English 1000

Instructor Guide: Section 5, Forms and Procedures

This section describes the procedures and accompanying documentation needed to deal with a number of concerns instructors are likely to encounter. Remember that the proper handling of bureaucratic affairs can prevent future headaches and misunderstandings. If you have questions about topics not covered here, please see Dana Kinnison in the composition office.

Most of the information in this section relates to student records and information. All such records and information are confidential and should not be discussed inappropriately. See Section 7-7 for detailed guidelines on confidentiality.

5-1 Requests to Change Rooms

Figure 5.1: The Enrollment Override card is completed by a member of the department’s office support staff after the student has gone to class and received a note from the instructor authorizing the override. Currently, the key staff member handling these matters is Gretchen Labutti, 882-6421.

Instructors assigned to classrooms they have never seen should visit them before the semester begins. With classroom space at a premium, requests for room changes should be made only if your classroom is inadequate (for example, too few seats) or is for some reason unbearable. We cannot provide rooms with moveable chairs for everyone. Report any problems to the composition office.

5-2 Overrides

Students may request an override into courses that are listed as full. Instructors should be careful about their override decisions. There are at least two things to think about when considering an override: the extra time that will be spent working with additional students; the circumstances that might warrant an override. For each additional student in a composition section, the instructor should expect an extra six to ten hours per semester for grading and conferencing. At the same time, if you are teaching the only English 2030 that fits into the student’s schedule and it is required by the student’s department, you might give an override serious consideration. In almost all circumstances, however, the English department leaves override decisions to the instructor’s discretion.

Normally, instructors write a note or respond to an email giving permission for the override, send the student to 107 Tate, and the office support staff completes the override form (See figure 5.1).

5-3 Moving Students from One Section to Another

In the first few days of a semester, some students will shift from section to section. In recent semesters, we have been able to reserve seats for this purpose in “late starter” sections. The term means that these sections fill two to five days after classes have begun and so regular course work starts a little later than in other sections. On the first day of class of each semester, instructors should announce that those students interested in switching sections visit the composition office immediately. Options are limited, and seats are awarded on a first-come basis.

Figure 5.2: The Special Absence Report is used to inform the Dean’s office of frequent and excessive absences.  It is in both the instructor’s and student’s best interest that students are notified of the consequences of absences before administrative actions (such as dropping them from the course) are taken.  This form should be sent directly to 130 Jesse Hall.

5-4 Absences: Submitting Reports and Dropping Students

Some instructors have attendance policies that warn students they will be dropped from the course for a given number of absences, typically the equivalent of two weeks (six absences for a MWF class and four for TR). Instructors who use such policies should take care to give sufficient notice in their syllabi and should make every reasonable effort to warn students of their absences in writing with a report to the Dean's office (see Special Absence Report, Figure 5.2) before dropping the student from the course.

In order to drop students from a course for excessive absences, a letter must be sent to Dean Tarkow in the College of Arts & Sciences, 317 Lowry Hall, requesting the action. Drop letters are available from the composition office or Gretchen Labutti. The letter must be sent prior to the last couple of weeks of the semester. If you send it before the designated “last day to drop course without grade,” then the student’s name will not appear on your end of semester grade roster. Beyond that date, however, you are required to award the student a grade at the end of the semester, either a W (indicating passing at the time of removal from the course) or F. Simply crossing a name off of a five-week class roster will not result in the student being withdrawn from the course.

5-5 Early Alert Forms

Early alert forms are available from the composition office or the front desk. These forms are used to inform the dean’s office of a student’s behavior that will affect his or her performance in the course. The student is asked to come to the dean’s office and the concerns addressed by the form are discussed with the student. The forms are confidential, and the process is designed to help the student. Do not use this form if you only wish to report a student’s absences; use the special absence report instead.

5-6 Report of Plagiarism

We are required to report to the Office of the Provost all instances of academic dishonesty. The policy is a sensible one: it keeps hardened offenders from attempting to cheat in every class, confident that if caught they can claim they've never done it before and will never do it again. Recent revisions to Article VI of the Faculty Handbook offer instructors two options for responding to suspected academic dishonesty. (See section 7.5 in this guide for a fuller discussion of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.) In both cases, instructors must first notify students of their intention to report a suspected incident of academic misconduct, and they should work with the composition office, which will submit the necessary paperwork to the Provost.

Option A allows instructors to discuss the matter with the student and arrive at an agreement regarding both the nature of the violation and appropriate academic sanctions. Under this option, although the Provost is informed of the violation, he or she will take no further action as long as no other such incidents are on file for the student. Option B requires the instructor to file a report of the incident with the Provost, who will determine the appropriate penalty. At all times, the instructor is solely responsible for academic concerns while the Provost’s Office is solely responsible for possible disciplinary action. Forms and advice are available from the composition office.

Procedure for Evaluations 1. Designate a student to collect the evaluations from the class and give him or her a copy of the evaluations memo. The student should hand the evaluations in person to Gretchen Labutti or Victoria Thorp (107 Tate). 2. Leave the room during the evaluation process. 3. Evaluations will be read by the Director of Composition and by coordinators. 4. You will not have access to evaluations until you have submitted your grades to the appropriate secretary, currently Victoria Thorp.

