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Expectations and Guidelines

for Faculty Conduct at

American University

Preamble

The purpose of these Expectations and Guidelines for Faculty Conduct at American University (“Expectations

These Expectations and Guidelines for Faculty Conduct articulate standards of professional conduct derived

from general professional consensus about acceptable faculty behavior and university policies. Conduct that

departs from these principles is unacceptable because it is contrary to the mission of the University and is

inconsistent with professional consensus.

This document is organized into four sections:

I. Expectations for the Administration of Classes

II. Guidelines for Interactions with Students

III. Guidelines for Interactions with Other Faculty, Staff, and the University

IV. Guidelines for Scholarship and Research

I. Expectations for the Administration of Classes

Each faculty member is charged with the full responsibility for the conduct and control of the classes to which

they are assigned. This responsibility is to be guided by policies and regulations of the university and the

college or school in which a course is offered.

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A faculty member should follow the general course description and objectives as provided by the college,

school or department where the course is offered; administer examinations or other appropriate evaluative

methods and otherwise provide adequate and objective measure of student performance; and maintain good

order and enforce university regulations in classes at all times. All faculty members are encouraged to avail

A syllabus describing the general nature and scope of each course should be prepared and shared before the

start of each and every semester during which the course is offered. This syllabus should be consistently

updated and made available to the appropriate academic or teaching units, course or department chair, and/or

program director.

All syllabi should include learning outcomes, the methods by which course grades are determined, and policies

regarding attendance, participation, and the submission of incomplete or late work--provided these policies are

not contrary to those of the university or the college or school in which the course is offered.

syllabus.

All syllabi should provide the faculty member’s contact information and office hours, relevant information about

teaching assistants, and the required passages provided within the Center for Teaching, Research, and

Learning’s Syllabus Template.

Customarily, substantive syllabus changes should not be made while the course is being taught. Non-

substantive changes, such as alternate readings, minor alterations to course assignments, and schedule

changes should be clearly communicated within a republished syllabus.

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The syllabi for courses for which many sections are taught should seek to demonstrate substantial consistency

across sections. This consistency is not intended to inhibit flexibility on the part of the faculty member or place

limits on the prerogative of adapting a course in the way it seems most suitable. The university is well aware

that each faculty member will place emphasis in a course according to the professor's conception of the

The creation and use of technology and social media are constantly evolving. Faculty should determine their

policy regarding the recording or sharing any class content. Ultimately, given issues regarding privacy,

ownership, ethics, and related matters, faculty members are encouraged to incorporate the Social Media

Syllabus Language guidelines, created by the Social Media Policy Committee, and the Faculty Senate’s Social

Media Tips and Guidelines into their syllabi. Both of these documents are available on the Senate Reports

webpage.

C. Office Hours

per week; adjunct faculty hold 1-2 office hours per week. For classes that take place in-person (i.e., not online),

at least 50% of this scheduled time should come in the form of standard office hours—i.e., time reserved for

face-to-face interactions, ideally across different days and time periods to accommodate various student

schedules. The remaining time may be distributed across meetings by appointment and online communication,

both scheduled and unscheduled.

Office hours should be noted on syllabi. In addition, at the start of every academic term, faculty members

should post their office hours outside their office doors (if applicable) and provide their academic units with

information about their selected office hours.

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In the interest of creating an inclusive environment for learning, faculty members should give consideration to

diversity when choosing textbooks and course materials.

Desk copies of textbooks for faculty members should be secured directly from the publishers following the

guidelines provided by the publisher. They will not be available through the campus store.

The University Library can place course materials on reserve either in the library or online. See the Library’s

Reserves website for more information and deadlines.

Faculty members are expected to coordinate with the Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC) as

needed regarding alternate formats of materials and captioning for any registered students with approved

accommodations.

addition, all syllabi must include the ASAC’s “Students with Disabilities” statement. This statement is provided

within the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning’s Syllabus Template.

Atmosphere. All faculty members teaching classes at American University, whether they are full- time or part-

time faculty, will observe the highest possible academic and professional standards in their own performance

and in the performance they demand of their students. Faculty members should be committed to practicing

intellectual honesty, to encouraging the free pursuit of learning and the free expression of ideas among their

students, to promoting high scholarly standards, to respecting students as individuals and to treating them

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appropriately in and out of class, to evaluating students' work in a fair and timely manner, and to adhering to

their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors of students.

Management of Disorderly Students. Primary responsibility for managing the classroom environment

(including meetings with students during office hours) rests with faculty. A faculty member may remove any

online resource, “Making Excellence Inclusive,” the Association of American Colleges and Universities

(AAC&U), defines diversity as “individual differences (e.g., personality, learning styles, and life experiences)

and group/social differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability

as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations)." Inclusion, as defined by the AAC&U, is “the active,

intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in

communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that

increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex

ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.”

