Academic Information for Faculty

2020-21 (COVID-19 Changes)

Monday Memos

Instructor FAQs

Is there a COVID-19 statement I should add to my syllabus?

Yes, all instructors should include the following statement on their syllabi:

“The College will use the Starfish Early Alert System to notify instructors of students who will be absent from class due to precautionary quarantine, quarantine and isolation. Instructors will then determine what method they will use to allow the student to maintain academic engagement without penalty due to medical absence. Students are expected to maintain communication with their instructors. Students who are medically unable to communicate with the instructor should work through Student Accessibility Services.”

How will I know if one of my students needs to miss class due to a required quarantine or isolation?

Faculty will get an email notification when a student in their class is required to be in precautionary quarantine, quarantine or isolation, with guidance on providing accommodations, along with contact info for staff who can assist with questions and support.

Students are asked to notify their instructors about a potential absence as an intermediary step when they determine they have been exposed, or have developed symptoms, and while they are waiting to be connected with health staff to determine if precautionary quarantine/quarantine/isolation is necessary — and if it is, that will trigger the email notification to the students’ instructors through Starfish.

What is the protocol for students who have been exposed to COVID-19 or are showing symptoms?

These protocols are outlined on the Testing, Precautionary Quarantine, Quarantine, & Isolation page. Students showing symptoms should contact Health and Counseling for testing and evaluation. As noted above, if a student is required to to be in precautionary quarantine, quarantine or isolation, their instructors will be notified through the Starfish system.

What should I do if a student comes to class and appears to be ill?

If a student appears ill, discreetly discuss your observations with the student and suggest they follow up with the Health and Counseling Center. Do NOT ask a student their vaccination status. If a faculty member believes the student presents a health risk to the class, they may ask the student to go directly to the Health and Counseling Center. If a faculty member continues to have concerns that a student is exhibiting COVID-19-like symptoms while in the classroom, contact Health and Counseling directly for guidance.

What should I do if I am teaching a fully in-person class or a hybrid class with an in-person component and receive a request from a student to participate remotely?

Accommodations of this nature should only be put in place for students who have been placed in precautionary quarantine, quarantine or isolation or have documented health concerns and have worked with Erika Hess, Director of Student Accessibility Services, to develop an accommodation plan. Any other student is expected to attend the required in-person components of the course as outlined in the attendance policy.

What is the guidance for accommodating students who can’t come to class due to a documented health concern or who need to self-isolate or quarantine?

Prior to and throughout the semester, faculty who are planning to teach an in-person class should make plans for how to accommodate students who cannot attend in person for some period of time or if there is a need to pivot to remote learning if mandated by the local or state authorities. If a student has a documented health concern that prevents them from coming to campus for the full semester, they must work with Erika Hess, Director of Student Accessibility Services, to develop a plan for reasonable accommodations. If a student is required to quarantine or self-isolate for some period of time during the semester, instructors will receive notification directly through the Starfish Early Alert System, along with guidance on next steps.

An Academic Accommodations and Virtual Instruction Moodle course has been developed to provide instructors with guidance. Teaching and Learning Technologies, Student Accessibility Services and the Teaching Integration and Innovation Lab (TIIL) are all offering professional development opportunities to assist faculty in developing activities to support students who will miss class due to medical accommodations. Please see those webpages for more information.

Should I continue to use Moodle for my course(s)?

Regardless of delivery format (in-person, online, hybrid), Academic Affairs asks that all courses use Moodle, our learning management system, as the central access point to provide our students with a consistent, streamlined experience. Faculty should use Moodle to provide course materials, like the syllabus and course schedule, to communicate information through the course announcements forum, and as a place to host the link to any Zoom sessions. It is also a good idea to collect student assignments through Moodle. Please contact Teaching & Learning Technologies with questions or for technical support.

What responsibility do faculty have for communicating details about class sessions in hybrid and online courses?

Instructors are responsible for notifying students of the expectations for attendance at class sessions no later than the start of the semester. This information should be emailed to students, posted in the course syllabus, and highlighted in Moodle. Instructors should also review class rosters regularly to ensure that all students receive this information. Any changes to the class meeting schedule should be sent to students at least one week in advance.

What are the expectations for adding a synchronous component to an online course?

