Teaching

Check out this year’s Academic and Course Calendars to understand our dynamic offerings here at SPCC.

ATTENDANCE MUST BE ENTERED AND SUBMITTED WITHIN 24 HRS OF THE CENSUS DATE.

Accurate attendance tracking is imperative to academic success and SPCC tracking and reporting.  This responsibility falls not only within each class period but at the 10% census date of the semester.

Attendance Tracking and Census Date Instructions(How-To Guide)

10% Census Tracking Report  (How-To Guide)

NA Student Log

Inclement Weather (How-To Guide)

Faculty must keep accurate and up-to-date attendance and grade records for all classes. Such documents are required for internal accountability, demonstrating compliance with NCCCS audit requirements, and for assessment purposes. Attendance record verification is directly related to the amount of FTE revenue generated by the College. Inaccurate records result in loss of FTE funding received in subsequent years.
Faculty will be provided access to the web attendance class roster in WebAdvisor on the start date of the class. Faculty will receive an email with detailed instructions for completing 10% and the final attendance at the beginning of each semester. Read the instructions carefully! They are revised each semester. Faculty must submit the 10% roster within 24 hours of the census date.  Faculty are responsible for knowing the census date of each of their classes. 

QUESTIONS?  Kathleen Coggins, 704-993-2402, kcoggins@spcc.edu

Academic Freedom
In accordance with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the Board of Trustees shall guarantee and protect academic freedom for all faculty and students at the College.  The Board of Trustees Bylaws, Article V, Section 4A, states South Piedmont Community College is dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge, the engineering and development of skills, competencies, and understandings, and to the nurture of those personal and intellectual habits and attitudes which are peculiar to responsible individuals in a free, open, and democratic society. The Board of Trustees, therefore, shall guarantee and protect academic freedom in the College. The Board shall likewise require the exercise of responsible judgment on the part of the personnel of the College as they exercise academic freedom in accomplishing the objectives of the College.  Faculty are entitled to freedom in research and the publication of the results, subject to approval by the College’s Institutional Review Board, and the adequate performance of other academic duties. Research or publications for monetary return should be based on an understanding with the administration and guidelines from the North Carolina Community College System.

Faculty are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing his or her subject but should be careful not to introduce into classroom teaching controversial matter which has no relation to the subject.

Faculty are members of a learned profession. When writing or speaking as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their position in the community imposes special obligations. As persons of learning, it should be remembered that the public may judge their profession and the institution by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times be accurate, exercise appropriate restraint, show respect for the opinions of others, and make every effort to indicate that they are not an institutional spokesperson.  Any employee who believes his or her academic freedom rights have been violated may seek resolution through the existing grievance and appeal procedure in the SPCC Due Process-Complaints and Grievances Policy.

Academic Integrity
SPCC’s Academic Integrity Policy and accompanying procedure addresses student rights and responsibilities regarding academic dishonesty. This policy applies to all students, including those in distance learning courses and non-credit programs.

Students enrolled at South Piedmont Community College are responsible for upholding standards of academic integrity. An academic integrity violation includes but is not limited to the following: cheating,
plagiarism, fabrication/falsification, and complicity in academic dishonesty.

Cheating is an attempt to use or actual use of unauthorized materials in any format to complete an academic exercise. Cheating also includes the communication of unauthorized information during an academic activity or exercise.

Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying another student’s homework, classwork, or required project (in part or in whole) and presenting it to the instructor as one’s own work; or giving, receiving,
offering, and/or soliciting information on a quiz, test, examination, or other academic exercises.
Plagiarism is the copying of any published work such as books, magazines, audiovisual programs, electronic media, and films or copying the theme or manuscript of another individual. It is plagiarism when one uses direct quotations without proper credit or when one uses the ideas of another without giving proper credit. When three or more consecutive words are borrowed, the borrowing should be recognized according to the conventions appropriate for the assignment (APA style, MLA style, etc.).
Self-plagiarism is the unauthorized use of one’s own previous work without the express permission of both the instructor to whom the previous work was submitted and the instructor to whom the work currently is being submitted.
Fabrication/falsification is an attempt to deceive the instructor in his/her effort to fairly evaluate an academic exercise. Fabrication/falsification may include presenting dishonest information related to an academic activity or exercise, or creation of or altering information or citations related to an academic activity or exercise.
Complicity in academic dishonesty refers to intentionally giving unauthorized assistance to someone else who engages in academic dishonesty.
It is the student’s responsibility to learn more about how to avoid academic dishonesty. If upon investigation the instructor determines there is an academic integrity violation, the student will be held accountable as stated below:
 The instructor, after consulting with his/her supervisor, will notify the student in writing of the details of the academic integrity violation, which may include a formal warning, a reduced grade on an assignment, or a reduced grade in the course.
 The instructor will send the student’s name along with detailed evidence and documentation of the violation to his/her supervisor, Dean, and the Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs to be added to the student’s permanent academic record.
 The Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs will notify the appropriate Dean if there are previously documented offenses in the student’s file. The Dean will determine the disciplinary action for the violation. Sanctions range from the minimum of a reprimand to a maximum of suspension depending on the severity and number of violations.
 The Dean will notify the student in writing electronically and by physical mail of the disciplinary action for the violation. Notification will be sent to the student’s college email address and the home address on record. A copy of the disciplinary action letter will be sent to the Vice President of Academic Affairs/CAO, and the Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs to be added to the student’s permanent academic record.
 The student may appeal the academic integrity violation and/or the disciplinary action resulting from the violation by submitting a letter addressed to the Student Appeals Team in care of the Vice President of Academic Affairs/CAO no later than five (5) days following notification to the student of the disciplinary action.
 The Student Appeals Team will hold a hearing within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the appeal.
 The decision of the Student Appeals Team will be final.

Intellectual Property

SPCC’s intellectual property policy and accompanying procedure address ownership of materials,
compensation, copyright issues, and use of revenue from the creation and production of all intellectual property. The policy applies to all students, including those in distance learning courses and programs; all faculty, including those teaching distance learning courses and programs; and all college staff.
Intellectual property is defined as any intellectual or creative work that can be copyrighted, patented, or trademarked. South Piedmont Community College (SPCC) encourages the development, writing, invention, and production of intellectual property designed to improve the productivity of the College or to enhance the learning environment.  The ownership of intellectual property will be determined according to the following conditions:
The employee or student retains ownership and any revenue generated in any of the following situations:
 The work was created independently and as a result of the individual’s initiative. The College did not request it.
 The work is not a product of a specific contract or assignment made as a result of employment or affiliation with the College.
 The work was not prepared within the scope of the employee’s job duties.
 The work was produced by an employee or a student without funds, resources, or facilities owned or controlled by the College.
The College retains ownership if the above criteria are not met or if any of the following criteria apply:
 The work is prepared within the scope of the employee’s job duties.
 The work is prepared within the scope of class assignments.
 The work is the product of a specific contract or assignment made in the course of the employee’s or student’s affiliation with the College.
 The development of the work involved facilities, time, or other resources of the College including but not limited to release time, grant funds, college personnel, salary supplement, leave with pay, equipment, or other materials or financial assistance.

The College retains and controls all rights to license or sell any intellectual property owned by the College. Any revenues generated from intellectual property owned by the College and shall be treated as institutional funds to be used to support the needs of the College.  When it is foreseen that commercially valuable property may be created, the College and the employee or student should negotiate an agreement for ownership and sharing of benefits and compensation before the creation of the property. Any agreement, whether occurring before or following the creation of the property, will be negotiated with the President of the College.  Upon the emergence of issues or disputes relating to intellectual property, the President will appoint an ad hoc Intellectual Property Committee, composed of equal numbers of faculty and staff, to make recommendations to the President concerning the disposition of the issue. In cases where a student is involved, a member of the Student Government Association will also be appointed to the committee. The
President will make the final decision on the issue.

Faculty Role in Assessment
With the changing technologies, increasing online methods of instruction, and shifting generational characteristics, our ability to accurately evaluate our students’ learning is critical to our continued improvement as an institution. In response to these changes, assessment at SPCC includes course level assessment and the use of student ePortfolios, which are recognized as an optimal way to document learning over time.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) identify the knowledge, skills, or attitudes that graduates should demonstrate after completing a specific academic program. They are the broad skill sets unique to each program of study in which mastery is: a.) required to transfer to other institutions
of higher education successfully, or b.) to function successfully in that particular field or occupation.

