2014 Undergraduate Class Regulations, Spring Term

Grading System

Clemson University’s grading system is described in the 2013-2014 Undergraduate Announcements, p. 26-27. Grades of A, B, C, D, F, I, P and W may be given in accordance with academic regulations.
For more information on this grading system, please see the Registrar’s website at www.registrar.clemson.edu.

Academic Integrity

The following is the official statement on academic integrity. The Provost urges that you place this statement on your syllabus, or cite the reference in the Undergraduate Announcements and call your students’ attention to it.

“As members of the Clemson University community, we have inherited Thomas Green Clemson’s vision of this institution as a “high seminary of learning.” Fundamental to this vision is a mutual commitment to truthfulness, honor, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn the trust and respect of others. Furthermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of a Clemson degree. Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form.”

When, in the opinion of a course instructor, there is evidence that a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty, that person must make a formal written charge of academic dishonesty, including a description of the misconduct, to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. The reporting person may, at his/her discretion, inform each involved student privately of the nature of the alleged charge. In cases of plagiarism (I.B.2.) instructors may use, as an option, the Plagiarism Resolution Form available from the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Instructors suspecting a violation of the academic integrity policy should not assign a grade penalty until the process is complete. For suspected academic dishonesty outside the course setting, please consult with the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Instructors should include a class policy on submission of work that has been turned in for credit for a previous course.

Please call 656-3022 with any questions about academic integrity.

Class Rolls

• Students can use iRoar to add courses through January 14, to drop courses without record through January 22, and to drop with a W grade through March 14.

• Instructors and Registration Coordinators must submit a registration correction form (http://www.registrar.clemson.edu/secure/f2/regForm.htm) to have students added to or dropped from their class rolls. Instructors can submit a form to drop students for not adhering to the first class attendance policy (2013-2014 Undergraduate Announcements, p. 27) and for excessive class absences. Instructors needing assistance with this process should contact their departmental Registration Coordinator (http://www.registrar.clemson.edu/html/regcoord.htm).

• At the end of the semester, students can check grades using iRoar as soon as grades are processed according to the academic calendar.

• Departmental syllabi monitoring should include at least

1. 1. faculty be required to turn in a syllabus for every academic year for every

      course taught

   2. a sample of undergraduate course syllabi used that year be checked for the

      above specific syllabus requirements

   3. student monitoring will occur via the existing appeal channels available to

      students

Attendance Policy (Please reference the Undergraduate Announcements)

The academic resources of Clemson University are provided for the intellectual growth and development of students. Class attendance is critical to the educational process; therefore, students should attend scheduled courses regularly if they are to attain their academic goals.

In the event of an emergency, the student should make direct contact with the course instructor, preferably before a class or an exam takes place. Students should speak with their course instructors regarding any scheduled absence as soon as possible and develop a plan for any make-up work. It is the student’s responsibility to secure documentation of emergencies, if required. A student with an excessive number of absences may be withdrawn at the discretion of the course instructor.

Course instructors must implement fair grading procedures and provide an opportunity to make up missed assignments and examinations that does not unfairly penalize the student when an excused absence is accepted. Such make-up work shall be at the same level of difficulty with the missed assignment or examination. Course instructors shall hold all students with excused absences to the same standard for making up missed assignments and examinations. While course instructors should seek to make reasonable accommodations for a student involved in University-sponsored activities, students should understand that not every course can accommodate absences and that absences do not lessen the need to meet all course objectives.

Absence from class is detrimental to the learning process, so course instructors may use reasonable academic penalties which reflect the importance of work missed because of unexcused absences. Course instructors who penalize students for unexcused absences must specify attendance requirements as related to grading in the course syllabus and must keep accurate attendance records. Course instructors are obligated to honor exceptions to the university attendance policy for students covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as verified through paperwork issued by Student Disability Services.

Notification of Absence in MyCLE

MyCLE (http://mycle.clemson.edu) allows students to quickly notify instructors of an absence from class, whether anticipated or unanticipated. The Notification of Absence module, available in MyCLE on the MyCLEmson tab and on the Students tab, is designed to allow students to notify instructors of an absence in the following categories: court attendance, death of family member, illness, illness of family member, injury, military duty, religious observance, scheduled surgery, university function, unscheduled hospitalization, other anticipated absence, or other unanticipated absence. The notification form requires a brief explanation, dates and times. Based on the dates and times indicated, instructors are automatically selected, but students may decide which instructors will receive the notification. Instructors are notified by e-mail. This does not serve as an “excuse” from class, and students are encouraged to discuss the absence with their instructors, as the instructor is the only person who can excuse an absence. If a student is unable to report the absence by computer, he/she may call the Dean of Students Office for assistance.