Many of our students expressed the benefits of occasionally interacting with their instructor in an online course in order to remain engaged, motivated, and on track during the semester. Additionally, instructor presence is the number one factor which supports online student success. One way to support online students is to include synchronous, virtual meetings throughout the semester. Academic Affairs continues to encourage that all online courses incorporate a synchronous component as a best practice.

Options include hosting a virtual class session(s) during the semester, occasional small group meetings, and one-to-one meetings with students in the course. Weekly, virtual drop-in office hours are another way to provide additional opportunities for instructor-student connections in combination with one or more of the previously mentioned options. Communicate your expectations with students at the start of the semester.

What resources are available to students who lack consistent access to the internet or necessary technology?

If a student needs hardware support, direct the student to contact tmsd@naz.edu to ask about availability. Support may be in the form of a loaner laptop or instructions for how to access internet resources. An emergency student fund is also available to support needs on a case-by-case basis.

What should I do if students do not adhere to the mask mandate in place at the start of the Fall 2021 semester?

Faculty should follow the guidelines outlined in the COVID-19 addendum to the Disruptive Behaviors in the Classroom Policy.

Will students be able to choose the Pass/Fail option for courses again this fall?

Yes, recognizing that COVID-19 continues to present unique challenges for many students that may impact their academics, students can pursue the Pass/Fail grading option in consultation with their instructor and advisor. This process is being managed using an electronic form process. Please see the Pass/Fail FAQ page for additional information.

Off Campus Experience Student Acknowledgement

COVID 19 Evaluation Questions

Faculty Support & Development

Faculty Evaluation Information

Professional Development and Travel Funding

Promotion and Tenure Information

Academic Policies and Procedural Information

Academic Integrity

Academic Policies

Monitoring Academic Policies

The Vice President monitors student complaints received in the office of the VPAA. As appropriate, the VP is responsible for referring issues that emerge from this process to the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee, the Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing or the Graduate Advisory Council, which are charged with recommending or reviewing revisions to academic policies relating to undergraduate and graduate students.

Academic Policies and Procedures Committee:

Charge: The committee resolves problems related to academic issues and develops and revises academic policies and procedures as necessary. For significant policy changes, the committee makes recommendations to the Dean’s Council and seeks approval from them before making changes.

Chairperson: Director of Academic Advisement

Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing

Charge: Review the records of undergraduate students who are not in good academic standing and who are therefore subject to probation or dismissal. This committee is responsible for upholding the college’s academic standards as outlined in the undergraduate catalog and for making determinations on student appeals of their academic standing.

Chairperson: Associate Vice President for Retention and Student Success

Graduate Advisory Council

Charge: The Graduate Advisory Council is responsible for providing leadership and advocacy of plans and initiatives for graduate education. In this capacity, the Council will be available to work collaboratively with administration, and other members of the college community, as strategic partners in monitoring the overall health and advancement of graduate education with a goal to create a strong graduate student experience.

Chairperson: Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Graduate Initiatives

Curriculum and Course Development & Review

Disruptive Behavior in The Classroom

Faculty Grievance

Intellectual Property

Information for Chairs

Faculty Evaluation

Searches and Appointments

Miscellaneous Information

Academic Affairs General Information

Academic Affairs Administrative Offices

College of Arts & Sciences

School of Business and Leadership

School of Education

School of Health & Human Services

Honor Societies

VPAA Council Minutes

Endowed Chairs

The Rose Marie Beston Chair for International Studies

The Rose Marie Beston Chair for International Studies was established by the Board of Trustees of Nazareth College of Rochester in recognition of Dr. Rose Marie Beston’s leadership of fourteen years as NazarethCollege’s President.

Criteria:

The criteria used in determining who will occupy this Chair reflect Dr. Beston’s belief that the development of global viewpoints among our faculty and our students will be an increasingly critical requirement – indeed, a featured attraction – of a Nazareth education.

The Beston Chair is awarded on a rotating basis for a term of four years to a tenured member of the Nazareth faculty who has demonstrated excellence in the teaching of subjects including but not limited to the languages, economics, political science and history of world regions, peoples, and cultures, and who through his or her inspiration and influence, has broadened the global perspective of Nazareth students and thus enhanced their capacity for service in international society.

