Faculty Responsibilities

Faculty members teaching a full load of undergraduate courses (12-15 hours) should hold eight office hours each week. Those teaching fewer hours should allocate at least two office hours per week for each section of a three-semester hour traditional, evening/weekend, graduate, or distance-learning course taught. Faculty should post a schedule of class hours and locations and office hours on their office doors. Faculty also should file a specified number of copies of class hours, class locations and office hours, along with certain other data as instructed, with the department chair and the division director early in each semester.

Faculty members are expected to be present at all regularly scheduled department and university faculty meetings.

Registration is held during the spring semester for the summer sessions and fall semesters and during the fall semester for the spring semester. Incoming freshmen may preregister during the summer orientation sessions. During preregistration, new students meet with advisors from University College. Returning students should meet with their assigned major advisors. The names of students who are officially enrolled and financially validated will appear on the class rosters. Students whose names do not appear on the roster may have been purged from the course if the students have not made financial arrangements with the university.

Since effective advisement is crucial to students’ success at the university, all faculty members should be familiar with academic regulations, requirements, and procedures set out in the University Catalog.

Undergraduate Faculty

In each department, the chair makes teaching assignments so that the average teaching load for a full-time undergraduate faculty member is twelve (12) hours per semester, and assignments will not exceed fifteen hours or an equivalent load.

Graduate Faculty

Teaching loads of graduate faculty will be determined by deans, based on the needs of their academic units.

Assignment of classes and office space is the duty of the department chair in consultation with the dean, with final approval by the provost. Classrooms are assigned by a central software program. Faculty members must consult and have the approval of the departmental chair (in conjunction with the building coordinator) before changing the location of any assigned classrooms.

Traditional Courses

Faculty are required to meet all assigned, scheduled classes promptly and to make full use of the time allotted. Classes should both begin and end on time so that students are not late for subsequent classes. Each college and department should provide a procedure and form to report faculty absences.

Traditional classes are scheduled five days a week, normally beginning at 8:00 a.m., and occasionally on weekends.

Evening-Weekend Courses

The Evening-Weekend College targets adult students whose work schedules do not accommodate the traditional university class meeting times. Each regular semester consists of two EWC eight-week blocks (for three semester hours), including evenings and weekends. The summer term consists of one EWC eight-week block.

Distance Learning Courses

Faculty should be accessible to students on the first day of on-line classes as well as during designated office hours.

Each instructor should have a procedure for recording students’ class attendance and assignment grades. Student records, such as final exams, need to be kept as long as there might be a grade appeal. Access the following link for the UNC system’s policy on length of record keeping.

Faculty are expected to monitor attendance and alert the department chair and the Registrar about students who stop attending class or who are registered but not attending a course. During the add/drop period or the first two weeks of the semester, faculty should use the official roles in the student information system (Banner) to check attendance to ensure that students attending class are registered. As registration status may change daily, faculty need to use updated roles from the system for each day during this period.

Midterm and final course grades are posted on Banner at the time designated by the Office of the Registrar. Midterm grades must be submitted but do not affect the student’s university records. Midterm grades are not submitted for students enrolled in Evening-Weekend College courses.

All grades are final, except in the case of errors or the assignment of an “I” (“Incomplete”). Grades given in error can be changed by filling out a Change of Grade Form, which may be obtained from the department head. Grades of “I” are assigned when a student has not completed a substantial portion of the class work because of illness or some other acceptable reason. With each incomplete grade, the faculty member must file with the department office an Incomplete Grade Report Form specifying the work still to be done, the way the grade is to be computed, and the grade to be awarded if the work is not completed.

When course work is completed, grades are reported on the Change of Grade Form. Department chairs are responsible for insuring that Incomplete Grade Report Forms are completed. Full information about grades that are awarded, grade points for each, and time limits for completion of an “I” will be found in the current issue of the Undergraduate Catalog.

Faculty will not post student grades in any other location than Banner. Official notification of grades will come from the university.

Winston-Salem State University puts forth every reasonable effort to maintain academic integrity in the instructional program. To compromise integrity through acts of academic dishonesty seriously jeopardizes the quality of instruction and the caliber of education we purport to provide our students. Such dishonesty includes:

Cheating – Intentionally and knowingly using unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise or matter.

Plagiarism – Intentionally and knowingly representing in any academic exercise or matter the words or ideas of another as one’s own.

Fabrication – Intentionally and knowingly falsifying or inventing information or citations in an academic exercise.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty – Intentionally and knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication.

Please refer to the University’s Academic Integrity Policy for more information.

All full-time faculty members are expected to attend all formal academic assemblies and to wear their academic regalia. These formal assemblies are held three times each year, during the fall semester on Founder’s Day, and during fall and spring commencements.

Much of the general work of departments and the university are conducted through committees. (Descriptions of general faculty committees are located in Chapter One.) Although committees are advisory in nature, they are relied on for recommendations and provide an important way for faculty, as well as staff and students, to participate in the governance of Winston-Salem State University. All faculty members are expected to participate actively in the work of the committees to which they are assigned. In addition, special committees are appointed to prepare for accreditation site visits and perform other tasks.

Only the chairperson or secretary of a faculty committee is authorized to make announcements of committee actions. Committee members should be careful to respect the confidentiality of committee deliberations and information.

Recruitment of qualified students is basic to all of the university’s programs, and faculty members are expected to assist in this area even though the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the School of Graduate Studies and Research have primary responsibility for recruitment. Faculty members are often asked to help with specific recruitment activities, and all are expected to assist with departmental recruitment plans and encourage prospective students to consider the offerings of Winston-Salem State University. Any effort to contact prospective students, especially through high schools or high counselors, should be coordinated through these offices.

Each student organization must have at least one faculty or staff advisor. Organizations can choose advisors from among faculty and staff members who are full-time EPA permanent employees. (SPA staff can serve as co-advisors only.) Proposed programs and activities of the organization must be submitted to the advisor, and the advisor or a designated representative must be present at all the organization’s meetings and social affairs. Further information about the rules governing student organizations will be found at the Student Affairs web site.

Radio stations to be notified

• WFDD (88.5 FM)
• WSNC (90.5 FM)
• WQMG (97.1 FM)
• WSJS (600 AM)
• WSNC (790 AM)
• WPOL (1340 AM)
• WTOB (1360 AM)
• WSMX (1500 AM)

Television stations to be notified

• WXII (Channel 12)
• WFMY (Channel 2)
• WXLV (Channel 45)
• WGHP (Channel 8)

The university has several emergency procedures outlined to curtail, prevent, and report criminal activity; to recognize and report hazardous materials; and to assist with one’s own illness or injury. All faculty members are expected to familiarize themselves with the procedures.

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) values its employees and recognizes the importance that families fulfill in the lives of employees. The purpose of this policy is not to devalue that importance, but rather to insure that employees are not distracted from their duties by the presence of dependents in the workplace other than for limited periods and on an emergency basis, pending approval by the employee’s immediate supervisor or department head. Please refer to the Dependents in the Workplace Policy for more information.