Course Learning Outcomes, listed in every course syllabus, describe the knowledge, skills, or attitudes that students learn in a given course. Course learning outcomes are the building blocks that form the foundation for program learning outcomes.

Core Skill Outcomes, sometimes referred to as employability or soft skills, are skills that competent and valuable employees in any field or industry should demonstrate. As an institution, SPCC has identified five (5) Core Skill outcomes that graduates of every associate’s degree program should acquire. They are Critical Thinking, Technology, Written Communication, Oral Communication, and Cultural Literacy.

Core Skill Outcomes Assessment Procedures
SPCC’s Core Skills are assessed by Arts and Sciences full-time faculty in Taskstream using associated Core Skills rubrics. Every full-time faculty, regardless of their academic program, is required to educate and encourage students from every curriculum program to submit Core Skills
artifacts to the correct area in Taskstream.

Each school within the Division of Academic Affairs (School of Arts and Sciences, School of Applied Science and Technology, and School of Health and Public Safety) has an individual Core Skills Directed Response Folio (DRF) program in Taskstream where students submit artifacts and some submit ePortfolio links in addition to their artifacts.

The School of Arts and Sciences requires their program graduates to submit ePortfolios for Core Skills assessment, which provides them with the opportunity to reflect on and showcase the best work created during their course of study. Students upload the ePortfolio link and separate
submission of associated artifacts for each Core Skill to the Arts and Sciences Core Skill DRF program in Taskstream. 

Students in the School of Health and Public Safety and the School of Applied Science and Technology may submit recommended assignments or other chosen artifacts to represent their mastery of each of the Core Skills. Students upload artifacts to the Taskstream Core Skills DRF Program for that particular school. Faculty may contact their supervisor or the Department of Institutional Effectiveness for additional information regarding Core Skills assessment.

Cap Enrollments

 The number of students enrolled in a class is called the “cap.” It is based on maximizing student learning, room size, available lab stations, and guidelines of external accrediting organizations. 

When planning the schedule each semester, supervisors may discuss with faculty the cap at which to set the enrollment numbers for courses. During SPCC’s registration period, it may be determined that the student enrollment cap for a class should be increased. The supervisor, in consultation with the faculty and the dean, will evaluate the feasibility of increasing the cap. If enrollment after raising the cap becomes sufficient to warrant a second section of the class, it may be considered an over-enrolled class that meets the criteria for giving faculty credit for teaching two sections of that course.

Food and drink are not allowed in the classrooms. Faculty who want to plan a special event with students should notify their immediate supervisor to assist in reserving a special facility.

Faculty should see that classrooms are left in order for subsequent use. Chairs and desks should be returned to their original positions and boards wiped clean for the next class. Faculty teaching in computer classrooms should ensure that all students have left the room and that the doors are closed and locked.

Facility and equipment repair and maintenance needs should be reported to immediate supervisors.  A WORK ORDER REQUEST is required for any work to be done by the Facility and Property Services Department staff. This is work requested that deviates from the staff’s usual daily routine. 

Any request that will cost a significant amount of money will be placed in a deferred maintenance file and will be done as money is available. Verbal requests and emails will not be accepted as work orders.

All you need to know about course substitutions and waivers.

Powerpoint

Video (32 minutes)

Curriculum changes, as well as additions to program content, are approved through the SPCC Curriculum Review and Assessment Team.  Please complete the Curriculum Approval Form.

Faculty Absences

How-to Guide Faculty Checklist (Before, During, and After Courses)

End of Semester Checklist

In order to find out more detail about the tabs in “Instruction and Advising,” please check out our Faculty Handbook.

Faculty Office Hours

All full-time faculty must designate a minimum of five (5) office hours per week.

Adjunct faculty are encouraged to schedule sufficient time before and after class meetings to be available to students. An adjunct faculty office is available on both the OCH campus and the LLP campus. Adjunct faculty should designate on their course syllabus the times and locations of their availability.

