Provost

4.4 Course-Related Policies

4.4.1 Canceled Courses

The university reserves the right, when necessary, to discontinue classes or to otherwise alter the schedule. If a class is discontinued, students shall be notified as soon as possible by the academic college so that they may register for alternate courses. A student who is enrolled in a discontinued class shall officially drop the course, and, if the student wishes to enroll in another section, the student shall officially drop and add immediately. If the university discontinues a course and the student elects not to replace it with another course, then the student shall receive a refund from the Office of Administration and Finance.

4.4.2 Syllabi

Prior to the seventh day after classes start (the first week of class) or as designated by the academic college, faculty members will submit a copy of the syllabus for each class to the college administrative assistant and provide one to students.

Syllabi shall contain at least the following:

1. Course name, number, and term, required/recommended textbooks and course materials, instructor's name, office hours, and when and how the instructor can be reached at other times;
2. A brief description of major learning objectives for the course and of any unusual or distinctive requirements (e.g., a field trip);
3. A statement of the instructor's policies on grading, attendance, late assignments, makeup work, and any other such matters;
4. A schedule of assignments for the term--which need not be day-by-day, but which should indicate what will be coming up when by way of assignments, examinations, due dates, and course;
5. A general description of the subject matter of each lecture or discussion;
6. A description of how student learning outcomes will be assessed during the course;
7. A statement about accommodations for students with disabilities.

Each syllabus must also contain the following two (2) statements, verbatim, in order to comply with university or system policies, and to meet legal requirements.

Services for Students with Disabilities

The University of Houston System complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, pertaining to the provision of reasonable academic adjustments / auxiliary aids for students who have a disability. In accordance with Section 504 and ADA guidelines, the University of Houston-Victoria strives to provide reasonable academic adjustments / auxiliary aids to students who request and require them. If you believe that you have a disability requiring an academic adjustment/auxiliary aid, please contact the UHV Office of Disability Services; University Commons 2108A; Office – 361-570-4287; Fax – 361-580-5504; Email - DisabilityServices@uhv.edu; Website - Disability Services.

Title IX: Sexual Misconduct

The University of Houston System (UHS) including UHV seeks to provide an educational environment free from sex discrimination, including non-consensual sexual contact, sexual assault, sexual harassment, interpersonal violence and stalking. We encourage you to report any sexual misconduct to UHV Title IX Coordinator (361) 570-4835; University West 116). If you report any sexual misconduct to me, I am required to share that information with our Title IX Coordinator. For more information about the UHS Sexual Misconduct policy and counseling and support resources available to you, go to Title IX and Equal Opportunity.

A syllabus is a course plan for the term, not a contract. However, if changes are desirable, faculty should announce them well in advance, preferably in writing and after consultation with the class. Graduate syllabi must ensure that course standards are appropriate for graduate-level studies. In no case may the same syllabus be used for an undergraduate and a graduate course. The deans are responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy. Syllabi for newly proposed courses are also reviewed and approved by the appropriate committee of the Faculty Senate.

4.4.3 Internet Access to Course Information

Texas Education Code 51.974 requires that all state public institutions make specific undergraduate syllabus and faculty information be available through the university’s website.

Required undergraduate syllabus information includes student learning outcomes for the course, a brief description of each major course requirements including assignments and exams, a list of required and recommended reading, and a general description of the subject of each lecture or discussion. This information is submitted via a web interface prior to the seventh day after classes start each semester.

Required CV information includes the instructor’s post-secondary education, teaching experience, and a list of significant professional publications. UHV has defined this as books and journal articles published in the last 5 years. The CV may not contain any personal information, including home address or home phone number. CV information is entered into PeopleSoft, and faculty members are responsible for keeping this information up to date.

4.4.4 End of Semester Evaluations

As unanimously approved by the Faculty Council (February 6, 1987) and subsequently by the president, student evaluations are to be a “required, formal part of the faculty evaluation procedure.” All courses will be evaluated every semester for all full-time and part-time faculty, including summers.

Faculty members shall use the form for student evaluations recommended by the Faculty Council or other appropriate faculty voice. They may also use an additional form. In that case, it is the responsibility of the dean to assess the value of the additional information. If the faculty member substitutes another form for the recommended one, the burden of proof of the value of the alternative form rests with the faculty member.

4.4.5 International Students and Online Courses

It is a federal requirement that international students who hold F-1 or J-1 student visas may take no more than one online course within a full course load during the fall and spring semesters. There is no limit during the summer. Students that hold other types of visas are not affected by this requirement.

The following policy is intended to provide basic guidance to faculty and staff who may be recruiting, advising, or teaching students on J-1 or F-1 visas.

1. The university must have a means of verifying compliance with the federal requirement.
2. The academic deans will be responsible for verifying that all classes listed as face-to-face are actually conducted in that manner for at least 51% of the scheduled meetings.
3. Since courses or sections scheduled may be cancelled occasionally and the students then be accommodated in other courses or sections, it is important that the schedule of any international students affected remains in compliance.
4. Any instances of non-compliance must be corrected immediately; otherwise, the student’s visa status and the university’s visa authority are jeopardized.
5. Independent study or special topic courses meet the requirement only if the student must attend regularly scheduled conferences or meetings, since the intent of the requirement is that the student in fact be located where he or she is taking courses.
6. When recruiting international students, recruiters must be clear about the UHV degree programs that international students can complete and still take no more than one online course per semester.
7. The Office of Admissions maintains a list of degree programs that can be completed by international students within the current federal restrictions. The list is available from that office and is published on the UHV Admissions webpage.
8. Once international students have been enrolled, they must be provided with the courses necessary to comply with federal requirements and to complete their degree expeditiously.
9. Student advisors in the academic colleges and international-admissions staff in student affairs should maintain communications when international students are choosing or changing their course schedules or degree programs, so that the student does not receive conflicting information.

