Chapter Three - Planning for Teaching: Classroom Management

Please print a copy of the Academic Calendar to keep for quick reference. The calendar includes pertinent information including term start and end dates, drop/add periods, and holidays.

• Adjunct faculty will be available to students for a limited time before and/or after class sessions are taught, and during class breaks. 
• Adjunct faculty shall be accessible to students through one or more of the following: telephone, campus mailbox, and electronic transmissions such as College email. 
• The contact numbers and College email address will be published on the syllabus for each course. 
• Please let the department office staff know how they should handle student phone calls for you.
• Adjunct faculty office space for student contacts/conferences may be maintained in designated adjunct offices and/or individual conference rooms in the library.
• Distance learning faculty members must also be available to students.
• The course syllabus should include information on virtual student hours, how students can reach you, and the timeframe for a response from you.

Class meeting times are shown on the course schedule and on the faculty load sheet with designated beginning and ending times. In order to maintain maximum student interaction and learning, faculty members are required to comply with those times. Class meeting times should not be cut short.

There are also different session lengths offered which include Full-term, A term, B term, and 12-week terms. Be certain to help students understand the number of weeks your class(es) will meet.

Maintaining classroom control, including a virtual classroom for distance learning courses, is the responsibility of the faculty member; however, no student should be allowed to stay in class if student behavior in any way adversely jeopardizes the progress of the class. 

The Student Handbook and the College Catalog defines the standard of conduct for students. Faculty should refer disciplinary problems to the Student Conduct office along with notification to the departmental dean or supervisor. The Faculty Guide for Disruptive Behavior is available online for reference.

The professor should provide feedback in the form of regular and substantial interactions with students regarding their progress. This can be done in the form of homework comments, quizzes, tests, or graded classroom activities. The feedback should be done promptly including students’ inquiry about how a grade for the activity/course was determined.

You may request that students who are late (specify a specific amount of time) will not be allowed to enter the classroom or the online discussion group. You may also count students who are late as absent if you have described this as a policy in the syllabus. You may not, however, ask a student to leave the classroom because of tardiness or lock the door. Ask students who arrive late (for whatever reason) to disturb the class as little as possible.

For distance learning courses, be sure to specify in the syllabus how often a student should log into the course. Consistent, meaningful engagement through regular and substantial interactions (RSI) in an online course is key to student success. Reach out to our eLearning Instructional Designers if you have questions or need help with this.

Respect between faculty and students goes both ways. You set the policies about cell phones, recorders, disruptive behavior and netiquette. Students may not bring friends, relatives, or children to the classroom. 

Faculty may log in to the computer stations in the classroom by using their MySeminoleState.edu login information. They must log out when finished so that others cannot use the computer with the faculty members’ information and have access to their records and files.

The purpose of the Student Academic Concerns and Grade Appeals Procedure (Procedure 4.0300) is to outline the steps to be followed to address student academic, instructional and faculty concerns and grade appeals.

A professor's grades are considered permanent once they have been submitted and approved by the Records Office. A student who asserts that there are grounds upon which to request a change in grade may file a grade appeal according to the procedure specified herein. Visit the web page to learn more about this process. Written Statement of Student Concern or Complaint Grade appeals must be initiated by the student within 30 days of the start of the next term after the grade was received.

The purpose of the Student Concerns and Complaints Procedure (Procedure 3.0800) is to outline the steps to be followed to address student concerns or complaints that a policy or procedure of the College has been incorrectly or unfairly applied in their particular case, or to bring a complaint or grievance against an employee's behavior.

The following steps have been established to address complaints not already covered by the following procedures:

1. Student academic, instructional and faculty concerns and grade appeals are to be resolved according to Procedure 4.0300 Student Academic Concerns and Grade Appeals.
2. Discrimination complaints are to be addressed according to Procedure 1.0600 Resolving Discrimination Complaints.
3. Sexual harassment complaints are to be addressed by Procedure 1.0601 Resolving Harassment Grievances Under Title IX.
4. Students may submit a request for tuition refunds according to Procedure 5.0450 Student Tuition and Fee Refunds overseen by the Registrar's Office.
5. Student conduct concerns are to be addressed according to Policy 3.0900 Student Code of Conduct.
6. Student disability accommodation and course substitution appeals are to be resolved according to Procedure 3.0600 Accommodation of Disabled Students.