Online faculty are required to post and maintain virtual office hours throughout the course.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a Federal law that protects the privacy of a student’s educational records. The law applies to all schools receiving funds from certain programs of the U.S. Department of Education. 

Student educational records are confidential and may not be released without the written consent of the student. All faculty have the responsibility to protect educational records in their possession. Some information is considered public (sometimes called “directory information”). This information can be released without the student’s written permission. However, the student may opt to consider this information confidential as well.

Directory information is name, address, phone number, dates of attendance, degrees received, major program of study, height, and weight of athletes. Directory information should be released only after consultation with the Vice President of Student Affairs. Faculty have access to information only for legitimate use in completion of responsibilities as a college employee. Need-to-know is the basic principle. Faculty should not release any information until they talk to the office responsible for student records or the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Faculty must assign a letter grade for each student registered for a class. The grading scale for all courses, except Developmental Education classes and those classes where an accrediting agency mandates otherwise, will be a 10-point scale:
A = 90 – 100; B = 80 – 89; C = 70 – 79; D = 60 – 69; F = 0 – 59
Faculty teaching classes in a program where an accrediting agency mandates otherwise should check with the appropriate division or department chair for the grading scale to use.

Other grades that may be used as appropriate:
W Withdrawal – Use this grade for students who withdraw from a course.
WI Withdrawal by Instructor – Use this grade for students who are
withdrawn from a course by a faculty member for excessive absences.
AU Audit – Students should declare their intention to audit a class at
registration or no later than the mid-point of the course. (Refer students
to a counselor for completion of appropriate form.)
I Incomplete – Do not use this grade except in special cases and only with supervisor approval. When giving a student an “I” grade, faculty are required to provide make-up opportunities after the course is over, enter the student’s last date of attendance and expiration date, and fill out a change-of-grade form. Note: Incompletes are automatically changed to a grade of “F” unless the grade change form is submitted by the end of the next semester, including the summer term. See “Incomplete or ‘I’ Grades” for more information.

To find out more about the Incomplete grade process and how students can appeal a grade, check out the faculty handbook.

Posting Grades
Faculty are strongly discouraged from posting grades for tests and exams outside of any
classroom or office. The Moodle grade book is the recommended alternative.

CLICK HERE to find out how to post your grades.

Course revision is considered an integral part of the ongoing instructional programs at the College. Faculty are responsible for keeping the courses they teach current.  From time to time, new courses may need to be fully developed, or existing courses may need significant revisions. In these two situations, supplemental pay or release time may be considered based on documented justification. To request approval for course development, please complete
the appropriate Course Development Form.

Safety
The importance of safe practices cannot be overstated. Faculty are responsible for ensuring that students are well versed in the proper use and care of equipment.  Equipment should be inspected before and after use to ensure that it is in good working order. The classroom area should contain no uncontrollable hazards. Damaged or unsafe equipment should be reported promptly. Machinery, equipment, and processes that involve hazardous operations should be carefully explained and supervised. Faculty should enforce the use of proper protective clothing and equipment. 

Faculty should be aware of College emergency procedures (brightly colored SPCC Emergency Procedures booklets are located in every classroom) and should point out the nearest emergency exits to students.

Students should be reminded that there is safety in numbers and encourage students, particularly during evening hours, to walk to their cars in groups. Evening security guards are available to escort students to their vehicles at student request.

Emergency Medical Assistance
If an accident or other medical emergency occurs during supervised activities, such as in
a classroom, shop, organized student event, etc., where faculty are in charge, the person in charge will, or direct a responsible person to, call 911. The security guard or switchboard receptionist on the appropriate campus or site should then be contacted and given the following information:
 Name of person calling
 Building and room number or other specific location
 Nature of the injury or illness
 Name of the injured, if available
If an accident or other medical emergency occurs on College property in situations other than supervised activities, any student or employee in the vicinity is encouraged to take the initiative and contact the closest person of authority or call the security guard or switchboard receptionist and accomplish the other actions as outlined above.

The person in charge will direct any available and willing personnel to a location where they can direct the incoming emergency responders to the scene of the incident.

