Faculty Handbook 2012 - 2013
Please note that the primary source for the description of curricular programs and policies is the Course Catalog. See the Catalog for the following: degree requirements, graduation with honors, General Education requirements, major requirements, independent and directed study, and other curricular information not in the Faculty Handbook. See also the Faculty Advisor's Manual for a full description of important academic regulations.
No student will receive an incomplete in a course unless the student (or spokesperson in the event that the student is absent from school) presents the petition to the instructor and the Academic Standing Board for approval. Incompletes will be awarded only in cases of illness, serious personal problems, death in the family, or other extraordinary circumstances. A student will not be granted an incomplete simply because additional time is needed to complete the assigned work. All petitions for incompletes must be submitted no later than the last class day of a course. In a few rare circumstances students might submit petitions during final examination week.
To withdraw from a course a form must be signed by the student's instructor and academic advisor and presented to the Registrar. No listing will be recorded on a student's permanent record if that student receives permission to withdraw from a course before the end of the fourth week of classes. No withdrawal from a course is permitted after the fourth week of class except in the case of first-year students who have a grace period until the end of the ninth week. (This applies to the first semester only. ) A student withdrawing from a course without official permission of the instructor and the Registrar will receive a grade of "F" (failure) on the permanent record.
All additions to a student's schedule must be made within the first ten days of the academic semester. (This refers to the first ten days of regularly scheduled classes, not the first ten meetings of a specific class.)
Juniors and seniors may elect to take one course per semester utilizing the Satisfactory Grading option. For a student earning a "C' or higher, the Registrar will convert this grade to an "S," for "satisfactory," with no impact on cumulative grade point average. For a student earning a "C-" or lower, the Registrar will record that grade on the academic transcript, and it will be included in the grade point average. This option may not be exercised for courses within a student's major or minor fields, including required cognate courses, and it is not an option for any General Education requirement. To exercise this option, a student must complete the appropriate form at the Registrar's Office, no later than the fifth week of the semester. No approval is necessary from a department or program or instructor, and a student is not required to inform the instructor about exercising this option. A few courses are offered to everyone utilizing a "satisfactory" grading format, and such courses are not included in the option described above.
A hallmark of a Denison education is the small, interactive, and participatory classroom, situated on a residential campus. Therefore, it is essential that students be present on campus and be active participants in their courses. Attendance policies are designed to promote the success and well-being of the individual students as well as the community of learners in each class and each co-curricular undertaking. For oneself and one’s peers, attendance and presence on campus are vital to the Denison education.
It is expected that all students will attend and participate in regularly scheduled classes. If a class is missed, for any reason, the student is responsible for determining what occurred in the missed class. Absence from a class will not be accepted as an excuse for not knowing class material. Students are responsible for all information, discussion, and conceptual analysis that takes place during classes.
Attendance policy is set by the instructor. It is the responsibility of the instructor to establish (a) a policy on class attendance, (b) any criteria for excused absences when attendance is required, and (c) a policy for the make-up of missed work. This latter, of course, is particularly important since class absence involves, potentially, a loss of the opportunity for learning for the student. It is vitally important that each faculty member review these points in class early in the semester. The course syllabus is the contractual agreement between instructor and student. It is important that the instructor outline clearly the expectations and all other factors that determine grades and penalties.
It is the student's responsibility to provide any needed documentation for class absences, including medical excuses. At the student's request, Whisler Health Center will issue a dated documentation of visit in the event of a situation requiring class absence.
Each semester, students must arrive on campus and attend the first meeting of their registered classes. If circumstances prevent a student from arriving on campus for the first day of classes, the student must notify the Dean of Students. Students who miss class for an extended period of time during a semester because of personal, medical, or psychological reasons must also notify the Dean of Students of their absence. Without prior notification and approval for these types of absences, the student may be withdrawn or be required to take a leave of absence by the Dean of Students in consultation with the Associate Provost and relevant campus offices and individuals (including faculty).
