The Associate of Arts program is being revised beginning with the cohorts starting in spring 2010. A complete explanation is available here. Briefly, the AA degree changes will include expanding the offerings to include different courses in the curriculum. From this point, each cohort will use different courses, all of which will address the university’s Common Studies objectives. The total number of hours required for the degree will decrease from 65 to 61.
The following items are intended to help you succeed as a William Woods instructor. Please email or call me if you have suggestions about items to add, or if an existing item needs to be clarified.
Academic Policies
The Undergraduate Regulations section of the Graduate and Adult Studies (G&AS) catalog covers the questions most frequently asked by our students. Here are some basics:
Attendance policy -
Students absent from class for two or more sessions will have their final course letter grade reduced by one full letter for each class missed after the first absence. This applies to all G&AS courses meeting fewer than 10 sessions.
Course withdrawal - Students may withdraw from a course up until the start of the final course session. Withdrawal requests must be done in writing to their program's advisor. Emails are preferred. Assoicate of Arts students contact Diane Abbott; students in other undergraduate programs contact Martha Wayne. Please note that correspondence to instructors is not sufficient documentation of a student's intent to withdraw.
Grade appeal - Instructors may change assigned course grades only if they acknowledge a computational error or a technical error in entering the grades. In either case, documentation of how the course grade was calculated will be requested by the Academic Affairs office. If no such error is acknowledged, students will need to prove that the grade was awarded in an arbitrary or capricious manner via the procedure outlined in this policy.
Incomplete grade - Incomplete grades are an option in circumstances beyond the student’s control, which prevents the student from finishing a small portion of the work required to complete the course within the established course schedule. The Incomplete is never granted for purposes of convenience or to enable the submission of long overdue work.
If you agree to a student's request for an incomplete grade, the student needs to provide you with an Incomplete grade form. Submit the completed form to the Registrar's office, or fax it to them at (573) 592-1158.
Transfer credit - Official copies of transcripts are needed.
Please refer students who ask you questions to their advisor - Diane Abbott for the AA program (dabbott@williamwoods.edu; 592-4347) and Martha Wayne (mwayne@williamwoods.edu; 592-4380) for all other undergraduate programs.
Back to top
Failing grades
If you are teaching any Associate of Arts or Access course and a student receives a failing grade, please e-mail (tom.frankman@williamwoods.edu) or call me (573) 592-1166 as soon as possible. If you are teaching any of the three courses listed below, I need to know about any failing student within 48 hours of the end of the course so that the student may be notified that he or she is not eligible to take the next course in their Associate of Arts cohort.
ENG 100 Intro to English Composition (prerequisite for English Composition I)
MAT 101 Intro to College Math (prerequisite for Basic Algebra)
MAT 102 Basic Algebra (prereq for Survey of College Math)
Back to top
Grammar/English use aid (online resource)
Here is a link to to the webpage "Common Errors in English," created by Washington State University Emeritus Professor of English Paul Brians. Is your brain betraying you concerning the difference between critique and criticize, for example? Then this is a place to visit.
Back to top
Inclement weather/class cancellation polcy
This link leads to the university's policy for cancelling class sessions because of inclement weather. It also lists class meetings that have been cancelled.
You may call or email the program director, Dr. Tom Frankman at (573) 592-1166 or tom.frankman@williamwoods.edu for consultation about this matter if you wish. The university rarely closes its Fulton campus or the Jefferson City or Columbia sites because of bad weather. However, you may have students coming to your course from outlying areas, so you may consider cancelling a session.
Facilitators who cancel class should:
- Inform the university Coordinator of Off-Campus Support via phone at 573-592-4347 or via email at concerns@williamwoods.edu.
- Contact the cohort's class representative, inform them and decide with them how the remaining students in the course will be notified. Please remember that not all students in a course may be members of the same Associate of Arts cohort.
Class sessions that are cancelled because of inclement weather should be made up if at all possible.
Back to top
Instructor Information page (accompanies course syllabus)
Students receive a common syllabi for each course through the university. As the instructor, you need to provide them with your contact information and define your course policies in areas such as cell phone use and late submission of assignments. You also need to get contact information for your students.
You might also consider sections on class format, student behavior and professional behavior as outlined in this post on the website FacultyFocus.com
Back to top
Library and research tools
These items include several screen shots and are useful to share with students. They are from a Fall 2008 professional development session for AA and Access faculty done by Barb Davis, the university's former reference librarian.
Academic journals
Obtaining resources from other libraries using ARTHUR and MOBIUS*
Resources other than the library catalog and online databases, such as ebooks and guides for properly citing sources.
Search tips for library databases
Back to top
Rubrics for assessment and grading
As part of the campuswide emphasis on student assessment, William Woods faculty have developed rubrics for each of the Common Studies (general education) objectives. The Communication rubric, a tool for assessing written and oral communication, may be used throughout the Associate of Arts and Access curricula. AA and Access instructors may edit the rubrics to fit their needs.
Back to top
Tutoring
All university students have access to the tutors on the main campus. These tutors are work-study students who have received a grade of B or better in each subject they are involved with.
Back to top
