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Faculty Semester Info

Spring 2018 Information for Faculty

Calendar

It is important to know the details of the calendar every semester. Please review the College calendar in the 2017-2018 Catalog to find out about important dates and deadlines. Please be aware that changes may be made to the calendar for Spring 2018 throughout the semester.

Please note that College closings and alerts are always posted @CCPedu on Twitter and on the College’s homepage.

Syllabi

Every student is entitled to a syllabus for each course. Each syllabus must have basic information that will help students understand the expected student learning outcomes, class policies and procedures and how they will be evaluated. Some departments have specific requirements for syllabi. If your department does not have requirements, guidelines are available on the Curriculum Facilitation Team web page, ) under the Syllabus Guidelines link in blue to the left of the screen. A copy of your syllabus must be turned in to the Department Head at the start of the semester. Because we need to move toward electronic storage of syllabi, Academic and Student Success has set a goal of having every syllabus available in Canvas, our Learning Management System. Having syllabi available electronically, among other reasons, means that the institution can produce them for student transfer or for mandated external reviews.

Classroom Assignments

Please be aware that there is a procedure in place to change classroom assignments. If you need to request a classroom change, complete the online room change request form that is available online. Please note that we may not be able to accommodate individual preferences, since rooms may be assigned to classes or workshops that start later in the semester. If you need an ADA accommodation, please contact Simon Brown (sbrown@ccp.edu), Director, Office of Diversity and Equity.

Grade Information

“I” to “F” Deadline Dates: Incomplete course work – An incomplete grade becomes a failing grade (“F”) if the work is not completed within six weeks from the end of the final exam period in which the “I” grade was assigned.

Spring 2018 “I” to “F” deadline dates are as follows:

Term Code

Description

“I” to “F” Deadline Date

15A

15-week – Main Campus, Regional Centers, and Online Learning

6/14/2018

10A

10-week – Main Campus, Regional Centers, and Online Learning

6/14/2018

7A

7-week Accelerated Classes

4/9/2018

7B

7-week Accelerated Classes

6/4/2018

Note: Mid-term and final grades will be available to students on the Enrollment Services channel in MyCCP. Paper grade reports are mailed upon request.

Make-up Exams

Assessment of student learning is a critical part of teaching, and test-taking is an integral part of that assessment. Faculty have tried, and continue to try, a variety of methods to accommodate students who have a valid reason for missing an exam. Generally, faculty strive to manage the process taking into consideration the equitable and ethical treatment of students and the demands of the students’ schedules.

Some problems have occurred in the past which may impact the validity of test results. Some students have been seated in a corridor to take a make-up exam because there is no classroom available. Thus, the student is exposed to the noise and distraction of other individuals using the passageway. Also, students have been sent to the division offices with the expectation that the staff will monitor the student. This is an unfair expectation of the staff who must also provide service to others contacting the office for assistance. Many times the areas outside the conference rooms are noisy and distracting to a student. If conference rooms are unavailable, then students have been directed to less desirable testing areas (e.g. corridors, entry ways). Students left unmonitored during a test-taking situation have many opportunities to access information unfairly. These situations leave the door open for grade appeals and other potential complaints.

Faculty must take responsibility for monitoring their exams. Consult with your department head and your dean to discuss options.

Final Exams

Faculty are required to hold classes during Final Exam Week. The final class meeting may be for activities such as giving an exam, teaching or reviewing additional material, or meeting with students to review their performance. Some departments have policies and procedures related to Final Exam Week that must be observed. Department Heads must approve any request to change the location or time of a final exam.

Final Exam grades must be turned in on time. Failure to follow the timeframe for submission of final grades hurts students trying to complete registration for the following semester.

Students have the right to appeal final grades. In the past, some faculty have destroyed the exams and papers that document student performance, making it difficult to validate the accuracy of the grade. Faculty must maintain student information for at least the following Fall or Spring semester. This includes communications about student work. If you return the materials to the student, the student is responsible for maintaining the documentation. If an appeal is in process, you may need to keep the information longer. Please review the information in the Student Handbook related to grade appeals if you need additional information about the appeal process.

Use of Banner for Class Lists, Attendance and Grades

All faculty will need to use Banner for at least the following tasks:

printing a class list;

documenting attendance at the census point (20% report, 50% report); and

recording student grades.

