Section 5: Policies and Procedures
Provide a Detailed Syllabus During the First Week of Class
Providing a detailed syllabus for each class you teach is one of your primary duties and responsibilities as an instructor at SFCC. It establishes the relationship between you and your students, and it provides them with the information they need to succeed in your class and at this college. When students know what they will learn in your class, what your expectations of them are, and how to seek assistance, they are better equipped to succeed.
In each syllabus, you’ll explain the course learning outcomes, the learning activities of the course, how your students will be evaluated and earn their grades, and what your specific policies are.
The syllabus is your students’ primary reference source for your course, which is why it’s important that you make it as useful and clear as possible.
Statements to Include in Your Course Syllabus and for Classroom Announcement:
Some statements are required by federal, state, accreditation bodies and some are optional. A syllabus template is available for you to customize.
To find a complete list of the required syllabus statements as well as suggested elements access the Syllabus Template section of the SFCC Intranet Faculty page. There you will find The SFCC Syllabus Template Guidelines as well as The SFCC Syllabus Template and the Three Eyed-Syllabus Template. Additional materials and syllabus statements including the DAS statement, the Academic Coaching statement, the Acceptance statement, the Campus Safety statement, and the Faith and Conscious statement are also available to assist you in effectively creating a syllabus.
For your convenience, a syllabus checklist follows to help you make sure to cover all the important points.
A Suggested SFCC Course Syllabus Check List:
- Course Title
- Faculty Name
- Date – Quarter & Year
- Course Prerequisite
- Department
- Course Abbreviation & Number
- Course Description (Short, Required Type)
- Course Content
- Meetings Days/Times
- Learning Outcomes expected of students at course completion.
- Methods of Instruction: Lecture, Lab, Studio, Small Group Work, Learning Communities, Seminar, Self-Paced, Computer work, etc.
- Methods of Assessment: written exams, oral presentations, portfolios, written papers and reports, field/lad performance, work ethic, student responsibility, etc.)
- Materials/Supplies
- Required
- Textbooks Required
- Teaching Schedule
- Office Hours & Location
- Grading Policy
- Late Work Policy
- Plagiarism/Cheating Policy
- Attendance Policy
- Campus Phone Number
Include Your Courses’ Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
Each course offered at SFCC has in place Course Learning Outcomes that establish what instructors are to teach to in that course. These CLOs are tied to departmental, programmatic, and degree-plan learning outcomes. To help you design your curriculum and teaching strategies, learn what the course’s outcomes are, and include them, or paraphrased versions, in your course syllabus.
Final Exam Schedule
It is advised you hold regular classes all the way until the last class day. If you give a final exam, it must adhere to the designated final exam schedule that is set each quarter.
There is a “Dead Day” after the last regular day of class and before the finals schedule begins. This will give students additional time to study.
Final exams are scheduled in two-hour blocks and begin at the normal class starting time.
The 2024-2025 Final Exam Schedule
SFCC’s Website and SFCC’s Intranet
Please Note: You have two primary ways to gain online access to the several resources and documents designed to help faculty do their jobs – via SFCC’s website and SFCC’s Intranet. For now, we’ll focus on how to use these sources to access ctcLink. More will be discussed about these online resources in Section V.
On campus
- When you open an internet browser, you will be taken to SFCC’s Home page.
- From here, you can click the “Employee Portal” link to access additional links such as the SFCC Intranet, Canvas, ctcLink, Academic calendar, and more.
Off campus
- Access SFCC’s website
- Then, again, click on the “Employee Portal” link to access additional links such as the Intranet, Canvas, ctcLink, Academic calendar, and more.
ctcLink
ctcLink is the location where you will access everything from your personal information that HR has for you, viewing your paystubs and paychecks, to accessing your Class & Grade Rosters. It is also where students go to view class information and to register for classes. There is a link on all the campus homepages including SFCC, SCC, and CCS.
Your Class Roster
- Once in ctcLink, you must select “Faculty Center” to access your Class & Grade Rosters under the “My Schedule” section.
- From here you can click on the “class item number” to view and/or download/print your class roster.
- All students listed on your class roster in ctcLink are registered in your class.
- Any new registration activity gets immediately updated on the class rosters, so be mindful that your rosters may change slightly, especially during the first week of class. You will want to print out or consult a “fresh” roster every day during the first week of classes.
- Class rosters include a list of students registered in your classes, along with their student identification number, program and plan that they are in, and “level of education.”
- By clicking on each student’s name, you are also provided with their email address in the form of a new email being opened in Microsoft Outlook.
- Please verify that all students in your class appear on the class roster. Students who attend class but do not appear on your roster must register for the class.
Your Classes’ Grade Rosters
At the end of each quarter, grade rosters for each of your classes will be available in ctcLink. They are usually available two weeks prior to the last day of classes. These will have a similar appearance to your class rosters but will include a column for selecting and reporting a decimal grade for each student.
ctcLink Troubleshooting
Not able to login?
- Make sure that you have activated your ctcLink account.
- Do this by going to the ctcLink website and clicking on “First Time User”. Then follow the instructions given to activate your account.