Denison's orientation programs are designed to welcome and introduce new students to our campus resources, community, and culture. All students attending Denison for their first semester (new First-Year Students and Transfer Students) are required to attend Denison's mandatory orientation programs. Failure to attend and/or complete the required orientation activities may result in a student being withdrawn or having their offer of admission revoked.
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Absences - Students may have up to the equivalent of three hours of class absences per course per semester for participation in intercollegiate athletic contests. Absences will not be allowed for practices, scrimmages, or non- traditional season play. It is the student's responsibility to notify the instructor well in advance of all anticipated absences. If any of these absences are scheduled for class activities that cannot be made up, the instructor may deny approval for an excused absence. These limitations apply to regular season play. If students are engaged in post-season play beyond the conference tournament in their sport, they will be granted excused absences for missed classes. Students are responsible for notifying the faculty member in advance of projected absences. Students must also arrange to make up missed work or complete an alternative assignment to satisfy the course requirements.
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Eligibility - In conformity with NCAA regulations pertaining to athletic eligibility, student athletes wishing to participate in the Denison University Intercollegiate Athletic Program must be in good academic standing (minimum cumulative average of 2.0). Students not in good academic standing may participate in practices and other aspects of the sports program, but may not participate in intercollegiate games or in intercollegiate scrimmages.
The assessment of student academic performance, including the assignment of particular grades, is a faculty responsibility. The faculty member offering the course should be responsible for the evaluation of student course work and, under normal circumstances, is the sole judge of the grades received by students in that course.
If a student feels that his or her grade in a course was the result of prejudiced, capricious, or in some other way unjust evaluation on the part of the instructor, that student may file a grievance petition with the Academic Standing Board. The petition must be filed within the semester following the awarding of the disputed evaluation, even if the student or faculty member is off-campus and unable to appear until a later date. Petitions should include evidence of prejudiced or capricious academic evaluation and evidence of attempts to deal with the problem at the departmental level, including discussions with the faculty member involved and his/her department chair. Only after these steps have been taken will the matter become part of the formal academic grievance process. Simple disagreement with the instructor's philosophy in assigning grades, or with the instructor's professional judgment about the quality of the work does not constitute cause for petitioning.
The Academic Standing Board will transmit evidence of the charges to the faculty member. After evaluating the charges and hearing the instructor's explanation, and possibly discussing the situation with other members of the class, and/or members of the involved department, the elected teaching faculty of the committee will recommend a solution. Both the student and the faculty member will have the right to appear personally before the committee and to present their views.
If the Academic Standing Board decides there is no basis to alter the grade, the process will terminate at that point. If the Academic Standing Board recommends that the grade should be changed, it will request that the instructor make the change, providing the instructor with a written explanation of its reasons. Should the instructor decline, he or she should provide an explanation in writing. The entire matter will then be referred to the six elected faculty members of the President's Advisory Board who will be the final arbiters of the case. This faculty committee will examine all available information on the dispute, meet with the student and the instructor, members of the instructor's academic department if appropriate, and others as it sees fit.
The faculty committee, after considering all the evidence, and upon concluding that it would be unjust to allow the original grade to stand, may then recommend to the Provost that the grade be changed. The Provost will provide the instructor with a copy of the recommendation and will ask the instructor to implement it. If the instructor continues to decline, the Provost will then change the grade, notifying the instructor and the student of this action. The Provost, following written instructions of the faculty committee, will effect a change in grade over the objection of the instructor who assigned the original grade.
If the student remains dissatisfied with the result of the petitioning process, he or she may request that the Registrar insert a letter in his or her academic record, describing the process and the outcome.
FYS 101 (writing)
FYS 102 (satisfies one of the GE requirements listed below and includes additional work on writing)
2 courses from the Fine Arts (two different Fine Arts disciplines must be chosen)
2 courses from the Sciences (one fulfills the lab requirement; two different Science disciplines must be chosen)
2 courses from the Social Sciences (two different Social Science disciplines must be chosen)
2 courses from the Humanities (two different Humanities disciplines must be chosen)
Foreign Language (Students will have varying amounts of course work depending upon high school language experiences and college language choices. To fulfill the requirement in a language the student took in high school, the student must complete the 211 course in that language. Should a student decide to undertake a new language, then courses 111 and 112 will fulfill the requirement.)
