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5.1 Workload
5.2 Classroom Management
5.3 Additional Teaching Responsibilities of Faculty Members
5.4 Minimum Course Requirements
5.5 Final Examination and Grading Policy
5.6 Policy on Student Privacy
5.1 Workload
5.1.1. Faculty Teaching Load
The normal teaching load for a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member at Claremont McKenna College is four courses per academic year. For other full-time faculty, the teaching load is five courses per year.
5.1.2 Policy on Consulting, Outside Teaching & Conflict of Interest
The acceptance of a full-time appointment to the faculty of Claremont McKenna College involves a commitment which is full time; faculty members are expected to accord the College their professional loyalty and to arrange outside obligations, financial interest, and other activities so as not to conflict or interfere with this primary, overriding commitment to the College.
Nonetheless, the College also encourages the exchange of scholarly information and recognizes the importance of faculty consulting, an activity that provides government and business with expert and objective advice and that advances the competence and professional expertise of faculty members by keeping them abreast of the latest developments in their fields. However, consistent with the College’s Policy on Conflict of Interest , such work should not interfere with their primary duties at the College; such work should not involve an average of more than one day per week while the College is in session; and such work should not involve the use of the name of the College.
The College strongly discourages faculty from teaching courses at other institutions for compensation during the academic year. Approval to do so will rarely be given and requires the prior approval of the Dean of the Faculty. Approval will be given only in cases of serious financial exigency of the faculty member, or an unusual need of another Claremont College to fill a temporary faculty shortage to cover a specific course.
These restrictions do not apply to the summer months, nor to courses offered outside of CMC as part of an arrangement of a faculty member’s usual course load as governed by the Dean of the Faculty. For atypical situations, the Dean of the Faculty’s Office may be consulted on an individual basis.
Administration Committee
March 2000
Revised November 2005
5.1.3 CGU Courses
Faculty members who are asked to teach courses at the Claremont Graduate University must make the request known to their department chair and the Dean of the Faculty. The requests are subject to the condition that the department approve of the arrangement. Normally, CGU will pay a replacement cost as negotiated between the CGU Provost and the CMC Dean of the Faculty. Even if those conditions are met, the Dean of the Faculty is the final authority for approving all such requests from CMC faculty members.
5.1.4 Course Buyout Policy
If individual tenure-line faculty members wish to buy out a course, either with personal or external funds, the cost will be 20 percent of their base salary paid to the College for one course or 40 percent of their base salary for two courses.
Faculty members who buy out a course are expected to fulfill all other obligations such as student advising and membership on committees. Faculty members on unpaid leave are not expected to fulfill these obligations. For additional information, see Chapter 7 Leaves outlining the College’s leave policies.
All requests for buyouts are to be submitted to the chair of the department and the Dean of the Faculty. The chair will make a recommendation to the Dean of the Faculty about replacement needs arising from the requested buyout. Requests will normally be made one full semester before the buyout.
5.1.5 Convocations and Assemblies
Faculty members are expected to attend College convocations and assemblies and participate in academic processions. For faculty members who do not own their own academic regalia, the office of the Dean of the Faculty will provide regalia free of charge with prior notice.
5.1.6 Curriculum
Proposals by the departments or programs to add or change courses are considered by the Curriculum Committee. Proposals must be submitted to the Dean of the Faculty’s Office using the online Request for New or Revised Course Form.
5.1.7 Faculty Absences
Faculty members are requested to report to the Dean of the Faculty any absence for which substitute instruction is required, with details or arrangements for coverage. Absences, occasioned by illness or other emergencies, should be reported to the Dean of the Faculty and to the chair of the department as soon as possible. An illness that requires an extended leave of absence may be covered under one of the College’s leave provisions. For additional information, see Chapter 7 Leaves .
5.2 Classroom Management
5.2.1 Minimum Class Size
Courses may be canceled if fewer than six CMC students pre-register. Exceptions may be made when a course is being offered for the first time, or when a faculty member’s other classes are large, or when there is a pressing curricular reason for offering a class.
