AACC Psychology Part-Time Faculty Manual

This manual contains key information about college policies, college resources, and other material relevant to part‑time instructors in the Psychology Department. To suggest corrections or revisions to the manual, please email Matt Patton at mmpatton1@aacc.edu.

Directory and Department Information

Contact information

Rachelle Tannenbaum, department chair
Office:
CRSC 154
Phone:
410-777-2060
Email: retannenbaum@aacc.edu

Matt Patton, coordinator of part-time faculty
Office: CRSC 142
Phone: 410-777-7177
Email: mmpatton1@aacc.edu

Mary Greene, office manager
Office:
CRSC 131
Phone:
410-777-2649
Email:
megreene@aacc.edu

Janet Love, instructional coordinator
Office: HUM 215J
Phone: 410-777-7261
Email: jklove@aacc.edu

Faculty mailboxes

Where you get mail depends on where you teach:

·         Arnold: Mailboxes are in the Social Science office (CRSC 131) unless you make other arrangements with Mary Greene.

·         Arundel Mills: AMIL 207—mail is filed alphabetically in the large file cabinet just inside the suite door.

·         Glen Burnie Town Center or Meade High School: Make arrangements with Mary Greene.

·         If you teach online only: Mail will be sent to your home address.

·         If you teach both at Arnold and elsewhere, then you will get all your mail on the Arnold campus.

Part-time faculty offices

There is a part-time faculty office in CRSC 133 (next to the departmental office). This office has desks, phones, and computers that you can use. There's also a small refrigerator. Because there are so many people that share this office, it is important that all faculty respect the others who are in there.

There are some part-time faculty offices scattered around the Arnold campus in other buildings.  There is also some office space at GBTC and Arundel Mills—see off-site location information for details.

AACC email accounts

The college will automatically assign you an email address. This address and your Canvas messages are the only addresses you may use in communicating with students. In addition, your AACC address is the only email address that we (Rachelle, Matt, etc.) will use during the semester. Therefore, it is critical that you check this email a minimum of three times per week.

AACC voice mail

Many faculty members understandably do not want to give students their personal phone numbers. If you are one of those faculty members, please do not give students the main office phone number as a way to reach you. Instead, see Mary about signing up for a college voice mail number. This way you'll get a mailbox that your students can access 24/7, and that you can check from home.

Another alternative is to sign up for Google Voice, which will give you a phone number that can then be forwarded to another phone without giving out one of your personal numbers.

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Services

Copy Services

You have three options for making photocopies:

1.  Office machines

The machines in CRSC 131 and other offices are only for very low-volume jobs—a maximum of 10 copies per page, and a maximum total of 50 pages per job. You may need a code for the copier—see the office staff. This option should be used only under rare circumstances because it costs the college considerably more money to run these machines, as compared to the other options.

2.  Go in person to Copy Services

There are walk-up machines in the Copy Services office, in the Central Services Building (CSB), room 161. These are free for faculty and staff. Again, please limit use of these machines. Any large jobs should be submitted directly to Copy Services as described below.

3.  Let Copy Services do the work for you

You can submit copy requests to Copy Services on paper or electronically. They will copy it and return it via interoffice mail. They guarantee 24-hour turnaround on normal quick-copy jobs (i.e., on 8.5 x 11" white paper, and no special handling other than stapling). There are two ways to submit copy requests:

1.    Fill out a Quick Copy request form (see sample) and attach it to a hard copy of the original. Then drop it off at Copy Services (CSB 161) or send it to them by interoffice mail. Allow extra time if you're sending it from AMIL or GBTC. You can get the request forms in CRSC 131, at Copy Services, or from any other administrative office.

2.    Submit your request online at http://p3scansws.aacc.edu/ Fill out the form online, and upload your file (PDF, Word file, etc.). See sample form for more explanation.

[NOTE: Both forms ask for a Cost Center #. Don't worry about filling out that part. Just put your name, phone number, etc.]

Note that Copy Services can handle jobs that require other special handling (e.g., folding, copying onto colored paper) but you should allow extra time for processing those jobs. Also, they get very busy right around the start of the semester and right before finals, so please plan accordingly.

All photocopied materials must comply with the Fair Use provisions of US copyright laws. All others will not be duplicated unless permission is granted by the publisher/author. See the copyright policy in the college catalog (PDF), or see http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml for more information about the fair use guidelines.

Contact information for Copy Services

Phone:

410-777-2404

Hours:

Monday-Thursday 7:30 am-8:00 pm

 

Friday 7:30 am-6:00 pm

 

Saturday 8:00 am-1:00 pm (Note: closed Sat. during the summer).

