Teaching Academic and Intellectual Honesty
Academic dishonesty is an issue that requires faculty attention. The problem is pervasive. While faculty often may not wish to deal directly with the problem, it is essential that we do so. Among the actions that can be taken to help address the problem are the following: Make your policy clear: State your academic honesty policy on every syllabus or hand-out that may differ from the policy. You should state that intellectual honesty is expected and outline the consequences of cheating. This might be something like the following: a. State your expectations. For example:
* you are responsible for becoming familiar with university policies and definitions related to cheating and plagiarism.
* academic and intellectual honesty are expected in this class. b. Define dishonesty. Make the definitions explicit and be sure that issues unique to your discipline or pedagogy are identified. For example:
* any use of other people’s work without attribution of credit, handing in work done by others under your own name, copying from work done by others…constitutes academic dishonesty. Included in academic dishonesty is copying any materials from the web without identifying the sources from which they were obtained. c. Identify penalties. Faculty should note that failing grades and possible suspension from the University are permissible consequences.
* The Arts and Sciences Policies handbook states that it is the prerogative of the instructor to assign the appropriate penalty for academic dishonesty in a course. Included among the possible penalties which may be imposed by the instructor are: a reprimand, grade reduction (including assignment of a failing grade), or dismissal from the course with a failing grade. Probation, suspension or dismissal from the University may be imposed by the Dean. Measures to limit dishonesty: It makes sense to employ such measures as:
* require that draft copies of all papers be submitted along with the final version, showing editing and rewrites (granted, this is harder to do with revising typically done on word processors, but it can be done);
* require that research materials, such as note cards, be submitted along with the papers;
* let students know that you will be alert for portions of papers that are inconsistent in style with other portions;
* prepare different versions of tests and let it be known when the tests are distributed that there are different versions;
* vary assignments from semester to semester, thus making archives useless; and
* be watchful during exams. If students are copying from others or using notes, pick up their papers. Deal promptly and severely with academic dishonesty when it is detected:
Faculty must deal promptly and severely with academic dishonesty when detected. Students should have the sense that this is a serious matter. In 1991-92, the College adopted a comprehensive policy and accompanying procedures on academic integrity. See sections 2.2 and 4.6 in the Faculty Policies Handbook for definitions of academic honesty and procedures for dealing with dishonesty. Note that all instances of academic dishonesty and the actions taken by faculty members must be reported to the Department Chair and the Associate Dean. Add/Drop Policies
Students are required to validate their enrollment by attending the first class meeting for each course on their schedule. Failure to attend the first class or make prior arrangements with the professor will result in student being dropped from that course.
Please note that an undergraduate student may add a course through the first five days of the course. (In the case of a short course, students may add before the second class meeting of the course.) Students may drop a course until the midpoint of the semester (short courses, the midpoint of the class). However, after the first 10 days of the semester a grade of "W" will be recorded.
For various reasons, it is important that this form be filled out completely and with care. Comments from advisors or in-structors are very helpful in making decisions on approving or disapproving the drop/add requests. Please don't just scribble your signature on a form without looking at it. Some of our most touchy problems develop from such scribbles. Please keep accurate records of the students you add or drop from a class. Class Meeting Responsibilities and Final Exams
Classes are to meet on all days for which they are scheduled. The last meeting for each class should be the final exam. If the exam is given earlier, or if no final exam is given, the time reserved for the final may be used to return papers or for a general wrap-up. Whatever the case, classes must meet at the time and place assigned for the final exam. Computers
Computers are provided to all faculty members. Acceptance of the computer indicates a willingness to integrate the use of computer-based instructional methods to enhance the undergraduate educational experience at Drake University. When a faculty member leaves Drake, the computer that has been assigned to him or her is returned to the Dean's Office for reassignment. It should not be assumed that reassignment to the individual appointed to succeed the departing faculty member or to someone else in the department will be automatic. Grades and Incompletes
Grading procedures are described in the catalog. Among the options is the grade of Incomplete. An Incomplete (I) should be assigned only when illness or other circumstances considered legitimate by the instructor has prevented a student from completing course requirements. Faculty are urged to resist the temptation to assign an “I” when a student simply has not carried through on his or her responsibilities. It might seem that giving such a grade is doing the student a favor, but typically it is not. Complications for students, faculty, and the Dean’s Office deriving from excessive use of Incomplete grades are considerable. All grades of incomplete must be completed within one year. Faculty must complete appropriate forms available in all department offices. Change-of-grade forms are available from the departments’ secretaries, from the Dean’s Office, or from Student Records. These forms are not to be given to students. The basis and procedures for assigning and changing grades are specified in Sections 2.175 and 2.176 of the Faculty Manual of Drake University. Phonemail
In order to facilitate easy contact through phone mail, every faculty and staff member must appropriately program their phones. When setting personal greetings, please considered the following recommendations: 1) Program your Phonemail with a personal greeting. This makes it possible for your callers to be certain that their messages will reach you, while at the same time securing the messages against retrieval by others. 2) Do your callers a favor by making your greeting as crisp and to-the-point as possible. You don't need to explain to your callers that you are unable to answer the phone at that moment or that you are out of the office or away from the phone; they will probably figure that out without your assistance. Make it simple, something like this: "This is Jane Doe. You may leave a recorded message at the tone, or you may reach me through the secretary of the department by calling 271-xxxx." When calling others, do not leave messages other than "please call back" when Ms. Phonemail answers calls with the generic greeting. Read instructions to learn how to use some of the features on your phone such as transferring and forwarding calls and checking your phonemail from home. Sabbatical Leaves
Guidelines for applying for leaves are given in detail in section 3.2 in the Arts and Sciences Policies Handbook. The narrative application must be accompanied by the cover sheet (available in the Dean's Office), which gives an outline of the application. Department chairs have copies of the College-wide eligibility list. Applications are due in the Dean's Office by October 1. Sabattical Report Guidelines
a. The Sabbatical Leave Report is due to the Dean one month after the start of the academic semester following the completion of the sabbatical leave. (September 30 for Academic Year, January 31 for Calendar Year).
b. The Sabbatical Leave Report will become a permanent part of the faculty member's file and will be considered at the time of future applications for sabbatical leave.
c. Consistent with sabbatical leave approval criteria (Section 3.2.3), the Sabbatical Leave Report:
1) must provide a summary of activities and accomplishments during the sabbatical leave, including a discussion of writings or creative work completed, reports of manuscripts or artistic work submitted for publice or review, and any other personal and professional goals that were part of the proposal.
2) the benefits that the individual believes will accrue to the University/College now that the leave is completed.
3) the benefits that were derived by the individual as a result of the sabbatical. Office and Class Schedule (OCS)
These reports are submitted to the Dean's office by all faculty members no later than 2 weeks after the start of the semester. Please indicate your teaching schedule, office hours (at least five per week for full-time faculty) and times available for meetings. | 