Financial aid policies and procedures make it imperative that the census attendance reports are completed on time. Failure to do so has a profoundly negative impact on students seeking financial aid. You can find information on attendance and grade submission on the Records and Registration website.

Student Handbook

This publication includes many of the policies and procedures that govern student life, including the Student Code of Conduct and Student Appeals Procedure. You can access the 2017-2018 Student Handbook online.

Canvas LMS

All courses are created in Canvas automatically. Faculty can use Canvas to communicate with students, to post course materials, accept online assignments, post grades and more. Faculty and students access Canvas by logging in using their MyCCP username and the password they create. See Online Learning for instructions on how to create a password.

Starfish Connect

The College's academic early alert system, Starfish Connect, is a communication tool designed to connect faculty, students and staff in a way that supports student academic success. Through Starfish, instructors can provide important feedback to students by raising "flags", such as Attendance Concern or Missing/Late Assignments. Positive feedback can also be given to students through kudos, such as Keep up the Good Work or Showing Improvement. Students can be more successful when direct faculty-student communication is combined with effective support from advisors, counselors and other staff on campus. Student support offices across campus will work in partnership with faculty by monitoring flags raised and intervening with students when possible to assist them in resolving any difficulties they are experiencing. Instructors may also use Starfish Connect to direct students to campus services by making confidential referrals to any one of the following campus resources: Counseling, Financial Aid, Single Stop, and Women's Outreach and Advocacy Center. Students can also be referred to Advising, Learning Lab and the Library.

To access Starfish Connect, log into MyCCP and click "Starfish Connect" on the MyCCP Launchpad.

Guided Pathways

As described in “The City’s College: Impact 2025,” the Community College of Philadelphia has made focusing on student success a fundamental priority for the College and its stakeholders. While the College has instituted numerous student success initiatives in recent years, the Pathways initiative is a full-scale implementation of redesigned programs and support services. The College has already begun this process and will continue to make progress on the following practices: Curriculum Mapping, Extensive Advising, Leveraging Technology, Developmental Education, and Best Practices. To learn more about the College’s efforts, access the Guided Pathways web page.

Technology Training

Check the Academic Technology website for information on Professional Development training workshops and to find resources and video guides. You may also contact academiccomputing@ccp.edu to request training opportunities for many technology tools, including Canvas, Smart classrooms and more.

Update on Classroom Technology

The College has upgraded eight additional classrooms for the spring semester, featuring either a SMART board or Cleartouch large interactive display. There are a few things you should know:

You cannot use dry erase, or any other kind of ink marker, on the SMART Boards which are designed for virtual ink only. White boards have been installed next to them for ink markers. Please turn off the projector when you are done.

You need to use your MyCCP user name and password to log in to the podium PC.

A QuickStart document with instructions for using the interactive boards may be found in all classrooms and by visiting Academic Computing.

Our goal is for 100% of the classrooms, at all locations, to be technology-enabled. The list of rooms with installed technology is online.

Open Educational Resources, Active Learning Classrooms and One Button Studios

Open Educational Resources (OER) are either free or low cost textbooks, videos, assessments and more. Faculty interested in exploring the possibilities are encouraged to contact Kelvin Veale (kveale@ccp.edu) in Academic Computing or to visit the OER page.

One Button Studio

The College is pleased to announce the availability of a One Button Studio, (OBS) a fully-featured digital video production studio that is designed to be both powerful and easy to use. Learn more or check it out in person in the Library, L1-29. C3-27 and NW 117C also have OBS's which are available to all career program students.

Service Hours

Service hours (Spring 2018) for key enrollment services (e.g. Enrollment Central, Academic Advising, Counseling Center, etc.) at the Main Campus and the Regional Centers are published each semester.

Commencement

Community College of Philadelphia's commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2018, at the Liacouras Center located at 1776 North Broad Street and will begin promptly at 10 a.m. Additional details will be forthcoming in a separate communication.

Emergencies/Fire Drills

The College has implemented an emergency notification system called Send Word Now. This system enables fast and efficient dissemination of critical information to students, faculty and staff of the College community, including the Regional Centers. Faculty, staff and students at the College are automatically enrolled in Send Word Now. You will only be deleted from the system if your employment terminates or for adjunct faculty, you do not teach at the College for four consecutive terms. To review and/or update your information, log into MyCCP and within the Employee Tab under Administrative Forms and Links channel, click on Update Contact Information.

In order to help you effectively plan around fire drills, the current schedule for spring 2018 is as follows: