Oakridge College Faculty Handbook
The Faculty Handbook provides clear guidance for the faculty, academic staff, and student academic assistants of Oakridge College. Oakridge was founded on the belief that education carries responsibility: to students, to the college, and to the wider Briarmont community. Faculty are expected to teach with care, support students with good judgment, respect the academic hierarchy, and help maintain the standards that allow the college to function. This handbook explains the core expectations of faculty service, including classroom conduct, department responsibilities, academic ranks, course planning, student support, conflict resolution, Campus Security, promotion procedures, and related academic policies. It is intended to help faculty understand their role, use their authority responsibly, and know when to seek help from Department Chairs, Deans, or college administration.
III. Academic Schools, Departments, and Programs
Overview
Oakridge College is organized into four Academic Schools: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Professional Studies. Each School contains academic departments, and each department oversees related programs of study. This structure helps faculty understand where courses, students, programs, and academic decisions belong.
The Details
Oakridge College is a small land-sciences and liberal-arts college. Its academic structure must be clear enough to support students, but flexible enough for a small faculty community.
The four major academic areas of Oakridge College are its Academic Schools. Each Academic School is led by a Dean and contains departments with related programs of study.
Academic departments are the main working units of the college. Departments oversee programs of study, course offerings, faculty activity, student advising, curriculum development, and the academic standards of their fields.
Programs of study are the student-facing academic paths offered by the college. These may include certificates, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and concentrations within a major.
Academic Schools
Oakridge College has four Academic Schools:
- School of Arts and Humanities
- School of Social Sciences
- School of Natural Sciences
- School of Professional Studies
Each School is led by a Dean. The Dean is responsible for the academic health of the School, supports the Department Chairs, reviews major academic matters, and represents the School to senior college leadership.
School of Arts and Humanities
The School of Arts and Humanities includes departments and programs connected to art, literature, history, culture, music, theatre, design, writing, performance, and creative practice.
Departments
The School of Arts and Humanities includes:
- Department of Literature
- Department of Fine Art
- Department of Performing Arts
Programs of Study
The Department of Literature includes:
- Literature and Writing (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- History and Cultural Studies (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Concentration: Museum Studies
The Department of Fine Art includes:
- Fine Art (Associate, Bachelor of Fine Arts)
- Visual Arts and Design (Bachelor of Arts)
The Department of Performing Arts includes:
- Music (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Theatre and Performance (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
The college core also includes:
- Liberal Arts (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
The Liberal Arts program is part of the broader academic core of Oakridge. It supports students who need a broad course of study across multiple fields.
School of Social Sciences
Departments
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Sociology
- Department of Political Science
Programs of Study
The Department of Psychology includes:
- Psychology (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Concentration: Behavioral Science
- Human Development and Social Work (Associate)
The Department of Sociology includes:
- Sociology and Community Studies (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Anthropology (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Public and Community Health (Associate)
The Department of Political Science includes:
- Political Science and Civic Studies (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Economics (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
School of Natural Sciences
The School of Natural Sciences includes departments and programs connected to ecology, land stewardship, mathematics, physical science, laboratory science, biology, chemistry, forensics, and clinical analysis.
This School carries Oakridge’s founding academic tradition most directly. The college grew from the Oakridge Institute of Forestry and Land Sciences, and its original purpose was tied to land study, forestry, ecology, restoration, and stewardship. The modern School of Natural Sciences continues that tradition while supporting a broader range of scientific programs.
Departments
The School of Natural Sciences includes:
- Department of Earth and Ecological Sciences
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Laboratory Sciences
Programs of Study
The Department of Earth and Ecological Sciences includes:
- Environmental and Ecological Science (Associate, Bachelor of Science)
- Concentration: Geology
The Department of Mathematics includes:
- Mathematics and Physics (Associate, Bachelor of Science)
- Concentration: Statistics and Data Analysis
The Department of Laboratory Sciences includes:
- Biology (Bachelor of Science)
- Chemistry (Bachelor of Science)
- Forensic Science (Associate, Bachelor of Science)
- Laboratory Technology / Clinical Analysis (Associate, Bachelor of Science)
School of Professional Studies
The School of Professional Studies includes departments and programs connected to law, public safety, health sciences, nursing preparation, education, career programs, certificates, administrative work, technical support, hospitality, and applied workforce preparation.
Professional Studies is designed for students whose academic work connects directly to public service, workplace preparation, technical training, care work, legal support, education, or other applied fields.
Departments
The School of Professional Studies includes:
- Department of Legal Studies
- Department of Health Sciences
- Department of Education
- Department of Career Programs
Programs of Study
The Department of Legal Studies includes:
- Criminal Justice and Legal Studies (Associate, Bachelor of Arts)
- Includes A.A. Criminal Justice and B.A. Legal Studies
- Includes a pre-law pathway
- Paralegal Studies Certificate
- Municipal Administration Certificate
- Security and Public Safety Certificate
The Department of Health Sciences includes:
- Health Sciences (Associate, Bachelor of Science)
- Nursing Preparation / Pre-Med
- Allied Health Certificate
- Home Health Aide Certificate
The Department of Education includes:
- Education (Bachelor of Arts)
- Teaching Support Certificate
The Department of Career Programs includes:
- Culinary Arts and Hospitality (Associate)
- Administrative and Technical Support (Associate)
- Office Administration Certificate
- Industrial Safety Certificate
- Camera and Production Crew Certificate
- Sound and Live Event Production Certificate
- Technical Theatre and Stagecraft Certificate
Programs of Study
Programs of study are the academic paths available to students.
Oakridge uses the following general levels:
- Certificate
- Associate degree
- Bachelor’s degree
- Concentration within a major
A certificate is a short, career-focused program.
An associate degree is a two-year course of study.
A bachelor’s degree is a four-year course of study.
A concentration is a focus track inside a major. A student does not apply to a concentration separately. The student chooses it after declaring the major, when the program allows one.
Department Responsibility for Programs
Each department is responsible for the programs placed under it.
This includes:
- Maintaining program descriptions
- Supporting courses connected to the program
- Advising students in the program
- Reviewing program needs
- Supporting faculty who teach in the program
- Keeping program expectations clear
- Recommending updates when the program no longer fits college needs
- Making sure the program remains active, useful, and credible
A department should not keep a program only as a title. If a program exists, students and faculty should be able to understand what it is for and how it supports academic life at Oakridge.
School Responsibility for Departments
Each Academic School is responsible for the departments placed under it.
The Dean of the School should make sure departments remain organized, active, and aligned with the mission of Oakridge College.
This may include:
- Reviewing department activity
- Supporting Department Chairs
- Resolving conflicts between departments
- Reviewing curriculum proposals
- Supporting faculty advancement
- Helping departments avoid overlap or confusion
- Making sure programs remain appropriate to the School
- Bringing serious concerns to the Vice President or President
Changes to Programs
Changes to programs should be handled carefully.
A program may need review when:
- It no longer has active faculty support
- It overlaps too heavily with another program
- It no longer fits the department
- It has unclear requirements
- It creates confusion for students
- It is too large for Oakridge’s scale
- It needs to be modernized
- It no longer supports meaningful roleplay or academic activity
Program changes should normally begin at the department level. The Department Chair should review the concern with faculty and then bring a recommendation to the Dean.
The Dean may approve, delay, return for revision, or escalate the recommendation depending on the size of the change.
Major changes that affect the structure of a School, the identity of a department, or the public academic catalog should be reviewed by senior college administration.
Non-Academic Administration
Not every part of Oakridge belongs to the academic school and department structure.
Oakridge also has non-academic administrative offices and leadership roles connected to student life, residence life, student conduct, campus activities, student organizations, athletics, and other campus-facing services.
These offices are important to the daily life of the college, but they are not academic departments. They do not control academic programs, faculty ranks, course requirements, or curriculum unless a specific college policy gives them a role in a particular matter.
