FSUMATH
search
Florida State University Seal

Department of Mathematics

College of Arts and Sciences

Welcome to the Semester: Beginning of Semester Policies and Procedures

Welcome to the Semester! Beginning of Semester Policies and Procedures

As you prepare for the beginning of a new semester, here are some policies regarding syllabus information, course eligibility, first day attendance checking, and health information. Even though some of this information is repeated each semester to the next, there are always a few new items. Please take the time to read this information carefully. You are responsible for knowing everything on this page and the policies and procedures in the annual Important Policies Fall Memo provided by the Vice President for Faculty Development and Advancement, which is included in the Resources. Do not hesitate to ask questions!

Topics Covered:

  1. Resources with More Information
  2. Email Correspondence
  3. Instructor Presence in the Classroom
  4. NEW: TEC Classroom Registraton
  5. Health Guidance
  6. Canvas Requirement
  7. Syllabus
  8. Final Exams
  9. Rosters, First Day Attendance & No Shows
  10. Eligibility Checking
  11. Student Grades, FERPA
  12. Advising Students Who Want to Add Your Class

  1. Resources for More Information

  2. Email Correspondence

    • All official university business must be conducted with an official university email (@math.fsu.edu or @fsu.edu). If you use a private account for correspondence associated with your job duties, either sent or received, you are required to copy relevant emails to your primary university email account. For more information see FSU Electronic Mail Policy
    • Instructors should respond to students timely: responding within 1 business day is ideal for immediate issues; a student should certainly receive a response within a week. A simple response, such as I can't get to this now, or please make an appointment with me, will satisfy students if you can get to their grade concerns quickly and will prevent situations from escalating to the ACAA.
    • If you need to contact the Math advisors, email math-advisor@fsu.edu rather than individual advisors.

  3. Instructor Presence in the Classroom

    • If a class is coded as face-to-face (which applies to almost all Math classes) the instructor of record (IOR) for the course needs to be present in the classroom for all classes.
    • You cannot decide to arbitrarily make your lecture/class remote. Instructors must be present in the classroom. Remote classes need to go through special ODL and University approval processes. Almost no math classes are offered as Remote.
      • In the case of seminars or colloquia, a few remote speakers are allowed (the College has suggested limiting remote speakers to a maximum 30% of of the speakers), but the instructor must still be present in the classroom.
    • A faculty member who is absent because of illness or for other legitimate reasons should notify the Chair as soon as possible in order to make arrangements for the meeting of classes. The Chair grants permission for short-term use of Zoom or other online work assignments as a substitute. See Memo on Important Policies, General University Policies Section, Item 6. Email the Chair and copy the Associate Chair for Academic Affairs and the Director for Undergraduate Studies for Calculus 1 and above, or copy the Director for Basic Math for courses below Calculus 1.
      • In the case of health-related issues, you may use Zoom or online work assignments as a substitute with the Chair's permission.
      • In the case of work-related travel (i.e. conferences, colloquium invitations, etc.) the Chair usually asks you to try to find a substitute instructor. Ask colleagues first, followed by asking the TA Coordinator if a TA is available. You cannot aribitrarily ask one of your graduate students to substitute for you as there are strict rules in place regarding TA training and teaching qualificiations.

  4. TEC Classroom Registration

    • NEW: All of the classrooms typically used by the Department of Mathematics in the LOV building have been renovated into FSU TEC classrooms.
    • Those who wish to use the instructor computer at the front of the TEC classrooms must first register their FSUID with FSU Classroom Support. This is quick and easy, and only required once per year: TEC Classroom Registraton.
    • All LOV classrooms now offer the technology to support video streaming sessions with Zoom, Kaltura, and other products. There are cameras and microphones for both instructor and audience. All classrooms now have an instructor computer at the front of the room, and a document camera for displaying physical paper or objects. You can also still use your own computer with the classroom projectors, connecting with either HDMI or USB-C.
    • FSU Classroom Support has on-duty staff available M-F 7:30am-9:30pm to help with TEC classroom issues. They can physically visit classrooms to provide help if necessary. They also offer technology training to assist instructors in making best use of the various TEC classroom capabilites. If you need help with any LOV classroom call 850-644-2811, or email classroomsupport@fsu.edu. For more information, visit TEC Classroom webpage.

