During the semester...
Teaching Philosophy
The following are from our Department's current Strategic Plan.
- Mission Statement - The Department's mission is to promote and communicate the knowledge and joy of mathematics, physical sciences, engineering, computer science, network administration, and manufacturing technologies through education, research, and community service.
- Vision Statement - The Department sees itself as a unit of SUNY Ulster that provides educational opportunities in a wide range of interests and course work, ranging from the atomic to the global. Through leadership in education, scholarship, and outreach, the department will enhance the image of SUNY Ulster by integrating the study of the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, computer science, network administration, and manufacturing technologies with the current and future needs of the college and community. The Department aims to attain recognition in applied interdisciplinary education and to address the current and future needs of the local, regional, national, and global communities.
It's easy to get cynical about such things. As Department Chair, however, I believe that these should in fact be our governing principles, not simply nice words. Many people have the false impression that Community Colleges are "easier" and have lower academic standards than four-year colleges or universities. As a (long-ago) alumnus of SUNY Ulster myself, and someone who has chosen to spend the rest of my professional life teaching here, I reject this idea. My goal, as Department Chair, is to ensure that all of the courses in our department have the same (or greater) academic rigor as equivalent courses taught anywhere else. Courses in the ever-changing sciences and technical areas should remain current in their material (math is timeless!)
While economic realities force us to rely on part-time adjunct instructors for the teaching of many of our course sections, we strive to hire and mentor the best-possible people we can find for these positions and want them to realize how important they are to the success of our students and our department.
Early Alerts
If a student hasn't shown up by the second class of the semester, is having attendance issues during the semester, is having academic difficulties in the course, or is exhibiting worrisome behavior, we have a system called "Early Alert" that all faculty should use. It's a simple form on Banner that will send the information to Student Services personnel who will follow up with the student. We have found that this early intervention improves student retention and success - please utilize it. Student retention is important - our jobs literally depend on it!
Cancelling Classes
If you must cancel a class, please do all that you can to notify students (SUNY Ulster Portal > Employee Resources tab > Banner Self Service box > Faculty & Advisors link > Class Cancellation Notification). You must also notify Michelle Keuning who will notify the Department Chair and the Academic Affairs Office. Please then discuss with your Program Coordinator or Department Chair how this class time will be made up (with enough advance notice, or during a medical emergency, we can perhaps find a substitute - but this must be approved by the Department Chair).
Evaluations
Full-time and adjunct faculty require periodic evaluation as per the requirements in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (Contract) between faculty and the College. If you are being evaluated, a full-time faculty member will make arrangements to attend one of your classes for a peer evaluation and student evaluations will be set up for your classes by the Academic Affairs Office. Evaluation results are considered in hiring decisions for adjunct faculty.
Last Dates of attendance (LDOA)
All faculty are required to take attendance of students in all of their class and laboratory sections. You may choose to have an attendance policy where a student's grade may be lowered by a certain amount given missed classes (we are, however, not allowed to remove a student from class if they miss too many sessions). This is not required, though, and some instructors have no formal attendance policy for students (but you must still record daily attendance). Whatever your policy is, however, you must make it clear to students in your Course Outline!
Several times a semester, the Registrar's Office will require you to enter student's last date of attendance (LDOA) into Banner. Email reminders and instructions are always sent out to remind faculty of this task. This is done for the student's benefit. Financial Aid checks cannot be dispersed to students who are not attending classes - if they are, the College is required to pay back the State or Federal agency providing the loans. By entering LDOA, you are protecting the College from financial liability. Not entering this data, or entering incorrect data, will first result in a written warning and will then result in your not being rehired as an adjunct faculty member.
Periodically, you may also be asked to submit attendance information to the Athletic Director or Student Services staff. Please respond to such requests by the given deadlines.
FERPA
FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It is a federal law that protects student's educational records and information. Many commonly-accepted practices in the past are no longer allowed and may make the College vulnerable to lawsuits. We therefore take FERPA regulations very seriously.