Responsibilities of the Endowed Chair:

Responsibilities of the individual appointed to the Rose Marie Beston Chair for International Studies will include teaching the equivalent of 15 credit hours for the year (3 courses one semester; two courses the other semester). This reduction of 9 credit hours (3 courses) will provide for scholarly research in his or her professional field and/or program development to promote global viewpoints in the curriculum. It is expected that this project will lead to published research or a public presentation.

SELECTION PROCESS:

The Rank and Tenure Committee will serve as the review committee.
By November 1 of the academic year prior to appointment to the Rose Marie Beston Chair for International Studies, a call for nominations will be sent out to the NazarethCollege community from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Nominees must be tenured faculty at Nazareth College.

A rationale, briefly addressing each of the above criteria for nominating the scholar, should accompany each nomination. This nomination statement will become part of the documentation reviewed by the Review Committee during the process of recommendation.

All nominations should be sent to the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs no later than December 1, after which the VPAA will notify the faculty nominees.
By January 20 any faculty member nominated and willing to be appointed to the Chair will submit a letter, indicating his/her willingness to assume the responsibilities associated with the Chair. This letter will include a preview of the type of professional activities this appointment will make possible over the four-year duration of the award. A full curriculum vitae, letters of support from experts within the discipline, letters of support from the candidate’s chair and dean, and any other support material the nominee wishes to submit will accompany this letter.
The Rank and Tenure Committee will evaluate each candidate’s materials. After assessing these materials, the Committee will either (a) decide not to recommend any of the nominees for this honor, or (b) submit a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, briefly explaining how the recommended candidate meets the criteria for appointment to the endowed Chair. This recommendation is to be made by March 1. Copies of the nomination letter, the nominee’s statement and support material will accompany this written recommendation.
The VPAA will forward the nomination to the President.
The final appointment resides with the President of the College. In the event of the rare instance in which the President does not accept the nomination for compelling reasons, these reasons should be communicated to the Review Committee. The Review Committee may either nominate another candidate or drop the matter for that academic year.
The President will announce the appointment by March 15 so that the departmental program scheduling and teaching loads may be adjusted for the following year. The occupancy of the Chair will commence at the start of the next academic year.

The Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Endowed Chair

The Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Endowed Chair was established at Nazareth College in 1996 through the generosity of those benefactors. This college wide chair, not restricted to a single department, rewards outstanding faculty members by providing them with the time to carry out research, develop new courses, and prepare scholarly work for publication. The four past appointees to the Schmitt Endowed Chair are Dr. Marion Hoctor, Dr. Christine Bochen, Dr. Candide Carrasco, and Dr. John Edelman, Dr. Matthew Temple and Dr. Laura Jones-Soehner.

Appointment to the Chair is for a two-year period. During that time the appointee will have a teaching load reduced by six teaching credits or the equivalent, and will be given up to $5,000 per year for travel and research.

Responsibilities of the endowed Chair are:

Teach the equivalent of six semester hours each semester in area of expertise.
Deliver a public lecture based upon the results of his/her work.
Submit the written text of the public lecture to be maintained by the Wilmot Library as “The Caroline and Kilian Schmitt Endowed Chair Lecture.”

The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs invites nominations for the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Endowed Chair in the year prior to the year of appointment. Nominations may be of internal faculty candidates or of external visiting scholars. Nominees must show evidence of outstanding achievement as well as the promise of further accomplishments. Criteria are:

senior faculty appointment, ordinarily a Full Professor
ongoing teaching excellence
ongoing scholarship
demonstrated contributions to or leadership in one’s academic field of study

SELECTION PROCESS:

The Rank and Tenure Committee will serve as the review committee.
By November 1 of the academic year prior to appointment to the Caroline and Kilian Schmitt Chair, a call for nominations will be sent out to the NazarethCollege community from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. These nominations may be of internal faculty candidates or of external visiting scholars.

A rationale, briefly addressing each of the above criteria for nominating the scholar, should accompany each nomination. This nomination statement will become part of the documentation reviewed by the Review Committee during the process of recommendation.

