link Procedures - Beginning of Term
Opening Day Rosters, Add Codes , Waitlists, Adding Students, Dropping Students

Opening Day Rosters, Add Codes and Waitlists 

You can access your Opening Day Rosters, Add Codes and Waitlists on the Portal.  Faculty teaching face-to-face courses are expected to print out their own copy of the opening day roster and bring it to their first class meeting.  You can use this document to retain a record of the registered students’ attendance during the beginning of the term.  

For directions on accessing your rosters, codes and waitlists, download the Opening Day Rosters, Add Codes and Waitlists guide.  
Adding Students           

Prior to Census Day 

Between the first day of instruction through Census day students can only add into courses with an add code.  Add codes can be found on the Portal under Faculty Services.  Keep these numbers private until adding students to ensure that students who you don’t intend to add don’t use a code.  Instruct the students that they can only use these codes online on the Portal. Some students require an add form from A&R to be signed by you in lieu of an add code (e.g. high school students); this form cannot be used online and will require students to wait in line at the A&R office. 

Add students from the wait list in the order that they appear.  Faculty cannot add students out of order, regardless of their hardship.  If you have gone through all names on the wait list, you still have “drop-in” students wanting to add, and you still have spots available in the class, consider doing a lottery to fill the remaining spots.  

After Census Day 

Faculty are discouraged from adding students after the census deadline.  Any late adds must be approved by the Division Dean and require a valid justification (e.g. a student who has been attending since the first day of instruction that ran into registration issues).  A petition for late add can be obtained from Admissions and Records.  

Dropping Students 

Prior to Census Day 

Drop any student that does not participate in the course during the census period.  Faculty have a legal requirement to clear all inactive participants from their roster prior to submitting their census roster so that the college does not receive apportionment funding for students who are not eligible.  More information on this policy can be found on the Census Roster Policy page. 

For directions on dropping students, download the How to Drop Students in Banner guide. 

After Census Day 

Prior to that withdrawal “W” deadline, faculty can drop students if their absences exceed 10% of the total class meetings and all attempts at contacting the student to see if they wish to proceed with the course have failed.  Remember to print and retain a copy of your drop report(s).  Note:  Instructors cannot drop students after the “W” deadline.  

Students cannot be dropped from the class because of cheating or bad behavior.  If a student is exhibiting behavioral problems, you can excuse that student for up to 2 class meetings.  You must also fill out an Incident Report Form.  The Vice President of Student Services will determine the best course of action.  More information can be found on the Incident Reporting page.   

Auditing a Course

Auditing a Course 

An audit student is a student who is specially registered to attend a class without the requirement of taking tests or completing assignments.  Each College department shall determine which courses may be audited.  Check with your Department Chair to see if your course can be audited.  

Ultimately it is the instructor’s decision to allow students to audit a course.  Note that the classroom or lab’s maximum occupancy may dictate whether you can allow auditing; priority in class enrollment shall be given to students desiring to take the course for credit.  If you are willing to accept the student, s/he must fill out a Course Section Audit Request form, have you sign the form, and pay a fee ($15) to enroll in the course on an “Audit” basis.  Please verify that s/he has paid the fee by requiring them to show you a copy of the receipt.  Under no circumstances can an unregistered student remain in your class past the second week of instruction. 

Census Rosters

Census Rosters are used for accounting purposes when applying to the state for apportionment funding.  Census Rosters are submitted after the first 10% of the course meetings.  For full length courses during the primary terms (Fall and Spring) census day is usually the third Monday of the semester.  Please be sure to review the Census Roster closely to ensure that (1) all students provided with an add code have been added; and (2) all “no show” students have been dropped.  Visit the Census Roster Policy to review the MCAS approved policy regarding Census Rosters.  

For directions on submitting your Census Roster, download the Submit Census Rosters guide.  

All faculty are contractually obligated to submit their Census Roster by the due date.  Admissions and Records will identify any sections for which Census Rosters have not been submitted and will send that list to the Division Dean.  The Division Dean will provide a copy (hard copy or PDF) of the Census Roster for the faculty member to sign.  Any “no show” students who should be dropped should be noted on the form.   

Communicating with Students

Communicating with Students           

Faculty can email their enrolled students through either the Portal or through Canvas.  Because waitlisted students do not have access to your Canvas course, the only way to email waitlisted students is through the Portal.  

For directions on emailing your students through Canvas, download the How to Email Students Using Canvas guide. 

