General Academic Policies

Office Hours

It is especially important in a small school like Centre that members of the Faculty be readily available to students for counseling and assistance outside the classroom during the working hours of the five academic days of the week. Faculty members are expected to be available for appointments with students and to post and keep reasonable and regular office hours. Although there is no specific requirement, it is recommended that full-time members of the Faculty maintain a schedule of at least five occasions each week when they will regularly be available to students for consultation. When it is not possible to keep their scheduled office hours, instructors should post a note to that effect on their office door.

Syllabi and Course Expectations

While a precise and detailed syllabus may not be appropriate to every course, every instructor must in every course communicate to students, in oral and written form, the objectives of the course, the basis upon which the student will be graded, attendance policies and expectations, policies regarding late assignments and make-up work, as well as other pertinent information, including anticipated dates for completed papers and announced tests and quizzes. A written or electronic copy of these policies and expectations must be filed with the instructor's program chair.

Course Prerequisites

Although students are responsible for knowing prerequisites for courses in which they are enrolled, instructors should make every effort to announce the prerequisites listed in the College catalog for each of their courses during the first two weeks of class. Prerequisites may, in some cases, be waived by the instructor. In making a determination in such a case, the instructor should consult with the student's advisor and with the Registrar's Office.

Class Rosters

Instructors should carefully check the rosters of their classes at the beginning of the term and immediately report to the Registrar any discrepancy between the list and the students attending. A student who is not properly registered will not receive credit. Class rosters are available on CentreNet after registration (early May for fall term and mid-November for CentreTerm and spring term.) Entering first-year students are normally put in classes by early August.

Scheduled Class Meetings

Except for make-up classes, no class meetings should be arranged outside of regularly scheduled hours without the permission of the Associate Dean of the College. In the event that a class must be rescheduled, instructors should make every effort to hold the make-up meeting at a time when every student in the class will be able to attend. Instructors may need to schedule two make-up sessions in order to accommodate their students. No class time should be scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday as these times are reserved for athletics team practices.

Instructor's Absences

Members of the Faculty are expected to meet their classes on schedule in the designated location. Instructors who anticipate that they will be unable for good reason (i.e., jury duty, attendance at a professional meeting) to meet with their class should inform their Division Chair and reschedule the class or make arrangements with a colleague to substitute. Instructors who must absent themselves from their classes because of illness or another unforeseen eventuality should telephone the secretary in their office building who will both inform the Division Chair and post notices for their students at the rooms where their classes are scheduled to meet. Excessive absences for professional meetings and activities should be avoided.

In the event of severe weather where faculty members feel that it is unsafe for them to make it to campus and convene class, those faculty will notify students by email at least one hour prior to class time with assignments and arrangements for making up the missed class.  For more information see Inclement Weather Policy. 

Faculty members should consult with the Dean of the College before taking an extended sick leave. All efforts must be made to serve the students and maintain the teaching load.

