Draft Handbook

Change of Address FormIf you have had a change of address, phone or other information, please complete the enclosed change of address form. We need up-to-date information on your current address, telephone number(s) and email account(s) in order to maintain a viable communication link with you. Please note that BCC staff will use your Peralta email to contact you regarding all business while employed at BCC. Your contact information will be kept strictly confidential and will be used only for official college business.

Syllabus

Instructors are asked to submit an electronic version of the class syllabus for each course taught in each semester no later than the end of the first week of the semester. [directions for submission here]

Remember that your syllabus is treated as an agreement between yourself as instructor and the students in your class. It is also a record of the instructional plan you are delivering on behalf of Berkeley City College (BCC). The syllabus should be handed out at the first class meeting, and we recommend that within the first week of class you review key aspects of the syllabus with students. Ideally, the syllabus and other important class documents should be available for your students on a Moodle site for later reference. Contact Fabian Banga, our Distance Education Coordinator, at for information about getting an electronic course location website set up in Moodle.

In addition, the syllabus is becoming more important in the audit/review function of instruction by the Department of Education (related to student financial aid) and by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), our accrediting organization, (related to compliance with standards). For these purposes, please ensure that your course syllabus includes:

  • Required text materials
  • Contact information for instructor
  • Grading policy: what will be the graded work in the class and how the grade will be calculated
  • Remember that no portion of a student’s community college grades should be earned by attendance alone
  • If you want to give credit for student participation, then clearly describe how participation points can be earned
  • Shows coursework and graded activities that reflect course purpose, content and objectives as shown in the official course outline (curriculum as it has been approved by the state and is on record for the course).
  • Policies about late submission for assignments
  • Important dates (adds, drops, etc.)
  • Attendance policy
  • Cites the student learning outcomes (SLOs) for the course as they are on file in Task Stream (the online repository of SLOs for courses, programs, and the college)
  • Makes students aware of the program(s) in which this course is a part, so that students can demonstrate awareness of the goals and purposes of the course and the program(s) in which it is a part
  • It is also helpful to remind students who may need test accommodations, alternative media or class notes handouts that they will need to visit the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) Office to request these accommodations

If you would like to see samples of syllabi, the official course outline, student learning objectives (SLOs), and programs in which your class is a part ofplease contact your department chair.

Office Hours

Full-time faculty are required to schedule, post, and maintain at least five (5) office hours per week, spread over at least four days (four hours specifically scheduled, and one hour by arrangement). Part-time faculty are encouraged to hold office hours as follows: one office hour per week, if .40 load/6 equated hours or more are assigned to them in the semester. Office hours and location should be posted on the course syllabus.

In planning your hours by arrangement, please remember the general obligation to be available to students outside of class, to answer questions about assignments and grades and to deal with other class-related matters. It is important for students to know how to reach you, and to be able to have a prompt response.

[Directions for submittal of office hours here]

Book Orders – Due as soon as you receive your assignment

Please note the importance of placing text information with the Bookstore, whether you believe your students will purchase there or at some other online location. There are regulations requiring that textbook information about a class be made available to students in advance of the class start. Please submit your textbook order using the course adoption information form (available in the Berkeley City College Bookstore on the 5th floor), or let the BCC Bookstore know if you are not going to be using textbooks in your class.

Students who receive textbook vouchers need to have access to the books on campus at our bookstore. In addition, textbook rentals are now available to some degree. Students who wish to sell books back after the semester ends will want to have the BCC Bookstore as an option, and please note that early ordering by you will mean greater buy-back funds for students; your late textbook order can cost students $30 or more per book at buy-back.

ABSENCES AND SUBSTITUTES

  1. Planned Absences

It is important for the college to know of all absences for emergency purposes and student contact hour tracking. This includes planned absences as well as times when you are sick. If you are going to miss a single class, it is recommended that you cancel the class session. However, if you feel there is a need for the substitute, given the students, activities planned, or nature of the course, then a substitute rather than cancellation may be approved. See below for more information about substitutes.