Course Overlap Procedure

Course Overlap Procedure 

Per Board Policy 4226 and Administrative Procedure 4226, students may not enroll in two or more classes where the meeting times overlap, unless the student provides a valid justification, other than scheduling convenience, of the need for an overlapping schedule that does not exceed 10% of class meeting time.  The student must make up the overlapping hours at some other time during the same week under the supervision of the instructor of the course.   

Students who are interested in enrolling in overlapping courses must discuss their options with both faculty members affected.  Neither faculty member is obligated to approve of any schedule modifications.  If a schedule modification is agreed upon, the student will ask the instructor to sign a Petition to Register in Classes With Overlapping Times form.  The student must then get a signature from the VP of Instruction. 

Course Pre or Corequisites

Course Pre or Corequisites 

Many college courses have pre- or co-requisites.  Check the Course Outline of Record to see the most current course requisites.  Students must fulfill the pre-/co-requisite requirement prior to enrollment in the course.   For students inquiring about clearing a pre- or co-requisite please refer them to the Clearing Prerequisites information page on the Admissions and Records website.  Only the Department Chair can approve prerequisite challenges. 

 

Office Door Signs 

Office Door Signs 

All full-time faculty must display a sign on or near their office door with the following information:  contact information; class days/times; office hours days/times.  A template is available for all faculty to use.  It is the faculty member’s responsibility to update their door sign every semester and to email the updated version to their division Administrative Specialist.  The Administrative Specialist maintains a copy of the door sign in the division office. 

Office Hours

Office Hours 

Full-time Faculty 

Full-time faculty must schedule at least three (3) office hours per week, outside of his/her regularly scheduled classroom hours.  Office hours for full-time faculty are a part of the workweek.  The specific times, days, and location must be clearly noted on the faculty member's syllabi and office door sign.  

associate Faculty 

associate faculty must schedule at least thirty (30) minutes of office hours per week, outside of his/her regularly scheduled classroom hours, for every section taught.  For example, if the faculty member is assigned to two sections in a given term, s/he must schedule at least sixty (60) minutes of office hours per week.  Office hours for associate faculty are a part of the workweek.  The specific times, days and location must be clearly noted on the faculty member’s syllabus.  Office hours can be held in the following locations:  GC 114 and SEC 250; science faculty may also hold their office hours in SCI 130.  Check with your department chair for other suggestions if those locations do not work for you.  

Faculty Teaching Online 

Faculty teaching online can hold online office hours as part of their required time.  Faculty can communicate with students, for example, via Canvas’ Chat or Conferences features.  For assistance with Canvas, search the Canvas Guides.  For technical support, contact John Spencer  [email protected].  

Pass/No Pass Grading Option

Pass/No Pass Grading Option 

Some department courses may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.  Check with your Department Chair to see if your course has this option.  A student must opt for a Pass/No Pass grade in a qualifying course no later than the date specified on the Portal for each section.  For full term sections during the primary semesters, this date is usually by the end of week 5.  If the student chooses this option, s/he must submit a Pass/No Pass Grade Option Request form to Admissions and Records.  

Room Change Requests

Room Change Requests 

If you are not satisfied with the room to which your course has been assigned, you may request a room change.  All room change requests must be directed to the Department Chair.  Email your Department Chair with a description of the type of room that you are requesting (capacity, building, special needs, etc.) and s/he will contact the room scheduler.  Please note that room availability is limited, and your request may not be granted.  

Syllabi

Syllabi 

Your course syllabus (also called a "green sheet”) contains vital information about your course.  Instructors are contractually obligated to provide students with a course syllabus at the beginning of the term.  It is strongly advised that each instructor post a copy of their syllabus on Canvas in advance of the term so students may print their own copy.  For face-to-face courses, this information should also be explained to students on the first day of class.  A copy of the syllabus for each course should be provided to the Department Chair during the first week of each semester so that it can be placed on file with the college.  

The course syllabus must contain the following information: 

Course ID, name and section number
Meeting days and times
Final exam date and time
Drop deadlines (both w/o a “W” and w/a “W”)
Instructor name, contact information and office hours (time and location)
Required course materials
Course description
Student learning outcomes
Details on how points are to be earned
Grade computation
Attendance policy
Canvas information
Course policy on cheating
Course policy on making up assignments, quizzes, exams, etc.
Code of student conduct
Disability statement
Safety/Emergency information
Tutoring information
FERPA information
Harassment statement
Nondiscrimination statement
Smoke and Drug free policy
Grievance process
Policy for course repetition 

For assistance in developing your course syllabus, please contact your Department Chair for examples.