3.4.5 Academic Policies

The institution publishes academic policies that adhere to principles of good educational practice.  These are disseminated to students, faculty, and other interested parties through publications that accurately represent the programs and services of the institution.

  Compliance          ___  Partial Compliance          ___  Non-Compliance

Narrative:

Academic policies for South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) are determined using guidelines set forth by the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors (LCTCS).  The policies are reviewed biennially with the publication of the new Catalog.  Faculty members participate in this review process through their roles as Department Chairs, Program Coordinators, and Committee Chairs. The Cabinet (the administrative team—Chancellor, Vice-Chancellors, Deans, Director of Library Services, Business Manager, Financial Manager, Emergency Medical Technology (EMT) Personnel, and Early College Academy (ECA) Administrator) has final approval for all College decisions.  All policies are published in the Catalog, which is available in hardcopy, disc, or online.

The Faculty Handbook and Catalog contain academic policies that adhere to principles of good educational practice including, but not limited to, attendance, grades, and withdrawals.

Policy for Attendance
Class attendance is regarded as an obligation as well as a privilege, and all students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes in which they are enrolled. Failure to do so may jeopardize a student’s scholastic standing and may lead to suspension from the College. (1) Faculty Handbook, (2)

Attendance Records and Individual Class Policy
Faculty members shall keep a permanent attendance record for each class. These records are subject to inspection by appropriate College officials.

Faculty members develop and implement their own absence policies. The determination of what constitutes “excessive absences” rests with the instructor (with the exception of authorized and approved College sponsored events) but must not be less than the College minimum of 10% of the total class meetings. This translates into 5 class periods for classes meeting 3 days a week schedule, 3 class periods for classes meeting two days a week and 2 class periods for classes meeting once a week.

Faculty members are required to state in writing and explain to their students their expectations in regard to both class attendance and makeup work due to all absences prior to the close of the first week of classes during a regular semester and the third day of classes during a summer session.  An example of Attendance Policy adhered to may be found by clicking here.

Policy for Grading
Faculty members are expected to inform their students in writing of the procedure used to determine the final grade, along with the approximate weights. On request, students should be provided with a review of all graded material, including final examinations, which contribute to the course grade, as well as a review of the method by which the grade was determined. Unreturned examinations and graded materials are kept on file for at least six months following the conclusion of a course. If the faculty member leaves the College during this period, these materials will be accessible in the Office of the Dean of Instruction and Effectiveness. The quality points assigned to each grade are used to determine the number of quality points earned for each course a student completes. Quality points earned for each course are determined by multiplying the number of quality points assigned to each grade by the number of credit hours the course carries. A student may resign or be withdrawn from the College up to and including the fourteenth day of classes of a regular semester or the seventh day of classes during a summer term without any grade or notation being made on his/her permanent record. (3) An example from Syllabi may be found by clicking here.

Policy for Withdrawal
After the closing date for schedule adjustments, students may drop a course with a grade of “W” after meeting with an advisor and submitting the appropriate form to the Registrar‘s Office in accordance with dates printed in the Schedule Booklet. (4) (approximately 70% into the semester or summer session). Students who stop attending any course without officially withdrawing may receive a failing grade in the course. Students are responsible for officially dropping courses; it is not the responsibility of faculty to drop students for non-attendance. (5) (Faculty Handbook p. 48) (6) An example of Withdrawals may be found by control and clicking here.

All policies are published in the Catalog.

Documentation: