Faculty Must Know
Grade Changes
A grade filed with the Office of Student Records is an official record of the College. Once submitted, no grade change may be made by the faculty except in cases of clerical error. If a grade needs to be changed the Gateway Office of Student Records will require a grade change form completed by the instructor. Grade changes require approval from the appropriate Dean/Director and, in certain circumstances, the Chief Academic Officer.
To request a grade change faculty need to :
- Click here for the electronic Grade Change Form.
- Fill out the form giving a complete explanation of the reason for the change.
- After clicking on the form submit button, the form will be sent to the appropriate Dean/Director for action.
The student will be notified of the disposition by the Gateway Office of Student Records.
A student having questions concerning the correctness of the Student Grade Report must bring the concern(s) in writing to the attention of the Gateway Office of Student Records within ten days after the end of the semester. A student may appeal his/her grade(s) by following procedures available here: Grade Appeals
Incomplete Grade
The grade of Incomplete is given when, because of an acceptable emergency situation, a student is unable to meet all course requirements.
A student wishing to receive an Incomplete in a course must make a reasonable attempt to contact the instructor prior to the end of the semester, otherwise, no credit will be given toward the final grade for the work not completed.
The grade of Incomplete might be removed and another grade substituted if the student makes up the course deficiencies to the satisfaction of the instructor. A grade of Incomplete must be removed no later than noon of the sixth Friday of the semester following the one in which the Incomplete was received. If the Incomplete is not removed within the time limit, the alternate letter grade assigned by the instructor is automatically substituted. If no alternate grade has been assigned, the grade of “F” will be substituted.
The instructor may for good reason allow a student additional time in which to complete the work. A written request for an extension of an Incomplete must be submitted to the instructor and must 1) state the reason for the request and 2) propose the new date of completion (generally, no longer than the end of the semester in which the missing work is due). In addition, the instructor will need to submit the “Extension of Incomplete Timeline” form to The Gateway. Both the student and the instructor will need to sign this form or otherwise have their approval indicated on the form.
Following approval or disapproval by the instructor, the request is forwarded to The Gateway. A student receiving a grade of Incomplete enrolls in subsequent semesters of work at her/his own risk.
Note: A student receiving financial aid who wishes to receive a grade of Incomplete should first consult with a financial aid advisor, since receiving a grade of Incomplete could adversely impact the student’s financial aid situation.
Final Grade Submission
Every student on a class roster must be assigned a grade, whether or not the student attended class. All final grades must be recorded through Moodle utilizing the myCOTC block.
Click here for instructions on entering final grades.
Grades must be entered by the date specified in the official College Calendar. Grades for all courses designated as “Flexibly Scheduled” or “Term” are due by Noon on the day following the completion of the course.
Grades for graduating students are due a week prior to graduation, so accommodations for those students should be made.
Questions concerning grade reporting should be directed to the Gateway Office of Student Records. Please visit the Student Records website for contact information.
Final Exam Responsibility
Please visit the Official Academic College Calendar for final exam dates. All final examinations should be given during the official period with the following exceptions:
- Term and flex courses – it is assumed that term and flex courses will have Final Exams during the last scheduled class meeting.
- Graduating students – grades for graduating students are due in the Gateway Office of Student Records by Noon Friday one week prior to the graduation ceremony. Therefore, Final Exams for those students must be completed and grades submitted by the date listed in the Academic Calendar. Instructors should work out a final exam schedule with those individuals involved.
- Take-home or online alternately scheduled examinations - instructors must notify the Office of Academic Affairs of the intent to administer these exams so notification can be posted on the exam schedule.
Click here for the final exam schedule.
All final exams are one hour forty-five minutes in length. The time of the final exam may deviate from the official class time. The exam schedule is to be followed as published. Any deviations from the posted exam schedule must approved by Academic Affairs. Should a class plan to meet at any time during Finals Week for a lab final or any other reason (such as a student requested review session), the meeting should be reported.
All questions or requests concerning final exams should be directed to Susan Woolard in the Office of Academic Affairs (740-364-9543) or swoolard@cotc.edu.
Syllabus Information
Using the standard COTC format, each instructor is required to prepare a syllabus for each course section taught. Course competencies and corresponding student learning outcomes are not to be changed.
A blank syllabus template is available on the Curriculum Committee website.
The Standardized Course Syllabus is the official statement of course content. The course competencies and corresponding student learning outcomes represent the formal statement of curriculum content for the College as prepared by the faculty. In addition, the Standardized Course Syllabus communicates the expectation the instructor and the College share regarding student learning in the course. If you, the instructor, have thoughts, concerns, or questions regarding the course competencies and corresponding student learning outcomes , please share them with the Academic Dean/Director.
All instructors must post their syllabi, including class syllabus and standardized course syllabus, on Moodle. Instructions for Moodle can be found on myCOTC. Since all faculty must post their syllabi on Moodle, it can be inferred that all COTC students have access to this “distributed” copy of the syllabi by means of their access to their classes via Moodle. Therefore, faculty are no longer required to distribute hard copies of their syllabi to their students. All course syllabi must be posted to Moodle by day one of instruction in a given semester, term, or flexibly scheduled class and instructors must review syllabi information with their students during the first week of instruction—preferably on the first day of instruction.
Please contact the Academic Division secretary at (740) 366-9287 (non-health and non-public safety related) or (740) 366-9285 (health and public safety related) with any questions.
Unauthorized Class Visitors
Unauthorized individuals are not permitted to attend classes. In this case, the term “unauthorized individual” refers to someone who is not registered for your class but who is attending your class anyway. This person’s name will not appear on your class roster, unless the person is on your wait list; however, please note that persons whose names are on your class wait list are not (yet) registered for your class.
Only individuals whose names appear on your roster (excluding your wait list) are permitted to attend your class. Put differently: If an individual’s name does not appear on your roster (excluding your wait list), then that individual is not in your class and should not be permitted to attend your class.
If there are individuals attending your class whose names do not appear on your roster, please inform them that they are not registered for your class, and please do not permit them to attend class. Instead, advise them to consult with appropriate Gateway personnel if they have any questions.
The only exceptions to this practice are for students whose names appear on your wait list or who have been given (and show you) a “permission to attend class” notification from the Gateway and who are attending your class in the hope that they will be permitted to add the class before the end of the fifth day of the semester (or, for term courses, before the third day of the first week of instruction).
One final note: At the end of the fifth day of the semester (or, for flex or term courses, at the end of the third day of the first week of instruction), please double-check your roster to ensure that it accurately reflect the names of all students registered for your class section.
Allowing unauthorized individuals to attend classes puts the College at severe liability risk.
Cancellations / Absences / Field Trips
If a faculty member must cancel any class, she/he must immediately notify the designated supervisor’s secretary: (740) 366-9285 for health and public safety classes or (740) 366-9287 for all other classes.
An official cancellation or change notice will be posted on the appropriate classroom door, information posted on the COTC Cancelled Classes web page and included on myCOTC under Cancelled Classes . If the need arises before 8:00 AM or after 5:00 PM the faculty member should contact Public Safety at 740-366-9237.
The absence of a faculty member from a scheduled class without arrangement of a Dean/Director approved substitute results in the cancellation of the class. Be advised, students are not permitted to remain in the classroom unless an approved substitute faculty member is present.
If a faculty member plans to hold class in a location other than the pre-assigned room, the faculty member must obtain permission for the field trip in advance from the appropriate Dean/Director and notify the appropriate division secretary.
Absences of any member of the teaching staff from scheduled service must be with prior knowledge and approval of the Academic Dean/Director and the Chief Academic Officer. Full-time faculty should refer to UF/COTC Agreement Article XIV, Leaves of Absences; and Article XV, Professional Meetings, Conferences, Workshops. Additional information may be included under Benefits and Leaves in HR Policies.
Note: a faculty member may not cancel or alter the date or time of any scheduled class period without prior written consent and approval of the appropriate Academic Dean/Director and and the Chief Academic Officer.
Severe Weather / Emergency:
Classes are rarely cancelled on the COTC campuses. However, should cancellation of classes be necessary as a result of severe weather or other emergency, notification will also be posted on the COTC website and myCOTC. Severe weather and emergency Information is also available by calling 740-366-9216.
Severe weather announcements will also be made over WCLT, WHTH, WNKO, WMVO, WQIO, WTNS, WHIZ, WOSU, WSNY, WCOL, WNCI, and WTVN-AM. Announcements are also sent to the following TV stations: WCMH-TV4, WBNS-10TV, and WSYX-TV6. Due to heavy cancellation loads in Columbus, it is advisable to listen to local area stations first.