In keeping with Xavier University 's institutional commitment to teaching, faculty members should always be concerned about the effectiveness of their teaching. Each faculty member should conscientiously strive to:
- prepare thoroughly for each class;
- present course goals clearly;
- provide a complete and thorough syllabus; the syllabus is to be a contract between students and instructor.
- provide clear and precise instructions (in writing, if applicable) for assignments of required work;
- avoid making lengthy assignments late in the semester;
- present course material using diverse means, making use of available technologies, where appropriate;
- maintain a classroom atmosphere which is conducive to student learning and analytical thinking;
- give tests and quizzes with sufficient frequency to motivate student preparation;
- return tests and papers in a timely fashion;
- grade all work fairly, firmly, and objectively; and
- model communication skills and respect for other individuals.
Each teacher should foster a scholarly atmosphere in the classroom, so that students will be encouraged to realize their full learning potential. Teaching methods should be employed which permit students to engage fully in their own educational development.
Attendance at classes at Xavier University is extremely important. Because poor student performance is most often equated with tardiness and absenteeism, the instructor is urged to use all reasonable methods to promote attendance at all regularly scheduled periods.
Roll taking is required in all classes. Attendance records must be kept and excessive absences should be reported to the Registrar's office. Attendance itself in 2000, 3000 and 4000 level courses should not be a factor to be graded. It is conceivable; however, that participation in class activities may be linked to it.
Students enrolled in non-degree credit and 1000-level courses may not be absent more than twice the number of times the class meets per week without receiving an FE grade (failure because of excessive absences) for the course. A waiver of FE may be requested by the instructor from the college dean in exceptional circumstances, for compelling and documented reasons.
Instructors in certain disciplines may be influenced by professional or accrediting association directives regarding attendance, and compliance with such directives should be the norm.
In regard to veterans, the University has made the following agreement with the Veterans Administration:
If a veteran accumulates a number of absences in a course, whether excused or unexcused, that exceeds three times the number of scheduled class sessions per week, the VA will be timely advised that an adjustment in payments may be made.
Textbooks must fulfill the objectives of the courses, as they are described in the catalog, and are to be selected by the faculty members in consultation with the chair. All textbook orders must be submitted in a timely manner. After the deadline for textbook orders, textbook selection is the authority of the department/division chair.
If the faculty members complete the required forms, desk copies of textbooks will be ordered with the class order and will usually be shipped by the publisher directly to the faculty members. If the desk copies are enclosed with the shipment to the bookstore, they will be forwarded immediately to the faculty member named on the order. If the faculty member is assigned to teach the course after the book order has been placed, he/she obtains a form from the bookstore on which to request a complimentary copy and sends it directly to the publisher.
A program of examinations is an essential educational procedure. Faculty members are expected to use examinations to stimulate student learning, appraise student success, and evaluate their own teaching effectiveness.
Final Examinations
Final examinations are to be given in all courses except seminars. Exceptions must have the approval of the Dean of the College. Final examinations run for two-hour periods and are to be given on the day and at the hour specified on the official examination schedule. Final examinations are to be duplicated so that each student has his/her own copy.
Final examinations are to be administered to eligible students who receive fiscal clearance. One copy of the examination questions is filed with the department chairs at the time the grades are entered.
Mid-Semester Grades
A mid-semester examination as such is not required but it is expected that at least one test shall have been given prior to the time for mid-semester evaluations and the mid-semester grade will be based at least partially on the results of this test.
Senior Comprehensives
In the College of Arts and Sciences, a comprehensive examination covering the major field is given to all students, usually in their senior year. When prepared by the departmental faculty, it is customary for individual faculty members to submit representative questions and grade the same. Appropriate standardized tests may be used by a department as its comprehensive examination.
Department chairs are urged to consider in departmental meetings the advisability of common examinations in those courses which are taught by different people.
Instructors in certain disciplines may be influenced by professional or accrediting association directives regarding examinations and compliance with such directives should be the norm.
Faculty members are expected to take all reasonable precautions to assure integrity of academic work. Not only are they carefully to proctor tests and examinations, but also prudently to safeguard test questions before a test is administered and the test papers afterwards. Special care is to be exercised whenever students have access to the office of a faculty member or secretary.
A faculty member has the authority to deny admission to the examination room to any student who arrives late, and under no circumstances is he/she to permit a student to take the examination if he/she arrives after another student has left the examination room. Students are expected to comply with the directions given by the instructor as to seating arrangements, use of tables or calculators, computers, etc.
Plagiarism -- the explicit submission as one's own the words or ideas of another -- is to be dealt with firmly. It is important that faculty instruct students, particularly freshmen, as to what constitutes plagiarism.