- Make sure that you have the correct ctcLink ID
- If you don’t know your ctcLink ID, you can call HR at (509) 434-5041.
- You may need to reset your password.
- To do this, click “Forgot My Password” and follow the directions.
Resetting your password can take up to 30 minutes to process and take effect.
- To do this, click “Forgot My Password” and follow the directions.
Your class does not appear under “My Schedule”
-
- Contact your Department’s Assistant.
A student is attending but is not on the roster?
Contact the Registration office, (509) 533-3500.
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- If a student has not officially enrolled, immediately refer student to Registration Office, Building 17.
- Do not allow a student to attend until they appear on the class roster or bring a copy of their class schedule printout on which your class appears.
Your class is not among grading rosters?
-
- Contact your department’s office manager.
Copyright Basics: What is Copyright?
Copyright is part of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) and international law that grants rights and protection to authors and developers of creative works. It should be clear that copyright only protects works that are “fixed in a tangible form of expression.” Copyright does not protect ideas or processes (although processes can be patented).
To make use of copyright protected material without the consent of the author is a violation of the law. The exceptions to this are works that have passed into the public domain (over 70 years old) and works used in the manner prescribed under the Fair Use part of the copyright law.
Copyright Compliance: Fair Use
The concept of Fair Use refers to section 107 of the copyright law. It lays out in very broad terms the conditions under which it is permissible to use copyright protected materials without getting permission from the author or creator of the work. The following is an excerpt from the copyright law:
Fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.
Moreover, there is a part of the copyright law (Section 504(c)(2)) that protects people working under the reasonable assumption that Fair Use applies to their activities.
In order to qualify, you need to be sure that you have carefully considered the four criteria for fair use listed below. When considering using copyright protected materials, make sure that you have met all four criteria.
The Four Criteria for Fair Use
Criterion 1: What is the purpose and character of the use?
Use that is “non-profit educational” carries a lot of weight as to fair use. In addition, if the use is criticism, commentary, parody or in some other way “transformative” such as quotations used in a paper, or parts of a copyright-protected work used in a multimedia production for your teaching, it is also considered fair use.
Note: The fact that you are not charging money does not by itself constitute fair use.
Criterion 2: What is the nature of the work?
This refers to the nature of the original work. Was it, for example, published or unpublished? Was it fiction, non-fiction or personal expression? Fair use favors published, factual work over dramatic works or works of personal expression. However, if the purpose and character of use is non-profit public education, even dramatic works and works of personal expression can fall into the fair use arena. In addition, the work being used must be from a legally obtained copy.
Criterion 3: What is the amount and quality of the work being used?
Key to this criterion is the amount of the portion used in relation to the entire work. This is why specific numbers and percentages are difficult to assign. For example, 10 pages of a 270-page novel is far different from 10 pages of a 20-page journal article. This criterion also considers the quality or amount of key information used. Using key plot scenes from a novel can weigh against fair use. However, as mentioned above, if the purpose is non-profit education or scholarly research, then in some cases using an entire work is considered fair use.
Criterion 4: What effect does the use have on the market for the original work?
Several factors come into play here. For example, is the work available for sale? How widespread is the use? How long or how often will the work be used? Does this use affect the copyright owner’s ability to collect royalties?
If the work is commercially available, then it is prudent to purchase or have the school purchase a copy. Even if the work is available for sale, it is permissible to use a legally obtained copy for one term. After that, an original should be purchased.
Finally, educational use should be limited to the educational community. This could include the class, parents, as well as school faculty and administrators. In some cases, it is even permissible to use copyright work in conference presentations. However, the reproduction of the work should not be made available to the general public.
For additional information on copyright basics, visit the U.S. Copyright Office’s Copyright Basics Website
To view additional information on Fair Use, visit the University of Texas System Copyright Website
Or
Use the Checklist for Copyright Compliance visit the CCS Intranet Website
(WAC 132Q-30-500)
Faculty members have the authority to take appropriate action to maintain order and proper conduct in the classroom and to maintain the effective cooperation of students in fulfilling the objectives of the course.
Bringing any person, thing or object to a teaching and learning environment that may disrupt the environment or cause a safety or health hazard, without the express approval of the faculty member is expressly prohibited.
Faculty members or college administrators have the right to suspend any student from any single class or program, up to three instructional days, if the student’s misconduct creates disruption to the point that it is difficult or impossible to maintain the decorum of the class, program or the learning and teaching environment. The faculty member or college administrator shall report this suspension to the Vice President of Student Services who may set conditions for the student upon return to the class or program.
The student may appeal the classroom suspension to the Vice President of Student Services who may authorize an earlier return by the student only after consultation with the faculty member or appropriate administrator. The Vice President of Student Services’ decision is final.
Student Concerns Form and Procedures:
- Student concerns procedure for faculty CCS 30-06 A PDF | Word
- Student concerns procedure for non-faculty employees CCS 30-06 C PDF | Word
- Student complaint form for faculty CCS 30-06 B PDF | Word
- Student complaint form for non-faculty employees CCS 30-06 D PDF | Word
“Addressing Disruptive Behaviors in Class” is another reference guide that you may find helpful.