Library Services

Library instruction is strongly encouraged for any class where research is required of students. Library instruction is available in all classes--days, nights, and weekends, on- and off-campus, and online. For more information, see  http://libguides.aacc.edu/content.php?pid=25852&sid=186660

The library has access to a wide variety of databases, including PsychInfo and PsychArticles. To view all databases, go to http://www.aacc.edu/library/

The library also maintains a large number of "library guides" designed to help students with specific needs. Some of the guides are subject-specific, while others focus on topics such as APA style, plagiarism, and the general process of writing college papers. A list of all library guides is at http://libguides.aacc.edu/

Testing Services

Instructions for Faculty

There are a few reasons why you would send students to the testing center for their exams:

1.    You are teaching an online or hybrid course.

2.    Students need accommodations for testing (extended time, etc.). This is only for students who have provided documentation from Disability Support Services.

3.    A student in a classroom-based course needs to take an exam early or late. This option is for individual students only--you may not send an entire class to the testing center for their exams.

You may bring or send copies (enough copies for those students testing in the Testing Office) of your tests, complete with your name, course and term. A Test Administration Form (TAF) must accompany your exam(s). This form can be obtained from the Testing Office or from the department assistants, or you can print it here as a PDF. Alternatively, you can submit the TAF online, in which case you'll need to upload a copy of your exam.

When you fill out the TAF, you will indicate (among other things) which day(s) a student may test. However, students do not need to make appointments for specific testing times. They can just show up to the testing center at any time on the days the test is available.

Contact information and locations

For general information, go to http://www.aacc.edu/testing/
For testing center hours, go to http://www.aacc.edu/testing/file/TestingHours.pdf

Arnold campus (SUN 240)
Phone 410-777-2375
Fax 410-777-2874
E-mail testing-arnold@aacc.edu

Arundel Mills (AMIL 112)
Phone 410-777-1915
Fax 410-777-4009
E-mail testing-amil@aacc.edu

Glen Burnie Town Center (GBTC 208)
Phone 410-777-2906
Fax 410-777-4008
E-mail testing-gbtc@aacc.edu 

Fort Meade Army Education Center
Students should schedule tests at Fort Meade by calling 301-672-6421. Note that the testing center hours here are very limited.

Tutoring Services

Writing Center

Location: Library building (LIB 108) and Arundel Mills (AMIL-204)
Hours: See http://www.aacc.edu/writingcenter/ 
Phone: 410-777-2378

The purpose of the Writing Center is to provide continuing help to students from all disciplines. Tutors provide assistance in preparing written assignments, help in understanding errors on graded assignments, and instruction in grammar, punctuation and usage.

Functions of the Writing Center:

·         Tutors will read some or all of a student's work and indicate problems in unity, coherence, grammar, punctuation and mechanics.

·         Tutors will show students how to repair errors.

·         Tutors will provide follow-up exercises in specific problem areas, if requested by the student or the student's teacher.

·         Tutors will help students to develop thesis statements through a process of directed discussion in which the student rather than the tutor, will arrive at an appropriate thesis statement.

·         Tutors will provide information on proper documentation style for research-paper sources.

·         Tutors will raise questions regarding conformity with assignments.

What writing lab tutors will not do:

·         Proofread

·         Correct errors

·         Create thesis statements or topic sentences.

Student responsibility:

Since tutoring sessions are limited to 20 minutes when other students are waiting, students should come to the Writing Center with:

·         Specific questions

·         A copy of the assignment

·         A draft of the paper, preferably typed and double-spaced.

Reading Center

Location: Library building (LIB 118) and Arundel Mills (AMIL-204)
Website: http://www.aacc.edu/reading/lab/
Phone: 777-2077
Appointments:
Appointments for the lab are made for one half hour at a time. To schedule an appointment in the lab contact
410-777-2077.

The reading lab provides:

·         Help for enrolled credit and noncredit AACC students

·         Support in reading comprehension, study skills and critical thinking

·         Practice for reading course assessments and reassessments

·         Individualized skill instruction in topics such as test taking strategies, organizational skills and note taking

·         Academic skill support

Online Writing Lab

The college partners with a service called SmarThinking, which offers an online writing lab. (They also offer tutoring in specific subjects, but psychology is not one of them.) For more information, see http://www.aacc.edu/tutoring/smarthinking/

Peer Tutoring

Students at AACC may request free peer tutors in many courses, including PSY 111. Most requests for tutors are filled within a few days. However, there are no guarantees, so it is recommended that students request a tutor as early as possible. For more information, see http://www.aacc.edu/tutoring/peertutoring/

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Grade, Roster, and Referral Information

Rosters

You will get a roster for each class at the start of the semester, and again after the add/drop period has ended. At the start of the semester you may have students who added recently and are therefore not on the printed roster. Such students should have an add form, class schedule, or other proof of registration. You can also view an up-to-date roster at any time by logging in to https://portal.aacc.edu/ and going to the Self Services tab. Click on "faculty," then "faculty information," and then on "class roster."

Any student whose name does not appear on your roster or who does not have proof of registration is not properly registered and, therefore, may not attend class. Send the student to the records office immediately. If you have any questions about an individual student's registration status, please contact Nanci Beier, registrar at 410-777-2834 or Liz Clary, assistant registrar at 410- 777-2883.

Attendance Tracking System

All faculty teaching credit courses are required to collect attendance data and to report it weekly through MyAACC. This is not optional. This is because federal regulations recently have changed regarding how student attendance at higher education institutions is used to determine student financial aid and veteran benefit eligibility. Attendance of students is a criterion for maintaining eligibility under these regulations.

This memo (PDF) has a list of frequently asked questions. (Note that it also has instructions, but they are outdated. See below for corrected instructions.) But here are some of the highlights:

·         How often must attendance be tracked and reported?

o    For classroom courses, you will need to take attendance at each class meeting. You must report this data once a week (or, if you like, after each class meeting).

o    For online and hybrid courses, participation must be tracked and reported once per week.

·         There are no college-wide definitions for present/participated or absent/not participated. Each faculty member has the latitude to determine requirements for students to be considered present/participated in their courses. Whatever definition you determine, it must be applied consistently within each course. Your policy should be clearly stated in your syllabus at the start of the semester.

·         For purposes of this system, there is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences.

·         You are not required to use attendance in calculating course grades, but you do have to track and report it.

Directions for reporting attendance:

1.    Log in to https://portal.aacc.edu 

2.    Click on the Self Services tab, then on Faculty, then on Faculty Information. Then click "academic attendance tracking" in the resulting list.
           

3.    Choose a section

4.    For face-to-face classes: Choose a date from the "available dates" column. This will bring you to the attendance tracking form.
Then do one of the following:

a.    If there are no absences, just click submit. You are done.

b.    If there are absences, change "attendance type" to "absent" for the appropriate students. Then click submit.

c.    If your class didn't meet, choose the appropriate option on the 3rd line of the form, then click submit.

5.    For online and hybrid classes: Choose a link from the "week ending" column. This will bring you to the participation tracking form.

a.    If every student participated, just click submit. You are done.

b.    If some students didn't participate, change "participation type" to "did not participate" for the appropriate students. Then click submit.

c.     If your class didn't meet, choose the appropriate option on the 3rd line of the form, then click submit.

Interim Grades

At the end of the fifth week of the fall and spring semesters, instructors are required to give interim grades for all students enrolled in 15-week courses. You will enter grades online at https://portal.aacc.edu There are three possible grades:

1.    S (satisfactory): For students whose current grade is A, B, or C. Technically, you don't even have to enter this grade—the system assumes that "S" is the default unless you enter something else.

2.    U (unsatisfactory): For students whose current grade is D or F. This generates a notice which is mailed to the student's home. Students are then required to meet with an adviser to generate a "success plan" which may include suggestions such as "attend all classes," "meet with the instructor," or signing up for specific workshops on topics ranging from test anxiety to time management or note-taking skills. You will receive a copy of the success plan after this meeting occurs. [Note: Although students are told they are required to meet with an adviser, nothing happens if they don't follow up. So don't be surprised if you don't get success plans for all of them.]

3.    FX (failure due to absences): Give this grade to students who have never attended, or who stopped attending after the first couple of classes. The student will be mailed a notice urging him to withdraw from the course (which they can do up until the 10th week of the semester). If the student does not withdraw, then the end-of-semester grade will also be FX, which counts as an F in the student's GPA.

Note that in classes shorter than 13 weeks, we do not currently give out interim grades. However, you are strongly encouraged to use the faculty referral system (described below) to update students on their progress.

Faculty Referral System

Overview

AACC's Counseling, Advising, and Retention Services (CARS) has developed this system to provide timely feedback when there are concerns about student performance, participation, or attendance. The goal is to make sure students are aware of such concerns so that they can either a) change their behavior and improve their grades or b) drop the course before the withdrawal deadline.

You will access the referral system through MyAACC (directions are at https://www.aacc.edu/advising/file/FacultyReferralSystemOverviewDirections.pdf). You will see a list of your students. For each student you want to refer, you then check off any applicable reasons for concern—low grades, frequent absences, etc. Online instructors will see a slightly different list of reasons, such as "never logged on." In addition to checking off reasons for concern, you'll also be asked to make a general recommendation of "Could Successfully Complete" or "Should Withdraw."

