Section G - Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures

Policies

Academic Affairs Calendar and Final Exam Schedule

The Academic Affairs Calendar is issued each July and lists the important due dates for Academic Affairs activities for the academic year. This calendar is available online at the following link: Section H - Academic Affairs Calendar

Final Exam Schedule – Common Questions:

1. When are final exams for 6 and/or 7.5-week courses?
2. When are final exams for 12-week courses?
3. When are final exams for online courses?
4. Why don’t we have any final exams in my course?
5. Why does my friend have their final exams one or two weeks before final exam week?

The College contract with faculty is for 168 days; 160 of those days are for the purpose of instruction, and 8 days are non-teaching days. When the academic calendar is planned, it must comply with the 168 days per United Faculty Agreement and assure that the required number of hours per class are met. For the 7.5, 12 and 15- week sessions, the week of finals is considered as part of the required 80 days of instruction. If final exams are not conducted during the 15th week, the required number of contact hours has not been met, students are shortchanged in the amount of instructional time they pay for in fees, and faculty have not complied with the terms of the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The following table should help clarify each semester’s last class and final exam dates:

Last Class Date and Final Exam Schedule, 2020-2021 Academic Year

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; revised July 2009; reviewed June 2010; revised July 2013, July 2014; July 2015; July 2017; July 2018, July 2019; July 2020

Block Scheduling Templates

Fall/Spring

Class Scheduling Template

16 Weeks/12 Weeks/8 Weeks

Summer

Class Scheduling Template

6 Weeks/8 Weeks/12 Weeks

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed June 2010; revised May 2019, July 2020

Class Size Guidelines/Suggested Week Guidelines

Guidelines for Scheduling Credit/Prep Course Offerings 2020-2021

Class size is set by the college administration with exceptions approved by Academic Deans’ Council and VPAA. The college administration may change the class size.

Scheduling Goals:

1. Develop a schedule that is based on student need.
2. Maintain an average class size of 25.
3. Reflect on schedule the approved program and discipline wheels.
4. Achieve a fulltime to part-time faculty ratio of 55/45%.
5. Schedule classes in appropriately sized room based on assigned class size.

Recommended Class Size and Length of Time Guidelines by Course 1 or Prefix

08182020

Enacted in Section G July 2004 from existing policy; reviewed July 2005, July 2006, July 2007, July 2008, July 2009, July 2010; July 2011; July 2013; July 2014; July 2018; July 2020

Faculty Observation and Student Assessment Guidelines

Syllabus Posting Online

District Board of Trustees Policy 6Hx-18-2.051 *states all faculty assigned to teach a credit course shall prepare a course syllabus, which provides information in the categories established within the ‡current syllabus management system, two weeks prior to the first day of class. Faculty are required to post electronic copies of their syllabi in the College’s Learning Management System (LMS) by the first day of class.

The amended policy requires faculty to post syllabi according to the following deadlines by visiting www.palmbeachstate.edu/academicservices/information-and-reference/academic-affairs-policies-and-documents/faculty-webpage-syllabi.aspx

Posting Syllabi to your Faculty Homepage

To post your syllabi to your faculty home page, you must use Simple Syllabus. You can access Simple Syllabus through the Syllabi Creator Tool. For information on how to use Simple Syllabus, please go to Simple Syllabus Tutorials.

The faculty member's name MUST be attached to the class for the class to be displayed on the faculty member’s home page. If a faculty member's name is added to a course, it will display the next day on the Web, as it is refreshed each night.

*DBOT Approved Amended Collegewide Course Outline and Syllabus Policy on September 15, 2020. Syllabi posting deadlines are updated according to Board Policy 6Hx-18-2.051 Course Syllabi, and listed in the Section G. **(LMS) Blackboard to Canvas Simple Syllabus is the Current Syllabus Management System.

Enacted July 2008; revised July 2009; reviewed July 2010; revised July 2011; revised July 2014; revised July 2015; revised June 2016, updated July 2019, updated October 2020

Class Cancellation Process

September 2020

Program Termination Procedure

1. If a campus deems that a program should be terminated, the campus shall submit in writing to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA):
   1. A completed Program Termination Form (Palm Beach State College - Academic Affairs - Program Termination Form)
   2. The SACSCOC Substantive Change Assessment Form (Palm Beach State College - Academic Affairs - Substantive Change Form).
      In order to comply with SACSCOC procedure for program closures, the Program Termination Form must include the following information:
      • Rationale for termination
      • HR Impact:
        • names and titles of affected faculty and staff
        • plan for notification, redeployment or assistance finding employment in the event of their termination
      • Facilities & Property Impact:
        • classroom space disposition
        • equipment and asset disposition,
      • Student Impact:
        • names of students in the program
        • indication of whether students will incur additional cost additional cost to students and
        • teach-out plan(s) for these students*
        • identify any additional costs students will incur from the teach out plan and how students will be notified of this expense
      • Other accrediting bodies for program (in addition to SACSCOC)

Note: Please contact Academic Affairs for additional requirements if a Teach-out agreement with another institution will be implemented.