As members of the College community, students are expected to be honest in all their academic coursework and activities. Academic misconduct (included but not limited to-cheating on examinations, any work written, developed, created, co-authored, or inspired by artificial intelligence (AI), course assignments or projects, plagiarism, misrepresentation, and the unauthorized possession of examination or course-related materials) is prohibited.

Plagiarism and self-plagiarism are unacceptable to the College community. Academic work that is submitted by students is expected to be original and a result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. When students borrow ideas, wording, or organization from another source, they are expected to acknowledge that fact in an appropriate manner. Inappropriate behavior may include; submitting assignments in a current class that were already submitted in other classes.

Any student who shares their work, including utilizing or posting to online sources, for the purpose of cheating on class assignments or tests or helping another to cheat or plagiarize is subject to the same penalties as the student who commits the act.

When cheating or plagiarism has occurred, instructors may take academic action that ranges from:

1. Denial of credit for the assignment.
2. A grade of "F" on a specific assignment, examination, or project.
3. The assignment of a grade of "F" for the course.

Students may be subject to academic sanctions imposed by the faculty member according to his or her academic professional judgment and disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Student Conduct Officer in accord with this procedure such as disciplinary probation, suspension, or dismissal from the college. Please visit the Student Code of Conduct (Policy 3.090) for more information.

Faculty Recording of Student Attendance (Procedure 4.0900)

The College recognizes the correlation between attendance and both student retention and achievement. A successful college experience requires a student’s regular class attendance and active engagement. Any class session or activity missed, regardless of cause, reduces the opportunity for learning and may adversely affect a student’s achievement in the course. 

Students are expected to attend all classes, actively participate and complete all assigned course work for all courses for which they are registered. Faculty will post an accurate grade for each student in each class on or before each grade-gathering deadline.

The student must notify an instructor in advance of any absence based on medical conditions related to pregnancy, manifestation of a disability, jury duty, military leave, official representation of the College, court-mandated appearances, or observance of religious holidays. In accordance with Procedure 3.0610 –Student Attendance, if the student asks the instructor to make up work missed, when reasonable, the instructor will provide the student with a written plan with due dates and assignments consistent with the activities.

Familiarize yourself with the full Student Attendance Procedure.

The College makes every effort to ensure that students' educational experiences have minimal disruptions. When an instructor is late or absent from class(es) the instructor should notify the office supervisor/dean and provide written procedures and assignments for the classes to be missed. If an instructor’s absence from class is known in advance, the instructor should ask a fulltime or Adjunct instructor that teaches the course to substitute. The dean must be notified of and approve faculty absences and class substitutions.

Student Withdrawals

Student-Initiated Withdrawal

A student desiring to withdraw from a course after the add/drop period should initiate withdrawal procedures with an instructor or counselor. Withdrawals are not official until the withdrawal form is completed and given to the Registration Office. Withdrawal deadlines are published in the official College Catalog Academic Calendar Section. Students should be aware that a reduction in course load may jeopardize the student's athletic eligibility, financial aid, veteran's benefits, standards of progress, or student Visa status.

Familiarize yourself with the process that students can take to Withdraw from a Course.

Faculty-Initiated Withdrawal

Faculty members have the right to withdraw students from class for "no shows" before Grade Roster Validation at the beginning of a term. Further, Career and Adult Education Faculty may withdraw students later in the term for excessive absences as determined by the established departmental guidelines and within the deadline set by the Registrar.

Familiarize yourself with Procedure 4.090 Faculty Recording of student Attendance and Policy 3.060 Student Attendance.

The Board of Trustees of Seminole State College has adopted a policy against harassment of students and personnel on the basis of race, color, religion, pregnancy, national origin, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, veterans’ or military status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status or any other factor protected under applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations is prohibited. Anyone with questions regarding this policy is encouraged to contact the Associate Vice President of Human Resources. See Policies and Procedures (2.090) for complete Harassment Policy.

The Faculty Code of Ethics stipulates expected Student Related Responsibilities, Professional Responsibilities, and Institutional Responsibilities. Be certain to read it and be familiar with these important expectations.