Based on the information you provide, the system will generate an email to the student, with a copy sent to CARS. The email identifies the course, instructor, and reasons for concern, and provides information about tutoring services, study skills workshops, adviser contact information, technical assistance, withdrawal deadlines, etc. The information is customized based on your reason(s) for concern and the course format (classroom or online). A copy of the notice is also sent by snail mail to the student's home.

Final Grades

Final grades must to be turned in by the date specified in the memo you will receive from the Registrar and Vice President for Learning. This is generally a day or two after the end of the final exam period. You must enter the grades online via https://portal.aacc.edu (see below for directions).

Anne Arundel Community College records only the grades of A, B, C, D and F. We do not use plus or minus. The grade of D is passing, but a student will not be able to transfer a course with a grade of D unless it is one of the courses included in those credited towards an associate's degree.

Giving a grade of FX

If you gave a student the grade of FX for the interim assessment, and if the student has not withdrawn from the course, she/he will still be listed on your roster. Confirm the grade of FX.

Giving a grade of Incomplete

The Anne Arundel Community college catalog explains the grade of Incomplete this way:

"The mark of I (Incomplete) is assigned only in exceptional circumstances and is a temporary grade. It will be given only to students who cannot complete the work of a course on schedule because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control. Unless the work is completed by the date approved by the instructor in the course, but not later than one month after the beginning of the next regular term, a grade of F will be recorded for the course."

Here are some additional points to note before deciding to give a student the grade of Incomplete:

·         The grade of Incomplete is typically given to a student who has been doing all the work up until the end of the course and then gets sick and cannot finish the last paper or exam. The grade is given only at the request of the student. The work not completed is typically something due towards the end of the semester.

·         In the case of a student whose sickness and other absences occur early enough in the course for him or her to withdraw, an Incomplete is not ordinarily given.

·         It is up to the instructor whether to give a student a grade of Incomplete or not. There is no requirement that an instructor do so.

·         The instructor should keep in mind that giving an Incomplete will require him to do additional work after the class is over. Therefore, the grade is inappropriate if the instructor will be unable to do this additional work.

·         The grade of Incomplete should be given only after discussion with the student and agreement by the student to complete the work by a specified time. If the deadline for completion is earlier than one month after the start of the next semester, the agreement should be documented.

·         Experience shows that few students who are given Incompletes actually finish the work. Their grades are eventually changed automatically to F. It is often more advantageous for the student to withdraw passing so that a grade of F will not be recorded for the course.

·         Coursework must be completed by a date you, as the instructor, specify, but not later than one month after the beginning of the next regular term (for Incomplete grades assigned in the spring term students have until 30 days into the following fall term to complete the work). After the month has elapsed, except in very exceptional circumstances, (as approved by the Committee on Academic Standards), the student will be assigned a final grade of F.

·         After student's work is completed, change the student's grade by logging into https://mycampus.aacc.edu

Entering Grades Online

1.    Log in to https://portal.aacc.edu

2.    Click on self services, then faculty, and then faculty information. Then choose grading in the drop-down list.

3.    Select a term and then click "submit."

4.    On the next screen, choose either "midterm/intermediate grading" or "final grading." Then select a section and click "submit."

5.    If you are entering intermediate grades:

a.    Enter grades of U and FX where appropriate. No need to enter grades of S.

6.    If you are entering final grades:

a.    Enter a grade for each student.

b.    For courses that are shared with a continuing education course that awards CEUs, in the Grade column, enter a grade of "Y" to indicate successful completion or "N" to indicate unsuccessful completion. (These students will have CEUs listed in the CEU column and no credits listed in the credit column.)

c.    Click "submit."

What if you realize that you made a mistake? A grade submitted in error may be changed online if the change takes place on the same day the grade was originally submitted. To do so, access your grade roster as detailed above, delete the erroneous grade and enter the correct grade and click "Submit." If the grade change occurs a day or more after the original submission, a Grade Change form is required for correction.

Grade Changes

The instructor of a course is the only one authorized to assign a grade, to change a grade or to replace an "I." The Committee on Academic Standards, acting for the faculty, has jurisdiction over all matters concerning the application of academic regulations. A challenge to any part of the policy regarding grades should be addressed to the Committee on Academic Standards.

Once a grade has been assigned and entered into a student's record, an instructor may request the registrar to make a grade change only if there has been an error in the determination of the grade. Otherwise, a grade once entered is final and shall never be changed except when it can be unequivocally demonstrated that it was physically or emotionally impossible for the student to file a withdrawal form because of incapacity or sudden, enforced departure from the area. In such a case, the student may petition the Committee on Academic Standards to authorize the instructor to change a grade of F to WP (withdraw passing) or WF (withdraw failing). Such petitions must be signed by the instructor.

