, assignment/grading requirements, and course policies (e.g., participation/attendance policy, late policy) Reach out to your department chair, lead faculty, or program coordinator if you have questions about the syllabus expectations for your department/program.
Standard Syllabus Statements: Student Resources, Rights, and Responsibilities
Several required sections in the syllabus have been placed online to reduce the size of the syllabus shared with students. Direct students to this Syllabus Page for this information. You should also go over this information with your students at the start of class. See the college's Procedures 5-10 (B) for the full details.
First 4 Weeks
The first four weeks of each semester provide an experience that can start students on the path to success. All of us – faculty, staff, and students themselves – play an important role in getting each semester off to the best start so that students can continue on with great success!
The research-based strategies below are proven to make a positive difference for students. There are tactics that focus on the start of every semester, and others that can be used all semester long. Choose one or two from each category to implement this semester. Then add more next semester, and the next, right up until graduation!
Final Exam Schedules
Refer to the academic calendar for the semester in which you are teaching to identify your final exam time. Classes are required to meet during final exam week at the scheduled time and location only. For classes that meet on 2 or more days during the week, you will only meet once during Final Exam week.
Starfish Early Alert System
Starfish is found inside Blackboard. It is a monitoring tool that lets you send kudos and warnings to students who are not attending or doing poorly. Warnings are copied to relevant retention and intervention specialists. Some departments have arranged to have the Blackboard grade book trigger alert notices through the Starfish system. Check with your department to see if this is enabled.
Self-Service (formerly CougarWeb)
Self-Service is the system where you report attendance for federal financial aid, mid-term progress reports and final grades. You can view your official course roster for each section you are assigned. Self-service is also where you go to accept your teaching contract, view your earning statements, and view your leave balance.
To access Self-Service, go to https://selfservice.cscc.edu/. Self-Service does use SSO and your login will be the same as Outlook and Blackboard.
Grading
It is a best practice to provide frequent formative assessments to give students feedback on their learning and to help faculty adjust their teaching accordingly.
Columbus State uses a 4 point grading system. The majority of courses use the final grades of A, B, C, D, E/EN.
The EN grade is equivalent to an E grade and is to be used for final course grades only. EN indicates the student failed because the assignments they attempted (exams, quizzes, discussion boards, activities, homework) were worth less than 70% of the final grade. If a student attempts assignments worth more than 70% of the total possible points for the course and still fails, they should receive an E.
Due dates for final course grades can be found on the Academic Calendar page for the current semester.
https://www.cscc.edu/services/grades.shtml
Self Service – Faculty Schedule, Rosters, and Grade Submission
Incomplete Final Grade: Each department has their own guidelines for when an incomplete can be submitted for a student. Be sure to check with your department chair, program coordinator, or lead faculty.
To find out more, visit: Incomplete Grades
Attendance and Participation – Census Reporting
Attendance: You will report attendance for all students in your section. You will receive an email letting you know the attendance reporting window. You will submit attendance via Self-Service
Step by Step Guide for Participation Census Reporting
Participation Census Reporting
Participation Census Reporting Faculty User Guide
Faculty should use ONE of the following participation statuses for each student on their roster.
Student Participation Status | Participation Status Definition | Faculty Reporting Action |
---|---|---|
Actively Participating | Student has established a regular, consistent pattern of course participation (as demonstrated by completed course assignments, participation in classroom/practicum activities or participation in online discussion boards - which are all indicators of active engagement). | No reporting action required for that student. |
Never Participated | Student has NEVER PARTICIPATED in the course. | Place a check in the box under the column 'Never Participated' for that student. |
Last Date of Participation | Student has STOPPED attending/participating in the course. This selection REQUIRES the faculty member to report a last date of attendance/participation. | Provide a last date of participation under the column 'Last Date of Participation' for that student. |
Blackboard Online Instructor Permission Form
The Instructor Permission form in Blackboard can be used to submit an add request to the registrar’s office. This electronic form can only be submitted by a faculty member if no instructional time has been missed. students to your section. NOTE: It is the policy of the College to not accept late student registration. See your chairperson if you have questions.
Guide - Blackboard Instructor Permission Form
Adjunct Faculty Observation and Evaluation
Departmental Evaluation of Faculty
1st year Adjunct
Observed first semester by Chairperson, Peers, Lead Instructors or Coordinators
Years 2 and Thereafter
Observed once per year by Chairperson, Peers, Lead Instructors or Coordinators
The above timelines represent a minimum number of observations to be completed. Faculty or Chairpersons may increase these numbers as appropriate.
Other Academic Support
Teaching at the Delaware Campus or Regional Learning Center?
SMART Classroom technology is available in all classrooms. Most locations have academic
and financial aid advisors, testing center resources, tutoring resources, computer
labs, and other student services. For site specific information, visit https://www.cscc.edu/about/locations/.
The Library
The College Library has many services for faculty and students. See the library’s faculty services page for a detailed listing. Services include:
- Library instruction sessions customized for a specific research assignment.
- How to link to online resources and remain compliant with copyright law
- Avoid fines for late materials owned by the Columbus State Library.
- Customized resources for courses.
The library is located in Columbus Hall, on the Columbus Campus, and Moeller Hall on the Delaware Campus. A librarian is available at the Columbus Campus Center for Technology and Learning (TL) computer commons and at the Delaware Campus Learning Center to provide reference assistance.
Academic Testing
Testing Services - Guidelines and Best Practices for Faculty
Testing Services - Guidelines and Best Practices for Faculty
The testing center can offer proctoring for web courses as well as make-up exams for traditional courses. The Faculty Assistance Center (FAC) can help convert your textual or paper and pencil tests to Blackboard.
For web courses, faculty can choose to use a lockdown browser and/or remote test monitoring for these tests. Faculty can also proctor exams live by using Zoom, with the help of the Academic Testing staff. With the use of these tools, faculty are asked to keep access and equity issues in mind and explore alternative assessment methods where applicable.
Alternative Assessment Resources
Blackboard and Faculty Assistance Center (FAC)
The FAC is a valuable resource to all instructors who need help with any aspect of Blackboard.
Blackboard and Faculty Assistance
Live chat Monday-Friday between 9am-4pm through FAC Live Online!
Submit an online request at teaching@cscc.edu
Schedule a one-on-one Blackboard consultation
Beyond Classrooms – Helping You Teach Your Courses Online
This site is intended to help faculty select and use the best tools for student success at a distance. As our understanding of remote teaching has evolved, we have gathered together best practices, tutorials, training opportunities, and a curated list of resources intended to guide you toward the creation of the most dynamic online experience you can offer your students.
Resources on this site: Best Practices; FPDI; Active and Collaborative Learning; Trainings and Tutorials (Blackboard; Kaltura; Virtual Proctoring; Zoom); Academic Testing; Alternative Assessment; Academic Integrity