  5. Health Guidance

    • Covid Guidance: FSU follows CDC recommendations, which essentially say you can return to normal actives 24 hours after your fever ends and symptoms are getting better. See CDC Guidance for specifics.
    • Medical excuses: you are permitted to require a medical excuse/documentation from students to excuse an absence but you don't have to. You may choose to be be flexible in accepting documentation, in order to encourage students who are ill or infectious to stay home. Encourage students to notify the instructor if they are ill prior to missing class or assignment deadlines. Your syllabus should outline your expectations in this regard. Use your best judgement and it is hoped that instructors will be sensitive to students in these circumstances.
    • You can accommodate ill or self-isolating students using Zoom lectures (perhaps you can reuse your previous Zoom lectures) but it is no longer required for instructors to provide this accommodation to students now that there are no remote classes. Your syllabus should make clear what your expectations are for students who become ill or have to miss class for other reasons in order to make up the missed work. Students will appreciate any efforts you make to help them continue in the course through an absence.
    • Instructors are highly encouraged to offer make-up tests/exams for excused absences. You can email the graduate advisor Elizabeth Scott (emscott2@fsu.edu) to book a classroom. The University Testing Center is another option.
    • Please stay home when sick. If an instructor cannot be in the classroom for limited periods of time (e.g. due to health-related issues), you may use Zoom or online work assignments as a substitute, but you must notify the Chair about your situation and get permission. Please email the Chair and copy the Associate Chair for Academic Affairs for Calculus 1 and above or the Director for Basic Math for courses below Calculus 1.

  6. Canvas Requirement

    • All instructors teaching through any means (face-to-face, online, remotely, hybrid) are required to use Canvas for the following purposes:
      (1) Distributing and storing the course syllabus along with any syllabus updates;
      (2) Posting final coures grades.
      The only exceptions are courses set up as individual academic experiences such as directed independent study (DIS), supervised research, supervised teaching, preliminary examinations, and thesis or dissertation credits.
      The biggest complaint near the end of the semester is about instructors who don't post grades on Canvas.
    • Instructors are strongly encouraged to use Canvas for posting announcements, using the calendar for informing students of deadlines for submitting work, providing access to course materials, and scheduling meetings. Final grades may be submitted via a Canvas and approved through Grade Roster in my.fsu.edu or entered manually via Grade Roster in my.fsu.edu).
    • See Memo on Important Policies, Teaching Policies Section, Item 1

  7. Syllabus

  8. Final Exams

    9. Department policy requires final exams in almost all undergraduate classes. University policy requires these exams to be given during the scheduled exam time. All instructors must post their final exam date and time on their syllabus.
    • The final exam schedule is based on the first meeting pattern of the class i.e. MWF or TR.
    • A long standing agreement between Math and the Registrar's office says classes that meet on both Mondays and Tuesdays, i.e. MTR or MTWR times (mostly Calculus and Linear Algebra) have their choice of the two exam time slots, but your choice of time must be on the syllabus. A few classes meet TRF and they must use the TR time.
    • FSU Exam Schedule: Fall   Spring   Summer - exams occur in class

  9. Rosters, First Day Attendance & No Shows

    10. Drop all no shows from your first class meeting. This is a Department policy and a University policy. This policy applies to all courses, all levels, even DIS, seminars, distance learning, dissertation hours. All instructors need to do this for their own classes.
    • Printing a Class Roster
      There are many ways to print a class roster.
      • Preferred Method: Use the roster lists from myFSU as these are real time class lists: Log in to my.fsu.edu and go to Teaching -> My Courses or Teaching -> Faculty Center.
        To print with photos: For each course, click on the class roster icon clicking the "Printable Photo Roster" link
        To print a list (without photos): Click on the tiny little spreadsheet/grid icon just below where it says "Enrolled Students" and download to Excel
      • Alternate Method: Use the roster lists that are generated by the Associate Chair for Academic Affairs. These lists may have slight discrepancies as they are often generated 10-12 hours in advance.
    • Taking First Day Attendance
      • Attendance must be taken during the first class meeting time!
        The biggest problem that occurs at the beginning of semester is when a student is incorrectly dropped for non-first day attendance. This occasionally occurs when an instructor uses an eligibility quiz with an extended deadline for checking attendance and a student forgets to fill it out. Often a student cannot get back into the class due to classes being full because of high demand.
      • Preferred Attendance-Taking Method: Take a roll call using your roster list (if practical; classes larger than 40 students may need to use an alternate method).
      • Alternate Methods: If you need to take attendance a different way, then first day attendance needs to be done during class time. For example, an eligibility quiz being used for attendance would need to be completed during class time. If a student does not have an electronic device available, then you should use the roll call method for attendance purposes and the student can take the eligibility quiz later. Other ways you can take attendance on the first day of class include: Canvas quiz, Canvas discussion board, roll call, get the list of attendees from a Zoom meeting.
        • Canvas quizzes are available for Calculus and other courses which can be used to take check eligibilty and first day attendance (roll call is preferred for checking first day attendance).
          • from the Canvas Commons and modify it for their own needs.
        • For other Canvas suggestions see: https://support.canvas.fsu.edu/kb/article/810-first-day-attendance-in-canvas/
        • If a student contacts you before the first class meeting period with a reasonabile excuse as to why they cannot attend the first class (such as travel delays), then they can stay in your class (i.e. do not mark them absent).
        Whatever method you use to take attendance, you must still drop your no shows on Student Central!
    • Dropping No Shows
      Everyone is responsible for using Student Central to mark your class no shows after your first class (and by the end of the day)
      • Detailed Instructions: https://sc.my.fsu.edu/faculty/how/use-attendance-roster-tool
      • Summary Instructions: log in to my.fsu.edu and go to Teaching -> My Courses or Teaching -> Faculty Center. For each course, click on the class roster icon, mark the missing students Absent under the "1st Day Submit Status" column, and when finished click "Attendance Roster Submit". These students will be automatically dropped.
      • You do not need to mark the students Present.  Nothing happens to unmarked students or students marked Present.
      • Do not mark as Absent students who may have added after the class meeting.
      • If a student contacts you before the first class meeting time saying they will not be there and have a reasonable excuse (travel delay, illness, etc.), then they can stay in your class.

