Scope

All faculty on the Bloomington campus.

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Policy Statement

Bloomington Campus Procedures on Early Evaluations

Early assessment and feedback about student progress are valuable to students, faculty, and academic advisors, allowing each to make informed decisions. Early feedback is especially valuable for beginning students, as they acclimatize to the university environment, and to help promote persistence and student success. To prompt such feedback, all instructors of courses in which there beginning students enrolled, shall receive a request for an evaluation of students' academic progress in the fourth week of the regular semester, with a submission deadline of Sunday after the sixth week. The definition of a beginning student, for this express purpose, is any student who has first attended Indiana University at Bloomington during the relevant semester (for fall, summer is included in this definition), and the major semester immediately following (for fall beginners, they would be evaluated the following spring.) The evaluation may consist of observations and recommendations to the student instead of, or in addition to, a letter grade. The method by which an early evaluation is determined, and the percentage of the final grade which that evaluation represents (if the evaluation is in the form of a letter grade), are decided by the instructor. This evaluation will be accessible to the student and the student’s academic advisor.

Recognizing that ongoing evaluation of all undergraduate students is important, the faculty further recommends that all undergraduates receive a written or oral evaluation of their performance in a course as early as compatible with the nature of the course, but not later than after two-thirds of the semester has elapsed.

(Bloomington Campus Procedures on Early Evaluations section approved by Bloomington Faculty Council 12/18/09, 4/29/14, 12/1/20, 4/13/21)

Course Activities

No member of the Faculty shall have the right to require participation by a student in an activity which requires the absence of the student from regularly scheduled classes, except with the prior written approval of the teacher in charge of the regularly scheduled class. In cases of extended absences, the chair of the department or dean of the school sponsoring the activity should seek the approval.

(Course Activities section approved by University Faculty Council10/6/70)

Faculty Instructional Responsibilities

The Bloomington Faculty Council charges the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs to communicate to the faculty each semester that: In order to facilitate efficient student course selection, instructors are strongly encouraged, to the extent that it is feasible, to make basic class information available to enrolled students (via Canvas or similar course management system, by email, or by some other preferred means) at least one week prior to the semester start date as determined by the IUB Official Academic Calendar (or at least one week prior to the date of the first class meeting for any course taught outside of standard semester start dates). Suggested class information could include the general and/or specific topics the course is expected to cover; the ways in which student performance will be assessed; particular expectations regarding attendance; and anything else that might aid students in selecting the right courses for their academic pursuits.

The Bloomington Faculty Council further charges the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs to communicate to the faculty each semester that: Faculty members teaching courses have the responsibility to provide instruction as scheduled. Variations from the schedule may occur for a variety of reasons, including illness, professional activities, and pedagogical considerations. When such variations occur, it is the responsibility of the faculty member both to provide equivalent activity for the students in the course and to notify the chairperson of the department offering the course of the change in schedule.

(Faculty Instructional Responsibilities section approved by Bloomington Faculty Council 1/20/81)

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History

Note: Name of policy was changed from "Faculty Responsibilities" when policy was moved into the database in 2016.

Previous versions:

04/9/2014 - 12/1/2020

12/1/2020 - 04/13/2021

04/13/2021 - 03/04/2025

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