To report an error in grade computation, you may obtain a grade change form from your departmental office or the Office of Records and Registration. You will need to turn in this form in person to the Records office on the first floor of the Student Services building (this is so that they can check your ID and verify that you're the instructor).

If you're just changing an Incomplete, then you don't need to fill out a grade change form. Just follow the directions for "entering grades online" above.

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Academic Integrity Policy

What's in the policy?

AACC policy defines five types of academic dishonesty:

1.    Cheating, which is the use or attempted use of unauthorized material, information, electronic device, implement or study aid in an academic exercise or assignment without the instructor's permission;

2.    Plagiarizing, which is the unacknowledged or improperly cited adoption or reproduction of the ideas, words, data or statements of others, including fellow students and internet sources;

3.    Fabricating or falsifying, which is the unauthorized falsification or invention of any data, information or citation in an academic exercise;

4.    Impersonating, which is assuming another student's identity or allowing another student to do so for the purpose of fulfilling an academic requirement;

5.    Facilitating, which is helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty.

—> NOTE that the word "intentional" does not appear in the above definitions! "I didn't know I was plagiarizing" is not a valid excuse.

When academic dishonesty is alleged, the student involved shall have an opportunity to admit or deny the allegation. In a timely manner, the instructor shall confer with the student, explaining the reasons why he or she believes that the student has committed the act of academic dishonesty and what academic sanction could be imposed by the instructor. The instructor has the right and obligation to impose a reasonable academic sanction including, but not limited to, the following:

1.    Assign a grade of failing for the assignment;

2.    Assign a grade reduction for the course;

3.    Assign a failing grade for the course; or

4.    Assign an alternative learning experience or activity which shall be completed by the student as specified by the instructor.

What happens when a student is caught committing academic dishonesty?

1.    First, complete the academic dishonesty form (see sample form). Here you will explain what happened, and attach any supporting evidence (such as copies of a student's paper plus the source it was plagiarized from). You will also need to think about what penalty you want to impose (although, depending on the circumstances, you might not decide on this definitively until after meeting with the student).

o    Here is the academic dishonesty form as a Word file.

2.    You then need to meet with the student.

3.    At the end of the meeting, both you and the student need to sign and date the academic dishonesty form. Make copies for yourself and the student, and mail the original to Alycia Marshall, college representative in matters of academic integrity, in MATH 231.

When signing the form, the student has one of six options. It is the student's choice, not yours. The choices are:

1.    Admit dishonesty and accept the penalty.

2.    Admit dishonesty, but challenge the penalty.

3.    Deny dishonesty, but accept the penalty.

4.    Deny dishonesty, and challenge the penalty.

5.    Neither admit nor deny dishonesty, but take the penalty anyway.

6.    Neither admit nor deny dishonesty, and challenge the penalty.

If the student accepts the penalty (options 1, 3, and 5 above), then you apply the penalty and the case is closed. It does not get noted on their transcripts, their other professors won't find out, nothing gets told to transfer schools, etc. Nothing further happens unless Trish Casey-Whiteman decides to do something (which would happen if this were a second or subsequent offense). But you wouldn't be involved.

If the student challenges the penalty (options 2, 4, or 6 above), then the student gets a grade of NG ("no grade") until after the issue is resolved. Trish Casey-Whiteman then initiates a hearing with the Student Review Committee. The committee can keep the sanction, or reduce it, but they can never make it harsher.

Note that if the student withdraws from the course before the situation is resolved, this is considered a de facto admission of guilt, and the student's grade of W may be changed to an F at the instructor's discretion.

That's a lot of work. Why bother dealing with all that paperwork?

The paperwork certainly is a headache to deal with. However, there are two compelling reasons for always filling out the paperwork:

1.    It helps to drive home to the students just serious this is.

2.    It puts the student officially "on notice." In other words, this lets the college know that dishonesty occurred, so they can't get away with it in other classes by always claiming "I've never done this sort of thing before."

Keep in mind that you can fill out the paperwork and still have the actual penalty be quite mild. This way a student isn't punished too harshly for what might have been an honest mistake, but it still underscores the seriousness of even "minor" academic dishonesty. It also prevents the student from getting away with dishonesty in multiple classes.

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Other Policies

Americans with Disabilities Act

Upon request, AACC will provide reasonable accommodations to all qualified individuals with disabilities. Eligibility for services and accommodations must be established by Disability Support Services (DSS) after reviewing documentation.