After the emergency has ended and the EMS departs, the security guard or Director of Security and Safety will investigate the incident and complete an incident report. If an accident involves an automotive vehicle, the security guard or switchboard receptionist will notify the appropriate law enforcement agency as soon as possible.

Incident reports should be completed by college employees who are witnesses to an event whenever an incident such as an injury, disruptive behavior, theft, assault, or suspicious activity happens. The original report should be turned in to the Director of Security and Safety. (SharePoint>Forms>General Forms>New Incident Report)

College insurance or the injured party’s personal health insurance will normally cover the cost of ambulance service in emergency situations. No individual should be subjected to unnecessary physical pain or suffering. Therefore, no person in the College, acting in good faith to obtain emergency medical care for another to prevent pain or suffering, will be held responsible for the cost of such care. Persons acting in good faith to help the injured in emergency situations are generally absolved of liability by the Good Samaritan Law in the event the emergency aid is not successful.  Faculty who are injured on the job will report the incident or accident immediately to the Safety Office. If the faculty member cannot make the report, it should be made by his or her supervisor. The Director of Security and Safety will notify the Human Resources Office as quickly as possible or within 24 hours.

Emergency Notification System
All buildings on SPCC campuses are equipped with an Emergency Notification System.  Emergency strobes are located strategically in each building. Each color light has been assigned a specific action as follows: 

RED PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING
(rojo) (por favor salga del edificio)
YELLOW WEATHER – AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS
(amarillo) (tormenta – mantengase lejos de ventanas y puertas)
GREEN ALL CLEAR – NORMAL OPERATIONS
(verde) (no peligro – todo normal)
BLUE LOCKDOWN – TAKE COVER
(azul) (cerrado – mantengase en su lugar y cubrase

Faculty should direct students as to what specific action to follow in these emergency situations. If faculty need additional information on this or other safety and security matters, they should refer to the “SPCC Emergency Procedures” booklet located in each classroom on all campuses, contact their department chair, or the Director of Security and Safety.

Emergency Evacuation
In the event of a fire, bomb threat, or other emergency requiring evacuation of a building, faculty should ensure the orderly exit of all students. Faculty are responsible for checking rooms for remaining students before leaving the building and directing students to the nearest exit or stairway (not an elevator).  Faculty should notify the Director of Security and Safety if a person with a physical disability is enrolled in his or her class due to OSHA requirements for specialized evacuation procedures. The faculty should also assign someone in the class to assist in the evacuation of the person with a physical disability.  Faculty and students should not re-enter the building until told it is safe by the Director of Security and Safety or the Incident Commander of the scene.

School Closing Due to Inclement Weather or Other Unscheduled Closings

Inclement Weather (how-to-guide)
Moodle course websites are to be used to make up blended and web-enhanced classes canceled due to inclement weather or extenuating circumstances that cause the College to be closed.  Clinical time missed in health programs will be made up as appropriate when working with external facilities.  Carefully follow the guidelines below to meet all state audit compliance requirements.

Failure to follow any of the steps below will mandate the missed time to be physically made up by students and instructors alike in the classroom.

Documentation Procedure
1. Design and implement a make-up activity that must be completed by the students within ten (10) days of the missed class (i.e., February 10 for a February 1 snow day). It can be due sooner. In the case of prolonged school closings or closings that affect the start or end dates of the semester, special instructions will be provided.
2. Create a learning unit that includes content and assignments. Keep in mind that valuable instructional time and student learning time are being replaced—and the auditor can check this—so make the learning activities worthwhile. They should help move the students closer to reaching the learning outcomes for the course. Consider the amount of time missed when designing the activity. An activity to make up three (3) hours of class time should be more substantial than one made up one (1) hour of class time.
3.  Clearly label the activity in Moodle as a make-up for the missed class, including the specific date that was missed. Use this model: MAKE UP FOR MARCH 15, 2019. Both students and the FTE auditor must understand that this learning unit is replacing a regularly scheduled seated class session that was missed due to school closing.
4. Require students to submit assignments or activities using Moodle (assignment function,
discussion board, or anything that will time and date stamp the activity). Time and date stamps are needed to document that students completed the unit and made up the day missed within the required period.
5. Provide screenshots or other verification of the Moodle assignment submission, discussion board activity, grade book with grading dates, etc.; anything that documents submission of the assignment or activity for each student. This documentation must prove that each student completed the activity by the due date and will serve as evidence for the state auditor that the day was sufficiently made up.
6. Email all documentation to the Internal Auditor within ten (10) days of the assignment due date. Make sure in the email to provide the course, section number, and the date of the missed class, such as BIO 166 2W2 for Friday, March 11, 2019.
7. Students not completing the assignment on or before the due date must be counted absent on the date the school was closed.

