Oakridge College Faculty Handbook

Overview

Faculty are responsible for teaching students, supporting learning, and helping students understand their academic options. Faculty should be prepared, fair, clear, and available within reason. Faculty are not expected to solve every student problem alone, and serious concerns should be referred to the proper college office or authority.

The Details

Teaching is the central work of Oakridge College. Faculty are expected to create classes and academic activities that are organized, useful, and connected to the purpose of the course or program.

Advising and student support are also part of faculty service. Students may come to faculty with questions about courses, programs, academic progress, department opportunities, or concerns about classroom situations. Faculty should respond with care and good judgment.

Faculty should support students, but they should also understand the limits of their role. Faculty are not counselors, disciplinary officers, Campus Security, or senior administrators unless they also hold one of those approved roles.

Teaching Responsibilities

Faculty are expected to teach in a way that supports student learning and protects the academic standards of the college.

Faculty should:

• Prepare for scheduled classes or academic activities
• Explain the purpose of the class or activity
• Keep instruction connected to the course topic
• Give students a fair chance to participate
• Use clear expectations
• Treat students with respect
• Correct students without humiliation
• Maintain reasonable classroom order
• Follow department and college standards
• Communicate changes when needed

A faculty member does not need to teach in the same style as every other faculty member. Different subjects may require lectures, discussion, demonstrations, field work, workshops, laboratories, performances, simulations, writing exercises, or supervised practice.

However, all teaching should be purposeful. Students should understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it connects to the course.

Course Expectations

Each course should have clear expectations.

Faculty should make sure students understand:

• The course topic
• The general purpose of the course
• Attendance or participation expectations
• Major assignments or activities
• Expected student conduct
• How to ask for help
• Any special rules for the course space, laboratory, studio, field site, or event

A full formal syllabus may not be required for every roleplay course or short academic activity. However, students should still receive enough information to understand what is expected of them.

If a course uses assignments, grades, attendance credit, certificates, or program requirements, expectations should be written clearly.

Classroom Environment

Faculty are responsible for maintaining a classroom environment that is respectful, orderly, and useful.

Students may disagree with faculty or with one another. Disagreement is allowed in academic life. Faculty should not punish students simply for asking questions, challenging an idea, or expressing a different view.

Faculty should intervene when behavior becomes:

• Disruptive
• Harassing
• Threatening
• Unsafe
• Personally abusive
• Repeatedly off-topic after correction
• Preventing other students from participating

Faculty should correct problems calmly when possible. Serious or repeated problems should be reported to the Department Chair, Dean, Campus Security, or other appropriate authority.

Academic Freedom in Teaching

Faculty may teach, discuss, and examine difficult subjects when those subjects are relevant to the course or academic activity.

Academic freedom allows faculty to explore ideas, evidence, history, culture, science, politics, art, law, society, and other areas of study with seriousness and honesty.

Academic freedom does not give faculty permission to harass students, misuse authority, ignore course purpose, or create an unsafe learning environment.

Faculty should use academic freedom responsibly. Difficult material should be handled with care, especially when it concerns violence, discrimination, trauma, religion, politics, sexuality, death, or other sensitive subjects.

Advising Responsibilities

Faculty may advise students on academic matters connected to their course, department, program, or field of study.

Faculty advising may include:

• Explaining course expectations
• Helping students understand a program of study
• Discussing academic interests
• Recommending courses within the department
• Encouraging student participation in department events
• Helping students understand academic strengths and weaknesses
• Referring students to the correct office or authority
• Supporting students who are confused about academic requirements

Faculty should give advice that is honest, limited to what they know, and appropriate to their role.

If a faculty member is unsure about a requirement, policy, or student’s academic standing, they should not guess. They should refer the student to the Department Chair, Dean, Registrar, Student Affairs, or other appropriate office.

Limits of Faculty Advising

Faculty should not promise outcomes they cannot control.

Faculty should not promise:

• Admission to a program
• Graduation
• Promotion within a student organization
• Approval of transfer credit
• A specific grade or academic result
• Protection from discipline
• Special treatment from another faculty member
• Employment, placement, or official certification unless authorized
• Exceptions to college policy

Faculty may support students, write recommendations when appropriate, and help students understand their options. However, final decisions must remain with the proper college authority.

Student Support

Faculty should support students with patience and respect.

Student support may include:

• Answering reasonable academic questions
• Helping students understand feedback
• Encouraging students to improve
• Directing students to resources
• Listening to student concerns
• Helping students communicate with the right office
• Notifying the Department Chair or Dean when a concern is serious

Faculty should remember that students may not always know how the college works. Clear direction can prevent confusion and conflict.

Student Distress or Personal Concerns

Students may sometimes bring personal problems to faculty.

Faculty should respond with care, but they should not try to act as a counselor, therapist, medical provider, legal adviser, or investigator unless they are officially appointed to that role.

A faculty member may listen briefly, express concern, and help the student contact the correct support office or authority.

A student concern should be referred when it involves:

• Threats of harm
• Violence
• Abuse
• Harassment
• Severe distress
• Medical concerns
• Housing or residence problems
• Discrimination
• Sexual misconduct
• Criminal conduct
• A safety risk
• A problem beyond the faculty member’s role

Faculty should not keep serious safety concerns private.

Student Privacy

Faculty should handle student information with care.

Faculty should not share private student concerns casually or publicly. Information about a student should only be shared with people who have a proper reason to know.

Faculty may share information with a Department Chair, Dean, Student Affairs, Campus Security, Registrar, or senior administration when the information is needed to support the student, address misconduct, protect safety, or carry out college duties.

Faculty should avoid discussing student problems in public spaces, open chat, or unrelated social settings.

Fair Treatment of Students

Faculty must treat students fairly.

Fair treatment does not mean every student receives the same response in every situation. It means faculty decisions should be based on academic standards, conduct, course expectations, and student need, not personal favoritism or dislike.

Faculty should not treat students better or worse because of:

• Friendship
• Romance or personal interest
• Family ties
• Student organization membership
• Personal loyalty
• Disagreement with the faculty member
• Social status
• Rumors
• Retaliation
• Gifts or favors

Faculty should be able to explain academic decisions in a reasonable way.

Boundaries with Students

Faculty may be friendly and supportive, but they must maintain professional boundaries.

Faculty should not use their position to seek romance, attention, loyalty, money, gifts, favors, or personal services from students.

Faculty should be careful with private meetings, personal messages, and informal relationships. A faculty member’s authority can affect how freely a student feels able to say no.

If a faculty member believes a boundary concern may exist, they should speak with the Department Chair or Dean for guidance.

Office Hours and Student Availability

Oakridge faculty should be reasonably available to students.

This does not require faculty to be available at all times. Faculty may set reasonable limits on when and how students can contact them.

Availability may include:

• Scheduled office hours
• Appointment-based meetings
• Department help sessions
• Class review time
• Written replies to student questions
• Supervised study or workshop sessions

Faculty should tell students how to contact them for academic questions and when a reply can reasonably be expected.

Teaching Assistants and Student Support

Teaching Assistants may help support students, but only within approved limits.

Teaching Assistants may:

• Help students understand basic course activity
• Assist during supervised exercises
• Lead review or study support when approved
• Help organize materials
• Support department events
• Refer concerns to the faculty member

Teaching Assistants may not:

• Grade independently
• Discipline students
• Approve exceptions
• Change assignments
• Give official academic rulings
• Handle serious student concerns alone
• Act as the instructor of record

Faculty are responsible for supervising Teaching Assistants assigned to their class or department activity.

Referrals

Faculty should refer students to the proper office or authority when a concern goes beyond normal teaching or advising.

Common referrals include:

• Department Chair for department or program questions
• Dean for serious academic concerns
• Registrar for records, enrollment, course registration, or credits
• Student Affairs for student life, personal concerns, housing, or conduct support
• Campus Security for threats, violence, weapons, refusal to leave, or immediate safety concerns
• Senior administration for major college-level concerns

A referral should be clear. Faculty should tell the student where to go and, when appropriate, notify the receiving office or authority.