What this means for instructors

·         If a student has paperwork from DSS, you must provide accommodations. You may not question the student about them, alter them, or ignore them. You also may not ask questions about the student's diagnosis unless he/she first volunteers this information. If you have questions or concerns, contact Mimi Stoops at msstoops@aacc.edu or 410-777-2306.

o    The paperwork is usually a single form in triplicate, unless the student needs a note taker. Both you and the student must sign it. You then keep the yellow copy and return the other two to the student.

o    If the student does have a note taker form, it is up to you to ask for a volunteer from your class who will copy his/her notes for the DSS student. The volunteer note taker will be paid by the DSS office after submitting the completed timesheet (attached to the notetaker form) at the end of the course.

·         If a student does not have paperwork, then you may not provide accommodations even if you feel that they are warranted. It is incumbent on you to provide equal opportunities to all students unless you have specifically been told otherwise.

o    Note that accommodations do not automatically carry over from high school, even if the student is still enrolled in high school.

·         Accommodations go into effect the day that the student brings you the accommodation form. They are not retroactive to earlier in the semester.

·         A student may choose to refuse an accommodation. (For example, a student might get extra time on all tests, but then tell you, "Oh, don't worry about it—I only need that for my math classes.") If a student declines an accommodation, then he should note this in writing on the accommodations form and initial it.

Types of accommodations

Students can receive many different types of accommodations. The most common ones include note taking services and extended time on quizzes and tests. Others include testing accommodations (e.g., private rooms, reader and/or scribe), or services for students with physical disabilities (large print, ASL interpreters, etc.)

·         If a student gets extra time on tests, this includes all in-class, timed assignments (anything from a brief pop quiz to a comprehensive exam). It does not extend to out-of-class assignments. (In other words, if you give one week to write a paper, the student has one week along with everyone else.)

·         Student who have any sort of test-related accommodations must take their exams in the testing center unless they decline this accommodation in writing.

Confused?

If you have questions about how to best accommodate a particular student, your first step is to talk to that student. Many are very open and up-front about what will work best for them. But if the student is not helpful, or if you still have questions, contact Mimi Stoops in DSS at msstoops@aacc.edu or 410-777-2306. For all sorts of additional material and resources (both for you and for your students), see http://www.aacc.edu/disability/

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Generally the law provides that, with some exceptions, no information, records, transcripts, etc. may be released, whether orally or in writing, without prior written consent, dated and signed by the student, specifying the records to be released, the reasons for release and to who the records are to be released.

This law applies to all students at postsecondary institutions, regardless of age! In other words, the rules listed below apply to all of your students, even if they are under 18 or still in high school.

What FERPA means for instructors:

·         You may not let students see each others' grades. This means you shouldn't pass papers around the room if grades are visible on first page. Don't discuss one student's grades where another can hear you. If discussing grades with one student, don't display a gradebook, website or spreadsheet showing grades for the whole class. Don't let one student collect another's work, even if you know that they have a relationship out of class. If students come to talk to you before or after class, make sure you don't have graded work sitting where it's visible.

·         Do not give out one student's contact information to another. Even if students are working on a group project, or have another legitimate need to contact one another, it is still up to them to decide what information to give out.

·         If parents contact you, you may not tell them anything without first getting the student's written permission. This means you may not comment on grades, attendance, attitude, etc. You may not even confirm that the student is indeed enrolled in your class. Instead, make general comments such as "Sorry, federal law prohibits me from discussing my students with anyone else"—note how this doesn't confirm that you know any one particular student.

o    If the student does give permission, the note must be signed and dated, and must specifically state which information you may share with the parent. The parent must then meet with you in person so that you can match a photo ID with the name on the note. You can't talk to the parent on the phone, as you have no way to verify whose voice is on the other end.

·         Shred any confidential information once it's no longer needed. At the end of the semester shred rosters, copies of interim grades, phone lists, etc. (Exception: Copies of your gradebook—whether paper or electronic—should be stored indefinitely! Just make sure you keep it somewhere safe.)

·         You may NOT email students about grades at outside email addresses. You may only send grade information to their AACC or Canvas email account. This is because the college has no way of verifying who owns an outside account.

·         Your AACC email address is the only one you may use to contact students. This is because the college can vouch for the integrity of your college account, whereas they cannot vouch for the integrity of outside accounts.

·         If you are ever not sure about a confidentiality issue, contact the Registrar's office at 410-777-2243.

Disruptive behavior in class

Students who disrupt the teaching and learning environment are in violation of the college's code of conduct. In general, faculty should contact the Office of the Dean of Student Services at 410-777-2829 to report discipline problems with students.

