Teaching and Professional Issues |
Click any of the following questions to jump to the response. These are the most frequent questions we receive about teaching and professional issues, but if your specific question isn't answered here, please contact us!
• Is a class syllabus required? Why? • Are office hours required? • Do I have a timecard? Where do I sign in? • Can I attend department meetings? • Am I free to choose my own textbooks? • Do adjuncts have academic freedom? • What’s the college’s policy on sexual harassment? • What are Common Hours? • If I cancel class or cannot work an assignment, do I find a substitute? • Do I have sick time? •
How do I find out if the college has canceled classes? • What happens when the college says we follow a Tuesday schedule on a Monday (or a Fri. schedule on Thurs., etc.)? • If I want to go on a professional conference, will the college pay for the trip? • If I want take courses for professional development, will the college reimburse the tuition? • What do I do if I have jury duty during the school year? • What do I do if someone in my family dies?
• Is a class syllabus required?
Yes. You are required to give your
students accurate and complete information
about your course requirements.
You may ask your academic
chair for sample syllabi if you wish
for help in this area. Otherwise, issue
a complete syllabus that states
explicitly:
|
Every academic department has developed course objectives for each course. Get a copy of these objectives from your academic chair. |
|
Include the course name and section number, meeting times and place, your name and contact information, and a course schedule by day or week. |
|
List the topics to be covered and materials required, textbooks, dissecting kits, drawing papers, art supplies, and any other materials. |
|
What skills must the student have acquired prior to your class? What courses are they required to have completed and passed? |
|
Optional but helpful in setting the tone or the decorum for your class. |
|
Usually, each instructor decides on the grading policy for a class, but check with your academic chair whether there are also standard requirements for the courses you are teaching. It is a good idea to explain in your syllabi how many exams will be given, topics covered on each exam, how many points these are worth, and so on. State the criteria you will use to determine the final course grade. |
|
Many teachers include a reminder that honesty and integrity are integral components of the academic
process and cite college policy that violators are subject to disciplinary action. Refer to the Student Handbook for the college’s official policy on academic dishonesty. (Copies of the Student Handbook are available from the Admissions office of each campus.) |
Why should you write such
a long and detailed syllabus?
The true value of the syllabus
proves itself in cases of complaints
filed by students. If your policy was
very explicitly stated in the syllabus,
the student loses legal ground
in his/her action against you.
Messy, highly unpleasant cases
have resulted from instructors
leaving “gray areas” open. Writing such a detailed syllabus is time
consuming, but the time is well
spent if a disgruntled student files
a grievance against you. [back to top]
• Are office hours required?
No. Adjunct faculty are not
contractually obligated to hold office
hours. Many adjuncts meet
with their students as the need
arises, either in their classrooms
or in the adjunct offices. [back to top]
• Do I have a timecard? Where do I sign in?
No, you do not have a time
card, but in order for you to be
paid, the College Payroll Office
requires adjuncts to initial the
timesheets posted in each academic
department.
These timesheets are generally
posted near adjunct mailboxes or
in adjunct offices on all three campuses.
If you are unsure where to
sign in, please ask your academic
chair or departmental secretary. [back to top]
• Can I attend department meetings?
As a faculty member, you may attend department meetings. Per
the FA contract, all current adjuncts
should be notified of and may attend
department meetings. Notification
is usually done via email
but you can also check with your
department’s academic chair for
dates, times and locations of these meetings. [back to top]
• Am I free to choose my own textbooks?
This varies from campus to
campus and from department to
department. Check with your academic
chair. Notify the bookstore. of your chosen texts at the earliest
date possible before the semester
begins. You can now order your
books online by visiting your campus
bookstore website:
Ammerman:
http://suffolkcc.bkstore.com/bkstore/content
Eastern:
http://suffolkccr.bkstore.com/bkstore/content
Grant:
http://suffolkccb.bkstore.com/bkstore/content
Once you’re on your campus
bookstore’s website, go to “Faculty
Services” and the top of the
page, and then click “Adoptions.”
Submit your name, review your Instructor
Information, and then enter
your course information. You
will need the author/editor, title,
publisher, edition or copyright date,
and ISBN for your texts. [back to top]
• Do adjuncts have academic freedom?
Yes. All adjuncts are faculty,
and as members of the academic
community, of course, adjuncts
have academic freedom. Appendix
B of the FA contract reprints the
AAUP’s Statement of Principles
and Academic Freedom and Tenure
(1940). It applies to all members
of the FA bargaining unit, adjuncts
as well as full-time faculty. [back to top]
• What’s the college’s policy on sexual harassment?
Suffolk County Community
College does not condone sexual
harassment of students or employees.
Sexually harassing conduct
violates college policy and state
and federal law. The following outlines
where victims of sexual harassment
should take their complaints:
Harassment complaint of a student, visitor, faculty member, administrator or employee by a student: |
Complaints should be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Student Services for the campus at which the alleged harassment occurred. |
Harassment complaint of a student by a faculty member, administrator, employee, guest or contractor: |
Complaints should be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Student Services for the campus at which the alleged harassment occurred. |
Harassment complaint of a faculty member, administrator or employee by a contractor, guest, faculty member, administrator or employee: |
Complaints should be submitted to the Office of the Compliance
Officer or the Human Resources Department. |
Read SCCC’s policy on sexual harassment here: http://www3.sunysuffolk.edu/forms/Policies_7.pdf. [back to top]
• What are Common Hours?
Common hours are held on each
campus from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15
p.m. every Wednesday, and from 3:30 to 4:45 every Tuesday and
Thursday, during the fall and spring
semesters. Classes are rarely scheduled
for these times, and faculty
should avoid scheduling office hours
(even unpaid ones) during these periods,
as student clubs use them to
meet regularly. Faculty, staff, and
administrators also attend committee
meetings and campus- and college-wide events during these times.