5.2.2 Auditors
Faculty may decide when and whether to admit auditors in their courses, in accordance with CMC’s auditing policy. Auditing is an informal arrangement between a faculty member and a student, and the College maintains a program for Senior Auditors.
5.2.3 Expulsion of Students From the Classroom
Before expelling a student permanently from a course for disciplinary reasons, a faculty member should discuss the matter with the Dean of Students. Requesting a student to leave a single class session is discretionary with the instructor.
5.2.4 Smoking in Classrooms
By state law, no smoking is permitted in classrooms or offices.
5.2.5 Student Experience Surveys
Faculty must provide time in class (approximately 10 minutes is recommended) for students to complete the student experience surveys. Please notify the students as to what date you have chosen and ask them to bring a mobile device from which they can access their email (smart phone, iPad, laptop, etc.). If students indicate they do not have a mobile device iPads can be requested by submitting a request to the ITS helpdesk.
Student experience surveys are only one input into the evaluation of teaching. They are useful for flagging potential teaching excellence or concerns through anomalously high or low scores only. Their uses and limitations were explored by the Ad Hoc Student Evaluations Committee in their 2021 report.
Approved by the Faculty March 3, 2023
5.3 Additional Teaching Responsibilities of Faculty Members
5.3.1 Academic Advising
The faculty advisor system is a vital part of the College’s system of counseling and advising students. All students have at least one faculty advisor responsible for counseling them in academic matters. To this end, each faculty member should be closely familiar with the Statement of Academic Policy, general education, and departmental requirements. On occasion, the Academic Standards Committee or the Dean of Students may ask an individual member of the faculty to undertake a special advisory role for students in academic distress.
5.3.2 Course Scheduling
The attention of the faculty is drawn to the regularly scheduled class hours which have been agreed upon by all the undergraduate colleges. Those hours may be found on this list of 5C Common Approved Course Timeslots.
It is important that classes be distributed evenly among those hours, or serious conflicts will arise for students in planning their schedules. Departments should utilize all the regularly available hours and avoid excessive use of “popular” hours. Deviation from these hours and the scheduling of classes at unusual hours forces students to choose between classes and worthwhile extracurricular activities.
5.3.3 Independent Studies
Faculty members may develop independent studies with qualified students. The normal limit of independent studies for a faculty member in one semester, however, should not exceed a total of five. A registration form is required for all independent studies. The instructor should assist the student in completing this form and preparing the bibliography and outline of research; the provisions for meeting with the student should also be indicated. The student should return the form to the Registrar’s Office.
5.3.4 Office Hours
Faculty should hold a minimum of two office hours per week. Times should be posted, and faculty members should be present at those times. Students unable to see faculty members during posted hours should be able to make separate appointments.
5.4 Minimum Course Requirements
5.4.1 Course Requirements
All courses should provide students with several opportunities to measure their progress. Generally, this means a course would require a mid-term examination, a substantial term paper or several shorter papers, and a final examination. In courses where some of these may be inappropriate - for example, where the subject matter is not well handled in a term paper - other graded requirements should be used. Faculty should supply students with graded feedback prior to the deadline to withdraw from classes mid-semester.
5.4.2 Work Load in Classes
While CMC does not award academic credit based on a contact hour or credit hour formula, a course unit at CMC is considered the equivalent of four semester hours or six quarter hours for conversion purposes at schools on such systems. Each course is typically scheduled to meet in person for at least 150 minutes per week, although the number of actual hours spent in class or in the laboratory may exceed 150 minutes depending on the subject matter and the level of the course. CMC does not award additional course units for extra class meetings, practica, film screenings, labs, or other additional academic obligations that supplement the standard course meeting. Students are expected to study a minimum of two to three hours for every hour in class; far more may be required depending on the subject matter and preparation required for a particular course.
