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Information for Faculty |
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Welcome to a New Semester! DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE ECONOMICS COURSES Information for New Faculty There are several resources available to new faculty as they plan for and begin teaching in the College. The first is a workshop on teaching offered in connection wit the orientation session for new faculty that Dean Bushnell will hold on Tuesday, September 4, 2007. At the workshop, which begins after lunch, new faculty will meet several experienced colleagues who will lead discussions on a number of topics including the habits of Penn students and ideas about effective teaching. The College intends this session to be of value regardless of one's level of teaching experience. In addition to this workshop, the College offers new faculty a website, http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ctl/newfaculty/index.html, designed to provide information needed as you prepare to teach in September. We cannot, of course, anticipate all that faculty must do to be ready for the start of the semester, but the site does provide some important basic information and can supplement any communication you have with them about teaching. Beginning with the Fall 2006 quarter, courses taught in the Department of Economics are covered by a common set of course management policies laid out in this document. Exam Attendance Courses have individual policies regarding midterm exam attendance. Final exams attendance is mandatory and is governed by a number of university regulations.
In cases where attendance at a midterm or a final exam is mandatory, there are only a few valid excuses for missing an exam. Valid excuses are: -3 exams scheduled within one calendar day -If exam is given outsie of the regular class schedule and the timing conflicts with another class for which the student is enrolled. -documented illness/health emergencies -religious observance -UPENN Business that takes you away from Campus -documented disabilities that allow you to take the exam under other circumstances -a death in the family Examples of reasons that are not valid for missing an exam are: -early travel arrangements -job interviews -job internships -beginning fall or spring break early -any other reason you would prefer not to be at the university when the exam is scheduled. Students are responsible for making sure, at the beginning of the term, If you are unexpectedly ill at the time of the exam and unable to reach the instructor ahead of time, Absence from campus on UPENN business includes, for example, athletic events in which you are actively participating. In such cases, you need to make arrangements with your professor ahead of the exam date to take the exam at another time (preferably earlier than the schedule date). Students who arrive late to an exam will generally be required to hand in their exam at the same time as other students. Withdrawals and Incompletes UPENN provides an option for students to withdraw from courses to do so; students may withdraw up to the end of the 8th week of classes for any reason. Students may request incompletes after that deadline provided (1) the only work that is incomplete is the course final exam or final paper and (2) there is a health emergency or a death in their family. Sstudents should work out an arrangement for clearing an incomplete with the professor as soon as possible. Make-up Exams Make-up final exams are to be taken only during the designated make-up exam week, usually at the beginning of the following semester. Deadlines Work should be handed in on time. Work that is not handed in on the day that it is due may, at the professor's discretion, receive less or zero credit. Grading The relative weights on the different elements course work are set by the instructor. One department-wide rule is that, if the course permits dropping the lowest problem set score, a student who has entered a course late and missed the first problem set drops that one, not a later one. Online Grading - Quick Overview You are notified by email when your courses become available for Online Grading. Go to Courses In Touch at http://www.upenn.edu/isc/apps/CoursesInTouch/ and login using your PennKey and associated password. Choose Select Courses or Course Summary from the Online Grading menu, and then select the specific course-section to be graded. Enter the appropriate grade for each student and SAVE or SUBMIT. For details on how to Upload/Download the grade sheet in Excel and Blackboard; submit a Change of Grade; check your grade spread/statistics; review the history of each transaction; and more, please refer to detailed sections of the User Guide. Correcting Errors in Grading Errors in grading sometimes occur; this section lays out rules and procedures for requesting a correction. The important general rule is that such a request should clearly and succinctly state the unambiguous error you believe has occurred. Errors in grading arising from illegible or garbled answers are not subject to correction. Students who believe their work has been graded incorrectly should petition for a correction in writing to the Professor. The entire graded work (problem set or examination) should be resubmitted; there is no guarantee that grades will rise as, statistically, positive and negative errors in grading are euqally likely. If the request arises because you think different students have been graded differently, all the affected students should submit their work as a group. Here is a suggested way to request to correct an error grading: "Dear Prof. X: I am a student in your economics 222 course. I believe that the grades on my midterm were added up incrrectly. As you can see from the exam I left in your mailbox, I have 25 on each of the four questions, but 73 on the exam. Sincerely, Z." Academic Integrity Issues Academic integrity is a very important part of student life, and the Department of Economics takes it seriously. The department reserves the right to undertake procedures that would catch breaches of academic integrity, should any arise, such as photocopying or scanning midterms or other work before it is returned, and close proctoring during exams. Students who are suspected of committing infractions will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. It is recommended that faculty who intend to give a failing course grade to students found in violation of academic integrity should include the following wording on their syllabus: "If a student is found in violation of academic integrity, it is at the professor's discretion to give the student a failing grade for the assignment and the course." Use of Short and Long Incompletes There are two types of incompletes allowed on the grade sheet – a short incomplete (I) and a long incomplete (II). A short incomplete must be completed within the first 4 weeks of the next semester, while a long incomplete must be completed by the end of next semester. It is departmental policy that students who miss the final exam for valid reasons should be given a short incomplete. The short incomplete automatically becomes a fail after the first 4 weeks of the next semester (and so you need do nothing if the student misses the makeup without a valid reason). If you wish to give an extension for a student to hand in papers, etc., , please use the long incomplete. There is also a category on the grade sheet called “no show.” That should only be used for students who disappeared from your class early in the semester (prior to the 5th week) and are still listed as being registered. Course Support Please keep the following information available: The 2006 Undergraduate Academic Bulletin is now live on the Registrar's As of Monday, February 27, 2006, the CLASS LIST function in IRQDB has transitioned to a new location under a new name, Courses InTouch (CIT). CIT is a new application that houses both Class Lists and the Course Problem Notice (CPN). You may access CIT and CPN either via the U@Penn Portal: http://medley.isc-seo.upenn.edu/penn_portal/u@penn.php
http://www.upenn.edu/isc/apps/CoursesInTouch To access your own teaching history and advisee list (with photos), please continue to use IRQDB. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/IRQDB/
To activate a class list, point your www browser to: Follow the link on this page called “Class List Request form” where course instructors can activate a class list. You will need the following:
Note only the instructor listed in the system can activate a class list. If you were assigned a TA for your course, they should be added so that they may activate your class list through IRQDB. If they cannot, please let me know and I will check to see if their name appears in the system. The class list will not be available if:
If you continue to have problems activating the class list, please contact: Postmaster@sas.upenn.edu with any problems/questions. You may also access a class list with email addresses and pictures off the web in the SAS Institutional Research Data Base (IRQDB): http://www.sas.upenn.edu/IRQDB/ To access this list, you will also need to have a Penn Net ID and a Password. In addition, since many of you are now using Blackboard for your course material, you will need to fill out the online form if you would like to have Blackboard set up for you. This applies to anyone who teaches courses above Econ 2. The address for the form is: http://www.library.upenn.edu/cgi-bin/bb/bbreq.cgi Classroom Setup and Support As we did last spring, staff from SAS Computing Multi-Media Services will check the Econ 1, 2, and 010 lecture rooms each Monday and Wednesday to make sure that everything is working correctly. Blackboard is already set up for Econ 1, 2, and 010. Sites for recitations will be created as soon as we have confirmed RIs. Blackboard sites are not created automatically. Blackboard sites are created when the instructors request them. You can request a site ahead of time -- often almost a semester ahead of time, if you wish.
If you need help with any aspect of Blackboard usage, please contact http://www.bb-help@sas.upenn.edu . There is a team of people who handled BB requests. If you have an especially urgent problem, you can contact either Jay Treat (jtreat@sas.upenn.edu / 573-3171) or John MacDermott (macderm@sas.upenn.edu / 898-3046). Jay is our senior Blackboard specialist. If you have trouble with AV equipment or have special requirements, you can contact Multi-Media Services at 898-4947 or send mail to reserve@ccat.sas.upenn.edu . Erin Fallon is the manager; Dave Nash coordinates most AV services. Most other IT support needs, including any problems concerning websites on the Econ server should be directed to Social Science Computing sschelp@ssc.upenn.edu . When requesting a room for a Review Session, please use the online request form at: http://www.isc-cts.upenn.edu/finder/schedule.asp ALL requests for change in classroom are submitted using the Course Classroom Change request form located on the Classroom Finder: http://www.isc-cts.upenn.edu/finder/roomchange.asp . Please be sure that you notify me as well of a possible room change request. Please be sure to add Sandy Kuszmaul (kuszmaul@econ.upenn.edu) and tel. #8-7701 to the Admin. Asst. section so that she is aware of your request. Also, please remember that the computer classrooms in MMETS and McNeil The form to request computer labs for classes is available at:
Videotaping/Recording Classes via MultiMedia Services SAS Computing's Multi-Media Services (MMS) provides the Penn community with an array of media support systems for academic and course-related purposes. Computer labs, classroom technology support, equipment loan services, special event support and a variety of production services are available through our office. Support of School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) classes is given priority and is provided free of charge. Services and equipment for student groups, workshops, campus conferences, and meetings may incur rental and staff fees and are subject to availability. If you would like to have a class videotaped or recorded (especially for students who cannot attend class because of religious holidays), you are requested to fill out the online form at: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/mms/recording_form
Placing Books on Reserve Here is information on how to reserve or place course books on hold at any of the UPENN libraries. You can reserve materials or books, journal articles, etc., Adele prefers to be reached by email only At the Van Pelt library, the contact is Paul Farber or Bijan Hossein at 8-7561 or email at: Thank you and have a good semester!
updated October, 2008 |
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