ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Legal Context - Faculty must comply with the provisions of the Education Code and Board policies. District policy statements and related regulations are located in most department offices. The Education Code is available at the DLLRC on the Riverside Campus and available online at The California Education Code (scroll down to the Postsecondary Education section beginning with Title 3). The California Code of Regulations Title V, which applies to community colleges can also be reviewed online. Legal considerations are summarized below.

• Advertising and Fund Raising - All advertising and fund-raising efforts on campus must receive approval in advance from Student Services. Instructors may not, under any circumstances, sell anything to students or suggest that they purchase products or services marketed or represented by the instructor.

• Class Size and Cancellations - Class sizes vary based on subject area and available facilities. However, the District has established a College-wide minimum class size (Board Policy 5005). In keeping with this policy, classes may be canceled if there is not sufficient enrollment.

Class size or capacity is established by the office of Academic Affairs. This manages enrollment and is generally based on subject-area standards or classroom capacities. Faculty may add additional students beyond the maximum by approving "add cards." However, for safety reasons, class size may not exceed the seating capacity of the room nor violate fire-code regulations.

• Collection of Monies - Instructors are not to collect money in classes or on other occasions. The District has established specific procedures for disbursement of tickets, money, and related activities. Specific instructions about this may be obtained from Auxiliary Business Services, ext. 8414.

• Controversial Issues - The study of controversial issues is to be objective and scholarly. Instructors should approach controversial issues in the classroom in an impartial and unprejudiced manner.

• Copyrights - Faculty need to know and observe copyright laws. In general, the commercial copying of excerpts of various materials and their compilation into "textbooks" or "anthologies" without proper permission violates the Copyright Law, Title 17, of the United States Code. Board Policy 5045 establishes policy and operational procedures relating to copyrighted materials. View Board Policy

• Curriculum - The technical assistant for the Vice President, Academic Affairs is the contact person regarding information on curriculum (909) 222-8138.
  
  
• Errands - Students may be sent on errands within the College campus when such errands pertain to the business of the College. Students shall not be sent on off campus errands. This does not apply in the case of student assistants employed by the College.

• Field Trips - Field trips or changes of meeting place for any class session must be reported to the department chair and the campus Dean of Instruction prior to the date of the class session. All out of state field trips must have Board of Trustees approval. Students must be notified in advance. Alternative activities may be assigned for students who are unable to attend scheduled field trips. Field trip request forms are available from department offices.

Field trips are voluntary unless the trip is listed in the course description. Field trips that are scheduled and budgeted are ordinarily taken in vans or buses that are arranged by the College. Other field trips within a 25-mile radius may be arranged with the field trip scheduled "in lieu of" the regular class session. Students are responsible for appearing at the arranged and pre-announced place and time. Students may not be transported in faculty vehicles.

Students may not receive credit for field trips or for volunteer participation in workshops or seminars where a fee is charged. They may not attend a seminar where a fee is charged as a part of a class.

• Grievances - While it is hoped that most faculty grievances can be resolved on an informal level through discussion with the department chair, faculty need to be aware that there are established grievance procedures. The collective bargaining agreement outlines the formal process. Faculty may want to contact RCC-CTA's grievance chair for clarification on this process. For concerns related to academic issues that do not involve working conditions, faculty should contact their Dean of Instruction.

• Load Banking - Article XXII - Load Banking (section B, page 63 of the CTA contract) established the board approved policy for this activity.

  Request for Load Banking - Faculty must notify their department chair in writing that they would like to load bank. Approval by the Vice President, Academic Affairs is required.

Load Banking - Cash In - Where hours are "cashed in" instead of used for redeeming the bank time, the faculty member shall be paid on the basis of the rate of pay in effect when the hours are cashed in. In no event can hours be accumulated beyond five years.

• Messages for Instructors - Faculty should include directions in their syllabus for leaving a message and are encouraged to take advantage of the Voice Mail system available to all full- and part-time instructors.

• Nondiscrimination - The District prohibits discrimination and/or harassment on the basis of an actual, perceived or association with others': disability, sex/gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, age (40+), religion, sexual orientation, marital status, Vietnam Veteran status or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 11135 of the Government code or any characteristic that is contained in the prohibition of hate crimes set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 422.6 of the Penal Code. Board Policy 3410.
  

• Prohibited Instruction - The Education Code, sections 51500-51530, prohibits instruction reflecting negatively on people because of race, sex, color, creed, or national origin or ancestry. Also prohibited are sectarian, partisan, or denominational publications or teaching; propaganda and solicitation of funds; and advocacy or teaching of communism with the intent to indoctrinate a preference for communism.

• Prohibition of Harassment and Retaliation - All forms of harassment are contrary to basic standards of conduct between individuals and are prohibited by the District. The District is committed to providing an academic and work environment that respects the dignity of individuals and groups. The District shall be free of sexual harassment and all forms of sexual intimidation and exploitation; and free of other unlawful harassment, including that which is based on actual or perceived disability, sex/gender, nationality, race of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, or any characteristic listed or defined in Section 1135 of the government code of any characteristic that is contained in the prohibition of hate crimes set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 422.6 of the Penal Code. The District also strictly prohibits retaliation against any individual for filing a complaint, who refers a matter for investigation or complaint, who participates in an investigation, who represents or serves as an advocate for an alleged victim or alleged offender, or who otherwise furthers the principles of unlawful discrimination or harassment. Board Policy 3430.

• Supervision of Students - Students in classrooms, laboratories, extracurricular, co-curricular activities, or any District event must be supervised at all times by a faculty member employed by the District. Do not leave the room without dismissing students or taking a formal break.

• Student Information (Confidentiality)- Names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, and phone numbers of students are not public information. To distribute these without written permission of the student is a violation of Board policy #6070 and federal law (FERPA). Additionally, information regarding a student's attendance, performance, grades, and the like is confidential and should not be discussed with parents, husbands/wives, or friends without the specific permission of the student. In addition, enrollment, attendance, grades, and other academic information are likewise confidential information and may be released only with written student consent.

However, if a student is a minor child attending college classes, progress may be discussed with parents or guardians.

FERPA – Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 "addresses the concerns of student record administration and requires you to be cognizant of the ways in which you communicate with students and other education officials….be vigilant and protective of student information that has been entrusted to you." Please be sure you comply with FERPA:

• Don’t pass around lab attendance sheets with social security numbers with names for all the class to see.
• Don’t post grades in hallways or public places with student names and social security numbers – even partial number identification can be a breech of privacy.
• Don’t post student information to class websites without password protection. If in doubt, check with your department.
• Avoid leaving student records out on desks or lecterns for public view.

• Tutoring for Compensation - During the school year, no faculty member may instruct (teach, tutor, counsel or coach) for compensation any student who is at the same time a student in his/her classes or who is making up a deficiency arising from having formerly been a student in his/her classes, except on authority of and with compensation from the Board of Trustees alone. The same provision applies to administrators in the case of students in the District.

For more information, please visit the Professional Responsibilities page