5-7 Evaluations

Instructors are required to have students complete course evaluations at the end of the semester. The composition office may require the use of a particular form, either the narrative or the scantron, but instructors may also choose to supplement these evaluation forms with their own. Students and teachers have both expressed reasonable concerns about the way we handle end of semester evaluations, which are intended to be confidential. Please follow this procedure when doing evaluations:

5-8 Grade Reports

The forms on which you will report your grades are generally available two weeks before the end of the semester from the department secretary responsible for submitting grades, currently Vickie Thorp, 882-4676. Grade rolls should be carefully reviewed for accuracy; any discrepancies should be reported to the department as soon as possible. The forms must be completed using a medium lead (#2) pencil. Instructors should make a copy of their grade sheets for reference, although a copy is kept on file by the department.

Figure 5.3: When completing the Incomplete Grade Report it is important to be as specific as possible about the requirements of changing the incomplete to a grade. All other information needed to complete this form is readily available to the instructor on the grade roll. The student number is the unique six-digit number assigned all students when they enter the university. Completed incomplete grade forms are turned in with the grade roster to the secretary responsible for submitting grades, currently Victoria Thorp, 882-4676.

5-9 Incomplete Grades

Before assigning a grade of Incomplete (I) to a student, instructors should speak to the Director or Associate Director of Composition. The grade of I should rarely be assigned in English 1000, and should only be assigned in those cases in which the instructor teaching the course can reasonably expect to work with the student to resolve the Incomplete. Circumstances that might warrant an Incomplete include serious illness or emergency at the end of the semester that precludes completion of the course by a serious and diligent student. The student’s work in the course, with the exception of the end of the semester requirements, should be up to date. Instructors must file an Incomplete Grade Report (Figure 5.3) that provides the reasons for the Incomplete and outlines the requirements, including a due date, for changing the Incomplete to a standard letter grade. Incompletes that are not resolved within one year automatically become F grades.

5-10 Grade Changes

The Grade Change Form is used to change an Incomplete grade to a letter grade, or to correct errors made on the end-of-semester grade roll. Grade changes are serious matters and require the signature of the department head. In order to change grades that are over one year old, a letter signed by the instructor must accompany the grade change form (Figure 5.4).

5-11 Grade Complaints/Appeals

At times, some students will appeal their final grade to the Director of Composition. At Missouri, only final grades may be appealed. The document “Grade Reconsideration for English 20” is available from the composition office. “Grade Reconsideration for English 20" outlines the requirements for a grade appeal. The following criteria apply in all cases:

Figure 5.4: All of the information on the grade roster, including student and course numbers, is needed to complete a Grade Change Form. Gretchen Labutti, 882-6421, can help in completing the grade change forms, which require the signature of the department chair.

1. Only final course grades may be appealed;

2. Appeals will only be successful in cases of arbitrary and capricious grading;

3. The academic standards of the instructor, when applied to all students and explained in the syllabus, are not grounds for a grade appeal;

4. Students must first attempt to speak with the instructor;

5. If the appeal is not resolved by speaking with the instructor, the student must file a written petition with the Director of Composition.

Keeping clear detailed records will help instructors deal with grade complaints. Instructors should be available to meet with students about their grades at the end of the semester and should do all in their power to return phone calls or email from students who are concerned about and wish to talk about their grades.

5-12 Teaching Request Forms

Near the end of September and the beginning of March, instructors can expect to receive course assignment request forms. Each form asks specific questions about an instructor’s circumstances (are you taking comprehensive examinations during the following semester, etc.) and preferences (what times are you unavailable for teaching, e.g.). Returning these forms in a timely manner is the best way to insure a favorable assignment.

Several course requests (English 1150, 1160, 1200, 1300, 1000gh) require course proposals which will be evaluated by a faculty committee. Generally, proposals will include the texts the instructor will use, grading and evaluation methods, and a general description of the course. The request form itself provides information regarding proposals.

5-13 Textbook Order Forms

Textbook orders are generally submitted as soon as possible after teaching assignments have been made. Because the department does not use a standard syllabus or textbook in its composition courses, all instructors must submit orders to the department secretary responsible for textbook orders, currently Victoria Thorp, 882-4676.

5-14 End of Semester Responsibilities

1. Get your courses evaluated. The forms should be delivered to your mailbox. Leave the room while the students are completing the forms, and have a student bring them to the front desk in 107 Tate. You can read the evaluations after you turn in your grades.

2. Have your students turn in final papers during class, or during a set time when you can be in your office. Do not have students turn final papers in to your mailbox. The standard problems with that strategy (students putting them in the wrong mailboxes with inadequate identifying information) are even worse at the end of the semester. In addition, papers have been pilfered from mailboxes, and there is really no confirmation whether or not a paper has been turned in. 

3. Turn in your grade sheet. The grade sheet is necessary for questions regarding grades. In addition, hold on to the final papers, as students often need them for grade questions. 

4. If this is your last semester teaching here, turn in your keys and clean out your desk. If there are outstanding issues (students to whom you gave Incompletes whom you have never seen again, for example) notify the composition office in writing and in person.

5. Make sure Victoria Thorp has your summer phone numbers and addresses. We may need to contact you regarding things like changes in scheduling or grade complaints (which often must be resolved immediately). If you will be out of town (or the country) for long periods of time, let Victoria know so that we don’t leave messages on your machine that go unreturned, slowing down our attempt to resolve problems.