An instructor may request that a disruptive student leave the class. If necessary, instructors should call the security office at 410-777-1818. Support staff in any office can make this call, or the instructor can call from any gray phone box in the hallways. If a student has been removed from class by the security office, or if an instructor considers a student's behavior detrimental to the future conduct of the class, an incident report form should be filled out and sent to the office of the dean of student services. The student will not be allowed to return to the class until the issue is resolved. The student code of conduct incident report form is available as a PDF at http://www.aacc.edu/tla/file/Incident_form.pdf

Students with mental health issues

If you notice that a student appears to be having emotional difficulties that exist outside of a normal classroom management scenario, you are required to take the necessary steps to assist that student. Please remember the following guidelines:

  1. If it is an immediate crisis, several avenues exist. As always, 911 is the default number to call for urgent assistance. Campus Safety should also be notified at (410) 777-1818. Though there does exist a link-up between 911 and Campus Safety, call both if the situation is acute. In addition, provide the student the Anne Arundel Community Mental Health Warmline at (410) 768-5522.
  2. If the situation does not require immediate assistance, make a referral to the college's Behavioral Intervention Team using this form: https://www.aacc.edu/tla/file/Incident_form.pdf You can also access the form by logging into https://portal.aacc.edu, then clicking on "self services," then "employees," and then "communication". Note that the form asks for "offender information" but you can use it when there's any type of concern, even if the student has not done anything wrong. Learn more about the Behavioral Intervention Team.
  3. Make sure that the above document is sent to Rachelle immediately. Send her a follow-up email as well to confirm receipt.
  4. If you even have a remote concern about a student and want to run the situation by Rachelle, call AND email her, 410-777-2060 and retannenbaum@aacc.edu. Please go straight to Rachelle for these types of issues—don't contact Matt. 
  5. In addition to the above, students can also make an appointment for brief counseling services at AACC at (410) 777-7111. The website is http://www.aacc.edu/advising/Counservwelcome.cfm
  6. Outside of initial interaction you may have with a student who alerts you to issues they might be having, at NO time are you to take it in your own hands to provide continuous intervention to that student. You are to make the above referrals IMMEDIATELY. For legal and liability reasons, we don't want students to have any reason to perceive their psychology instructors as therapists.

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Public Safety and Parking Information

Public Safety

The public safety phone number is 410-777-1818, or x1818 from any campus phone. If there is an emergency on campus, call Public Safety at x1818 rather than 911. The Public Safety office is hooked into the 911 system, and they will be better able to identify your location on campus.

More detailed information about emergency procedures is at http://www.aacc.edu/publicsafety/file/Employee_Emergency.pdf

Parking

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Human Resources Information

Faculty contracts

Part-time faculty contracts are accessed through MyAACC and signed electronically. You will not receive a paper contract. The advantages of this are that it allows you to access and sign your contract from any computer, check the status of your contract, and do a search history for prior term contracts.

Here's how to access contracts online:

1.    Log in to https://portal.aacc.edu 

2.    Click on the Self Services tab, then on Faculty, then on Faculty Information. The resulting drop-down list will have a link for Adjunct Faculty Contracts.

3.    If you're signing a new contract:

a.    Select New and then click submit.

b.    In the My Faculty Contract Questions screen, click on appropriate boxes and click Submit

c.    In New Faculty Contract screen, click accept for each contract and click Submit. If contract information appears incorrect, please contact your department chair or instructional coordinator.

4.    If you want to access contracts from prior terms:

a.    Select Processed for previously accepted/processed contracts, or fill in Term or Date Range for a specific contract. Then click Submit.

You should be able to access your contract on the first day of classes. If you have any problems, please contact Mary Greene, Social Sciences Office Manager at 410-777-2430 or Janet Love, Instructional Coordinator at 410-777-7261.

See a sample contract

Paychecks

Paychecks are issued on the 7th and 22nd of each month. If the 7th or 22nd is a weekend or holiday, then payday will be the preceding Friday. The first paycheck should be received within the first six weeks of the start of class.

Free professional development courses

The college offers a variety of professional development courses which are free to all full-time and part-time faculty. The ones most likely to be of use to you focus on various Microsoft programs, with both beginner and advanced courses. Descriptions and registration info are at http://ola4.aacc.edu/lmstarkey/  

Tuition waiver for part-time faculty

Part-time faculty are eligible for free credit and non-credit courses (with some restrictions) at AACC. The policy and tuition waiver form can be found at http://www.aacc.edu/tla/file/PT%20Waiver%20form%20-%20revised.pdf 

Use of facilities

Part-time faculty have full privileges at the college library, pool, and fitness center. There is also free wireless throughout most of the Arnold, Arundel Mills, and GBTC campuses.

Get Microsoft software at a steep discount

Because of a special license agreement with Microsoft, AACC is able to offer its students and faculty/staff a selected number of Microsoft software titles at significant discounts. (For example, the complete Microsoft Office Suite is under $15.) Faculty and staff can also purchase media for work at home. To get additional information or to make a purchase, please access our e-academy website http://aacc.e-academy.com/  and select Anne Arundel Community College in the dropdown box for MEEC institutions.