Documentation

Faculty should document important academic or conduct matters.

Documentation may be needed for:

• Repeated absences
• Repeated disruption
• Student misconduct
• Academic concerns
• Safety concerns
• Boundary concerns
• Grade or credit disputes
• Removal from class
• Referrals to leadership or Campus Security

Documentation should be factual and simple. Faculty should record what happened, when it happened, who was involved, and what action was taken.

Faculty should avoid emotional language, insults, assumptions, or unnecessary personal details.

When to Escalate

Faculty should escalate a concern when it cannot be handled at the classroom level.

A matter should be brought to the Department Chair when it involves:

• Repeated classroom problems
• Student confusion about a program
• Teaching Assistant concerns
• Course structure issues
• Faculty support needs
• Department-level student complaints

A matter should be brought to the Dean when it involves:

• Serious student misconduct
• Repeated department problems
• Department Chair concerns
• Possible faculty misconduct
• Major academic disputes
• Concerns that affect more than one department

A matter should be brought to Campus Security when it involves:

• Threats
• Physical aggression
• Weapons
• Refusal to leave after dismissal
• Harassment or intimidation
• A situation the faculty member cannot safely control

Attendance and Participation

Proposed, not yet ratified.

Attendance at Oakridge means being present for a class or academic activity and taking part in it.

A student attends when they:

• Arrive for the class or activity at the announced time
• Stay with it for the session
• Take part in the work, by answering, asking, performing the exercise, or contributing to the discussion

Standing silently in the room for a whole session is not the same as attending. Faculty should give quiet students room to join in, and should not read a short or late contribution as absence. Participation is judged across a course, not across a single moment.

A missed session is a session the student was not present for. Oakridge does not treat a missed session as misconduct. Students have obligations outside the college, and a class that meets at a set hour will always lose people to them.

Faculty should:

• State the attendance and participation expectation for the course before the work begins
• Say how a student should give notice when they cannot attend
• Say whether missed work can be made up, and how
• Keep a simple record of who attended, when the course uses attendance credit or a completion requirement

An absence is excused when the student gave notice, or when the faculty member accepts the reason afterward. Faculty may accept late notice. Faculty should not require a student to explain a private matter in order to be excused.

A student who misses a session should be able to find out what was covered and what to do next. Faculty should make that possible without teaching the class twice.

Repeated absence is a different matter from a single missed session, and it is a pattern rather than a count. The handbook sets no fixed number of absences. A weekly seminar and an occasional field activity cannot be measured the same way, so the judgment belongs to the faculty member teaching the course.

Signs of a pattern include:

• A student who has stopped attending without explanation
• A student who attends but has stopped taking part
• A student who is missing the sessions a program requirement depends on
• A student whose absences make completing the course unlikely

Faculty should reach out to the student first. A short private message asking whether the student means to continue will settle most cases.

If the pattern continues, faculty should:

• Document the absences as described under Documentation
• Tell the student plainly what the absences will mean for credit, completion, or the record of the course
• Notify the Department Chair when the pattern affects a program requirement or repeats across courses
• Notify the Registrar when enrollment or academic records are affected
• Refer the student to Student Affairs when the absence appears to come from distress, illness, housing trouble, or another concern beyond the course

Faculty may withhold credit or record a course as incomplete when the student is not meeting the attendance requirement. Removing a student from a course is not a faculty decision and should be referred to the Department Chair and the Registrar. The student should be told before either step is taken.

Attendance must not be used to punish disagreement, and a student should not be marked absent for a session that was moved or canceled without notice.

The purpose of attendance is to keep students in contact with the course, and to let faculty notice when a student has quietly fallen away.

General Rule

Faculty should teach with preparation, advise with honesty, support students with care, and refer serious concerns to the proper authority.

A faculty member’s role is important, but it has limits. Oakridge College works best when faculty support students without trying to replace the offices, authorities, and procedures designed to handle larger concerns.