Per-Course Faculty Guide
Table of Contents
Missouri State University adheres to a strict nondiscrimination policy and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin (including ancestry, or any other subcategory of national origin recognized by applicable law), religion, sex (including marital status, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other subcategory of sex recognized by applicable law), age, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable law in employment or in any program or activity offered or sponsored by the University.
Getting Started at Missouri State University-West Plains
Welcome! By joining the Faculty of Missouri State University-West Plains you have become an important part of our exciting and challenging mission. Your skills, pride and dedication help ensure the success of our students. We hope this guide will help you get settled in and direct you to those resources that will make your job easier.
Please use the following checklist to make sure everything is in order before the beginning of the semester.
- Provide pre-employment forms and information to the office of academic affairs
- General Vacancy Application
- Résumé
- Official transcripts of college work
- Accept teaching appointment in My.Missouristate
Please review your appointment letter for accuracy. If an error is found, contact academic affairs immediately. - Bring completed forms along with driver's license and birth certificate (or passport
or Social Security card) to Alyssa Collins in human resources .
These forms are available from the office of human resources:- I-9
- W-4 (Federal and State)
- Receive BearPass Login, password and instructions for using My Grizzly Den
Contact the office of information technology if you didn't receive this information. - Log into My Grizzly Den
Go to https://wp.missouristate.edu and click on My Grizzly Den link in the login link in the header of the page.- Check your schedule and class list(s)
- If you teach on campus, purchase a parking tag. Place your parking tag in the front window of your car.
- Check BearPass Email
Go to My Grizzly Den and click on the GrizMail button on the My Work Resources tab on the right side of the page. You can get help, if needed, when you visit the Lybyer Open Lab to get your BearPass Card. - Obtain BearPass Card
Visit the Lybyer Open Lab (near the office of academic affairs) during its hours of operation (7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday; closed Sunday). - Obtain copy of master syllabus from department head or dean
Use the master syllabus provided by your department head or dean as you develop your course syllabus. - Complete required Equity and Diversity Training and submit completed certificates
to the office of academic affairs (You need your BearPass Login and password to complete this training)
All new employees must complete this online training within the first 30 days of employment and repeat the training every three years. Find the training at https://www.missouristate.edu/human/compliance-training.htm. - Attend Faculty Orientation
Faculty Orientation is held prior to the beginning of each semester. A second orientation especially for per-course faculty who cannot attend the regular faculty workshop will also be held. You are expected to attend one of these sessions. - Ask questions!
Contact your department head or division chair or the office of academic affairs if you have questions.
After the semester begins, there are additional important tasks to remember. Check the academic calendar for exact dates.
- Provide copy of course syllabus to wpacademics@missouristate.edu (first week of classes)
- Report attendance discrepancies through Attendance Tracker
- Report student academic concerns through MyGrizzlyGuard
- Enter midterm grades
- Enter final grades
Human Resources
Salary
- Your salary is paid in four equal installments (unless indicated otherwise):
- Fall semester: September through December.
- Spring semester: February through May.
- Rate of pay varies for per-course faculty based on credentials:
- Bachelor's degree: $500 per credit hour
- Master's degree: $600 per credit hour
- Doctoral degree: $700 per credit hour.
Hourly Employees (Clinical Instructors, etc.):
- Timesheets must be maintained for hourly instructors. (Where to get these?)
- Each instructor is responsible for documenting time worked and reporting it to his or her supervisor.
- The pay period will reflect either 4 or 5 weeks from approximately the first working day of the month to the last working day of the month.
Payroll
- Instructors are paid on the last working day of each month.
- Pay is direct deposited in accounts.
Benefits
- Per-course faculty who teach at Missouri State University-West Plains are eligible
to enroll in a total of 15 credit hours of college-level courses in an academic year
(12-month period beginning with the fall semester) and have their required student
fees paid by the University. Per-course faculty may assign part or all of the 15-hour
benefit to their spouse and/or their eligible dependent children. This excludes clinical
instructors because they are classified as part-time employees, not as per-course
faculty.
The following restrictions apply:- The fee waiver is limited to associates degree credit courses offered on the West Plains campus only;
- Excludes courses for the Missouri Sheriffs' Association Training Academy; and
- Enrollment or assignment of the benefit applies only in the semester(s) in which the per-course faculty is actively teaching.
- Per-course faculty members are allowed access to the West Plains Civic Center Pool and Fitness Center at no additional charge. Family members are charged at the current membership fee rate.
- Per-course faculty members receive a 10% discount on apparel and gift items at the Drago College Store.
Syllabus
Course syllabi provide students with a road map for the courses in which they are enrolled. They also provide students with relevant university policies and with additional policies followed by individual instructors. In addition to the policy statements and course description, most syllabi include course schedules with assignment and examination deadlines.