What is available?

·         Faculty and staff can purchase various titles under the Work at Home (WAH) agreement. With this program, only the media is purchased and the employee agrees to use the software at home for college-related purposes only. Spouses, friends and family are not to use the software and software is to be removed when the employee terminates employment with the college. The media cost for WAH is approximately $15.

·         Students, faculty and staff can purchase a license and media at reduced rates under the Student Select agreement. MS Office Professional Plus 2007 is approximately $90 (shipping and handling is extra); this is more than 50% below educational pricing. With this option, the individual owns the license and the software can be used indefinitely and for personal use.

Training for new employees

There are three types of training that all part-time faculty must complete by the end of the first semester they are hired. Contracts cannot be offered or renewed to faculty who have not successfully completed this training.

The first two trainings are Preventing Sexual Harassment and Diversity. Both of these are online, and each will take about 45 minutes. You don't have to do it all at once though; you can save your work and come back to it later.

Please note that these training courses are free and publicly available. So some of you might find it useful in your classes (maybe while teaching about culture or about gender and sexuality, etc).

The third type of training is Security Awareness training. This one is offered each semester as a self-paced online course, for which you do need to register through IPD (Institute for Professional Development, a.k.a. the college's in-house professional development). More information on this one is at http://ola4.aacc.edu/lmstarkey/LearningOpportunities/Security/security.htm

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Course-related information

Required information on all syllabi

The college requires that certain information be on all syllabi. The syllabus is not just a source of information. It is also a contract between you and your students. Therefore, it is critical that you be explicit in terms of outlining grading requirements, course policies, etc.

Complete checklist of syllabus requirements (PDF)

Common standards for all courses

The department has been working to ensure more consistency in our teaching, and to ensure that we have rigorous standards for all students while still allowing for academic freedom for instructors. As a result of this, starting Fall 2011 we will have some department-wide standards that will apply to all faculty. These standards deal with the types of assignments that we give in our classes, as well as the grading schemes that we use.

Textbooks on reserve in the library

If you have students who haven't bought their books yet, please let them know that we have copies of most textbooks on reserve in the library. 

Service learning

Something you may want to consider for future semesters is incorporating service learning into your courses. Service learning involves having students volunteer their time at a community agency (they can choose from over 100) and then relate it back to course material through journals/papers/presentations/etc. Some professors make it extra credit, others have it as an option or as a required course component. If you are interested, please contact Stephanie Goldenberg at 410-777-2366 or servicelearning@aacc.edu and she'll give you info on how to get started. More information is at http://www.aacc.edu/servicelearning/ 

Putting course materials online

Starting in Spring 2015, all psychology instructors will be required to post their syllabus and all grades in Canvas, AACC's online learning management system. You must complete the Canvas Essentials training to use Canvas for both face-to-face and online sections. You may register for training through the Institute for Professional Development (IPD). For more information, see http://ola4.aacc.edu/lmstarkey/

Final exam schedule

You must give a final exam or other graded activity on the date/time that is scheduled for your class. You may not simply shift the exam to the last week of classes. Any requests to deviate from the final exam schedule must be approved by the department chair.

For summer, winter, weekend, and once-a-week classes, the exam is given during the last class meeting. For online courses, the exam is just given on the last day(s) of the term. For all other classes, you must follow the published exam schedule. Note that exam times do not always line up exactly with class times!

To see the final exam schedule, see the printed schedule of classes at http://www.aacc.edu/recreg/waystoregister.cfm (links to schedules are at the top right).

Faculty absences or late arrivals

If you ever find that you need to miss a class, please call Mary or Sue ASAP at 410-777-2430 so that they can put up a sign on your classroom door. They also need to know so that they can answer questions for students who come to them with questions. 

If you know ahead of time about your absence, you have two options. One is to get a substitute and the other is to assign some sort of work (paper, group assignment, web activity, etc.) which will replace class time. (In other words, if you're missing a 3-hour class, assign them something which should take about 3 hours to complete.) Either way, call or email Mary and me so that we know what's going on.

To help you get a substitute, I will mail out each semester a list of all adjuncts and their contact information. All I do is send out the list; it will then be up to you to contact people and work out the details (e.g., what they have to do, whether you'll pay them or just work on an "I owe you one" basis, etc.)  I don't need those details, but I DO need to know who will be your sub and when.

Inclement weather

If the college is closed or has a delayed opening due to inclement weather, this will be announced on most local TV and radio stations and on the college web site. If you go to http://www.aacc.edu/stayinformed/  you can sign up to get a text message and/or email whenever such announcements occur.  

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Psychology Teaching Resources

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