Office Hours
It is especially important in a small school like Centre that members of the faculty be readily available to students for academic advising 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. Full-time members of the faculty will maintain a schedule of at least five hours per week when they will regularly be available to students for consultation. When it is not possible to keep their scheduled office hours, instructors will inform their students of any changes to their schedule.
Syllabi and Course Expectations
Every instructor must in each 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. Instructors may not require course work, even “extra credit” work, to be completed before the first class meeting, with the exception of study abroad or study away courses that may require the submission of some pre-work after Finals Week of the previous term. A written or electronic copy of these policies and expectations must be filed with the instructor's division 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.
Attendance and Excused Absences
Student Attendance
- Students are expected and encouraged to attend all class meetings at Centre College. Being present is essential to the full learning experience – your own as well as your peers – that we value and offer at Centre College.
- Instructors are expected to track attendance, keeping a record of who is absent for every class meeting. The number of class absences is reported with final grades at the end of the term; for this report it does not matter whether an absence is excused or not – an absence is an absence.
- By stipulation of the Course Approval subcommittee of CCAS (Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards), participation may be a factor in course grades, but points should not be awarded simply for attending class.
- If a student misses one week of consecutive class meetings (three MWF, two TR) and they have not been in touch, please submit a Student Notice through Navigate or the Report a Concern tile on CentreNet (which will take you to Navigate).
Excused Absences
The College has created a system to recognize some absences from class as excused. An excused absence provides a student the right to submit graded work for that class meeting early or late on a timeline agreed upon in consultation with the instructor. If the exact work cannot be made up, a substitute assignment may be identified or that component of the course grade may be waived, again in consultation between student and instructor. Some excused absences are provided by various College offices, while others are under the purview of instructors. Please note that an instructor may excuse any absence from a class meeting at their discretion.
Anytime a student does not attend a class, they are expected to communicate with their professor. With the exceptions of sudden illness or true emergencies, the student should inform the professor prior to the missed class for an absence to be excused and to establish plans for making up work. Please share this expectation with your students, including whether you expect such notice for excused absences provided by a college office.
If you have questions, please be in touch with your division chair and/or associate dean. Here are some more details about particular circumstances.
Instructors are asked to manage responses to absences when:
- A student is ill and there is no major graded assessment in your course. Please manage the student’s absence as best possible based on the information the student shares with you.
- Grief/bereavement. The College recognizes the profound impact of grief in the life of our students. For support, students may contact the Chaplain of the College, the Associate Dean of Student Well-Being, or the Assistant Dean of Student Well-Being , who can connect them to resources. For academic work, students should be in touch with their professors to work out accommodations.
- Religious holidays conflict with class. The Chaplain shares a list of Religious Holidays, and students should be encouraged to self-identify and self-advocate as appropriate to their personal or family practices. If you need assistance with these, please be in touch with the Chaplain.
- Family emergencies occur. Please manage the student’s absence and provide an excused absence or not based on the information the student shares with you as best possible.
For all of these cases, please feel free to consult with your division chair and/or associate dean as you have questions or might need assistance.
College offices provide notification of excused absences due to:
- Some instances of student illness.
- Student’s absence due to illness should be approached with concern for the student’s health and support for the student’s efforts to make up missed work.
- If no major graded assessment falls on a day missed due to illness, please manage the student’s absence as best possible based on the information the student shares with you. Do not require your student to seek an excuse from Student Health or the Dean’s Office.
- Athletics competition. The Athletics Office sends emails to instructors identifying when a student-athlete is excused due to competition. The goal is to send these out a week in advance, although sometimes last-minute changes happen due to injury. The general guideline is that up to three absences for athletic competition are excused during the regular season. Additional excused absences may occur because of last minute circumstances and/or post-season competition; these are determined by consultation between the Athletics Director and Associate Dean.
- Certain College and Extramural Events are approved through the Associate Dean. Typical such events include presenting at or attending conferences and contributing to Norton Center productions. These should be requested at least a week before the event.
- Title IX. Sometimes students need an excused absence or test accommodations as a supportive measure under Title IX. The Title IX Coordinator informs instructors when an academic support measure is deemed appropriate. If longer term academic accommodations are needed, the Title IX Coordinator will work with the Academic Affairs Office to determine reasonable supportive measures. Instructors should contact the Title IX Coordinator if they have questions about appropriate accommodations.
- If an absence due to illness results in missing a major assessment as identified on your syllabus (e.g., exams, papers, presentations, quizzes, and reflections), you may ask the student to seek an excuse from Student Health or a health-care professional prior to class, if possible. If the illness is sudden, they may not be able to obtain an excuse prior to class, but direct them to contact Student Health immediately, who will communicate with you if the student’s illness is verified. If a student shows up for a major assignment, and is clearly too ill to complete the assignment, you may excuse them based on your own observation. You may suggest that they call for an appointment with a healthcare provider but an excuse from that provider will not be necessary.
Instructor Attendance
Instructors are expected to meet their classes in-person as scheduled. If you know in advance that you will miss class for a justified reason (e.g., jury duty, attendance at a professional meeting) you should inform your Division Chair and let them know how you will make up the missed class time and/or your arrangements with a colleague to substitute.
Instructors who must miss a class meeting because of illness or some unforeseen reason (such as a family emergency) should send an email or other notice ASAP to their students informing them the class will not be meeting as scheduled. Instructors should also inform their Division Chair, who will arrange for notices to be posted on the doors of their classrooms. As best possible, instructors are encouraged to think about how they will enable their students remote or make-up learning despite not being able to be physically present in class.
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 Director of the Centre Learning Commons 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 Director of Student Academic Support. 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 Director of the Centre Learning Commons if they wish to request accommodations. Upon receipt of a comprehensive diagnosis from a licensed specialist and after consultation with the student, the Director of the Centre Learning Commons will determine appropriate accommodations. The student is responsible for discussing approved accommodations with professors by showing the Accommodation Notification form provided by the Director of the Centre Learning Commons. 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:
- the presence of a staff member is not required;
- the work cannot be carried out conveniently during regular hours; and
- 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.