SECTION B ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURE
I. Academic Freedom B-2
II. Teaching B-2
A. Academic Honor System and the Honor Council B-3
B. Procedures and Guidelines for New Course Proposals B-3
C. Matters Related to the Block Plan B-4
1. Course Rooms B-4
2. Class Meeting Times B-4
3. End of the Block B-4
D. Class Attendance B-5
E. Examinations and Grades B-5
1. Examinations B-5
2. Grading Tracks B-6
3. Incomplete & No Credit B-6
4. Reporting Grades to the Registrar B-7
5. Reporting Grades to Students B-7
6. Changes in Grades B-7|
7. Reporting on No Credits and Incomplete Grades B-7
F. Independent Study B-7
G. Course Evaluations B-8
III. Academic Advising B-8
IV. Apparent Authority B-9
V. Colorado College Fall Conference B-10
and New Student Orientation
VI. Academic Processions B-10
B. I. Academic Freedom Policy
Colorado College exists to bring together individuals for whom the opportunity to learn is itself a precious freedom. The freedom to learn necessarily depends upon the free, mutually respectful expression of differing points of view. The common good of society, rather than simply the interest of an individual or even the College, is furthered by the free pursuit of knowledge and understanding and the unfettered exchange of ideas in the manner that is unique to institutions of higher learning.
Colorado College reaffirms for all members of the College community such rights
as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, freedom of religion, and freedom of personal beliefs, as well as
freedom from personal force and violence, threats of violence, or personal abuse
or harassment.
In order to discharge their responsibilities for teaching and scholarship, faculty are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing subjects of instruction. Faculty members are also free to engage in research and to publish the results of their research, expecting and welcoming peer review. Such research is subject to the fulfillment of other academic duties, and faculty members should realize that research conducted for pecuniary return should be based upon a prior understanding with the College administration. Faculty members are entitled to be free from institutional censorship when they speak or write as citizens of the larger society.
Other responsibilities inherent in the exercise of academic freedom by faculty include the obligations:
1. not to use the authority inherent in the instructional role to pressure others to take particular stands;
2. not to harass or discriminate against any others in the College community;
3. to be committed to accuracy and honesty in teaching and research;
4. to express dissent in ways that do not disrupt classes or significantly impede the functions of the institution;
5. to defend the principle of academic freedom; and,
6. to acknowledge that all professional activity is subject to faculty review.
Academic freedom in the classroom carries with it a responsibility for faculty to exercise caution when introducing material outside the subject of their class. The freedom to research carries with it a responsibility for faculty to conduct research within established guidelines for their field. The freedom to speak or write as citizens carries with it a responsibility for faculty to remember that the public may judge them, their profession and the College by their words. Hence they should endeavor at all times to be accurate, exercise appropriate restraint, show respect for the opinions of others and make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the College.
B. II. Teaching
A. Academic Honor System and the Honor Council
The Academic Honor System has been in effect since 1948, and is an important part of the College’s academic program. Administered by the students themselves, the purpose of the Honor System is to carry out the College’s commitment to academic honesty and to build character. It allows a more relaxed testing situation, builds trust and confidence, and promotes individual responsibility. Upon admission, students commit themselves to uphold the Honor System. The Honor System applies to all academic work of students in courses taken for credit at the College. It requires that all academic work be the student's own or be properly attributed and that the student indicate on examinations, papers and reports that he or she has upheld the Honor System.
The Honor Council, composed of students elected by the student body, oversees implementation of the Honor System and disposes of cases of alleged violations. The Honor System Constitution and a guide to source acknowledgment are distributed to all students and faculty. Faculty should familiarize themselves with these materials. Any faculty member who is uncertain about the operation of the Honor System should seek advice from the faculty advisor of the Honor Council.
The faculty shares responsibility for the Honor System, a responsibility which it carries out by assuring that students in each course know how the Honor System applies in that course and discipline, reporting possible violations to the Honor Council, cooperating in investigations and trials, and giving highest weight to Honor Council recommendations as to the student’s course grade in cases when a violation has been reported.
B. Procedures and Guidelines for New Course Proposals
Proposals for new departmental courses are submitted to the department under which the course would fall, and then, upon approval, to the Executive Committee of the appropriate division. The Divisional Executive Committee then refers the proposal, together with its recommendation, to the Committee on Instruction. The Committee on Instruction, after considering the educational merits of the proposal and discussing budget implications with the Dean, makes its recommendation to the faculty, which must act upon each course proposal.
Divisional Studies courses are submitted directly to the Executive Committee of the appropriate division, and General Studies courses to the Committee on Instruction, after consultation and comment from the Director of General Studies.