If a student's test, examination paper, laboratory report, term paper, or other written assignment gives evidence of not being completely his/her own work, he may be given an F for the course. A student who communicates with anyone during the course of an examination or test, unless with the permission of the instructor, may be immediately dismissed from the room and given an F. Such communication includes attempts to read from another's paper. If a student is found to have brought study materials into the examination room despite the instructor's warning that such materials are prohibited, it may be assumed that he/she intended to use such materials unlawfully, and he/she may be penalized accordingly.
The faculty member is to report immediately to his/her chair and dean any incident involving academic dishonesty and be prepared to make this report in writing. Written evidence supporting the charge should also be submitted.
Official grading of students is done twice each semester: at the midpoint of the semester and at its end. Instructions regarding the filing of grades will be issued by the Registrar. It is important that the complete report of grades be filed on time . A student's grade in a course is the combined result of the final examination, tests, class work and other assignments as indicated in the published course plan. The University has not adopted a formula for arriving at the final grade. The evaluation is entrusted to the faculty member, subject to the supervision of the departmental chair. In no instance should student grades be posted using the name, social security number or any manner that may identify the student. All graded assignments and tests should be returned directly to the student. These materials should never be left in a common area for students to retrieve.
The grade of "C" is the key to understanding the grading system of Xavier. It is considered to be the grade a student receives for average performance. Effort and good will alone do not suffice to reward with a higher grade a student whose performance is not above the "average" or "satisfactory" level. A grave disservice is done to the student and to the academic reputation of the University if the grades do not represent a standard of performance equivalent to that practiced in other good institutions. Teachers are encouraged to review their grade distributions each semester to monitor the rigor of their courses.
Letter grades are defined as follows:
A = Excellent I = Incomplete
B = Good W = Official Withdrawal
C = Average S = Satisfactory
D = Poor U = Unsatisfactory
F = Failure PC = Passed with Credit
P = Passing NG = No Grade
FE = Failure for excessive absence
DC = Deferred Credit
PE = Pass/Exit
W$ = Withdrawal for Financial Reasons
Unofficial withdrawals at any time are to be reported as F's.
When grading students each faculty member should bear in mind that he/she is part of a complete corps of professors who must demand the best performance of their students. No student can be considered competent in his/her disciplinary area unless he/she is capable of adequate oral and written communication.
The grade of "I" (Incomplete) should be given only on very rare occasions when some moral or physical impossibility prevents the student from completing his class requirements promptly. Mere negligence on the part of the student should merit him a grade of "F." Approval of the dean of the college is required for this grade. An "I", unless changed before the end of the sixth week of the semester following the one in which it was incurred, becomes an "F". Ordinarily an "I" incurred in the spring semester must be changed by the end of the first session of summer school.
The grade of "W" is issued for an official withdrawal from class up to the date indicated on the semester calendar, usually a week or two before the end of the semester. (See semester calendar for the appropriate date.) Withdrawal forms must be signed by the instructor and the advisor and returned to the Registrar's office with a receipt for the $10.00 fee for the withdrawal to be official.
If a student informs a faculty member that he/she plans to withdraw from a course, the faculty member should make certain that the student understands that it is necessary to obtain formal authorization to withdraw. The faculty member should report promptly any instance in which a student withdraws without proper authorization. Such notification to the Registrar's office will help prevent later complications in handling the student's scholastic record. In many cases, as of foreign students or veterans, very serious financial and legal difficulties may develop because of failure to give this notification.
If a student wishes to withdraw from the university, he/she must have completed the official withdrawal process no later than one week after he/she stops attending classes or the withdrawal is voided, and the student will receive failing grades in all coursework .
Official student academic records are maintained and stored in the Office of the Registrar. The permanent record consists of Xavier's application and acceptance letter; Xavier's transcript; history sheet/card; most recent address; high school transcripts; college transcripts/documents (visas) from other countries; NTE scores and other teacher's certification information; ACT/SAT, AP and CLEP scores; VA forms and other legal documents such as a name change; and all official withdrawal forms.
The normal full-time load is 12 semester hours or its equivalent in addition to normal committee work, club advising, and counseling of students. The full load mentioned above may be understood to mean:
- 12 lecture hours per week as related to 12 semester hours earned by students in classes which are not over-sized, that is, fewer than 50 students per class.
- 18 studio hours per week in Art.
- 24 applied music hours per week (Music).
- 18 laboratory hours per week in the Natural Sciences and Computer Science.
- 18 student teachers under supervision.
- 12 students in different independent study areas.
- Any combination of the above.
Special Cases:
- One additional semester hour will be counted toward the faculty member's load for every 10 students over 40, i.e., 50 students (fractions, or fewer than 10, do not result in 1 extra semester hour).
- Normal load for departmental chairs will be 9 semester hours or 6 semester hours if the department is large or complex. "Large" in this connection will be interpreted as having 100 majors or more. Decisions regarding complexity will be made by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
- Normal load for deans will be 0-3 semester hours.
