Information for Faculty

General Bulletin: "Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Each instructor is free to determine the extent to which absences affect the final grades of students but should make the policy regarding attendance known at the start of the course. Instructors should report excessive absences to the student's four-year advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Support Office."

• Exceptions to an instructor's authority to decide on consequences are when a student has an approved accommodation for attendance from Disability Resources or the Office of Equity, or the student is missing class due to religious observance.
• Students unable to attend classes because of illness should seek appropriate medical care. In most cases, students will notify their instructors and make the appropriate arrangements directly with the instructor.
• For prolonged absences due to illness, family crisis, or other significant unforeseen events, the four-year advisor can support with collecting information and documentation so that the student and faculty can determine appropriate arrangements.

The Academic Calendar is posted on the University Registrar website. Faculty should take note of important dates, deadlines and University holidays/closures as they plan assignments and exams during the semester. For deadlines related to half-semester or dynamically-dated courses, please refer to the term-specific Enrollment Dates and Deadlines page.

Students with legitimate reasons for missing deadlines should contact their four-year advisor to discuss next steps.

General Bulletin: "A student who wants to register a complaint about course instruction or evaluation should first bring the matter to the direct attention of the professor or instructor involved. If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved, the student should go to the chair of the academic department in question and seek departmental review. If neither step resolves the complaint, the student may take the matter to the faculty member's college or school dean for final review and decision." For the complete Academic Grievance Policy, see the General Bulletin.

Contact for further guidance:

Students seeking guidance and coaching on an academic grievance can contact their four-year advisor for assistance.

General Bulletin: "If any member of the university community suspects that an undergraduate student has violated academic integrity standards, they shall advise the student and the department chair and consult with the Dean of Undergraduate Advising or their designee about the appropriate course of action. Before speaking with the student, they also may choose to consult with the chair or dean about academic integrity standards. If, in consultation with the dean, it is determined that the evidence is not adequate to charge the student with a violation, the matter will be dropped." Please see the Academic Integrity procedures as listed in the General Bulletin.

Faculty with academic integrity concerns should contact the Dean for Undergraduate Advising Support, Molly Watkins, molly.watkins@case.edu.

Faculty who are teaching or advising an undergraduate student can contact the four-year advisor (as listed in SIS) with any academic questions or concerns.

Faculty with any concerns about the well-being of a student are encouraged to share their concerns with the Dean of Students Office via the online CARE report, by phone at 216.368.6945, or email deanofstudents@case.edu. Online CARE Reports will be reviewed during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Students benefit from having a course syllabus with important information about the content of the class and various course policies.  Several years ago, the Associate Deans for Academics of the schools and the College prepared draft guidance on information that should be included on course syllabi, including preferred language about disability accommodations and academic integrity. This guidance is shared by Dean Molly Watkins via email to all faculty teaching undergraduate courses at the beginning of each semester.

CWRU's definition of a "credit hour" was approved by the Faculty Senate on 4/25/12 and applies to all degree programs, and is posted on the University Registrar website.  Student effort should align with the total credit hours for the course.

• For undergraduate courses in lecture format, one credit-hour represents the subject content that can be delivered in one academic hour of contact time along with associated work that can be completed by a typical student in 2-3 hours of effort outside the classroom, each week for the full duration of one academic semester (typically fourteen weeks). 
• For courses taught in other than lecture format (e.g., seminars, laboratories, independent study, clinical work, research, etc.), one credit-hour represents an amount of content and/or student effort that in aggregate is no less than that described in (2) above.

Faculty should expect to hear from Undergraduate Advising Support around the 3rd or 4th week of the semester requesting “early alerts” about first-year students enrolled in their courses.  These “early alert” responses from faculty will allow four-year advisors to reach out to students in difficulty early in the semester and help them get back on track before it is too late to be successful.

Faculty with questions or concerns about grading policies should refer to the General Bulletin and should consult with the Dean of Undergraduate Advising, Molly Watkins at molly.watkins@case.edu.

The final exam schedule is set by the University Registrar and largely based on the class meeting schedule and formulated to minimize conflicts. There are also special times assigned to the basic biology, chemistry, computer science, math, and physics sequences to spread out the exams in courses that enroll in common large numbers of first-year students.

If you are planning to give a final exam, faculty must note this in the Schedule of Classes.  Similarly, if there will be no in-class final exam, this should be noted as well.  Remember that University rules prohibit giving a final exam during the last week of classes or on Reading Days; faculty should plan to give the last exam for a course during the assigned final exam time.

Faculty may not change the date of a final exam without approval from the Dean of Undergraduate Advising Support, nor may the faculty alter the exam schedule for an individual student.  Following the course withdrawal deadline, the Office of Undergraduate Advising Support will reach out to students with more than two exams on the same day, two at the same time, or an evening exam followed by another first thing the next morning and work with faculty to make alternative arrangements. 

If a student expects to miss an exam due to other special circumstances, please direct the student to their four-year advisor. Note that these rules apply to all exams administered during the final exam period, regardless of their length and/or whether they cover work of the entire semester.

General Bulletin: "The Incomplete grade (I) is assigned by and at the discretion of the instructor when (a) there are extenuating circumstances, explained to the instructor before the assignment of the grade, which clearly justify an extension of time beyond the requirements established for and met by other students in the class, and (b) the student has been passing the course and only a small segment of the course, such as a term paper, remains to be completed... The amount of additional time allowed the student to make up incomplete work should serve to accommodate the student while being fair to other students in the course.  It should be proportional to the duration of a student's illness or absence and might be no more than a few days or weeks.  At the extreme, it should not extend past the eleventh week of the semester following the one in which the Incomplete grade was received."

For the complete Incomplete Grade Policy, see the General Bulletin.

Contact for further guidance: Students and faculty with questions can first contact the student's four-year advisor, as listed in SIS.

Mid-semester grades provide an important summary statement for undergraduates about their standing in a course. They also help advisors monitor the progress of their advisees and work with them if needed to develop or update a plan for the remainder of the semester. 

Mid-semester grades must be recorded in SIS by posted deadline (see the Academic Calendar). This deadline is critical for providing students sufficient time to review their progress with advisors before making any adjustments to their course loads, such as course withdrawals or P/NP options. Faculty should take special note of this date when planning assignments and exams during the semester.