The Committee on Instruction uses the following procedures and guidelines regarding new courses:
Procedures
1. Each department prepares a rationale for new courses and presents it to the appropriate division and to the Committee on Instruction.
2. The Committee on Instruction and the Executive Committee of the appropriate division set regular meeting times to consider course changes and publish them well in advance.
3. Departments are ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS FOR COURSE CHANGES NO LATER THAN THE FACULTY MEETING IN BLOCK SIX. This will insure that the proposed changes will be in the course schedule for pre-registration in March and in the following year’s Bulletin.
Guidelines
Broadly speaking, the Committee on Instruction will pass favorably on any course that seems justified in terms of the following considerations:
1. its relation to the departmental curricular philosophy;
2. its relation to the general liberal arts curriculum;
3. its relation to existing courses;
4. the availability of supporting resources (e.g., library materials, audio-visual and media services, and field equipment);
5. other considerations deemed appropriate by the Committee (e.g., faculty resources, student demand, cost to students, and frequency of offering.)
C. Matters Related to the Block Plan
1. Course Rooms
Except where a course room sharing arrangement is in effect, every class shall have its own room reserved for the duration of the class. These rooms will ordinarily be used for class meetings and laboratory work.
The Registrar makes course room assignments. In some instances, especially where course room sharing is necessary, a group of course rooms will be assigned to an individual department, and the department will work out its own course room assignments within these spaces.
2. Class Meeting Times
The first meeting of the block will be at 9 A.M. in the assigned course room unless the class has been notified otherwise. Thereafter, the instructor will determine the meeting times.
Ordinarily, classes are to be dismissed by 3 P.M. to allow students to participate in adjunct courses and co-curricular and other leisure time activities. It is recognized, however, that a 3 P.M. dismissal will not always be possible, as for example when a class is on a field trip.
3. End of the Block
Usually the block ends on Wednesday noon of the fourth week although the Dean of the College may publish exceptions in the academic calendar. Although faculty members have wide discretion in organizing their time within a block, they should not depart from the Wednesday noon rule. Faculty members are expected to observe the attendance policy and to explain any specific applications, such as grade penalties, at the beginning of all blocks.
Faculty members are urged to pay special attention to attendance on Mondays and Fridays during a block. "Long weekends" are an abuse of the block plan and cut seriously into limited classroom time.
The policy of Colorado College is to require attendance in scheduled classes in the week of all-college holidays and block breaks.
D. Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend class regularly although there is no College policy of required attendance, except as stated in Section B.II.C.3 of this handbook. Faculty members are asked to be aware of class attendance, and to report to the Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of the College any student who has been absent three consecutive class sessions. The purpose of this procedure is to advise these persons that the student may be in serious difficulty or may have left the campus. A faculty member may excuse a student's absence or send the student to the Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of the College. The Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of the College may verify that legitimate extenuating circumstances, such as illness or family emergency, justify (have justified) the student's absence. The latter procedure is usually employed when an examination has been missed or a deadline for a paper has not been met. Students missing examinations because of illness or for other acceptable reasons are entitled to make them up. Instructors are requested not to telephone or write Boettcher Health and Counseling Center concerning absences. If a student's work is suffering because of unexcused absences, the instructor may permit no more unexcused absences during the block. The instructor should advise the Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of the College of this warning. A student ignoring such a warning may be dropped from the course with No Credit.
E. Examinations and Grades
1. Examinations
The number and nature of examinations in each course are decisions to be made by the instructor. All examinations are to be given under the Honor System, meaning that teachers are to absent themselves from classrooms during tests, except for necessary announcements, and are to trust students not to give or to receive unauthorized aid. Students must take examinations in assigned rooms only, and take-home tests should not be given unless they are open-book tests. Students must sign the honor pledge after each examination. Final examinations are normally given on the last day of the block.
2. Grading Tracks
The College provides a two-track grading system for all students. In a given course students may choose to be graded by either the designation of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, and No Credit (G Track) or the optional system S/CR/NC (P track). S=A through C-; CR=D+ or D; NC=No Credit. For purposes of computing the grade point average the following schedule will be used: A=4.0; A-=3.7; B+=3.3; B=3.0; B-=2.7; C+=2.3; C=2.0; C-=1.7; D+=1.3, D=1.0, and NC=0.0. P track passing grades are not calculated in the GPA; a grade of NC under either grade track option is calculated in the GPA. D+ and D grades under both G and P Track options do fulfill graduation requirements. They do not fulfill major or prerequisite requirements. There are no restrictions placed on the number of courses a student may choose under each option. However, students are expected to choose the option by which they wish to be graded at the time they register for courses. No change in the grading option is permitted after the fourth day of class without extenuating circumstances. The Registrar automatically assigns students who do not choose a grading track for a course to the G track. A student may, with permission of the instructor, audit (Z track) a course. No credit toward graduation will be awarded, but the audit, if completed successfully, will be recorded on the student’s transcript.
