2011-2012 UPDATE FOR FACULTY & ADVISORS

1. 2011-2012 UPDATE FOR FACULTY & ADVISORS

2. SYLLABUS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: • A statement regarding students with disabilities: “A student requesting classroom accommodations or modifications due to a documented disability must notify me within the first two weeks of the semester. If the student has not already done so, he or she must contact the Office of Disability Services in order to receive these accommodations and modifications. The Office of Disability Services is located in Sanford Hall, room 101, and the phone number is 229-931-2661.”

3. SYLLABUS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION 2. Indicate on your syllabus that the student’s GSW email account is the official method of communication between them and the university and that it is crucial that they check their accounts frequently. If you choose to use the email function in GeorgiaVIEW for your course, be sure to indicate that on your syllabus as well.

4. SYLLABUS MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION • A statement regarding your attendance/participation policy. • A policy regarding make-up work. • Your grading policy. • A statement concerning the GSW Academic Integrity Policy and the punitive actions you will take if violations occur. Be clear---do what you say and say what you do.

5. Changes to Syllabus If during the semester you decide to change your syllabus, communicate the information to every student. It is to your advantage to document that each student received the information regarding the changes. Here are some suggestions: • return receipt on email • student signatures

6. Grades Make every effort to have all your grades in by the published deadline. If you are unable to meet the deadline call Krista in advance. Not assigning a grade to a student impacts the student’s financial aid, HOPE Scholarship and Academic Standing. Financial Aid will not be awarded to students that have a grade of NR or I.

7. Grades Continued • Make sure each student has been assigned a grade when entering grades on RAIN. • All F grades must have a last date of attendance. • Your grade sheet will not be submitted through RAIN if this date is left out. You may think it has gone through, but it has not. • Last dates of attendance for F’s are required by the federal government for students receiving federal financial aid.

8. Grades Continued NEW REQUIREMENT: Copies of all your final grades for the semester must be turned in to your Administrative Assistant no later than the day of the published deadline for grade entry.

9. Refresher on “Incompletes” A grade of incomplete is given for non-academic reasons only. A best practice is to request documentation from the student as to why he or she is unable to complete the course. The student must complete the missing assignments by the end of the following semester or the grade turns to an F. When the student completes the missing requirements, a change of grade form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

10. “Incompletes” Continued A student should not register for a course in which he or she has a grade of “incomplete”. Example: If a student receives an incomplete for MKTG 3800 in the fall, he or she should not register for the course again in the following spring.

11. Drop vs. Withdrawal • Drops • Students can be ‘dropped’ from a class during registration and add/drop only. For fall semester 2011 drops can occur only through August 18th. No record of the class will appear on the student’s academic transcript. • Withdrawals • After the end of the drop/add period, students must complete the withdrawal form found online and submit it to the Registrar’s Office to be ‘withdrawn’ from the class. A grade of ‘W’ will be assigned and will appear on their academic transcript.

12. Update on Core Area A • Grades of C or better must be earned for all core area A courses including math. • Anyone on a 2011-2012 curriculum sheet must meet this requirement. This includes those students who change majors this academic year.

13. Updates to Core Area A Continued MATH 1101-Introduction to Math Modeling has been approved by the USG as an acceptable Core Area A math course for some majors/degrees.  If you have any questions about the acceptability of Math Modeling for your program, please contact your dean or chair. Programs accepting MATH 1101-Math Modeling to meet Core Area A requirements: All Business programs - BBA Nursing program – BSN All BA programs BFA program BS in History with Teaching Certification BS in Political Science, Psychology, Sociology

14. Updates to Core Area A Continued Programs confirmed as NOT accepting MATH 1101-Introduction to Math Modeling to meet Core Area A requirements: All Education programs – BSEd BS in Biology, Chemistry, Geology Dual Degree engineering programs BS in Mathematics BS in Mathematics with Teaching Certification BS in Computer Science BS in Information Technology

15. Updates to Core Area A Continued • Most students who entered as new freshmen took the Math Placement Test before they enrolled.  One of the possible outcomes was “ACAM 0999 Required”, and those students with this designation were obliged to pass ACAM 0999 – Intermediate Algebra before registering for a Core Area A math course.

