Faculty Responsibilities

The department, college, and University expect all faculty to conduct themselves in a responsible and professional manner on all matters relating to the academic life of the university. Here are a few specific items of importance:

Class Meetings

You are expected to conduct class for the entire allotted time period. State regulations require three-credit day courses in a fifteen week semester to meet three times a week for 50 minutes or twice a week for 75 minutes; evening classes meet once a week for 150 minutes. Dismissing class early violates state mandates, prevents completion of the subject matter, and deprives students of their contractual rights.

Classes meet for 14 weeks. The 15th week is the final examination period. (See Final Examinations.) 

First Session of Class

The first class session is an extremely important one, and instructors should be prepared to hold class for the full period even though their students do not have a previous assignment or textbook. During this first session, faculty should discuss with their class the course syllabus, which includes an overview of the course, interpret the textbook to be used, set forth the course requirements, explain their method of grading, discuss the term paper or research project mechanics and requirements, and suggest helpful outside readings. A class discussion topic or other exercise should be developed to get the course under way.

A faculty member must not allow students to attend his/her classes without officially enrolling for the course; this practice violates University regulations. Any student in your course who is not registered (not on the Attendance Rosters) must not be given any graded materials—quizzes, papers, or examinations. The student should immediately be referred to the Office of Enrollment Services.

Cancellation of Classes

In the event you cannot meet your class because of a personal emergency, please notify your department or school office as soon as possible. If the office is closed, please call the Office of Public Safety or the campus Office of Enrollment Services.

Teaneck-Hackensack Campus

Public Safety (201) 692-2222

Office of Enrollment Services (201) 692-2214

Florham-Madison Campus

Public Safety (973) 443-8888

Office of Enrollment Services (973) 443-8610

If you need to cancel a class for any other reason, please consult with your chairperson or director in advance and notify students in advance (especially for evening courses). In any event, you are responsible for making up all canceled classes. (Also, see Inclement Weather.)

Classroom Environment

The primary professional responsibility of each faculty member is to the University community. A faculty member has the right and responsibility to maintain a classroom environment conducive to learning. He or she shall meet each class as scheduled and adhere to the standards of the profession and to University and college policies and regulations.

Each faculty member has the additional responsibility to see that students respect University property. Any students who damage University property should be promptly reported to the department or school office, college dean, or campus dean of students.

Class Rosters and Attendance

At the beginning of the semester you will receive a Preliminary Attendance Roster with columns for recording attendance for approximately the first three weeks of the semester. The roster contains the names of students officially registered for your course. There is space provided at the end of the roster to add the names of additional students who provide you with certification of official registration for your course. Do not allow any student to attend your course without proper documentation of official registration for your section. Shortly after the end of registration for the semester (add-drop period), you will receive an OFFICIAL ATTENDANCE ROSTER. This roster should be checked carefully. Any students who have been attending class whose names are not on the Roster should be instructed to contact the Office of Enrollment Services of the student's home campus. Faculty should not return any graded academic exercise, such as papers, quizzes, or tests, to students whose names are not on the Official Attendance Roster. This signed Official Attendance Roster must be returned to the campus Office of Enrollment Services within 5 days. Federal regulations require that instructors verify that students are in attendance by signing a copy of the Official Attendance Roster. If a student appears on the Official Roster and he/she has not attended any classes for the term, you must complete the "Non Attendance" Form accompanying the Official Class Roster and forward it to the Office of Enrollment Services immediately.

While, under current University policy, there is no direct grade penalty for mere absence, you can and should include class participation in computing the final grade (see Attendance Policy, p. 5). Students are expected to attend all class sessions of courses for which they are registered and are, of course, responsible for all work covered. You may also include whatever penalties you think appropriate for late work. Your class attendance requirements must be clearly stated on your course syllabus.

Students who do not attend class and hand in no work but do not officially withdraw must be assigned a grade of "F" (not "W" or "I") at the end of the semester. (See Final Grades; Student Withdrawals.)

