III. Faculty Policies, Practices, and Procedures
D. Faculty Responsibilities
Randolph Collge considers teaching excellence to be the faculty's primary responsibility. The teaching duties of the faculty member are understood to be comprised of instruction (including the production and direction of performances, when appropriate), the professional assessment of student work, and various forms of academic advising. It is the particular responsibility of senior faculty to aid junior colleagues in their development as teachers and to make their own experience and counsel available to junior colleagues.
It is also important that the faculty contribute to the intellectual life and the effective functioning of the community: (a) through active participation in the life of the community; (b) through attendance at faculty meetings and other formal functions such as Convocation, Founder's Day, and Commencement; and (c) through service on faculty and administrative committees.
The College further assumes that members of the faculty will demonstrate professional growth within their disciplines or programmatic areas through continued scholarly and/or artistic activity, and through the making public of competency in any number of ways. These may include preparation of articles, books, book reviews, performances, and exhibitions; the sharing of work in progress with one's professional peers; or presentations at professional conferences or symposia. Continuing scholarly or creative activity is of great importance to the continuing development of the faculty member and to the development and maintenance of excellent, effective teaching. The quantity of scholarly activity is not as important as is its quality.
1. Teaching Obligations. In addition to meeting classes regularly at the time assigned and in conformity with the College calendar, the faculty member shall strive for command of the subject, keeping abreast of new developments, carefully selecting appropriate teaching strategies, and encouraging questions and the expression of divergent views. For each course taught, faculty shall provide syllabi to their students containing the goals and requirements of each course, the nature of the course content, and the methods of evaluation to be employed.
2. Academic Advising. The core of academic counseling at RC is the Faculty Adviser Program which operates under the general supervision of the Dean and the Associate Dean of the College. During the orientation period and every advising period throughout the freshman year and the first semester of the sophomore year, the Faculty Adviser discusses with the student her plan of study and guides her in choosing an academic program consistent with the philosophy behind the guidelines. The Faculty Adviser should be available for counseling with the student about any academic difficulties she may encounter, and be concerned with helping the student develop sound study habits.
Each student must choose a major before the end of her sophomore year. She will then become the advisee of the chair of her major department or of another member of that department. This faculty member is responsible for general academic advising as well as for the supervision of the major program.
In order that no individual faculty member shall have more than a reasonable number of advisees (a maximum of 30, including freshmen, sophomores, and major advisees), the responsibility for advising departmental majors shall be shared by all faculty members in a department.
a. International Student Academic Advising. International students are assigned to advisers according to their enrollment status. All degree international students are assigned to faculty advisors in the same way United States students are assigned. One-year, non-degree international students are advised by the Director of International Programs with the exception of language assistants, who are advised by the chair of the department or area in which they serve.
b. General Academic Counseling. For general academic counseling, a student should consult with the Associate Dean of the College.
3. Rights and Freedoms of Students. Faculty are reminded to be especially careful to respect the rights and freedoms of students as they appear in the Student Handbook. Of particular concern to faculty are those sections, "In the Classroom" and "Student Records."
4. Outside Employment, Grants, and Contracts. Full-time membership in the faculty of RC implies a full-time relationship between the faculty member and the College. Members of the faculty should not, therefore, accept outside employment in any occupation which interferes with the thorough or proper performance of their duties. The Dean of the College shall be apprised of all outside employment. Further, faculty should not accept a teaching contract in another institution without first obtaining the permission of the Dean of the College, except engagement to teach in summer session. Faculty applying for outside grants or contracts shall contact the Dean of the College to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement concerning the relationship of the grant or contract income and responsibilities to the College before the grant or contract is submitted. (See "Sign-off Transmittal for External Applications" form in Faculty Grants: Policies, Procedures and General Information available in the office of the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations.)
5. Familiarity with Rules and Regulations. Each faculty member shall be familiar with the curriculum, graduation requirements, and all academic rules of the College. The current catalog, theStudent Handbook, and appropriate sections of the Faculty Handbook should be consulted.