16. Updates to Core Area A Continued • Beginning fall semester 2011, ACAM 0999 will no longer be offered.  Instead, students with the ACAM 0999 requirement as indicated by AA on their RAIN advisor transcript will take a one-hour math lab (MATH 1111L or MATH 1101L) along with MATH 1111-College Algebra or MATH 1101-Introduction to Mathematical Modeling.  • NOTE:  The lab is mandatory for students who have not yet met their ACAM 0999 requirement.  • These lab classes are open, but optional, to students who have failed MATH 1111 several times.  Students must register for the math course in order to enroll in the lab.

17. 45 Hour Rule for Core Area A for Fall 2011 Effective Fall 2011, students who have earned 45 hours but have not completed Area A must enroll in the next course necessary to make progress toward completing this Area in every semester in which they take classes.Effective Fall 2012, the hour limit is lowered to 30 hours for new freshmen.

18. Certificates vs. Minors As you know, a student may earn a certificate in place of a minor for degrees requiring a minor, but there is a very important difference between the two.

19. Certificates vs. Minors Continued A minor must contain 15 to 18 semester hours of coursework with at least 9 hours of upper-division coursework. Courses taken to satisfy Core Areas A through E may not be counted as coursework in the minor. Core Area F courses may be counted as coursework in the minor. (USG Academic Affairs Handbook) A certificate does not have any restrictions on courses used to fulfill requirements.

20. Certificates vs. Minors Continued If a student chooses to complete a certificate in lieu of a minor, be careful to make certain the student has enough hours for graduation, including a minimum of 39 hours in upper division courses. The number of free electives may need to be increased.

21. Certificates for All Students If a student selects to complete a certificate, whether necessary for his or her degree program or not, please counsel the student to contact the faculty advisor for that certificate as soon as possible. (Would faculty who serve as advisors for certificate programs, please stand and introduce yourself and identify the certificate.)

22. GSW Forgiveness Policy Normally, a course is counted only one time for credit hours. If a student wants to repeat a course that falls into this category, he/she may do so with the understanding that the latest grade earned replaces all previous grades. The number of quality points awarded and credit hours earned is determined by this final grade. If the student earned a grade of F, then he/she will lose credit hours when a higher grade is earned. A student should discuss how repeating courses effects financial aid with a financial aid counselor.

23. REGENTS’ TEST Satisfied by earning a grade of C or better in ENGL 1101 and 1102.

24. Physical Education Requirements Physical Education requirements are not included in the 120 hours necessary for graduation. Students transferring to GSW with a transferable AA or AS degree are exempt from the PE requirements. However, the PE classes used to meet the graduation requirements at the previous institution cannot be used to meet GSW degree requirements, including open electives. n/a

25. Disability Accommodation Forms • For each student whose documentation indicates that certain academic accommodations and modifications are required, a form with this information indicated will be sent to you by Evelyn Oliver, Director of Disability Services. • For your own protection and that of the student and the University, sign the form, make a copy of it for your reference, and return the form to Evelyn immediately upon receipt.

26. Final Exams for Online Courses Days/times for final exams for online classes are set by the individual instructors. Please be mindful of the schedule for the face-to-face classes.

27. Tuesday = Monday For the Fall Semester 2011, the University will operate a Monday class schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 6th. • Regular Tuesday classes will not meet on Sept 6th. • This is done to equalize the class minutes between MW and TTH classes and to provide an equal number of class meetings for courses which may meet only once per week. • If you teach a class on Mondays, please discuss this arrangement with your students and include it in your syllabus.

28. Registration on Monday (August 15th) 10:45 am – New Transfers Returning students can begin registering with advisors at 8:30 am and continue the rest of the day. Online registration is currently open for students and will end Thursday, August 18th, at 11:00 pm.

29. QUESTIONS? Lynda Lee Purvis llpurvis@gsw.edu 229-931-2019 Office of Academic Affairs Krista Smith ksmith@gsw.edu 229-931-2051 Sanford Hall room 218