Faculty members should feel free to call the Dean of Students for help in considering the validity and sufficiency of the documentation provided by students. The Dean of Students Office also assists students in identifying appropriate methods of documenting absences and assists families in using the electronic Notification of Absence system when students are unable to do so themselves.

Faculty Teaching Online Courses

All Clemson University online (Internet) courses and programs should include a provision for instructor-student interaction on at least a weekly basis and the interaction should be identified as a part of the course requirements. This provision will help to ensure benefits to Clemson students receiving Veteran Administration Educational benefits which require the University to certify weekly contact for Internet courses. This communication can be done using any of the CCIT supported technologies such as Blackboard tools, email lists and attachments, video conferencing, and audio bridge conference calls.

An appropriate statement of weekly contact should be included in the course syllabus. A sample statement is provided below for use in meeting these requirements and maintaining considerable latitude in course delivery.

“In this online course, you will interact with the content, instructor and classmates on at least a weekly basis through course assignments, asynchronous discussions and/or synchronous sessions as indicated in the class syllabus.”

If you have questions or need help, please send email to ETS-L@clemson.edu.

Submitting Grades

Faculty use iRoar to submit grades at the end of each academic term. Follow the steps below. Note: Grades recorded in Blackboard are outside the official grade collection system. To avoid confusion, do not use Blackboard to calculate grades unless you are thoroughly familiar with the gradebook module and the controls. For help with Blackboard, contact CCIT.

1. Login to iRoar.
2. Click on Faculty Services.
3. Click on Final Grades.
4. Choose valid grades for each student from the drop down menu.
5. Submit early and submit often.
6. Note: there may be multiple pages.
7. Once you have submitted, you will see confirmation at the top of page.
8. If you enter a failed or incomplete grade, you must enter a last date of attendance.

Mid-term Grades

Once, near mid-term, but no later than five days before the last day students can drop courses without receiving final grades, instructors of every undergraduate course shall make available for each student (a) that student’s numerical course grade or (b) that student’s letter ranking to date in that course (A-F or P/F). More frequent feedback is strongly encouraged.

Both student and instructor are to recognize that this feedback reflects the student’s performance up to that point in time, and as such, that student’s final course grade may change based upon subsequent coursework performance(s).

The policy includes all undergraduate courses and applies to all terms, including summer sessions.

Final Examinations

The standing of a student in his/her work at the end of a semester is based upon daily classwork, tests or other work, and final examinations. Faculty members may excuse from the final examinations all students having the grade A on the coursework prior to the final examination. For all other students, examinations are required in all subjects at the end of each semester, except in courses in which final examinations are not deemed necessary as approved by the department faculty.

Final examinations must be given or due on the dates and at the times designated in the final examination schedule, except in laboratory and one-credit-hour courses where the final exam will be given at the last class meeting. All courses (including online courses) that do not specify a standard day of the week and standard meeting time are not assigned a final exam date and time, and the final exam must be given during the examination week at a date and time announced by the instructor. This time should be stipulated in the syllabus.

Circumventing the designated date/time for a final examination via consenting signatures from students for a different date/time, though freely agreed to, is a violation of the final examination policy.

Retain Examinations

Clemson University faculty who exercise their right to retain student examinations are required to retain those examinations on file for the 90 (ninety) calendar day duration (exclusive of summer) allocated for final grade protests in the form of academic grievances. Visiting instructors should leave examinations with the department chair to negotiate with students.

Posting of Grades

The United States Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits the public distribution of grades or graded work. This is commonly understood to include posting grades by student names, initials, or student number. It is also understood to include placing of graded material in a public place where students go through the material to find their own graded work.

Prerequisites

It is important that department chairs and faculty understand that students can register for a course even though they have not satisfied the prerequisites for it. Many faculty believe, wrongly, that the on-line registration system prevents this registration. The University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee wants all affected parties to know that verifying the satisfaction of prerequisites is the responsibility of departments and individual faculty members.