2. If the VPAA approves the termination request, it will be taken to the President’s Cabinet for recommendation. If the President’s Cabinet recommends approval, the request shall be moved to the President for final approval. If not, then it will be sent back to the campus with comments.
3. Upon the President’s approval, the Teach-out Plan will be submitted to SACSCOC for approval.
4. The curriculum committee is copied on the program termination and the teach-out plan is presented to the curriculum committee as a “for your information” item. Note: The program must also initiate all appropriate changes to the curriculum associated with the program closure using established PBSC curriculum change procedures.
5. Upon SACSCOC approval each student must be notified in writing of the program termination and given the approved “teach-out” plan and timeline for program completion.
6. The VPAA Office will file required paperwork with appropriate college and accreditation bodies to include the District Board of Trustees and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
7. A college-wide email is distributed announcing program termination.
8. A final report is prepared by the campus and submitted to the VPAA Office when the last students have completed the program.

Enacted July 2004 in Section G from existing policy; revised July 2008; reviewed July 2010; revised July 2018

Substantive Change Policy and Procedure

1. Purpose: Compliance with the Substantive Change for SACSCOC Accredited Institutions Policy Statement.
2. Policy: No employee of Palm Beach State College will implement any change to a College Program, College Campus, College Campus Offerings, Off-site Location, District Board of Trustees Policy or Program Delivery Method that might create a substantive change without the approval of the Substantive Change Review Committee.
3. Process for Submission: Faculty and/or staff must submit changes for assessment and/or approval:
   1. Substantive Change Assessment Form (Form 1). This form must be submitted for each type of change as outlined in the Substantive Change Responsibility Chart. The Substantive Change Assessment form will be required of every curriculum action that adds or modifies a program. Submission of the form for other types of changes is the responsibility of the initiator of the proposed change (i.e., relocating a program, new facility, or a new campus). The form is submitted to the Substantive Change Review Committee.
   2. Campus Off-Site Course Approval Web Form - This Web form is submitted for each off-campus site utilized by the campuses. The form is submitted to the Substantive Change Review Committee.
4. Process for Review: The Substantive Change Assessment Form and the Campus Off-Site Course Approval Forms will be reviewed by the Substantive Change Review Committee (consisting of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Curriculum, the Dean of Baccalaureate Studies, the Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness and the Manager of Assessment). Forms must be submitted at least 90 days before the term starts. Any further actions required to be filed with SACSCOC will be coordinated by the Colleges’ SACSCOC Liaison.

Substantive Change Responsibility Chart

¹a significant departure is one in which a program is not closely related to previously approved programs at the institution, site or for the mode of delivery. To determine if a new program is a “significant departure”, it is helpful to consider the following questions:

• What previously approved programs does the institution offer that are closely related to the new program and how are they related?
• Will significant additional equipment or facilities be needed?
• Will significant additional financial resources be needed?
• Will a significant number of new faculty members be required?
• Will a significant number of new courses be required?
• Will significant additional library/learning resources be needed?

²significant changes in mission are those that lead to a fundamental shift in the nature of the institution, such as an institution that had offered only professional programs deciding to add general education offerings, or a technical college transforming itself into a comprehensive community college.

³significant changes in program length are those with noticeable impact on the program’s completion time (e.g., increasing a baccalaureate degree from 124 hours to 150 hours).

Sites reported to SACSCOC as 25-49% - AA Degree

A.S. Degree

Form 1: Substantive Change Assessment Form

Submitted by: ___

Date: ___

Brief Description of Proposed Change: ___

Review by Substantive Change Committee:

▢ Approve – Description of actions needed for SACSCOC Compliance ___

▢ Not approved

▢ Returned to submitter for additional explanation: ___

Date of Review: ___

Web Form for Campus Off-Site Course Approval

The form is located at http://intranet.palmbeachstate.edu/asputilities/oca/OffCampusApproval.asp.

Enacted July 2007into Section G from existing policy; revised July 2010; revised July 2019