1 Interdisciplinary and World Issues
A student must fulfill the quantitative reasoning and oral communication requirements (see below) Students matriculating on or after August 2011 must also fulfill 1 Power and Justice requirement and 1 Interdivisional requirement (previously named Interdisciplinary and World Issues), which is now listed under the Divisional Requirements.
Denison University aspires to give students a strong foundation in the liberal arts. A liberal education provides foundation and practice in the disciplines and processes necessary to function as a free thinking human being facing the challenges of the 21st century: listening, reading, and observing; reasoning critically and quantitatively; and expressing ideas clearly and convincingly in oral discourse as well as the written word. A life based on rational and humane self-determination requires those abilities as well as the understanding of ideas and principles in diverse areas of modern knowledge.
The General Education requirements aim to ensure that students are exposed to core liberal arts competencies and to a broad range of liberal arts inquiries - social, scientific, humanistic, and artistic embraced by the faculty of Denison University. In addition, the requirements intend to expose students to a diversity of perspectives that enable them to interact more effectively in an increasingly interdependent world. Thus the General Education program comprises three parts: 1) Development of Competencies, 2) Divisional Distributions, and 3) Development of Global Perspectives.
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Development of Competencies
The first part of the General Education package is designed to develop competencies in the key liberal arts areas of a) writing, b) oral communication, and c) quantitative reasoning. The goal of the writing requirement is the development of the ability to communicate effectively through the written word. The goal of the oral communication requirement is the development of the ability to convey knowledge and insights to others through the medium of speech. The goal of the quantitative reasoning requirement is the development of the ability to formulate problems in a quantitative fashion and to apply mathematical methods to the resolution of problems.
The competency of writing will be developed in the First-Year Seminars. The goal of the First-Year Program is to develop the writing skills that are the foundation for academic success at Denison, ones that have significant impact on virtually all aspects of learning. All students are required to complete two First-Year Seminars during their first year. Seminars can be taken in any order or simultaneously. FYS 101 and FYS 102 courses are taught by faculty from all divisions, but only FYS 102 may be included as part of the divisional distribution requirements. These courses usually will not be included as part of majors or minors, but departments may make exceptions if they wish. The college will commit resources for faculty development to assist instructors in the preparation of these courses.
The General Education writing requirement will be met by the completion of FYS 101, which has as its primary focus the teaching and discussing of writing. While faculty may organize these courses around particular topics, FYS 101 will require numerous writing assignments and revisions and offer instruction in the process of writing.
The General Education oral communication requirement will be met by the completion of one course that develops competency in oral communication. The General Education quantitative reasoning requirement will be met by the completion of one course that develops competency in quantitative reasoning. These two competencies may be met by courses that satisfy other General Education requirements. Any course can be designated as a course fulfilling the oral communication designation or quantitative reasoning designation, provided it has been approved as such by both the relevant faculty person's department or program and the Academic Affairs Council. Departments are encouraged to develop such courses as part of their requirements for the major. The administration will provide resources for the development of such courses. AAC has developed standards that a course must meet in order to satisfy the oral communication or quantitative reasoning requirements.
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Divisional Distributions
To ensure that students are exposed to a broad range of inquiries characteristic of the liberal arts, each student must take at least two courses from each of the four divisions of the Denison University curriculum. For the purpose of this part of the General Education program, the divisions of the University are divided as follows:
Usually, courses that are cross-listed will be applied toward the division that is aligned with the departmental home of the instructor. An instructor or the divisional representative may petition the Academic Affairs Council regarding the divisional placement of a course.
