Cancellation of Classes and Changing Class Times or Locations
It is your responsibility to meet all classes as officially scheduled and to arrive on time for all classes. If you know in advance that you will not be able to meet a class, you might arrange with a colleague to cover that class for you, or arrange with the students for an alternate date for that class; but a class time should be moved only if every enrolled student is able to attend the alternate time.
Please be sure to reserve a room for an alternate class date/time by using the online room reservation system, 25 Live.
Faculty should email his or her class via PSU email, LionPATH or Canvas to inform them of the cancellation. If bad weather requires the University to cancel classes, local television stations will be informed.
If you must cancel or postpone a class because of illness or other emergency for which you did not have lead time, please notify someone in the Registrar & Academic Affairs by calling 570-963-2505. If voicemail picks up, leave a message, but also dial 570-963-2510 to speak with someone in person.
If you are not able to speak directly to someone at either number, please be sure to send an email notification to ALL the following individuals: Suzanne Morgan at [email protected]; and Sharon Ebert at [email protected].
Faculty members may not terminate a class before the scheduled end of the semester, cancel classes before or after holidays or semester breaks (even though students may request it), or move the regular time and place of the course as listed in the class schedule, without the consent of the department head AND the Academic Affairs Office.
PSUAlert
PSUALERT is a system that lets you know via cell phone, email, and/or land line when classes are canceled due to weather conditions or if the campus has an emergency closure for other schedule alteration.
As a faculty member, you should register for PSUALERT. You should also encourage your students to register for PSUALERT.
To register, visit https://psualert.psu.edu/psualert/.
Defining and Maintaining Academic Integrity
Academic integrity – the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception – is an educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating or falsifying information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.
At the beginning of each course, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a statement in the syllabus clarifying the application of academic integrity criteria to that course. A student charged with academic dishonesty will be given written notice of the charge by the instructor.
When you are confronted with a case of student dishonesty, discuss the infraction face-to-face with the student. However, such matters must be handled in a prudent manner in order to prevent a student’s right from being abridged, and accusations should not be made on suspicion alone.
Before proceeding with a case of academic dishonesty, you should review the University policy on violations of academic integrity (Senate Policy 49-20, Academic Integrity, https://senate.psu.edu/policies-and-rules-for-undergraduate-students/47-00-48-00-and-49-00-grades/#49-20 and G-9 Academic Integrity policies and sanctions, https://undergrad.psu.edu/aappm/G-9-academic-integrity.html). It is also recommended that your syllabus include clarification that the respective AI hold placed on the course by the Registrar's office that prevents the student from dropping the class in LionPath is for that individual course. They will need to reach out to the Registrar's Office to seek assistance if dropping a class unrelated to the AI violation.
You can also contact the Academic Affairs office at 570-963-2510, if you need further clarification or assistance.
Students with Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs.
Students with a disability must be provided with reasonable academic adjustments, auxiliary aids and services in their academic activities.
For more detailed information regarding University policies and processes, please visit the Faculty Information and Student Information section of the Student Disability Resources site
Campus Disability Coordinators:
The Coordinator of the Learning Center serves as campus representative for matters concerning disabled students. Additional assistance is available with physical disabilities from Health Services.
Eileen Giovagnoli
Learning Center Coordinator
Hawk Success Center, Study Learning Center 13
570-963-2678
[email protected]
Jill Thoman
Campus Nurse
Hawk Success Center
Study Learning Center 10
570-963-2700
[email protected]
Office Hours and Accessibility
Encourage students to see you if they need help or advice. Two part-time faculty offices are located in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ground floor of the Dawson Building.
This space may be used between classes and to meet with students when necessary. Please note, however, this space is for use by all Penn State Scranton part-time faculty and may not always be available for larger meetings or confidential meetings with students.
Online office hours may also be held via Canvas. It is also a good practice to be available to your students a few minutes before and after class. Inform your students where your mailbox is located, and regularly check your mailbox, along with your email inbox.
Final Exams
The final examination schedule is developed and published by the Registrar’s Office.
You will receive a request for final exam intentions from the Registrar’s Office via email. Faculty final examination schedules are available on LionPath approximately the sixth week of the semester (Senate Policy 44-20), More information about Final Examinations
Evaluation of Teaching
The University requires all faculty members to have students evaluate their teaching. The offering period for the Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTEs) is the last two weeks of regular instruction in a traditional semester-long course.
The SRTE offering period cannot overlap with final exams. You will be notified by the Academic Affairs office when the SRTE forms are set and available in Canvas for your students’ evaluation.
Confidentiality of Student Records – FERPA
The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 identifies the rights of students and their families with respect to student educational records kept by institutions.
As part of the requirements of FERPA, The University has a policy on Confidentiality of Student Records (University Policy of Confidentiality of Student Records AD-11).
All faculty and advisers will be required to successfully complete the FERPA quiz in order to log into LionPATH.
Details for accessing the quiz are found at: http://www.worklion.psu.edu/
In the drop down box under HR Tools, click on Learning Resource Network and type FERPA in the search box.
Information from records, files, and data directly related to a student may not be disclosed by any means (including telephone) to individuals or agencies outside the University without the prior written consent of the student.
When the student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a post-secondary institution, regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer from the parent to the student.
Parents may obtain access to their student’s education record (grades, GPA, etc.) by obtaining consent from their student. Students may provide consent for their parents to view grades and other portions of their education record through LionPATH.
Once access has been granted by the student, the parent may log into LionPATH and select any of the approved functions.
Information contained in such records may be shared within the University with “University officials” having “legitimate educational interest” in such information.
It is important for instructors to protect student confidentiality when listing class exam grades, return class papers or projects, and writing letters of recommendation.
Visit the registrar website for more information about confidentiality.