  10. Eligibility Checking

    11. Student eligibility needs to be checked by the day after the first day of class. We have a higher intake of students than ever before and a lot of these students have transfer or AP credit that is often not processed by FSU until after classes start. Students are charged additional fees (hundreds of dollars) for dropping courses after drop/add ends on the 4th day of class (to pay back bright futures and there is a transaction fee.) Processing drops after drop/add require a lot more work.
    • The Associate Chair of Academic Affairs will produce the usual department student eligibility files and will email when these are available. These provide a nice summary of specific students whose eligibility needs to be checked.
    • Canvas quizzes are available for Calculus and other courses which can be used to take both first day attendance and eligibility. These are similar to our old paper forms. Any instructor can import one of them from the Canvas Commons and modify it for their own needs. Students flagged in the eligibility files can be cross-checked with the the Canvas quiz results.
    • Eligibility Requirements
      • Above Calculus: See the FSU Undergraduate Bulletin for the Department Mathematics
      • Calculus 1, 2, 3: There is a Canvas site "Org: Calculus Resources" that contains many Calculus resources including eligibility requirements for Calculus.
      • Calculus 1 and Below: There are many ways to be eligible for MAC 1114, MAC 1140, MAC 2233 and MAC 2311 at FSU. Students must take the ALEKS placement prior to the first time they take MAC 1114, MAC 1140, MAC 2233 and MAC 2311 at FSU. There are a few exceptions and more details can be found at https://www.math.fsu.edu/Undergraduate/ALEKS/ or contact the Math advisors (math-advisor@fsu.edu)
    • Ineligible students to be dropped from a course, or instructor questions regarding specific student eligibility, should be added to these shared spreadsheets for the Math advisors to process:

  11. Student Grades / FERPA

    • Instructors are required to use Canvas, for posting student grades on coursework (e.g., assignments, exams, quizzes, etc.) for student viewing. This is to protect private student data and ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Because of the risk of identity theft, grades must never be posted through any other means unless reviewed by the Registrar's Office and approved as FERPA-compliant. See Memo on Important Policies, Teaching Policies Section, Item 10
    • It is a violoation of university policy to email final grades to a student.
    • Do not share any student information with parents or others. If a parent contacts you on behalf of a student, respond by asking the student to contact their instructor directly and do not confirm whether a student is in your class. In case of persistent or difficult parent contact do not hesitate to contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the Associate Chair of Academic Affairs.

  12. Advising Students Who Want to Add Your Class

    13. All of our Calculus classes, and many other classes, are very full, with few or zero seats available.
    • Do not collect lists of students wanting to add your course. Do not promise students that they can be added to your class. Do not respond to students saying you would love for them to be in your class (students will take this to mean that they can be in your class).
    • Be neutral and tell students they need to email the Math advisors (math-advisor@fsu.edu).
    • Only the Math advisors have the super power to add students to a class and they will not necessarily add students because you request it. Other students may have priority. Many classes have many students trying to get in.
    • Since Calculus demand is so high, there is increasing pressure to increase the class capacity sizes for Calculus by 2-3 students per section. For now, we will try to stay with the cap sizes we have had in recent years, which is:
      • MAC 2311 courses are limited to 29 or less;
      • MAC 2312 courses are limited to 19 or less;
      • MAC 2313 courses are limited to 29 or less.

Have a great semester! As always, do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

Last updated August 26, 2024.

208 Love Building, 1017 Academic Way
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4510
Phone: 850-644-2202 Fax: 850-644-4053