IV. Instructional Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures

Section 5 of the Miami University Policy and Information Manual details all facets of academic freedom and responsibility. All instructional staff are expected to be aware of these policies and guidelines. Highlights of the section include the following policies:

Attendance and Absence Statement

Instructional Staff
One of the primary obligations of all members of the instructional staff is to meet all class engagements for which they are scheduled. Class absences by instructors are normally justified on professional, medical, or bona fide emergency grounds.

An instructor who expects to be absent from any classes should obtain prior authorization of the Chair, Coordinator, or the Executive Director of the appropriate regional campus. Emergency absences should be reported to the appropriate Chair, Coordinator, or the Office of the Executive Director immediately.

Faculty who anticipate being absent should plan ways of providing relevant educational experiences during such absences.

Members of the instructional staff shall conduct the entire meeting of each class before and after each vacation period unless excused by the Chair or the Executive Director. (University Senate regulations, June 8, 1950; amended by University Senate April 28, 1987).

NOTE: Under normal circumstances authorization should first be obtained from the Academic Coordinator or Campus Department Chair who will then forward the authorization request to the Executive Director.

Students
Miami University does not have a general class attendance regulation. All students are expected to attend every class session of the courses for which they are registered. The determination of individual class attendance requirements and their enforcement rest with each individual instructor.

Instructors are expected to inform their classes of the attendance requirements and of the circumstances or conditions under which absences will be excused. A student who does not attend regularly or who fails to meet the attendance requirements of the instructor may be reported to the Registrar and dropped from the course with a grade of "F", with written notification being sent to the student. A student may not subsequently drop this course without a grade of "F".

Sick Leave and Emergencies

1. Sick leave is the authorized absence of an employee from regular duties because of illness, injury, pregnancy, exposure to contagious disease, family health situations requiring attendance of the employee, health care appointments or death in the immediate family. Leave for the non-medical care of a newborn child must be requested and will be approved without pay for up to six months, during which time the University will continue to provide applicable benefits.

2. Each full-time unclassified administrative or instructional staff member who works nine or more months per year earns fifteen days of sick leave per contract year. Staff members who work less than nine months earn sick leave at a rate of 1 1/2 days per month. Staff members who work less than full time earn sick leave on a pro rated basis. Unused sick leave entitlement is cumulative without limit.

3. A staff member is expected to report an absence promptly when normal duties cannot be performed and sick leave is being used. A consecutive period of sick leave use includes all days an individual is normally expected to work, whether or not the individual has scheduled responsibilities.

   1. When a member of the unclassified administrative or instructional staff uses sick leave, the department/office supervisor or chair is responsible for maintaining records and reporting this information to the appropriate personnel unit by the following July 1. The Executive Director is responsible for keeping appropriate records and making the annual report for all persons working at the Middletown Campus.

   2. If a member of the instructional staff makes arrangements acceptable to the department chair or other supervisor for a colleague (without additional expense to Miami University) to perform the staff member's duties during an absence, this absence will not be charged against the individual's accumulated sick leave; in no case, however, will such an arrangement exceed one month or the remainder of the then current semester, whichever is greater.

4. The University may require appropriate evidence for the use of sick leave.

Class Meeting Expectations and Regulations

At the beginning of a semester or summer term each faculty member is requested to prepare and to distribute to each student in the class a syllabus including (1) a schedule of the days when classes will meet and (2) a listing of the faculty member's office hours.

Classes are to be held per published schedule. The first class meeting is not to be an abbreviated session and faculty members should make a special effort to assure that there is full student attendance immediately prior to vacation breaks or holidays.

If a faculty member must miss a class meeting because of a professional meeting, appropriate coverage must be made, usually by a Middletown or an Oxford colleague. The Chair or Coordinator shall be informed of substitute plans.

Class Cancellation Due to Inclement Weather

It is Miami's policy to hold classes as scheduled, except during emergency situations. In the event of severe weather, the University Provost, in consultation with appropriate personnel on each campus, decides whether classes will be held or canceled. If classes are to be canceled, a decision will be made by 6 a.m. for daytime classes and 3 p.m. for evening classes. The University News Bureau on the Oxford Campus and the Public Relations Office, Middletown Campus will inform area radio stations of the decision.

Listen to the major Cincinnati stations, or to

	WPFB-AM 910 
	WPFB-FM 105.9 
	WOFX-FM 94.9 
	WMOH-AM 1450 
	WOXY-FM 97 
	WMUB-FM 88.5 
	WONE-AM 980 
	WHIO-FM 99.1
	

Final Examinations

Semester examinations are required to be given during the scheduled examination week at the end of the term. During the regular academic year, no hourly exams or quizzes are to be scheduled during the week preceding the final examination week. Final examinations are expected in all undergraduate courses except where other evaluative substitute procedures have been approved by the department chair or dean of the division. Final examinations or duly approved substitutions may be completed during the final examination week. Neither final examinations nor tests of fifty (50) minutes or of greater length shall be given during the seven calendar days preceding the first study day of the final examination period. The above regulations do not apply to laboratory final examinations. No final examination, including a laboratory final examination, may be given during study days. Final examinations in accelerated or sprint courses that end with the last week of classes must be given during the final examination week. Exceptions to these rules require the approval of the Chair or Coordinator, Executive Director, and the Provost.

Mid-semester Grades
Mid-semester grades are a vehicle for giving timely feedback on academic performance to first-year students during their initial semester at Miami. Mid-semester grades provide students with an opportunity to assess their performance while there is time to improve before receiving official grades that will remain permanently on their records. Mid-semester grades are not recorded on the student's academic record. The Registrar will distribute mid-semester grades to students and the Coordinator of Retention Services. The Coordinator of Retention Services will contact students with grades below "C" to discuss the grade and to describe the services available in the Office of Learning Assistance.

Office Hours for Instructional Staff

Each faculty member is expected to establish and maintain regular office hours in order to be readily available to students and other staff. On or near the beginning of the semester a form will be circulated by the Faculty Support office on which each individual's office hours can be indicated. A minimum of seven hours spread throughout the academic week shall be listed.

The Faculty Support office will then compile a master list of office hours and:

1. Send a copy to the Executive Director and members of all faculty and staff.

2. Post these schedules outside the Faculty Support offices.

 

Teacher/Course Evaluation Process

All faculty should have their classes evaluated by students on a regular basis, i.e., at least two courses per year. These evaluations shall be conducted in such a manner as to insure credibility and integrity:

When student/teacher evaluation forms are utilized by the instructor, a student in the class should be charged with collecting the forms and sealing them in an envelope.

The sealed envelope should immediately be returned by the student to the location designated by the campus department or coordinatorship. The envelope will then be sent to the Computer Center in Oxford. After scoring, the Computer Center will forward the scores to the Chair. Information normally is also shared with the Executive Director. Forms and information are returned to the faculty member by the Chair after final grades for the semester are submitted.

When used exclusively for faculty self-improvement, the faculty member may administer his or her own evaluation instruments and utilize the results before final grades are submitted.

Policy Prohibiting Harassment and Discrimination

See Miami University Policy and Information Manual, Section 3.6