Student Attendance

1. Students at Centre College are individually responsible for class attendance, but instructors may impose attendance requirements appropriate to any course. Instructors shall explain to students at the beginning of each course their expectations and grading policies with regard to attendance at class meetings.
2. Instructors shall make a reasonable effort to warn any student whose absences seem adversely to affect his or her standing in the course. It is effective to put such warnings in written form with a copy to the Associate Dean. At the December 18, 1984, Executive Committee meeting the following policy was reaffirmed unanimously, namely, that instructors should report to the office of the Associate Dean the names of students who have a pattern of excessive absences in a course including those who are absent three consecutive times. The Assistant Dean or Associate Dean will follow up with inquiries to other instructors, to the advisor, and to the student.
3. Instructors will keep an accurate record of each student's attendance, which will be available to the student, the Faculty advisor, and the officers of the College. In addition, instructors will report on the grade summary sheet at the end of each term the number of class sessions missed by each student, so that a record can be kept of the correlation between attendance and grades. Instructors are also asked to report to the Associate Dean or the Assistant Dean the names of those students who are absent from class excessively, including those who are absent three consecutive times.
   1. Excessive absences, that is, missing more than one-third of a term's total class meetings in one or more classes, are grounds for immediate suspension from the College.
   2. Students who miss more than one-third of a term’s class meeting days due to illness may be required to take a medical withdrawal from the College if the Associate Dean and the student’s instructor agrees that the student will not be able to successfully makeup the missed work in the class.
4. Prompt attendance at all classes and exercises is expected. The penalty for tardiness is left to the discretion of the instructor.
5. Subject to term-by-term review, the Faculty imposes no extraordinary penalties for absences from classes which meet immediately prior to or following College vacations or recesses. However, students are reminded that these class periods are integral parts of the term and are thus no less suitable for tests and other work than are other class periods throughout the term.
6. No student may, because of participation in College-sponsored activities, miss more than an hour of class time for each hour of academic credit assigned to a course (for example, three hours of class time in a three-hour course). In four-hour laboratory courses, students may miss three hours of class time and one laboratory session. Students participating in two intercollegiate sports in the same term may miss one additional class meeting, but not an additional laboratory session. This policy applies only to participation in varsity sports, and does not include non-traditional season. In the first two weeks of the term, the athletics director should send written notification to the Associate Dean and instructors of a student’s two-sport participation and the travel dates for all away contests in both sports. To be excused from any additional class meetings, a two-sport athlete may petition the Associate Dean, through the athletics director, at least one week in advance of the proposed absence. The Associate Dean will survey the student’s instructors to determine if the proposed absence could cause the student’s academic standing in any class to fall to a “marginal” or “unsatisfactory” level, in which case the student would not be allowed to miss any additional classes. The Associate Dean may allow for the additional absence when the student’s academic standing is satisfactory and when any in-class assignment or exam can be made up. This absence policy for the two-sport athlete will also be applied for single sport athletes in the event that an athletic team or individual qualifies for post-season competition (SAA, NCAA, or an approved sanctioned event).
7. When a Faculty member sponsors an activity that will keep a student out of other classes, that activity must be approved by the Associate Dean. If the activity is approved as officially excused, the Associate Dean’s Office or, in the case of a sports event, the Athletic Director’s Office, will send the Faculty a list of excused participants, but it is still the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor and make the appropriate arrangements. Participation in activities not sanctioned by the Associate Dean or the Athletic Director will be assessed by the instructor, who may excuse the absence if the situation warrants it.
8. The College recognizes the profound impact of grief in the life of our students. Those students who have experienced the death of a loved one must contact the Associate Dean of the College immediately for an excused absence to attend funeral services. The Associate Dean will notify the appropriate College faculty and staff as requested by the student. Students remain responsible for making up any work missed during this time.
9. When a student misses class to observe a religious holiday, the student must notify both his or her instructors and the Associate Dean well in advance. The Associate Dean, in consultation with the College Chaplain, will determine if the absence merits an official College excuse. As is the case with all excused absences, the student must arrange with the professor to make up any work or assignments missed as a result of an excused religious observance.
10. When a student misses class because of severe illness, hospitalization, or family emergency, the Parsons Health Center, the Dean of Student Life, or the Assistant Dean or Associate Dean of the College will inform the instructor of the official excuse. Absences due to other reasons -- including illness not reported to and/or granted an official excuse by the Parsons Health Center, attendance at funerals, or participation in activities not sanctioned by the Associate Dean or Athletic Director -- should be assessed by the Faculty member who may excuse the absence if the situation warrants it.
11. All arrangements for make-up tests, late papers, and work missed because of absences are in the hands of the individual instructor. However, a student who misses the final exam or seeks an Incomplete in the course must get a medical excuse from one of the College doctors or from a physician who is not a family member and obtain clearance from the Associate Dean. Students will not be allowed to alter their exam schedules because of travel plans, job interviews, special projects, or scheduling preferences. A student who is absent from the final exam without clearance from the Associate Dean receives a "U" in the course.
12. All test proctoring reservations will be made by professors via the on-line test proctoring reservation program found at  https://centrenet.centre.edu/ICS/Academic/Academic_Affairs/Proctoring_Center/ or accessed on the CentreNet Homepage in the left hand column.  You may also bookmark the link for easier access.   Professors complete all information in the form and click on “Submit your reservation” at the bottom of the form. One reservation form is completed for each student testing reservation. An automatic email is sent to the student, with a copy to the professor, that gives date and time of the testing session for that student. You may upload an electronic version of the test (which will only be accessible by the proctor) or you may deliver a printed version of the test to the CTL office for the proctor to pick up prior to the testing session. Testing instructions or any special information should be included on this form before submitting. Following the testing session, the system will send an email to you stating that the student completed the test or did not show for the testing session. Please make note that students should not make reservations themselves because doing so will prevent the automatic email functioning and students will not have all information required on the reservation form.