Course Syllabi

You must provide your students with a printed syllabus during the first week of class, preferably at the first meeting. While this requirement may seem obvious, students occasionally report never receiving a syllabus in a course. Having a printed syllabus helps students avoid any misunderstanding of your course requirements.

The syllabus should contain:

· Your name, phone extension, and email address
· Time and location of your office hours
· List of required texts
· Course objectives
· The tentative sequence and timing of topics to be covered
· Weekly assignments
· Writing assignments and due dates
· Test dates
· Grading policies 
· Attendance policies
· Reference to the University's Academic Integrity Policy

(See the Appendix to this guide, pages A1-2.)

You need not explain all the assignments in detail, and, if necessary, you can change the syllabus as you go along. Substantial changes should be distributed in writing. A copy of your syllabus should be placed on file in the department office.

The department will assist you as much as possible in the preparation and duplication of syllabi. (See Office Services.)

Final Examinations

Final Examinations must be given in the fifteenth week and may not be given earlier. If, after consultation with your department chairperson, you determine that a final examination may not be appropriate in your course, you must hold a class during the scheduled final examination period. 

Final examinations in day courses are given according to a special examination schedule distributed by the Office of Enrollment Services and printed in that semester's Course Offering Booklet. Scheduled examination periods may not be changed by individual instructors. Evening examinations are held in the fifteenth week during the regular class meeting time for the course. In the unlikely event that a student has a time conflict or more than three examinations in one day, it is appropriate to make arrangements with the student to alleviate the situation. 

Students have the right to review all graded academic exercises—including final examinations. There is the general expectation that all graded academic exercises are to be returned to students during the regular semester, with the exception of final examinations. It is recommended that final examinations be maintained in department offices. If final examinations are not returned to students, they are to be transferred, by faculty members, to academic department offices where the examinations will be maintained for a period of twelve (12) months after the completion of the term. At the end of this twelve month period, the final examinations will be returned to the individual faculty members. Students, if they so choose, can review their final examinations by making appointments with their instructors. Final examinations will not be given to students for review without the presence of the faculty member or other appropriate supervision. Students can request a photocopy of the graded final examination.

Final Grades

At the beginning of examination week you will receive a Final Grade Roster for each of your courses. Please follow the instructions for completing this roster and return it signed to the campus Office of Enrollment Services and your department office within seventy-two hours after you have administered the final examination for the course. Submit the original multi- part Final Rosters; do not FAX Final Grade Rosters to the Offices of Enrollment Services. (FAXed copies are often unreadable, there are security issues associated with FAXing grades, and grade rosters are sometimes erroneously keypunched twice.) Only students officially registered for the course may receive a grade. If a student is not listed on your roster but has been attending, do not write the student's name on the Final Grade Roster. (Please consult with the campus Office of Enrollment Services.) A student who is listed on the roster but has never attended the course should be assigned a grade of "F," not a grade of "W" or "I." (See Grades for a list of applicable grades.) 

Office Hours

The University requires all full-time faculty members to hold at least three office hours a week. Part-time faculty should hold at least one office hour a week for each course the faculty member is teaching. You should include the times and locations for your office hours on your course syllabus.

Proctoring Examinations

You are responsible for actively proctoring all examinations you administer. Graduate fellows and staff should not proctor exams.

Faculty Workload

The standard full-time faculty annual academic load consists of twenty-four (24) contact hours of undergraduate teaching plus a reasonable amount of time devoted to such activities as student advisement, individual research or other creative activities, new course development, and committee or other governance service. The courses which make-up faculty load can be one, two, three, four, or more credit hours. Under normal circumstances, a semester teaching load includes no more than three separate preparations, of which no more than one should be a course new to the faculty member. (See the Appendix to this manual for the Faculty Credit Overload and Underload Policy.)

Faculty teaching laboratory or studio courses for which the number of contact hours in a given course exceeds the number of credit hours assigned to that course will normally teach one additional contact hour in each semester in which they have such an assignment. The normal semester teaching load for the semester would be raised from twelve to thirteen contact hours for a faculty member with such an assignment.

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