If you are going to miss multiple sessions of class during the semester, or a single 3-hour class (for example, a once-per-week evening class), then plan on working with your department chair person to arrange for a substitute. We recommend that you contact your department chair early in your planning to ensure that a qualified substitute is identified and hired in time to do the work. When appropriate and possible, an arrangement should be made that allows faculty to reciprocate by substituting at a later time for the person who substituted for them. The department chair should provide the name of the selected substitute and any other necessary information to the dean. Note that if the proposed substitute has load limitations, or is without the required Faculty Service Area (FAS) qualification to teach the class, then an alternative substitute will need to be located. Guest speakers may not be used in place of substitutes. The instructor of record is expected to be present whenever there is a guest speaker for the class.

  1. Unplanned Absences

There are times when unplanned absences or late arrivals occur. In those instances, you need to physically speak to an individual – not just leave a voice mail message or send an or e-mail. If you cannot reach the contact persons listed because because your emergency takes place outside of business hours (such as a last-minute absence for an evening or weekend class), you should contact BCC Security. Afterward, follow up with an email to your dean and your department chair.

Please speak personally with one of the following staff members if you will have an unplanned absence:

  • Marilyn Montague, BCC Operator at 981-2800
  • Office of instruction staff: Donna Dorseyat 981-2871, Sylvia Espinosa at 981-2928, or Nancy Cayton at 981-2872

If you do not reach someone directly when you call to report your absence, please call:

  • BCC Security at 981-2975

After your absence, follow up with your department chair to let her or him know of your absence, and within a week of your return to BCC after the absence, complete the PCCD Leave of Absence Report (LAR) for submittal to the vice president of instruction.

ADMISSION AND RECORDS RELATED ITEMS

  1. ROSTERS

Be sure to go into your Passport faculty center to check your class roster in advance of the start of the semester. Please print your own class roster to bring to class the first day for taking roll. Check your roster online again for updates during the add period (first two weeks of class for full term classes), and communicate with students who are present in class but are not showing on the roster. Be sure to let students know that they cannot continue in your class after the add period ends unless they are enrolled and appear on your roster. This is a risk management issue as well as a regulatory issue. Also, your faculty center is where you will be required to input grades at the end of the semester. If you need assistance accessing your faculty center, contact your department chair or the district Help Desk at or (510) 587-7800.

If students have not attended by the second session of your class (and have not notified you of some difficulty causing the absence), please mark the students as no shows on your roster. Be certain to give students who are adding a deadline by which they must complete their enrollment.

Late adds: note that the office of instruction will approve late adds after the deadline only if:

  • The student has been in faithful attendance in the class since week one of the semester; and
  • There is a reason outside the student’s control why it was not possible for the student add the class in a timely fashion; and
  • All late add paperwork is complete, and contains the explanatory information (above two items); and
  • The late add is completed through the admissions and records officeimmediately after approval.

Please be certain to check your online roster after the add and drop periods are completed to catch any anomalies early. We ask that you ensure students who are not enrolled on your roster by the deadline date do not attend your class or submit work in the class.

By the census date, ensure you have dropped all no-show students. We recommend that you print a copy of your census roster for your records. Be sure to note and comply with census, attendance verification, and grade submittal deadlines and formats. Timely and accurate submissions are a part of our obligations to the state for funding. IMPORTANT NOTE: the attendance verificationroster (completed at the ¾ point of any class) is the final point at which drops can take place. Please be aware that students will have to receive a grade in your class if you do not drop them on your attendance verification roster.

If at any time during a term (even before final exams) you discover having inadvertently dropped a student who should actually continue to be enrolled in the class, please submit a completed add card right away, clearly marking it as a “request to reinstate.” NOTE: if the student dropped himself/herself, then the relevant add deadlines will apply and they cannot be added to the class.

  1. Final Grades

As a Peralta instructor, you are responsible for entering your final grades into your faculty center on Passport by the due date, and for submitting your attendance sheets and record of class assignments and tests to either or your campus admissions and records office. Please be mindful of the need to maintain accurate records for all graded work, including participation. In order to avoid later issues with students around their grades, consider providing opportunities for students to verify accumulated grade points in your class prior to the final. Remember that if students remain on your roster after the attendance verification roster (¾ point of the class), you will have to assign a grade.

