Faculty Handbook

E

Emergencies

If you are unable to continue teaching your class please notify your program chair immediately so that a replacement instructor can be found.

Employment Agreement

The employment agreement between CCCOnline and faculty reads as follows:

This is to confirm our agreement to provide instructional services as specified above for CCCOnline 2003 spring semester. This temporary, at will appointment is subject to the laws of Colorado, State Fiscal Rules, and Board and Consortial policies, carries no expectations of continued employment, no benefits beyond PERA/Medicare, and may be terminated with or without cause by either party at any time. This is a preliminary contract. Final contracts amounts will be adjusted according to the number of students in your class(es) on census date. Thank you.

Contracts are generated by the CCCOnline Faculty Coordinator the first week of classes. Final amounts are generated on census day.

Evaluation of Students

Turning in Grades
Grades are submitted through Web for Faculty.

• If you have any problems with the Web for Faculty System, you can contact our office at 1.800.801.5040 or Roxanne.Manske@cccs.edu.
• Go to https://cccweb.cccs.edu/faculty/login.jsp?school=CCCS
• For detailed instructions see: Using Web for Faculty.

Incomplete Grades:

The incomplete (I) grade is a temporary grade, agreed upon by the instructor, indicating that the student has a satisfactory record of work completed but, for exceptional reasons, was unable to complete the final assignments. It is designed for students who, because of documented illness or circumstances beyond their control, are unable to complete their course work within the semester but have completed a majority of the course work (75-85% of the course assignments and tests) in a satisfactory manner (C grade or better). The student is responsible for initiating the request for an incomplete (I) grade from the instructor.

If circumstances beyond your control at or near the end of the semester would prevent you from completing the course, consult your instructor immediately. The instructor will determine whether you have a reasonable chance of satisfactorily completing the remaining activities.

In requesting an incomplete (I) grade, the student should email the instructor the following information for evaluation:

1. Documentation of Circumstances: Evidence of completion of 75-85% of the semester course work at a C-level or higher.
2. Completion of a work plan (contract) that includes what and how assignments and tests will be submitted to complete the course.
   1. The time period in which the work must be completed. Any time limits specified by your home college will apply, generally either one or two full semesters (summer excluded). The course shell will be available the following semester only.
   2. The grade to be assigned if the work is not completed.
3. Both the instructor and the student must acknowledge this written email and keep a copy of the acknowledgment as documentation.

NOTE: You are encouraged to let the instructor know as soon as possible if you are having difficulties with any part of the course. However, incomplete (I) grades are granted at the discretion of the instructor and are not automatic. At no time will the incomplete (I) grade be used as entrance into another current or future course section for completion of the work. In the case of further questions about a specific incomplete request, learners may contact the Academic Dean at lisa.cheney-steen@CCCS.edu.

Change of Grade
The Change-of-Grade Form can be found in the Faculty Lounge via the faculty WebCT access. Grade’s can be changed only by the instructor in a course. Appropriate reasons for filing a change of grade include the submission of additional coursework by the student or a change in the grade for previously submitted coursework.

Grade Scale
CCCOnline does not currently mandate a specific grade scale. Each course must have a grade scale posted in the syllabus, however. An example is

90%-100% A
80%-89% B
70%-79% C
60%-69% D
0%-59% F

Exams and Quizzes

Every course offered by CCCOnline must include graded assignments. Exams and quizzes are commonly used as part of the graded assignments in courses.

Exam and quiz security is an important issue in distance learning. Following is a summary of various ways to limit cheating on quizzes and exams if you are concerned about this:

1. Release the questions one at a time without the ability to revisit a question.
   
2. Set a time limit on the quiz that corresponds to the number and type of questions. e.g., one minute for each multiple choice, multiple minutes for matching, 30 minutes for essay questions.
   
3. Allow only one attempt at a quiz or exam.
   
4. Set the test up to select questions from the database randomly, so that the order of the questions presented is different for each student.
   
5. Use a database of, for example, 100 questions and set up the test to select a certain number at random, for example 25, so each exam is different.
   
6. Rethink your assessment strategy. Use quizzes more as a self-assessment tool and base a major part of a student’s final grade on other criteria such as using the Presentations tool as a portfolio, using the discussions area to assess higher-order thinking skills (evaluation and synthesis), or some combination of individual and collaborative projects where concepts from your course need to be applied to successfully complete the project.
   
7. Use flash exercises instead of a quiz.
   
8. Allow open-book tests. (This is almost a necessity, since you can’t control this aspect of test-taking anyway except perhaps by time constraints or the next item.)
   
9. Use security settings – IP address or a proctor.