Class Roster

Your class roster, reflecting all official registration for your class, is available on Wolverine Access (https://wolverineaccess.umich.edu --> Faculty & Staff, University Business, Teaching Support). If a student’s name does not appear on the list the student should be informed of this omission. It is the student’s responsibility to correct the problem. You may request that the student not participate in your course until officially registered or you may allow participation on the assumption that the problem will be resolved.

Stating Classroom Objectives

Classes begin ten minutes after the hour and should be dismissed promptly on the hour, unless officially scheduled to meet for a different period. It is best for the instructor to summarize the course objectives and state the course prerequisites at the first meeting of the class. A written syllabus distributed to the students can be a clear way to describe both the course structure and the instructor’s expectations. You may include all that information, alternatively, in a course home page linked from the LSA Course Guide.

It is particularly important for you to define in writing your expectations regarding attendance, academic misconduct, class participation, the kind and quality of written work and examinations, and timeliness in meeting deadlines. Given the University’s wide variety of courses, and the variety of pedagogical approaches, there is little uniformity of opinion regarding these matters, and students need to have your expectations clearly in mind. For example, various instructors may attach different levels of significance to the documentation of research sources in term papers.

A thorough statement of your expectations, given at the start of the course, will do much to eliminate subsequent misunderstandings. Additionally, some instructors feel that poor attendance or class participation inevitably means a low or failing grade, even if the student’s performance on examinations is at a higher level. You will save yourself considerable frustration by announcing that you follow such a policy if that is the case.

Policy on Class Attendance

A. It is critical that students attend classes from the beginning of the term. Even though students may be registered officially for a course, departments may give away a student’s place in a course if the student does not attend:

• the first meeting of biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories
• the first meeting of Sweetland Writing Center courses
• either of the first two meetings of English courses
• the first meetings of History 396 and 397
• any one of the first two meetings of language courses in the Romance Languages department
• the first two meetings of courses in other departments

At the same time, departments are not obligated to withdraw students officially from the course, even though the student has been informed that his/her place in a course has been taken away. Students always are responsible for the accuracy of their own schedules.

Students registered for a course that they do not intend to keep should drop it so that the space is available for other students, and faculty will have an accurate course roster. In most instances, students are not automatically dropped from a class roster for non-attendance. Classes dropped after the drop deadline will result in a “W” on a student’s transcript whether or not the student has attended.

B. Students are expected to attend classes regularly. When the instructor considers the number of absences excessive, that is, when a student’s absence from a course endangers that student’s satisfactory academic progress, the instructor may send a written report on the case to the appropriate advising office.

Concerted absence from any appointed duty by a class or by any number of students together will be regarded as improper conduct, and those participating in such action shall be liable to disciplinary action.

Athletes

Members of athletic teams must present to each instructor, prior to each absence caused by the membership on athletic teams, a written statement signed by the appropriate authority specifying the exact date of any such proposed absence.
Within reason, a faculty member may provide appropriate accommodation to the student, providing such accommodation does not place unreasonable burden on the faculty member.

Religious-Academic Conflicts

It is the policy of the University of Michigan to make every reasonable effort to allow members of the University community to observe their religious holidays without academic penalty. Absence from classes or examination for religious reasons does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of absence. Students who expect to miss classes, examinations, or other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance shall be provided with a reasonable alternative opportunity to complete such academic responsibilities. It is the obligation of students to provide faculty with reasonable notice of the dates on which they will be absent. Students who are absent on days of examinations or class assignments shall be offered an opportunity to make up the work, without penalty, unless it can be demonstrated that a makeup opportunity would constitute an unreasonable burden on the faculty. Should disagreement arise over what constitutes an unreasonable burden or any aspect of this policy, parties involved should contact the department chair, the dean of the school, or the university Ombuds.

Progress Report

This form is available online athttps://www-a1.lsa.umich.edu/ugadvforms/Af_progreport.aspx?office=SAA  and is used to identify a student’s academic difficulties. It is particularly helpful if you fill out Progress Reports for students who, by the mid-point of the term, are earning low grades in your course, or whose performance you are concerned about for other reasons. You should include any comments which may be relevant to the situation. The timing of the Progress Report is important, because it alerts the Newnan LSA Academic Advising Center to a student’s difficulties before the end of the term. If you are teaching a large course, especially one with many first- and second-year students, a Progress Report can be an effective way to help a student get individual attention. When you submit the form, a copy goes instantly to the student and also to that student’s assigned academic advisor. An academic advisor will contact the student to discuss the problems.

When should an instructor submit a progress report?

• a student didn’t perform well on an exam or paper
• a student isn’t turning in assigned work, such as papers, problem sets, or other homework
• a student hasn’t been attending class regularly
• a student’s behavior or performance has changed during the semester/a student isn’t “acting like himself"
• a student seems to be struggling in your class and would benefit from talking to you or seeking extra help

Also, you might remind students directly that academic advisors are available in the Academic Advising Center (1255 Angell Hall, 764-0332) to offer support, answer questions, suggest study strategies, and help them clarify their academic goals.

Examinations During the Term

Examinations should be given during regularly scheduled class sessions. When a special examination session is unavoidable, please remember that some students will not be able to take the exam at the special time. You may still find that some students cannot attend a make-up exam, either. It is expected that you will arrange a mutually convenient time for the students who cannot attend a special exam to take a makeup. If several examinations must be given at special times over the course of a term, you should name a special exam hour in the Schedule of Classes (giving dates and times) so that students will not elect classes which conflict with these exams.

Final Exams

The Final Exam Schedule is published in the University Schedule of Classes (this used to be called the Time Schedule). The Schedule of Classes is available at http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/schedule/. You are expected to follow the Faculty Code, which states: “The official examination schedule should be followed; and the instructor may not depart from the schedule.” You may administer an hourly during a regular class meeting (the last class of the term, for example), but you cannot give any test then that would be longer than the regular length of the class meeting, and you cannot schedule any exams or classes during Study Days. The Faculty Code allows for the possibility that an individual student might need to take the final earlier or later than the designated time, and such is possible by mutual agreement of instructor and student; but there cannot be a class vote, or similar action, to cancel the regularly scheduled time of the exam and substitute another time.

If you do wish to request an official change in the time for your final exam, you must contact the Registrar’s Office, 1210 LSA Building, 764-6280.

If you change the published assigned time of the exam, any student who wishes to take the exam at the assigned time must be allowed to do so.

If any student is assigned four examinations during the same day, the student can request a letter from the University Registrar seeking rearrangement of one exam.

Returning Papers and Exams

In returning papers, please avoid leaving papers in the hallway or outside your office for pick-up. Students have no privacy in such a case, and the risk is great that the set might be taken for some group’s term paper file. It is preferable for you to return the papers in class, during your office hours, or from your department’s main office.

If you retain papers or exams, you should keep them for a year after the end of the course so that students will still have the opportunity to examine them and to learn from them. Having the papers will also protect you in a case where a student files a grade grievance.

Program Declaration
A student declares a concentration or academic minor by filling out a Declaration Form and getting it signed by the concentration advisor. A student may change concentrations at any time by submitting a new form. The College expects students to declare a concentration by the beginning of the junior year.

Typically, the Winter Term is when most sophomores make a decision about their concentrations. A classroom teacher is frequently the student’s most immediate contact with a department, so you may encounter questions about “majoring” in your department. Please make yourself aware of concentration advisors in your department. Clearly, it is as appropriate for you to get information from these members of your department as it is for you to send students to them.