You are not allowed to discuss a student's academic performance, grades, issues, or even if they're enrolled in your class with anyone other than the student and appropriate College faculty and staff members. This even includes parents of minor children (once they're in College, FERPA applies to them). Students may, however, fill out a FERPA waiver with the Registrar's Office which will allow you to converse with someone else (typically a parent) about their academic performance. Don't take a student or parent's word for this, however, you must first verify the existence of a current, signed FERPA waiver with the Registrar's Office. Also, while a FERPA waiver allows you to talk to someone else about the student, you are not required to do so (some faculty choose not to have these discussions with "helicopter" parents). Here are some other
guidelines:
- Don't post student grades by any official ID number or variant of such (e.g. last four-digits of a student's U-number). Grades can easily be provided to students through the Blackboard gradebook already available for each of your classes.
- Don't leave graded papers or exams unattended on a desk in plain view in a public area or allow students to sort through them in order to retrieve their own work. Similarly, individual student grades on assignments or exams should not be openly announced to the class.
- Don't circulate a printed class list with student names, identifier numbers, or grades as an attendance roster.
- Don't send notification of grades via a post card or email account (other than an official sunyulster.edu email address).
- Feel free to write letters of recommendation as requested by students. However, if the student requests you discuss personally identifiable information that you obtain from the student's educational record (grades, GPA, etc.) be sure to obtain a written signed release from the student.
Anyone who is not a faculty or appropriate staff member of SUNY Ulster requesting information about a student should be directed to the Registrar's Office (this includes inquiries from law enforcement personnel). Similarly, any questions about FERPA not covered above should also be directed to the Registrar's Office (they have received training of FERPA regulations as they apply to our institution).
Behavioral Issues
Many of our adjunct instructors have experience in the public school system. This is not, however, 13th grade. The college environment is, in many ways different from public schools. FERPA, for example, shields us from having to deal with student's parents on a regular basis. College students should also be treated as adults. While some of our students, especially those from families without college experience, may require mentoring to teach them how to be self-sufficient in an academic setting, we do them no favors by enabling or excusing poor behaviors. As Department Chair, I strongly urge all faculty to have well-written Course Outlines which clearly spell out expectations and how students will be evaluated and to not make arbitrary exceptions for those students who fail to meet those course standards.
That being said, it's also important to realize that many, if not most, of our students have other significant demands on their time. Most are employed, some full-time. Others have children at home or act as care-givers for elderly parents. Others have significant personal or medical issues. And, quite honestly, some students will attempt to take advantage of you or "game" the system. It is a difficult balancing act at times to enforce academic standards yet also make occasional accommodations for students who would benefit from a little leniency. If issues arise, please feel free to discuss them with more-experienced faculty members, your Program Coordinator, and/or the Department Chair.
Occasionally, faculty encounter a student who is disruptive in class. If the student is unresponsive to verbal warnings, please speak with your Program Coordinator and/or the Department Chair. The general recommendation for how to proceed is to provide the student with a written warning explaining how they have ignored verbal warnings and will be removed from the class if the disruptions continue. The instructor may then fill out a Removal from Class for Cause form (available on the Portal) if the behavior persists and the student will no longer be allowed to attend class. As Chair, I will support faculty who do this provided they have kept the Coordinator or Chair informed and have documented their warnings.
If a student is exhibiting other types of behaviors that are of concern, please speak with the Program Coordinator or Department Chair and we can refer you to the appropriate staff on Campus who can assist with a student's personal or mental health issues. If you or any of the students feel threatened at any time, please immediately call Public Safety & Security at extension 5221 or use one of the yellow call boxes placed throughout the Campus.
Student Accomodations
Some of your students may require special accommodations due to documented learning disabilities or other issues. You will receive and official email, from the College's Disabilities Coordinator, early in the semester which documents what accommodations are legally required. Do not provide accommodations to students without this official notification. Most commonly, students will need extra time on exams and will thus take them at the college's Testing Center. You will be responsible for sending over the exam in a timely fashion - the department's Administrative Assistant can assist you in this. If you have any questions or concerns about a student's accomodations, or are unsure if an accomodation is allowed, please speak with the College Disabilities Coordinator, your Program Coordinator, and/or the Department Chair.
Summary
During the semester:
✔ Issue Early Alerts for students as appropriate
✔ Enter Last Dates of Attendance (LDOAs) when requested
✔ Regularly check your sunyulster.edu email
Any Questions?
Ask, ask, ask! We're all happy to help and want you to do well and succeed as an adjunct instructor! |