Faculty members should be mindful of diversity and inclusion when planning course content, choosing course

the Senate Reports webpage.

Each faculty member, in accepting an appointment to teach for the university, assumes an obligation to be

present for the full length of all meetings of each class to which they are assigned. Faculty members are

expected to conduct classes as scheduled and on time.

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Students cannot be expected to wait for a tardy instructor for more than fifteen minutes and no faculty member

may penalize a class that exercises its prerogative of disbanding when the instructor is late.

Class Cancellations. When university cancellations are announced publicly, faculty should make alternate

arrangements for missed office hours, class sessions, and related events. For example, face-to-face classes

cover classes as a means of fostering collegiality and supporting students. When this is not possible and

cancellations are absolutely necessary, faculty members should notify their academic department and their

students. Students are expected to adhere to the course schedule despite the cancellation while professors

are expected to ensure that all substantive materials and assignments will be covered.

Make Up Classes. A faculty member who wishes to hold a class meeting in lieu of one cancelled may not

schedule it on holidays, during vacation periods, or at other times when classes are not meeting regularly. No

make-up classes may be offered during the final exam period, regardless of whether this time would conflict

with another final examination for any of the students. Make up classes may be held on the designated study

days, but must be scheduled in advance with Academic Scheduling. A special class meeting should be at a

content and student assignments to enable them to carry out their work satisfactorily and in accordance with

the faculty member's syllabus.

Guest lecturers must be carefully selected and given enough information about the course content and

assignments to enable them to carry out their work satisfactorily and in accordance with the faculty member's

syllabus.

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Occasionally visitors to the university wish to attend classes as observers. Such visitors may include friends,

prospective students, faculty colleagues, and scholars interested in educational developments and

methodology. Those visits must be approved by the instructor and, when appropriate, pre-arranged with the

academic or teaching unit. Otherwise, faculty members are expected to deny a place in the class to any person

who has not been formally registered.

Communication of grades to students. Faculty are expected to provide timely feedback that is frequent,

objective, and fair in response to student work throughout the academic term. Final course grade records are

maintained by the Office of the University Registrar and are made available to students as early as possible.

Instructors may release final course grade results to their students in any manner that preserves the

confidential nature of grade information.

Early warning reports. The university encourages faculty members to assign and assess student work within

the first three weeks of the semester. In response to this work, faculty should provide timely feedback and

constructive support to students. Faculty are also expected to submit early warning reports for any student

timely grading of his or her own examinations and for keeping them in a secure place until they are

administered. Faculty members are also responsible for the appropriate administration of exams. Some

students with approved accommodations may choose to schedule formal assessments via the Academic

Support and Access Center.

Final examinations are scheduled by the Office of the University Registrar or via the Academic Support and

Access Center. During the final exam period, all classes will meet at the designated time to either conduct a

final examination or, if no final examination is planned, to conduct the normal classroom activities. No class

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meetings will be cancelled during the final exam period except in unusual circumstances, in which case the

prior approval of the dean or department chair is required.

Take home exams. Instructions for take home, online, or other remotely administered examinations, including

level of collaboration or consultation of references, should be clearly communicated to students before the

Changes to final course grades. A request from a faculty member to change a final course grade that has been

reported to the University Registrar may be honored only under the following conditions:

event a grade change is authorized in accordance with university regulations, the new grade will replace the

former grade on the student's cumulative record. Any comments or notes entered on the transcript to explain a

grade change may not be removed at a later time.

II. Guidelines for Interactions with Students

Faculty and student interactions constitute the heart of the life of the university. The faculty member

exemplifies the search for truth by means of the free exchange of arguments, ideas, and evidence, and aims to

encourage the same ethos in students. Thus, the faculty member should treat all students with respect,

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evaluate students without bias, and avoid actions that interfere with the activity of inquiry inside or outside the

classroom. Faculty members should also serve as campus resources to their students; in doing so, they should

be knowledgeable about academic regulations and the wide variety of support services available to students.

Training on pedagogical matters is provided by the Center for Teaching, Research & Learning.

A. Advising and Counseling Students

to the staff of the Counseling Center if a student's difficulty appears to involve personal issues or to the staff of

the Academic Support and Access Center if the difficulty appears to involve academic issues.

Full-time faculty members are prohibited from entering into privately negotiated remunerative arrangements for

special tutoring of students in any American University courses.

B. Ethical Considerations

All faculty members should observe these ethical standards:

Similarly, all faculty members should avoid the following sorts of unacceptable behavior in their role as teacher

and mentor: