From Elizabeth.Bradley@Colorado.EDU Mon Dec 22 12:00:01 2008 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.2.4 (2008-01-01) on research.cs.colorado.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.4 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.2.4 Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0700 From: Liz Bradley To: Karl.Mueller@Colorado.EDU, Martha.Hanna@Colorado.EDU, e.scott.adler@Colorado.EDU, helen.norton@Colorado.EDU, Joseph.Jupille@Colorado.EDU, Bob.Sievers@Colorado.EDU, Stephen.Jones@Colorado.EDU, lizb@research.cs.colorado.edu, David.Clough@Colorado.EDU, tsnow@origins.Colorado.edu, Michael.Bohn@Colorado.EDU, Cecelia.Barry@Colorado.EDU, Barbara.Bintliff@Colorado.EDU, Andrew.Poppe@Colorado.EDU, george.hypolite@Colorado.EDU, kathleen.majewski@Colorado.EDU, dustin.farivar@Colorado.EDU, theodore.snow@Colorado.EDU Subject: December follow-up notes Reply-to: lizb@cs.colorado.edu Dear All: We discussed two matters last wednesday, plus a few smaller informational/follow-up items. - The scholarship appeals committee membership. Gwen Pomper is open to having a fourth member on this committee - a faculty member to be drawn from the ranks of the BAB and the IAC. There is some training involved, as Julie Manning described to us. Both committees will dedicate portions of meetings during the spring semester to this training, so that we're poised to respond when an appeal arises. - The COIA meeting in March: Barbara Bintliff will represent us at this meeting. (Many thanks!) - Julie Wong is organizing a "spirit days" event on 2/14. Some dismay was expressed at the date choice. I will report back after the kickoff meeting on 12/23. Main items: 1. Missed-class policy. After a fair bit of work, I found out that the official CU policy about this is that the instructor makes the policy. We batted around some language; the results are appended below. Next step is to finalize that language, in the form of a motion + report, then take it to the BFA excomm. The first agenda item at our next meeting will be approval of this language, so please read it before then. Many thanks to Helen and Ceal for their hard work on this. 2. Women/minority issues at the athletic/academic interface This discussion touched on many things, including the differential impact of APR regulations, summer-school financial aid disparities, etc. The discussion kept leaking out of the purely academic domain, however, and into the broader realm of policy, so we decided to resume it at a joint IAC/BAB meeting from 1-2:30 on 2 February 2009 in Regent 302. I will PROBABLY cancel the 1/28 IAC meeting that is currently on the books, but please save that time slot in case I get in a tangle with the BFA about the COIA mop-up motion and need some help. ____________________________________________________________________ ADDRESSING CLASS CONFLICTS [Need to add "whereas" stuff here] Motion Bullets: - It is the student-athlete's responsibility to notify instructors at the beginning of the semester about any known conflicts between classes or tests and athletic events. - While an instructor has the right to refuse to allow make-ups or other accommodations, he or she is permitted to provide such accommodations. - For conflicts that arise during the regular term, instructors have full authority to decide whether and/or how to accommodate those conflicts. - Athletic competitions during final exams, which are normally forbidden by university policy, must be approved by the BFA Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. Student-athletes involved in these competitions must then work with their instructors in regard to any missed work. Further moved that: - The BFA consider a general statement of policy in the case of accomodation of conflicts that arise when students are representing CUB. - The attached report be reviewed on an annual basis by the IAC, and be sent out to all teaching faculty at CUB by the BFA before classes start every year. Report: This motion summarizes campus policies and practices regarding conflicts between classes and athletic events. This information is intended to help guide decisions about how to deal with conflicts when they arise, and it may be especially useful for new or junior faculty. Because this document was prepared by the BFA Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, with the cooperation of the Department of Athletics, it focuses on conflicts between classes and NCAA-sanctioned intercollegiate varsity sports scheduled through the Department of Athletics, and does not address conflicts involving club sports. Normally, team schedules are known well in advance. It is the student-athlete's responsibility to notify instructors at the beginning of the semester about any known conflicts between classes or tests and athletic events. To facilitate this, the Office of Academic Support Services in the Department of Athletics identifies potential conflicts and provides written notifications about them to each student-athlete, for hand delivery to their instructors. When these conflicts interfere with the learning goals of the course (as, for example, when a required weekly lab conflicts with athletic team practice), that student generally should not enroll in that particular course during the term in question. Conflicts can sometimes arise with little advance notice, however - e.g., when a student-athlete makes the travel roster and/or qualifies for a game or tournament at the last minute. In that event, the student-athlete may be unable to provide much advance notice of an upcoming absence. Students participating in NCAA-sanctioned events are representing CU-Boulder, and the BFA Intercollegiate Athletics Committee strongly encourages instructors to try to resolve the resulting conflicts in ways that neither unduly penalize the student-athlete nor provide him or her with an unfair advantage. For conflicts that arise during the regular term, instructors have full authority to decide whether and/or how to accommodate those conflicts. While an instructor has the right to refuse to allow make-ups or other accommodations, he or she is permitted to provide such accommodations. Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to, allowing assignments to be turned in late, scheduling early or make-up tests, or excusing the absence in classes where attendance is taken. The Office of Academic Support Services in the Athletic Department can help in several ways when conflicts arise. For instance, should the absence occur on the day of a scheduled quiz or exam, members of the Office of Academic Support Services staff or the faculty athletics representative can assist in proctoring the quiz or exam at a convenient time for the faculty member and student-athlete. During final exams, when university policy generally forbids participation in athletic competitions, any exceptions must be approved by the BFA Intercollegiate Athletics Committee as well as by the instructor involved. Recent examples include several track athletes and a soccer player who were invited to Olympic qualifying events during spring semester exams. In those cases, with the concurrence of the instructors and in consultation with the Office of Academic Support Services in Athletics, our committee authorized exceptions. To avoid any real or perceived pressure, CU policy forbids coaches from initiating contact with instructors regarding schedule conflicts, grades, or academic progress. Faculty may be contacted, however, by the staff of the Office of Academic Support Services to provide notification about a student-athlete's injury, surgery, or illness; to assist in rescheduling exams, tests, or quizzes; or simply to check on the progress of a student-athlete in a particular course. Any instructor who feels that inappropriate contact has been made should contact the Faculty Athletics Representative, the Athletic Director, the Director of Academic Support Services, or any member of the BFA Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics. There is no rule forbidding instructors from contacting athletics staff. In fact, the Office of Academic Support Services welcomes communication with instructors regarding their concerns about class conflicts, as well as about matters involving attendance, academic performance, or classroom behavior. [Need to add pointer to SA code of ethics.]