The faculty has approved the following statements on the meaning of grades.
A: Excellent work that reflects superior understanding and insight, creativity, or skill.
B: Good work that reflects a high level of understanding or insight, creativity, or skill.
C: Adequate work that reflects readiness to continue study in the field.
D: Marginal work, only minimally adequate, indicates lack of readiness to continue in the field.
NC: Failing work, clearly inadequate and unworthy of credit.
3. Incomplete and No Credit
If a student is unable to complete a course for a satisfactory reason, such as illness, the instructor is to report an Incomplete. Incomplete grades must be made up by the beginning of the fourth block after the block in which the Incomplete occurs unless the instructor sets a shorter time limit for completing the work. If the work is not made up within the prescribed period, the Registrar will automatically convert the grade to a No Credit.
A notation of "in progress" (IP) is to be used in reporting grades in special courses involving two or more blocks not in sequence, or research courses, which by the design of the research cannot be completed in one block. Any department desiring to use such a designation for a particular course should propose such use to the Committee on Instruction for review and approval. The notation "IP" should not be used in unapproved courses. Students receiving a notation "IP" will be required to complete the course within a period of eight blocks, including the block in which the student registered for the course, and in all cases prior to graduation.
If a student does not complete the work of a course and has no satisfactory excuse, the instructor must determine the student's grade, which may be No Credit. Unlike an Incomplete, No Credit cannot be made up and thereby changed to a passing grade simply by turning in a missing paper or taking a missed examination.
A student may elect to repeat a course in an effort to achieve a higher grade, but this requires prior approval by the department chair and the instructor of the current course. No grades will be expunged from the transcript; all courses taken and re-taken, and all outcomes, shall be recorded. No course can count more than once toward graduation.
If a student pleads guilty to an Honor System violation, or is found by an Honor Council hearing panel to be guilty of such violation, the Council normally recommends that the professor award a grade in the course of No Credit. If a hearing panel decides the violation was inadvertent, it reconvenes in company with the professor to devise a mutually acceptable grade penalty. In either case, professors are most strongly urged to accept this Honor Council recommendation.
4. Reporting Grades to the Registrar
At the close of each course, each instructor must submit a grade for every student in the class on a form provided by the Registrar. These grades are to be submitted to the Registrar's Office not later than one week after the end of the block (except for blocks 4 and 6) unless the Dean of the College authorizes an extension.
5. Reporting Grades to Students
Typically, faculty members will advise students of course grades by posting them at their offices, consistent with procedures to protect confidentiality. The Registrar notifies students formally of their grades at the end of each semester.
6. Changes in Grades
If an instructor decides that an error has been made and wishes to change a grade, the instructor may do so by sending a note to the Registrar, requesting the change and explaining the reason, provided a time period less than two blocks has elapsed since the end of the course. After that period no further changes are permitted.
7. Reporting on No Credits and Incomplete Grades
Instructors should write explanatory comments for each grade of No Credit or Incomplete, and submit them to the Registrar's Office on forms that will be provided. These comments are vital to the effective and fair deliberations of the Dean's Advisory Committee when it meets to consider academic suspensions and warnings at the end of each semester.
F. Independent Study
A student may initiate an independent study to pursue in depth certain aspects of a subject previously studied or to investigate an area of academic interest not covered in a regular course. The following guidelines should be observed in virtually all cases: Independent study courses should have specific prior expectations established, clear to both the faculty supervisor and the student; should have as a prerequisite sufficient prior coursework in the area of the project to give the student a good basis for working independently, i.e., should involve advanced, not introductory, work; should normally be for juniors or seniors who are likely to have sufficient academic maturity to succeed in it; should require the equivalent student workload of a regular course carrying the same credit; should be planned well ahead of time; should have the approval of the department or interdisciplinary program chair.