Class Section Numbers signify the type and location of the course.  Find out more about how the section numbers are determined.

How to interpret and assign section numbers:

Curriculum Course Section Guide 2021

Curriculum Course Section Number Explanation

Curriculum Course: how to assign Section Numbers ( Flowchart)

Instructors should alert students, their counselor, or their advisor about issues pertaining to their success at SPCC.

• How to create an alert in AVISO (Video)
• How to Raise Alerts in AVISO (How-to)
• How to Create a Note in AVISO (How-to)

At times, instructors will need to complete forms based based on student behaviors.

Student Behavioral Conduct Violation

Any student enrolled at South Piedmont Community College has the responsibility to uphold the rules and values of the college, and the right to a fair and equitable conduct process. Contact Angela Burleson at aburleson@spcc.edu or 704-272-5301.

Title IX Sexual Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment, as defined by Title IX, is a specific type of sex discrimination/harassment that includes, but is not limited to, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking.

See Something, Say Something

This referral form is to report observed behavior the reporter sees as concerning, worrisome, or threatening and warrants concern for the safety of the College community and/or the safety of the individual. 

Academic Integrity Violation:  

Use this reporting form to provide detailed information pertaining to a student’s (or students’) academic integrity violation which occurred in your current course.

At times, students may need to withdraw from a class or instructors will need to withdraw students based on attendance.

• Withdrawing a Student from Class (How-To Guide)
  
• Instructor-initiated Withdrawal (How-To Guide)
• Instructor Initiated Withdrawal (Form)

Student Initiated Withdrawal
Students may withdraw from any or all classes after the 10% point and through the 70% point of each semester without a grade penalty. The student must submit the appropriate withdrawal form and speak to a counselor.

Instructor Initiated Withdrawal
Faculty may withdraw students who violate the attendance policy as outlined in the course syllabus. If a student’s absences in a course exceed 12.5 percent of the course contact hours, faculty may submit an Instructor Initiated Withdrawal form through SharePoint forms and a grade of “WI” (Withdrawal by Instructor) will be assigned. Before submitting the Instructor Initiated Withdrawal form, the faculty must attempt to notify the student of the impending withdrawal. The 12.5 percentage is calculated by doubling the number of course contact hours as listed in the College Catalog. For example, the 12.5 percent point for a three (3) contact hour course is six (6) class hours. The College does not differentiate between “excused” and “unexcused” absences in calculating course attendance.

Administrative Withdrawal
After the 70% point, students may seek an administrative withdrawal by providing appropriate documentation stating their extenuating circumstances. Withdrawals are accepted by the Vice President of Student Services office until two (2) weeks before the classes ending. In cases where
the Vice President of Student Services formally approves the withdrawal, the student will be assigned a grade of “W.” Note: Not all administrative withdrawals are approved.

Make-Up Testing
Faculty can arrange to send students who need to make-up tests, quizzes, or examinations to the Testing Center on either campus. A test proctor will monitor all make-up exams. Faculty must submit an electronic Exam Proctoring Form in Etrieve at least 48 hours before the student’s scheduled appointment. The student must make an appointment online by selecting Class Related Testing Appointment.  Click here for more information 

Proctoring Services
The Testing Center offers proctoring services under special circumstances. This service is available to on-site and off-site faculty and students for the administration of make-up testing (see “Make-Up Testing”), accommodation testing, and external agency testing.

The Testing Center is not capable of testing entire classes or serving as a “substitute” for absent faculty. Under special circumstances, the Testing Center will consider proctoring online math course examinations when a faculty member does not reside in the SPCC service area. Click here for full procedure details.