Courses fulfilling the Fine Arts divisional distribution will address the historical development and appreciation of fine art expression and/or develop sensitivity to the process of artistic creativity. Standard three-credit and four-credit courses from Art, Cinema, Dance, Music, and Theatre may be used to fulfill this area. Each of the fine arts divisional requirements may be met by a series of related fine arts experiences from the same department, totaling four credit hours (for example, 4 semester hours of private music lessons, or 4 semester hours of music ensembles, or two two-credit technique courses in Dance, or 4 semesters of Theatre 333, 334, 335).
The two courses in Humanities will engage students in the investigation of important areas of humanistic inquiry, such as the exploration of the human imagination, the interpretation of literary texts, the analysis of the dynamics of historical and cultural development, and the consideration of issues central to the meaning of human existence and the nature of reality. These courses will develop an understanding and appreciation of our common literary, cultural, historical, philosophical and religious heritage.
Selections from the Science Division will contain a significant quantitative component and must include at least one course with a laboratory. The science division wishes to develop in students not only an understanding of some of the natural laws that govern both life and physical sciences, but also some insight into the role of the scientific method and data analysis.
The division of the Social Sciences will include opportunities in Communication, Economics, Education, Physical Education, Political Science, and Sociology & Anthropology. These courses will attempt to develop understanding of the principles of social structures while introducing students to political, social, and economic phenomena that are becoming increasingly complex in a modern industrial world.
Fine Arts: Art, Cinema, Dance, Music, and Theatre Humanities: Classics, English, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Religion Sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geosciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychology Social Sciences: Communication, Economics, Education, Physical Education, Political Science, and Sociology and Anthropology -
Global Perspectives
The Global Perspectives part of the General Education program has two components. The first component is the Foreign Language requirement. At a minimum, all students must complete an elementary year of Foreign Language 111-112 at college level. Students who have studied a language in high school and who wish to continue study of that language at Denison in order to fulfill this requirement will, however, be expected to complete three semesters of that language (i.e., to pass or demonstrate proficiency in the language at the 211 level). All entering students who have studied a foreign language in high school must take the appropriate placement test during the orientation period. Any courses taken to fulfill the foreign language requirement will not count in the divisional distribution requirements.
The second component of Global Perspectives requires students to take one course from the Interdisciplinary and World Issues category. Interdisciplinary and World Issues is a requirement that exposes students to issues and perspectives related to race, gender, class and sexuality, to aspects of societies outside the dominant influence of Europe and North America, or to environmental issues. Students may fulfill the requirement from a course in or cross-listed with one of the following programs and concentrations: Black Studies, East Asian Studies, Environmental Studies, International Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Queer Studies, Women's Studies. This course may not be used to fulfill divisional requirements at the same time that it fills the Interdisciplinary and World Issues requirement.
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The Academic Affairs Council may determine that a course, or a particular class of courses (e.g., two-hour courses, activity courses), does or does not satisfy a specific requirement.
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A discipline may count only once towards a student's divisional requirements. Honors courses are placed in the home discipline of the instructor.
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Departments or programs may ask either to remove certain of their courses from satisfying a particular General Education requirement or to reassign certain of their courses to a different General Education category. Requests must be submitted to AAC and must explain those aspects of the course that justify removal or reassignment.
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Routinely FYS 101 and FYS 102 courses would not count in the major or minor. The intention of excluding these courses from the major is to release instructors from the obligation of including certain fundamental concepts important to the instructor's discipline, which may come at the expense of the best pedagogy for a First-Year Seminar or the elimination of some ingredient that is critical for the goals of the First-Year Seminar program. However, departments are allowed to make exceptions to this rule and count an FYS course towards a major or minor, if the course meets the goals of the FYS program.
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Interdisciplinary and World Issues courses may count towards a student's major. Departments are encouraged to develop major courses that fulfill these requirements.
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An Honors seminar for first-year students may replace FYS 102.
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Departments offering a BA degree may require no more than 56 hours (14 courses), nor may a student earning a BA degree elect to have more than 56 hours (14 courses) count toward the 127 hours required for graduation. This ensures that students will have the opportunity to experience the broad diversity of offerings the college has to offer. Required cognates would not be included in this "56 Hour" rule. Interdepartmental BA degrees may require no more than 68 hours (17 courses).