Responsiveness to Student Needs

Faculty, by the very nature of their demanding jobs, spend hours with students; and students, as a rule, are appreciative of COE faculty and the relationships formed with them in their graduate programs [GSE Follow-up Surveys of 2000-2005 graduates (Fall, 2007 and Fall, 2008)]. However, not all students have the same access to faculty.  The mission of both PSU and the COE is to help all students succeed, especially those for whom access to education is more challenging because of culture, linguistic, or ability differences.  This policy attempts to address the concerns of students whose instructional and assistance needs are not met.

Article 4 of our collective bargaining agreement states that “members of the bargaining unit shall be available to perform duties during the period of their contractual appointments, as defined by the Notice of Appointment and the position description… Among those duties are scheduled and unscheduled teaching, academic advising of students, including provision for regularly scheduled office hours,“ etc.

Absences

Whereas faculty should be available to perform their teaching and advising duties, as stated in our bargaining agreement, faculty will be expected to be present when scheduled to each or advise except in the case of illness or family emergency.  If a compelling professional reason exists for a faculty member not to be present (for example, to attend a conference), faculty will be expected to:

• • Notify and gain approval from the department chair if you will miss more than one class in the term;

  • Have an assignment or task for students to complete in lieu of in-seat class time (this should only be done once in any given term); or

  • Have another faculty member or course-affiliated graduate teaching assistant instruct the class.  Guest speakers may also be invited to present to a class in the instructor’s absence, but it is recommended that the instructor have another faculty member attend to assist the speaker with audio-visual equipment, handouts, or other preparation; to introduce the guest speaker; and to make necessary announcements and address student needs.  In no circumstances should an instructor leave a class member in charge of the class, for reasons related to liability.

Time and Location of Classes

Instructors also should avoid changing the class day or time.  Even though most students agree to the alternate time, unreasonable pressure is put on the student(s) who cannot attend at the alternate time.

Faculty should also be cautious about changing the location of classes, especially if the alternate location poses transportation or accessibility issues for students.  Many students are reluctant to publicly voice objections to changes of class time and location, even when the change creates significant inconvenience to them.

Advising

Academic advising and meeting with students is an essential part of supporting students in the COE.  Faculty serve as advisors to prospective students and to students enrolled in their classes and in their programs, and are expected to maintain availability for those students and to be responsive to them in a timely way. Availability can take several forms including: traditional office hours, one-on-one appointments, before- or after-class meetings, phone, email or other online communication. Full-time faculty should plan for approximately four hours per week of availability; half-time faculty should plan for approximately two hours per week of availability. Open advising may be counted as fulfilling part of this expectation.  Faculty should include information for students in every syllabus about how they can make arrangements for consultation. Information on specific availability of faculty for meeting with students should be updated quarterly, maintained with the COE front office receptionist, posted outside the faculty member’s office, and shared with Department Chairs.