The college also has evening common
hours on each campus during the fall and spring semesters. The
times and programs are different on
each campus and each semester.
Students should be enouraged to attend
these events. When an evening
common hour program is scheduled,
the class times for these evenings
are slightly modified or delayed to
allow for these programs. Check
with your academic chair regarding
how these evening programs may
affect the scheduled time for your
course that evening. [back to top]
• If I cancel class or cannot work an assignment, do I find a substitute?
No. Substitute teachers are not
generally brought in unless the instructor
will be out for a prolonged
period. It is up to your supervisor to
decide whether or not he/she wants
to find a substitute if you are out. It
is also up the supervisor, not you, to
find the substitute. [back to top]
• Do I have sick time?
You have the equivalent of one
week’s sick time. For classroom
faculty it usually means two class meetings per course for day assignments
or one meeting time for
evening assignments.
This is, however,
different for PAs, librarians and
counselors—your sick time is equivalent
to the number of hours worked
in one week during a semester. The
calculation for absences during the
summer and Wintersession is a
mathematical calculation based on
a 15 week semester. A rule of
thumb is that if you are absent more
than one class session in either the
summer or Wintersession, you’ll be
docked pay. [back to top]
• How do I find out if the college has canceled classes?
The College rarely cancels
classes due to inclement weather,
but you can find out if classes are
cancelled via the SCCC website and
local radio stations. Also, because
class cancellations may involve only morning classes, or evening
classses, it’s important to note the
time and campus mentioned in any
cancellation announcement. [back to top]
• What happens when the college says we follow a Tuesday schedule on a Monday (or a Fri. schedule on Thurs., etc.)?
Sometimes, the college will indicate that on a given Monday, you should follow a Tuesday schedule, or on a given Thursday, you should follow a Friday schedule, or some
other odd combination. This happens when too many holidays
fall during a semester in order
for classes to meet the required number
of times. All such dates are indicated on the college's Academic Calendar,
and reminders are emailed when one is approaching.
Classroom faculty are required
to hold class on these
days. Adjunct PAs, librarians,
and counselors may or may not be
required to follow the Academic Calendar
for such days, so check
with your supervisor. [back to top]
• If I want to go on a professional conference, will the college pay for the trip?
Each adjunct with three (3) or more
semesters of SCCC experience and who is teaching/working two or more
contact hours per semester is eligible
to apply for reimbursement from the
Adjunct Professional Development
Fund. This fund consists of $20,000
(per the FA contract) for use by adjuncts
for professional conferences/purposes. Eligible adjuncts can be
reimbursed for expenses up to
$750.00 per year.
Funds are subject
to approval and distributed on a first come, first served basis. You must
submit and receive approval of a “request for reimbursement form”
before attending a conference or
spending money for professional
purposes. Without prior approval,
you may not be reimbursed. Download the form here: Adjunct Faculty & Profesional Advancement. Forms forms and guidelines are also
available on the college's Adjunct Faculty Services website. [back to top]
• If I want to take courses for professional development, will the college reimburse the tuition?
Like full-time facutly, an adjunct faculty member who has served more than two (2) semesters may be admitted under a tuition reimbursement plan to any two (2) courses offered by the college per semester. (Prior to the last round of negotiations, adjunct faculty had to wait until after they had served four full semesters before they could be admitted to Suffolk Community College courses; now you're eligible after only two semesters!)
Adjuncts must first secure prior approval from their campus dean of faculty and must successfully
complete the course to be reimbursed for tuition and some related fees. The form is available here: http://www3.sunysuffolk.edu/forms/bot/FacultyTuition.pdf.
Spouses and dependent children of adjuncts who have been employed at the college eight (8) out of the
last twelve (12) semesters also may be admitted to courses offered by the
college under a tuition reimbursement plan. (NOTE: Only fall and spring
semesters are considered in the "twelve semester" time frame for
part-time faculty eligibility although summer assignments shall count
toward calculating the eight semesters needed by a part-time faculty
member to be eligible.)
Adjuncts are
entitled to a maximum of eighteen (18) credits per year for spouses and dependent children, and this
reimbursement is subject to registration/enrollment requirements and
successful completion of the course. The form for spouses and dependent children is available here: http://www3.sunysuffolk.edu/forms/bot/DependentTuition.pdf. [back to top]
• What do I do if I have jury duty during the school year?
Adjuncts are excused from work
without loss of pay for jury service
or for an appearance as a witness in court (per the FA contract). You
must notify your supervisor in a
timely manner when you are notified
by the court, so that the college
can either cancel/cover your classes
or make arrangements for someone else to cover your assignment. [back to top]
• What do I do if someone in my family dies?
All adjuncts—whether you are a
classroom instructor, librarian,
counselor, or PA—are entitled to four
consecutive calendar days without
loss of pay for any death in your “immediate family” which is defined as spouse, child, stepchild, parent,
legal guardian, and sibling. You are
also entitled to two consecutive
calendar days for the death of your
parent-in-law, stepparent,
grandparent, grandparent-in-law, or
grandchild. The Director of Labor
Relations may also grant
bereavement time off for the death
of any other permanent member of
an adjunct’s household. In the event
of the need for bereavement days,
it is your responsibility to notify your
supervisor as soon as possible.
To clarify how this works: four consecutive calendar days means
that if you have classes on Tuesday
and Thursday for class ‘A’ and
classes on Monday and Wednesday
for class ‘B’, you can be absent
Monday through Thursday that week
and miss two classes for each of
these courses and not lose pay. If
you have any additional questions regarding
bereavement leave, contact
the FA. [back to top]
|
Welcome