All nominations should be sent to the Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs no later than December 1 after which the VPAA will notify the faculty nominees.
By January 20 any faculty member nominated and willing to be appointed to the Chair will submit a letter, indicating his/her willingness to assume the responsibilities associated with the Chair. This letter will include a preview of the type of professional activities this appointment will make possible over the two-year duration of the award. A full curriculum vitae, letters of support from experts within the discipline, letters of support from the candidate’s chair and dean, and any other support material the nominee wishes to submit will accompany this letter.
The Rank and Tenure Committee will evaluate each candidate’s materials. After assessing these materials, the Committee will either (a) decide not to recommend any of the nominees for this honor, or (b) submit a recommendation to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, briefly explaining how the recommended candidate meets the criteria for appointment to the endowed Chair. This recommendation is to be made by March 1. Copies of the nomination letter, the nominee’s statement and support material will accompany this written recommendation.
The VPAA will forward the nomination to the President.
The final appointment resides with the President of the College. In the event of the rare instance in which the President does not accept the nomination for compelling reasons, these reasons should be communicated to the Review Committee. The Review Committee may either nominate another candidate or drop the matter for that academic year.
The President will announce the appointment by March 15 so that the departmental program scheduling and teaching loads may be adjusted for the following year. The occupancy of the Chair will commence at the start of the next academic year.

Rosemary White Endowed Chair Of English and American Literature

Dr. Rosemary A. White joined Nazareth College as a Professor of English and American Literature in 1931. She taught introductory English and Literature courses as well as advanced courses such as “Shakespeare” and “Greek Drama.” In 1927, Ms White established the first Nazareth College scholarship, in memory of her father, George White. She was a valued Member of the Nazareth community, serving 35 years prior to her retirement in 1967.

In 1992, a bequest from the estate of Ms. White in the amount of $1.2 million was made to Nazareth, to establish the Rosemary White Endowed Chair of English and American Literature.

Criteria for nomination to the Rosemary White Endowed Chair of English and American Literature include:

Excellence in teaching
Ongoing scholarship
Contribution to the profession
Ongoing contributions to the Nazareth College and greater Rochester communities

The nominee will meet the above criteria by providing evidence of several of the following activities:

Ongoing curricular revisions to meet the needs of the students
Availability to students during the semester
Above average course evaluations
Presentations at conferences and workshops
Publication of books/articles in scholarly journals
Leadership and/or service roles in professional organizations and on campus committees and task forces (e.g. Offices, Advisory Board, Program Chair, faculty workshop organizer)

Recipient of the Rosemary White Endowed chair will receive $5,000 per year for travel/research support. Expenses should be submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. VPAA submits the bills to John Colacino for payment from restricted funds from Rosemary White account.

Process of selection of faculty member:

Sometime during the second semester prior to the appointment of a faculty member to the Rosemary White Chair, the Department Chair will ask the senior faculty to submit a nomination to her/him. A brief rationale for nomination this faculty member will be drafted and become part of the documents for the process of recommendation by members of the review committee.
The Department Chair will appoint a Review Committee composed of two senior department members and one junior member who will conduct the review process. (No faculty member nominated will be eligible to be part of the review committee).
The faculty members who are nominated will submit a letter within a three week period indicating willingness to assume the responsibility associated with the Chair and include herein a preview statement of the sorts of professional activities that this appointment will make possible over the two year duration of the appointment. A full curriculum vita will accompany this letter.
The materials submitted by the candidate will be evaluated by the review committee. After assessing these materials, the review committee will submit a recommendation to full-time English Department faculty briefly explaining its recommendation.
The full-time faculty will vote for or against the candidate. A majority vote means that the candidate’s name will be recommended to the College’s Vice President of Academic Affairs and the President for appointment as The Rosemary White Chair of English and American Literature for a two year period at a teaching load reduction of two courses per semester. Copies of all written materials will accompany this written recommendation.
In the event of a negative vote by the full-time faculty (a tie vote or majority negative count equates a rejection) of the Review Team’s recommendation, the Review Team may then either repeat the process or drop the matter for that academic year.
The entire process must be completed early in the semester before appointment, so that the department teaching loads and program scheduling for the following semester can be completed without problems.

Schmitt Chair Works

Faculty Manual

Administrative organization
Committees, departments, and chairpersons
Policies (appointment, renewal, tenure, and more)
Benefits

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