Faculty should work with non-academic administration when a student concern, conduct matter, residence issue, activity, or campus life concern falls outside normal classroom or department authority.
The offices and bodies faculty deal with most often are set out below.
Dean of Student Affairs
The Dean of Student Affairs is the senior administrative officer for non-academic student life. The office carries residence life and housing, student conduct, campus events, clubs and student organizations, athletics, Student Council, social programming, and the general welfare of the student body. It may approve, delay, or deny student events and organizations, and it may serve on or help organize disciplinary committees involving student behavior. It does not oversee an Academic School and holds no authority over curriculum, faculty rank, or degree requirements.
Faculty go to Student Affairs when a student matter is one of student life, personal concern, housing, or conduct support rather than coursework. The Dean of Student Affairs also works with the academic Deans when student conduct reaches into a classroom or a department.
Student Life and Housing
Student Life and Housing is the residential department beneath the Dean of Student Affairs. It manages dormitory policy and residence hall expectations, housing assignments and room changes, roommate concerns, Residence Assistants, maintenance coordination, and records of housing concerns. It is not an academic department and does not control curriculum, faculty ranks, courses, or academic programs.
The department is the first internal point of response for most residential concerns. It settles ordinary matters itself and escalates serious ones to the Dean of Student Affairs, the Disciplinary Committee, Campus Security, senior college administration, or outside authorities when required.
Registrar
The Registrar keeps the official academic record. The office manages course registration, enrollment records, class rosters, add and drop requests, prerequisite records, the academic calendar and its deadlines, transcripts, enrollment verification, degree progress, and graduation clearance. It records academic decisions rather than making them. Programs, curriculum, and degree requirements belong to departments, Department Chairs, Deans, and senior college administration.
Faculty go to the Registrar for records, enrollment, course registration, or credits, and for grade submission and calendar deadlines. A faculty member who is unsure of a requirement or of a student’s academic standing should ask rather than guess.
Bursar
The Bursar keeps student financial accounts. The office manages tuition and fee charges, payments, account balances, refunds, payment plans, approved waivers or credits, and financial holds tied to unpaid balances. A hold may affect registration, housing clearance, transcript release, or graduation processing.
Faculty send a student to the Bursar when the difficulty is money rather than academics, including billing questions, billing errors, and a hold blocking one of those services. Faculty should not promise an adjustment. Account changes are made through approved procedure.
Department of Athletics
The Department of Athletics oversees sport, spirit, and recreation, and was established with the college in 1947. Every Oakridge team takes the field as the Mustangs. Athletics at Oakridge runs on participation rather than scholarship, through intramural play, pick-up leagues, and student squads that form and rest with the interest of each year’s class. Athletics is a department of the college but not an academic one, so it belongs to no Academic School.
Faculty go to Athletics for team activity, squad formation, practices, and game day. Coaching decisions and athletic staff matters rest with Athletics, and athletics-related student life and conduct matters go to the Dean of Student Affairs. A faculty member serving as advisor to a team refers concerns to the proper athletic, academic, or student affairs authority, and does not interfere with coaching decisions unless appointed to that role.
Oakridge Student Council
The Oakridge Student Council is the student government of the college, elected each academic year by the student body and open to any enrolled student. The Council charters and funds student organizations, runs campus events, represents students to the administration, and seats a student voice in campus policy discussions and in conduct matters before the Disciplinary Committee. Its officers meet with the Dean of Student Affairs and with Student Life and Housing.
Faculty go to the Council when a student group seeks recognition or a share of the activities budget, or when a department event wants student organization support. The Council is a student body rather than a college office, so a faculty member does not refer an academic ruling or a disciplinary matter to it. Its student representative on the Disciplinary Committee is nominated through the Council and seated when the Committee is convened.
General Rule
Academic Schools organize related departments.
Departments manage programs, courses, faculty activity, and academic standards.
Programs define what students study.
When faculty are unsure where a matter belongs, they should begin with the Department Chair. If the matter affects more than one department or the structure of a School, it should move to the Dean.