5.4.3 Syllabi and Course Announcements
Students should receive a course syllabus and reading list at the beginning of the semester. Syllabi should include information about the learning outcome goals of the course, a schedule of assignments, and a clear explanation of how grades will be calculated. Syllabi should also include a reference to CMC’s policies on academic integrity. Although academic freedom offers wide latitude, faculty members are expected to fundamentally adhere to the syllabus and published content of their courses.
5.4.4 Attention to Writing Skills
Students at the College are expected to write competently. All courses, to the extent possible, should therefore require papers and examinations that test students’ writing abilities, and faculty members should give students careful and detailed explanations of their writing deficiencies. Students who require more instruction in writing should make regular appointments at The Center for Writing and Public Discourse. Faculty should inform themselves of how to best support student writing.
5.5 Final Examination and Grading Policy
5.5.1 Final Examination Schedule
Final examination schedules are published prior to registration. Students expect final examinations to occur as scheduled, and they cannot be changed by the instructor. Only the Dean of the Faculty may change final examination dates. No tests of any kind are to be scheduled during the last week of classes before final exams. (Exception: final examinations may be scheduled during the last week of classes for seniors graduating in May.)
5.5.2 Proctoring of Examinations
All tests and examinations on which a grade may be based should be proctored by a faculty member and precautions taken to discourage cheating.
5.5.3 Plagiarism and Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty
Please consult the Statement of Academic Policy and Statement of Academic Integrity. All faculty members have the responsibility to report suspected cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee (ASC) when they reasonably suspect that a student may have committed an academic integrity violation. The ASC can impose suspension or expulsion and/or may recommend a grade penalty. Final authority over grades remains with the instructor.
5.5.4 Grading
Grades must reflect differences in the quality of the course work performed by students. Faculty members must therefore exercise the most careful judgment in assigning grades. Graded work should be evaluated and returned in a timely manner. CMC assigns the following grades on a 4 point scale:
GRADE POINTS
A 4 points
A- 3.67 points
B+ 3.33 points
B 3 points
B- 2.67 points
C+ 2.33 points
C 2 points
C- 1.67 points
D+ 1.33 points
D 1 point
D- 0.67 points
Fail 0 points
If a student takes a course on a “credit/no credit” or pass/not passed basis, the student must do work of C or better to receive credit. No credit is given for work below C.
5.5.5 Mid-Term Grade Reports
Mid-term grade reports indicate unsatisfactory progress in a course to students, their academic advisors, and in some cases, their families. Mid-term examinations are therefore particularly important, and faculty members should be sure to report midterm low grades to the Registrar by the scheduled date.
5.5.6 Reporting of Grades to the Registrar
Faculty must submit grades (both mid-term and final) to the Registrar by the scheduled deadlines. Grades may be submitted online or on paper. Faculty may not assign grades of “incomplete” or “withdrawn”: those grades may only be assigned by the Academic Standards Committee when students have received approval. Any questions regarding grading should be directed to the Registrar.
5.5.7 Grade Changes
Grades may be changed only for computational and judgmental errors made by the instructor in a signed and dated memorandum to the Registrar explaining in detail why the change was made. A faculty request for a grade change that affects a decision made by the Academic Standards Committee must be approved by that committee. No grades can be changed after one year from the end of the semester in which the course was offered. A student who disputes a grade which the instructor is convinced is fair and accurate should see the Dean of the Faculty.
5.6 Policy on Student Privacy
Claremont McKenna College complies with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the College or its employees from releasing educational information about students (including grades) to third parties (including parents) without the prior written consent of the student. Faculty members must comply with all federal laws, state laws, agreements with third parties, and College policies and principles pertaining to the use, protection, and disclosure of various types of confidential, proprietary, and private information. Such policies apply even after the faculty member’s relationship with CMC ends. Questions concerning information about or the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act should be referred to the Registrar’s office.
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