Final Exams

A final examination or assessment is expected in every course. Where appropriate, an instructor may substitute a term paper or other requirement for the final examination.  Because final exam schedules are available prior to registration and are published with the schedule of classes, students will not be allowed to alter their exam schedules because of travel plans, job interviews, special projects or scheduling preferences.  A student absent without excuse from a final examination will receive a failing grade in the course. Excuses from final examinations may be granted only by the Associate Dean and only in extremely rare cases of illness or a death in the immediate family.

Faculty members may reschedule the times of their final examinations only with the permission of the Associate Dean, and only with the concurrence of every student in the course. To prevent subsequent misunderstandings, instructors should obtain the concurrence of students to such a change in a written and signed statement. An instructor may reschedule a final examination for an individual student only with the permission of the Associate Dean, and only in extremely rare and compelling cases. Such a final exam should be scheduled at the Proctoring Center by using the online reservation system at    https://centrenet.centre.edu/ICS/Academic/Academic_Affairs/Proctoring_Center/

Identification of Students with Special Problems

Members of the Faculty are expected to assist in identifying and counseling students in their classes who are having special difficulties. They should also inform their advisor.

Additional special services also may be available from the Assistant Dean for Advising with regard to various study skills, test anxiety, stress management, and motivation. 

Persistent problems, excessive absences, or three consecutive absences should be reported to the Assistant Dean for Advising or the Associate Dean. A call to the Dean of Student Life would also be helpful since academic problems are often related to problems of emotional adjustment.

The names of students who are having difficulties with their writing skills should be reported to the Chair of the Writing Committee.

Students experiencing these kinds of difficulties may also have a learning disorder, even though they are otherwise qualified for Centre College. Students with learning disorders or other recognized disabilities should contact the Assistant Dean for Advising if they wish to request accommodations. Upon receipt of a comprehensive diagnosis from a licensed specialist and after consultation with the student, the Assistant Dean will determine appropriate accommodations. The student is responsible for discussing approved accommodations with professors by showing the Accommodation Notification form provided by the Assistant Dean. Ultimately, classroom accommodations are determined by the Faculty member in consultation with the student. When a professional evaluator has recommended that a student be given extended time for tests, but has not specified the amount of extra time needed, the Faculty member may use as a guide a College norm of time-and-a-half up to double time.

Laboratory Safety

Instructors of laboratory courses are responsible for the safety of students in their laboratories. Work in a laboratory will be permitted only under the supervision of a staff member or with his or her authorization. Proper supervision of a student laboratory is the responsibility of the Faculty member in charge of that laboratory.

Laboratory work after regular school hours (8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday) and in the absence of a staff member will be permitted only when it can be shown that:

1. the presence of a staff member is not required;
2. the work cannot be carried out conveniently during regular hours; and
3. there is no safety hazard involved.

A student may be given permission to work after regular hours by having the Faculty member fill out the appropriate forms (available in the Division III office). Any conditions, such as the required presence of a second person, should be noted on the form.