As the university adds residential students in Victoria, the availability of face-to-face courses will increase, as will the number of degree programs that can be completed by international students within the current federal restrictions. Thus, the list of programs that international students can complete will need to be revised periodically, and it is likely that the list will vary by location. As noted above, the list is available from the Office of Admissions and is published on the UHV Admissions webpage.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also has definitions and reporting requirements that apply to online courses, and the university must comply with those requirements, as well.

4.4.6 Textbooks

Faculty will let appropriate college personnel know as early as possible of any textbooks to be ordered for their courses. Faculty are also responsible for requesting desk copies, instructor manuals, and test banks, if available.

Instructors should use all required textbooks listed in the course syllabi.

4.4.7 Classroom Utilization

Classroom space assignments are influenced by factors such as course enrollment and/or the need to accommodate special needs students. Faculty are expected to use the assigned classroom for the duration of the class.

4.4.8 Minimum Length of Courses

All UHV courses comply with Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board policies with regard to course length. The “typical” three-semester credit hour course contains at least 15 weeks of instruction (45 contact hours) plus a week for final examinations so that the course contains at least 45-48 contact hours, depending on whether a final exam is included in course requirements. Summer courses, or other shortened course formats, must still meet the contact hour requirements. The final exam schedule is posted in the Academic Calendar maintained by the Office of the Registrar and Student Records. Online courses are expected to contain sufficient content to meet these requirements for contact hours. Instructors are required to be available when classes start and to have regularly scheduled course meetings through finals week. Departures from this schedule shall be approved in advance by the dean. Refer to UHV Policy A-43.

4.4.9 Course Formats

In keeping with the SACS requirements for reporting distance education programs, and course definitions from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, UHV uses the following definitions to describe instruction modes (where 50% or more of the instruction is delivered via a single mode).

1. Face-to-Face - The instructor and the students are in the same physical location at the same time.
2. Fully Distance Education Course - A course which may have mandatory face-to-face sessions totaling no more than 15 percent of the instructional time.
3. Video Tape/DVD and/or Broadcast TV
4. Two-way Interactive Video
5. Multiple or Other Electronic Media (use only if no other single mode accounts for 50% of the instruction or if the electronic instruction mode is not listed above)
6. Hybrid/Blended Course - A course in which a majority (at least 50 percent but less than 85 percent) of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place.

The deans are responsible for ensuring courses are meeting as described in the class schedule.

4.4.10 Absences

Faculty members are expected to meet classes as scheduled for the full period and to meet other scheduled commitments, such as office hours. In case of absences, faculty must make arrangements to make up missed class time. They should seek approval of their dean or department chair in advance for any class absences, unless owing to illness or prevented by emergency. In case of the latter circumstances, they should provide notification to the dean’s office as soon as possible, so that students can in turn be notified. Deans should notify the Office of the Provost in the event of any unscheduled absences extending more than a day.

Faculty members accrue and are obligated to report sick leave (medical documentation is necessary for leave of more than three days). Faculty members do not accrue vacation days or personal leave days.

4.4.11 Grades

All faculty are responsible for inputting grades into the electronic student record system in accordance with UHV policy and deadlines.

Grading System

A - Excellent superior achievement

B - Good, exceeding all requirements

C - Average, satisfactorily meeting all requirements

D - Poor, passing

F - Failing or withdrawal while doing failing work

I - Incomplete

S - Satisfactory

U - Unsatisfactory

W - Withdrawal from course

Each faculty member or instructor has his/her own grading scale for determining numeric/letter grade equivalencies.

Explanation of Grades

Passing grades awarded are A, B, C, D and S. No semester hours of credit are awarded for the failing grades of F and U.

S and U -- The grades of S and U may be awarded in certain specified courses.

I -- The grade of I is a conditional and temporary grade given when a student is passing a course but, for reasons beyond the student’s control, has completed all but a relatively small part of the course requirements.

4.4.12 Release of Student Records

Student records are released only for use by faculty and professional staff for authorized university-related purposes. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights are as follows:

1. Students have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day the university receives the written request.
2. Students have the right to request the amendment of their education records that they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. If the university denies a student's requested amendment, the student has the right to a records’ hearing regarding the requested amendment to the education record.
3. Students have the right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally- identifiable information in their education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
4. Students have the right to file a complaint with the U. S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20202-5901

Questions regarding FERPA policies shall be directed to the Office of the Registrar and Student Records. Further direction on FERPA can be found in UHV Policy D-01.

4.4.13 Administrator Observation of Courses

Academic administrators wishing to observe a class within their assigned area of direct supervision should first notify the faculty member teaching the course and consult on arrangements. Anyone else wishing to observe a class should first secure the permission of the faculty member. In all cases, the faculty member should be informed of the purpose and, as relevant, the results of the observation, and the faculty member should inform students in the class in advance of an observation.

Online delivery of instruction presents circumstances and opportunities significantly different from face-to-face delivery, but the applicable principles and procedures remain the same. Care should be taken to identify elements to be observed, so that these can provide a sufficiently complete and accurate representation of the online course, and if online student discussion is to be observed, the students should be informed that an observer will be present. Staff members, who must have access to online courses to provide necessary technical support, are expected to be professional and discreet in their work with both faculty and students. Any observer in an online course should be logged in with an ID that reflects their name and with a privilege level that limits access to confidential information (i.e., grades) and allows the instructor of record to track activity. Observers in online courses should have time-limited access.