Incomplete grades should only be assigned if you and the student have worked out the details for course completion (due date— generally best to give 4-6 weeks or another deadline shorter than the 1-year maximum; specific assignments; method of submission; default grade if work not done). Incompletes are to be used only for exceptional circumstances, appropriate in very limited situations when: a student has an unexpected situation, out of their control that prevents the completion of graded class work; the student has completed most of the required class work (80-85%); the student’s work that has been completed is at a satisfactory grade level or better; the work remaining to be done can be completed outside the classroom; and the instructor is able and willing to continue overseeing the student’s work until the end of the incomplete period when a grade is assigned via request for record correction form. Be sure to complete the form to assign an incomplete and retain a copy for your records.

  1. Record Corrections

Occasionally there is the need to correct a final grade assigned to a student. This is a fairly routine process when it happens after the semester in which the grade was given, and when it involved some sort of inputting or calculating error. The instructor should complete a Request for Record Correction form and attach the needed documentation (grade sheet) promptly after the need for correction was noted.

Record corrections to change students’ grades that are requested long after the semester in which the grade was assigned are more problematic. Grading integrity, transcript accuracy, and record retention issues are all subject to audit/verification. The Peralta district is extremely sensitive to audit/verification issues because record anomalies can place accreditation, qualification to offer financial aid to students, and other key operating factors at risk. For this reason, a belated record correction request will require additional documentation sufficient to withstand audit review. As a general rule, instructors should plan to provide, in addition to the detailed grade records, an explanation for how/why discovering the need for correction was delayed. There may be requests for additional information or explanation before a decision is rendered on the record correction for a belated grade change. Not many such requests result in a successful grade change.

Any record correction requests that involve changing a student’s grade from a W to a no show are considered problematic. Attendance accounting is a primary obligation of the district and college, for which faculty records must be depended on. When instructors complete their census rosters, they attest to the complete accuracy of that record. If, before the attendance verification roster submission date faculty realize there is an error, they should print their class roster, identify the necessary changes, sign, date and submit to the admissions and records office. The instructor’s census roster is relied upon by the district office in submitting its numbers to the state (for requesting state funding, etc.). For this reason, a record correction about the attendance status of a student after a semester is over places the fulfillment of the earlier obligations into question. As a general rule, instructors should plan to provide, in addition to the detailed attendance records, an explanation of how/why discovering the need for correction was delayed (and hopefully, how this is a one-time anomaly corrected for in future practice). Approval of a record correction related to the attendance status of a student is not routine and in most cases will not be approved.

  1. Length Of Time To Retain Class Records

Each instructor is obligated to retain any un-returned student work and to maintain student attendance and grade information at the conclusion of the class. Student work that is not returned to the student should be kept by the instructor for at least one year after the end of the class. Attendance and grade records should be kept for each class by the instructor for at least four years after the conclusion of the class.

If an instructor will be leaving the area or no longer teaching at BCC, it is requested that student records be boxed and returned to the office of instruction to be held in storage for the requisite amount of time.

EMAIL, MAILROOMDUPLICATING CENTER

  1. Email for Official Business

The office of instruction will use your Peralta email address for official business, and all faculty are requested to do the same. Student privacy concerns are raised when private emails are used to communicate with students about their work. When sending an email to more than one student, please use the bcc line in order to protect student privacy.

  1. Mailroom

All instructors have been provided with mailboxes, located in the mailroom on the first floor in room #155 of 2050 Center Street. Contact the business office or your department chair for the code number to access the mailroom.

  1. Mailroom: Student Submittal Of Course Work

BCC’s expectation is that instructors will arrange to have all student work presented to them in person during the class period. Instructors should also make themselves available during their office hours to receive student work, and electronic submittal is still another good option to consider for student and instructor convenience. In rare situations when the normal practice for student submittal of work cannot apply, then students should be directed to submit their work for the instructor to the mailroom. Students will not be able to go into the mailroom; instead they should leave their work in the drop box outside the mailroom. If you wish to verify delivery of student work by a certain day and time, please plan to be present at the mailroom to pick up submitted work at that time. There is no date/time stamp verification service available.