It is expected that course evaluation forms will be administered in all courses taught in all departments and programs at Colorado College. All students are expected to evaluate classes at the end of each course, using forms designed and provided by the faculty within each department/program. Course evaluation forms should be composed within, and approved by, each department/program and need not be uniform across departments/programs. Departments/programs are encouraged to design forms that draw the appropriate balance among diagnostic, qualitative and quantitative evaluations, but are not required to use any particular format. Completed evaluation forms will be collected by a person designated by the department/program chair and will be kept by the faculty member. Each faculty member should review the student responses at least annually with the department/program chair or a designated department/program member. In some cases, the department/program chair may designate a faculty mentor outside the department/program. The purposes of the course evaluation procedure are to promote the improvement of teaching and learning and to establish a common expectation for systematically improving teaching across the faculty and departments. The purpose of department or program chair (or designated faculty member) reviews of course evaluations is to foster constructive, mutually helpful discussion about teaching and learning effectiveness within each department. III. Academic Advising New students are assigned faculty advisors with whom to confer about their particular needs. Advising is a professional responsibility of all regular, full-time faculty members after their first year. The advisor is concerned with academic matters and the student's general adjustment to college life. When students choose a major field in the spring of their sophomore year, they usually are assigned or select an advisor in their major department. Students should see their advisors whenever they have questions about their academic programs. It is the responsibility of individual students to seek help when they need it. When a faculty member incorrectly advises a student, and the student follows such erroneous advice, serious consequences can result including disruption of the student's academic progress and subsequent requests to modify the College's or a department's regular requirements and standards in accordance with the erroneous advice. For this reason, it is the duty of the faculty or administrative advisor to become fully aware of the College's graduation requirements and their advisees' progress on these requirements before giving advice (See Section IV below). Faculty members should refer to the current issue of The Colorado College Bulletin for information on graduation requirements, minimum progress toward degree, warnings and suspensions, registration, course changes, honors, leaves of absence, and special programs and courses (e.g., programs of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Teacher Education Program, etc.). Faculty have access to the electronic records of their advisees (current schedule and degree progress reports) and the College's course schedule through the Colorado College Network. The Registrar also provides printed degree progress reports to students and their advisors indicating the units completed to date, the eighteen units outside of the Major department, all-college requirements which have been completed, the progress toward completing major and minor requirements, distribution requirements and the student's current units in progress. Faculty should review this report with the student during pre-registration each year. Students' unanswered questions or concerns may be referred to the Registrar, Associate Dean, or the Dean of the College. Pre-registration is usually held in Block 7 and requires the active participation of the student's advisor. Students must secure the advisor's PIN in order to participate in the electronic pre-registration process. An eighty-point system is used to bid for courses for the following year. Students are allotted a total of 80 points, and they may bid from 0 to 80 points for each course. (Half-block, extended format, and summer session courses are not included in the point system.) The signature or PIN of the instructor or the department chair, respectively, must be secured for any course that lists "Consent of Instructor (COI)" or "Consent of Department (COD)" as a prerequisite. Several weeks after registration, printouts of student schedules will be available in the Registrar's Office. An open drop-add period for courses is in effect for the rest of the school year. Additional information is available from the Registrar's Office. For information about the Summer Session and its programs, faculty members are referred to The Colorado College Summer Session Bulletin and the Summer Session Office. IV. Apparent Authority Policy If a student relies on advice given by a faculty member concerning a College policy, such as a degree requirement (even though it is erroneous and the faculty member had no authority to give the advice), a court may, on the basis of the apparent authority doctrine, uphold the erroneous advice. The following are some suggestions to reduce the likelihood that the Apparent Authority doctrine will be invoked against the College. (1) Faculty should be familiar with College policies, especially departmental and all-College degree requirements; (2) any exception to College rules should be cleared with the Dean's Advisory Committee; (3) a written record should be kept of any special arrangements and of interview sessions in which these arrangements are discussed; and (4) always refer students requesting advice to the College's written policies governing the specific area in question. Any faculty member who needs additional advice or information, should call the Legal Counsel, Dean, or appropriate vice president. V. Colorado College Fall Conference and New Student Orientation The initial event of the academic year is the Colorado College Fall Conference, which normally takes place the day before the opening of New Student Orientation. This occasion for discussion of academic matters among faculty and members of the administration is announced by memorandum from the Dean of the College. Since this is the formal opening of the academic year, faculty members are expected to attend. Faculty members are also expected to participate in specified activities of New Student Orientation. VI. Academic Processions Faculty members and administrators who have the right to vote at faculty meetings are expected to be present for occasions that call for academic processions: certain convocations, Commencement and Baccalaureate. Emeriti faculty members have the privilege to participate in academic processions. Persons planning to participate in the procession may arrange for their caps and gowns either by purchase or rental from the College Bookstore. The Faculty Marshal makes announcement of academic processions through memoranda to all faculty and appropriate administrators.