COURSE PROCEDURES
On this page: Adding Students | Census Rosters | Content Review | Course Outline | Course Syllabus | Curriculum Approval Process | Dropping Students | Giving Incompletes | Grade Changes | Grade Input | Green Sheets | Minimum Class Size | Ordering Textbooks | Record Keeping | Student Absences | Student Attendance
Checklist for
Faculty
Here
are some questions to answer when preparing to teach a class for the first time.
Some of them have links to the answers; ask your department and/or
division for the others.
- Who are some of the other faculty
who have taught the course (and are willing to share their experiences)?
- Are the following documents available for the course from the department or division?
 | Course outline of record (including course goals and objectives) |
| Course syllabus (from prior semester) |
| Student Learning Outcomes |
| Prepared tests and/or
assignments |
RECORD KEEPING
(See College Procedures, section E5000 for complete information)
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Who is Eligible to Attend Class: Students may not attend a class unless they are properly enrolled. (Students who wish to audit a course must follow the instructions to become properly enrolled as an auditor.) Students may visit classes in which they are not enrolled only with the consent of the instructor and the division chairperson and/or the college dean.
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Class Rosters - Census: The first census roster will be placed in your mailbox before the first day of the semester. The census roster will list the students who have enrolled in the class during the registration period. During the first two weeks of class (the late enrollment period), you may enroll students who show up for class but who are not listed on the opening roster, provided they have been admitted to the college. If they have not been admitted to the college, they should be directed to the Admissions and Records Office (Humanities Bldg, Room 42). The original copy of the census roster is to be submitted to the division’s office no later than Monday of the third week of classes.
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Minimum Class Size & Class Size Report: The usual minimum class size necessary for the continuation of a course beyond the second-class meeting is 15 enrolled students in attendance at that meeting. A class may be closed after the first meeting if attendance is substantially below 15 at that time. A class may be cancelled prior to its first meeting for insufficient enrollment. Since 15 enrollees in a class is not cost effective, departments must average their course enrollments overall to meet college productivity goals.
A part-time instructor may be terminated without notice, and without payment (except for services actually rendered), at any time the enrollment in a class drops below 15. Also, a full-time faculty member may assume a part-time faculty's teaching assignment should the regular faculty member require the course to make load.
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Adding Students to the Roster: As an instructor, you may add students to your class during the first two weeks of class. (Students may add a class themselves up to midnight of the day before the class begins.)
You will need to give the adding student a pink T-Reg “ADD” card that has your signature AND a specific late-add code taken from your opening class roster. Be sure that you fill in the student's name for the code that you are providing! Remind the adding student that the late-add code will work for a limited time only. (Please refer to the academic calendar in the course schedule for specific dates for late enrollment.)
Use WebAdvisor to check your roster the week after the late-add deadline to make sure that all late-add students have completed the process. Students who have not officially added a course should not be permitted to stay in class.
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Student Attendance: Contra Costa College's student attendance policy is stated in the college catalog. Students obviously should be encouraged to attend every class session. This should be emphasized by the instructor at the the first class meeting. Students may be dropped by the instructor for failure to attend class in the following circumstances:
|
Absence from the first meeting of the class |
|
After absence from six hours of class |
Students who are dropped from
class for non-attendance will receive a grade in accordance with the
college grading policy. (See "Grading Policy" in college catalog.)
Recording Student
Absences: Instructors should record all absences on their
rosters for accurate records. (The College does not have a
tardiness policy, although some departments do
have one. If the department does not have a tardiness policy, it is up
to the individual instructor to establish his/her own class standard for
late arrivals.)
Withdrawing From A Class: The withdrawal dates for each class
are printed at the top of each class roster. Instructors should announce
the withdrawal deadlines for their classes to the students at the
beginning of term.
Final Grades: Instructors
will input final grades into the Datatel system on Web Advisor (they can be inputted from home or on
campus). Please contact Staff Development or the
Admissions & Records Office for training. Instructions are available
on the
Staff Development website.
The due
date for having final grades entered is usually 3 days after the end of
the semester. The exact date will be
announced by the Instruction Office each semester.
Grade Changes: Grade changes may be made only by the
instructor, and within one year of when the grade was assigned. Any
instructor who wishes to change a grade must submit the appropriate
backup documentation to the college vice president.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
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Content Review and/or Program Review: These reports are compiled periodically to examine program and course success, and the placement of courses in the department and college curriculum. Ask department chair or division dean for a copy of the most current reports.
For more information and directions on how to perform Content Review, see the appropriate section of the CIC website.
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Course Outline: The course outline is the official description of the course as approved by the District Governing Board and State Chancellor’s Office. It outlines the skills and knowledge to be attained by students upon successful completion of the course, and for which each instructor teaching the course will be held accountable. It will be the documentation sent to four-year institutions for articulation review, so it needs to be both as specific and as succinct as possible.
If you need to create an outline for a new or revised course, use the approved template for a Course Outline (WORD doc). Detailed directions on how to fill in the form are in the CIC Manual on the CIC website.
Your department chair should provide you with a copy of the current course outline when you are assigned to teach a course for the first time. You will need to incorporate its information into your course syllabus.
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Course Syllabus: A syllabus is a summary outline of a course of study. It can be a one- or two-pager to a compilation of the course handouts for the entire semester. Content and format may vary widely among instructors, even those teaching different sections of the same course. The core, however — that which describes and defines the content and guidelines of the course — should be the same. An effective course syllabus informs the students of the course content, how it will be taught, and what will be expected of students who wish to complete the course with a passing grade. It serves as an informal contract between instructor and students.
Your department chair or division dean should provide you with a copy of a recent course syllabus when you are assigned to teach a course for the first time, so that you can model your own syllabus accordingly.
See How to Write a Course Syllabus or the CIC Manual for directions and a syllabus template (WORD doc).
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Curriculum Approval Process: All new courses need the approval of the College Instruction Committee (CIC) and the District Board of Governors (BOG) before they can be offered. These approvals do not, however, guarantee automatic inclusion in the college catalog in all desired categories. Some categories may require additional approvals from outside the college. Courses in a new program major must be approved by the State Chancellor's Office.
For more information about the Curriculum Approval Process and directions on how to complete CIC forms, see the CIC website.
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Duplication of Instructional Materials: See Reprographics / Production Lab for information and procedures for ordering duplication of tests and other instructional materials.
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Giving Incompletes: The Education Code states that a grade of Incomplete will be given only in such cases of emergency as accident, illness or family emergency. Failure to complete required work in a timely manner does not qualify for an incomplete grade.
An incomplete grade must be made up no later than one year following the grade assignment or it will automatically revert to the alternate grade indicated by the instructor. Petitions for time extensions may be made to the Admissions & Records Office for good cause only.
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Green Sheet: A “Green Sheet” is required whenever you make any change in a course, cancel a course or want to add a new course into the system. The form needs to be signed by the division dean.
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Ordering Textbooks: All instructors are advised to make arrangements for desk copies of textbooks with the publishers well in advance of the text adoption date. Neither the Instruction Office nor the Bookstore will order desk copies for instructors (although the Bookstore can provide the contact information).
The Bookstore will notify faculty each semester regarding any proposed textbook changes for the next semester. Be sure to respond to this request in a timely manner, as it is a critical element in the Bookstore's ordering process -- late orders may not be received in time for students to purchase needed textbooks by the start of the semester. Changes must be approved by the department chair or division dean.
"Required" texts or materials are those that a student must purchase in order to perform the work required in a course. Other books or materials are considered to be "recommended."
Last updated: 15 January 2008
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