Absences
Instructor absences must be reported to the division office at the earliest possible time. To report your absence, please follow these steps:
- Call 582-4733 and/or leave a message via e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu
- After division hours, call both the Campus Police at 582-4585 to directly notify your students AND leave a message for the division at 582-4733 orvia e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu
Late for a Class
If you are late for a class for any reason, you must notify the division office. To report your tardiness, please follow these steps:
- Call 582-4733 and/or leave a message via e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu
- After division hours, call both the Campus Police at 582-4585 to directly notify your students AND leave a message for the division at 582-4733 or via e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu
Class Schedule
Instructors are to meet their classes at the scheduled time, date, and location. Any change in time, date, or location must have prior approval through Patti Flanigan at 582-4365. Failure to comply with the class schedule can and will be grounds for disciplinary action, including possible termination.
Class Meeting
As stated in the Academic Employee Master Agreement, a “contact hour” is defined as “fifty (50) clock minutes of a sixty (60) minute scheduled classroom activity.” In most cases, this has come to mean that one ten-minute intermission is permitted for each hour of instruction.
In classes that are scheduled for 2 hours and 50 minutes, students should receive a 20 minute break. A portion of this break must be given at a logical point during the middle portion of the class.
Final Examinations (Board Policy 6160)
Pursuant to BP 6160, final examinations are required for all credit courses. Every final examination must be given on the scheduled date and time. Students are responsible for taking all assigned final examinations as they are listed on the examination schedule. Students can petition to take a final examination early at the instructor’s discretion. Final examination schedules are generally printed in the back of the schedule of classes for the semester and are posted online. The date and time of exams should be incorporated into your class syllabus. Click onto these sites to access the Final Examination Schedule for Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 (not posted yet).
Faculty Substitutes for Classes
A substitute employee is one who is employed on a day-to-day basis to fill the position of a regular or contract or temporary employee who is absent from service. Please do not make arrangements for your own substitute. The division maintains an official substitute list approved by Patti Flanigan and the Vice President for Instruction. All approval of substitutes must be arranged prior to the absence through the division office with our administrative assistant at 582-4733 or via e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu.
Faculty members may substitute for each another by using an “Unpaid Workload Exchange” in accordance with the Academic Employee Master Agreement 2004 – 2007. To facilitate this exchange, complete the “Unpaid Workload Exchange” and submit it to the division office. To access the form for the "Unpaid Workload Exchange", click here.
Conference and Travel Request
Requests must be submitted at least ten (10) working days prior to the date of the conference and/or meeting. Every employee shall complete a conference request form and submit completed form to the division office for approval from Patti Flanigan and Office of Instruction. To access the conference request form, please click here (for request) and click here for (instructions for expense payments). For general information on employee travel and conference, click here.
Student Travel-Field Trips and Excursions (Board Policy 6125)
Field trips conducted in connection with courses of instruction are encouraged and are permitted when approved a minimum of two weeks in advance by the Office of Instruction of Saddleback College. For official approval, please complete the appropriate forms: Field Trip Request Formor Field Trip Request Form (Multiple) and Field Trip Insurance Waiver.
Instructors must provide students with an alternate assignment in cases where students are unable to participate in the field trip due to a sufficient and necessary cause.
Transportation
The instructor must seek official approval for the use of district-owned vehicles through the division. Student drivers of private vehicles must complete appropriate authorization forms and submit them to the division office for processing. To access the appropriate form, please click here.
College (Guest) Speakers (Board Policy 6140)
A person invited by an instructor to address a college class is considered to be a college (guest) speaker. College speakers shall be approved in advance by your dean. These speakers shall not meet with classes on a regularly scheduled basis and will be subject to District rules and regulations. It is understood that college speakers meet with classes on a voluntary basis and thus shall receive no honorarium unless other arrangements have been made and approved.
To access the form for College (Guest Speaker), click here. College Forms and Documents
College forms and documents are posted online for your convenience on the division web site or via your Mysite portal under “Work” to “Employee Services” to “Employee Documents.” To access the Forms and Documents on the division web site,
please click here.
Make-up Examinations - Potential Options
As a general rule, whenever a faculty member offers students the opportunity to make-up examinations, the faculty member should have a way to give/proctor the examination for the students without requiring the support of our classified staff.
How might a student take a "make-up examination?
- You may allow the student to "make-up" the examination in your class during one of the classes.
- You may allow the student to "make-up" the examination by posting it on Blackboard (See our ITC staff about how to do this.)
- You may give the student a "take home" examination that requires independent research and thought in lieu of the classroom examination.
- You may ask one of your colleagues to proctor the examination.
- You may schedule an examination session for your students in our new conference room in BGS 345.
- You may arrange with one of our administrative assistance a classroom where you can proctor the examination with your students
- Finally, I would encourage all of you to work through your Academic Senate and the Vice President of Instruction to get a Testing Center here at the College.
*To schedule an examination session in our conference room (BGS 345) or in a vacant classroom, please contact our administrative assistance at 582-4733 or via e-mail at scsbs@saddleback.edu.
Minor Students and Their Parents
Saddleback College enrolls a large number of minor students especially through the Special Admission Program for K-12 students. It is very important to understand that when a minor student becomes a student at any college, all rights afforded to parents under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) transfer to the student. In essence, parents do not have the right to inspect the minor student’s records or gain access to information related to their attendance at Saddleback College. At Saddleback College, students may access their academic records online. In that way, they may share the information with their parents/guardians.
It is the policy of the college that all students act on their own behalf. Persons, other than the student, are not permitted to enroll, add or drop classes, participate in classroom learning, or request transcripts and records on behalf of the student.
Minor students and their parents/guardians must also understand that they are entering a college environment which is designed with adults in mind. Therefore, the atmosphere of the campus, in general, and of the classrooms, in particular, will frequently reflect an adult population.
Students should be aware that:
- Courses may have frank discussions about sensitive topics.
- Audio-visual presentations may be graphic in their content.
- Students may be exposed to vulgar language outside of the classroom.
- Smoking cigarettes is allowed on campus.
- Instructors cannot sit with underage students while they wait for their ride.
As an instructor, you are responsible for understanding and protecting the rights of students under FERPA.
Key Issues when addressing parents of minor students:
- Most parents pay for their children’s education. In response, they feel they have a right to know about their children’s learning experience. Parents may attempt to pressure you into discussing the status of their children in your classes. Since this directly violates the students’ rights under FERPA, please advise parents to consider reviewing the academic history and class status individually with their children via MySite, Blackboard, or the returned graded assignments coupled with the course syllabus.
- Parents may ask you to audit your classes in their children’s absence. This is prohibited as it strictly violates our college’s auditing policy.
- When parents become unreasonably demanding and difficult, please have them email their concerns to the division email at: scsbs@saddleback.edu. For the sake of our staff, please do not send them to the division office.
- Especially when the safety of you or others is involved, extremely abusive and unruly parents may be immediately reported to Campus Safety at X4444.
- For any difficult incident, please immediately complete and submit an “incident report” to your dean.
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