- If a faculty member has a slight overload (1 s.h. or less), his committee or other special assignments should be reduced.
- Chairpersons must provide a written rationale for those faculty whose courseload calculation in a given semester is affected by the number of preparations in order for nine hours to be considered a full load, or 12 hours to be considered an overload.
Guidelines for Faculty Overloads
(Revised 3/93)
- The normal overload for faculty will be no more than three hours so that faculty loads do not exceed 15 hours. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the dean .
- Faculty who teach two courses concurrently will receive a differential for the second course, rather than full overload pay.
- The maximum number of students in a "directed reading" course is three (3).
- Courses beyond the normal course load (12 hours) with fewer than 10 students will be compensated on a prorated basis, e.g., 6 students = 6/10 of normal overload pay.
- Ordinarily, advisees are distributed equally among faculty. Overload compensation for advising responsibilities will be paid on the basis of the following schedule:
30 - 35 students $100.00
36 - 40 students $200.00
41 - 45 students $300.00
46 - 50 students $400.00
51 - 55 students $500.00
- The chair of the department is responsible for providing written documentation for any request for exceptions to be above rules to his/her dean.
Graduate Teaching Load
Graduate courses are calculated at a higher teaching credit load than comparable undergraduate course hours due to the higher level of scholarship expected of graduate faculty. A three-hour graduate course is counted as a four hour load to allow additional time devoted to scholarship. Thus 9 hours of graduate courses is equivalent to 12 hours of teaching credit or a full load.
Any combination of graduate and undergraduate courses is calculated using the above credit hour assignment to determine the teaching load. For example, two undergraduate courses (6 hours) and one graduate course (counted as 4 hours) is equivalent to a 10 hour teaching. This load would be considered "below" the normal teaching load of 12 hours and other duties should be assigned within the division/department. Alternately the faculty member could be assigned an additional undergraduate course and be paid a one-hour overload.
Offices for faculty members are provided in several buildings on the campus, including the Administration Building , the Academic/Science Complex, and Xavier South. Pharmacy faculty are housed in the Pharmacy Building .
Faculty are expected to meet all scheduled classes promptly. Where emergency situations occur, the instructor should contact his/her departmental chair in sufficient time to have his/her class(es) covered. If the instructor cannot locate his/her chair, he/she shall then report his/her situation to the dean of the college.
Attendance at Academic Functions
All faculty members are obligated by contract to attend the following:
- opening Faculty Institute in the fall and spring semesters.
- all faculty meetings, general or staff; University Academic Assembly, College Academic Assembly, and college or departmental staff meeting.
- all meetings of clubs or other organizations to which they have been assigned as advisors.
- all official academic convocations:
- Opening Convocation
- Special convocations during the school year, e.g., Founders Day in October and Black History Month Convocation in February. (These will be duly noted by bulletin board posting.)
- Honors Convocation
- Baccalaureate and Commencement Convocations in academic dress.
If absence from the above academic functions is unavoidable, faculty should submit a formal request to the President (copied to the Vice President for Academic Affairs) requesting permission to be absent . This request should be submitted no later than three weeks prior to the date of the function.
Attendance at Other Activities
Faculty members are urged to manifest interest in the activities of the University, especially those in which the students participate. Faculty are encouraged to attend the opening Mass at the beginning of each semester.
Although no faculty member is required to be present at all such functions, all should try to attend a representative number of them. They should also try to demonstrate in other ways their interest in the activities of the students and the University.
Faculty members are expected to hold membership in professional societies related to their respective fields and to participate in the scholarly and cultural functions related to each.
Attendance at Conventions and Scholarly Meetings
Attendance at meetings or conventions held during the school year must be approved by the department chair in the case of a faculty member or the dean of the college in the case of a department/division chair.
Travel expenses for a faculty member may be paid in full or part within the limitations of budgets of the respective colleges or the department's grant funds.
To receive travel monies the faculty must submit a request for travel to the chair and the respective dean for their approvals. Upon return the faculty must complete and submit an expense report to the chair and the dean within one week after returning. Travel expenses are calculated according to the guidelines set by the fiscal office. (See Section V, "General Services, Policies and Procedures).
Reports
Recipients of University travel funds are required to submit a written report on significant aspects of such meetings. This report is to be submitted in duplicate to the chair before seeking approval of the itemized expense account which is required by the fiscal office within one week after return from the meeting. The chair will retain one copy of the report for the department and forward the other to the dean of the college. Chairs will present their reports at the time of seeking approval of their itemized expense account.
It is presumed that a participant will report to the departmental staff, at the earliest possible regular meeting, the substance of the attended meeting, and any other matter which is of mutual and professional interest.
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