- All instructors are required to file a copy of their course syllabus for each course they teach. The syllabi should be given to wpacademics@missouristate.edu.
- The course syllabus must follow the University's master syllabus. Instructors may get the master syllabus for the courses they teach from their department or division chairs.
- An instructor's syllabus must include:
- Attendance policy
- Academic dishonesty policy, including sanctions
- Late paper/assignment and missed quizzes/exams policy
- Methods of assessment and grading
- Be specific so that students understand your expectations.
Curriculum
- Organize the material to meet the course objectives outlined in the official master syllabus.
- Use the required textbook as indicated in the official course syllabus.
- The dean must approve any additional books.
- Do not violate copyright laws.
- Do not require students to print large amounts of information, including electronic texts.
- Participate in assessment initiatives required in the course and report assessment to the division chair.
- Actively engage students and hold them accountable for the reading and lecture material with discussions, writing assignments, quizzes and exams.
- Consider study guides, reviews, web postings, etc., to help students manage material and prepare for tests and writing assignments.
- When necessary, consider spending time modeling effective note taking, writing essay exam responses and sharing other information, which will enhance student success. Assisting students with study skills and techniques specific to your discipline will improve their chances for success.
- Consult your department chair or division chair when you have concerns about curriculum.
Employment Obligations
- You are expected to begin and end classes at the designated times.
- The university is responsible for seeing that courses meet the appropriate amount of time to be able to award credits to students.
- You are expected to contact your department head or dean chair to consult on appropriate course sequencing, assignments and assessment strategies. Course content should reflect official course master syllabus objectives, methods of instruction and assessment and required textbooks.
- In the event you must miss class, report absences as follows:
- West Plains campus: Teresa Shipley (417) 255-7271 or TeresaShipley@MissouriState.edu
- Mountain Grove Campus: Pam Tate (417) 547-7573 or PTate@MissouriState.edu
- Make sure you specify assignments and/or instructions for students when reporting your absence.
- In the event that you will be on a field trip or are scheduling a class to meet in a location other than your classroom, notify the office of academic affairs for courses on the West Plains campus or for courses at the extended campuses, the campus coordinator for the campus location where the course normally meets. You must also complete a Faculty Field Trip Approval Form and have your students complete a Release and Waiver of Liability form. These forms must be placed on file with the office of academic affairs
- In the event you must miss more than one class meeting, please contact your dean to make arrangements so that instructional time is not lost.
- You must adhere to the University's academic calendar.
- Deviations from the calendar, from class times and from the final examination schedule create conflicts for students and for classroom use.
- You must meet with students during the scheduled final exam time.
- You are expected to submit end of semester course assessments.
Communication:
- You must check your BearPass Email regularly since this is how the university primarily
communicates with you.
- To obtain a BearPass Email, contact the office of information technology.
- You must use your BearPass Email rather than a Yahoo, Hotmail or other off-campus account for any official email communication related to your job duties.
- You should respond to emails in a timely fashion.
Rosters
- Monitor your rosters in My Grizzly Den.
- If a student is attending class but not on your roster, the student must contact the office of registration and records to enroll or stop attending class immediately.
- At the designated time listed on the academic calendar (near the beginning of the
semester), go to My Grizzly Den to report students who are registered but not attending and students who are attending
but not registered in courses.
- Students who attend courses or sections they were not enrolled in are understandably upset when they learn they failed the section they were supposed to attend due to nonattendance or that they will receive no credit for a course they did attend but in which they were not enrolled.
- Instructors who need assistance with their rosters or with the discrepancy report in My Grizzly Den may contact Teresa Shipley at (417) 255-7271 or the office of registration and records at (417) 255-7979.
Grizzly Guard:
- Each semester you are asked to report your students for various academic concerns so that the university can exercise its intrusive advising policy. (My Grizzly Den
Grades:
- Letter grades must be submitted for all students, even those who have not attended.
- The Incomplete grade 'I' is for extenuating circumstances that occur late in the semester,
circumstances that make it impossible for the student to complete the course.
- An incomplete should only be issued when a small portion of the coursework is unfinished.
- Faculty who issue incomplete's must complete the "Assignment of Incomplete Grade" form online at Assignment of Incomplete Grade
- Incomplete grades cannot be issued to students at midterm.
- Incomplete grades are not an option for students who dropped or withdrew from a course.
- Midterm and final grades must be submitted on time through My Grizzly Den.
- Late grade submission is not acceptable.
- Deadlines for grade submission are posted on the Academic Calendar. For short-term course deadlines, contact the office of registration and records.
- Missouri State University-West Plains requires faculty to submit midterm grades as
part of its early warning system for students in academic difficulty. Midterm grades
provide students with a gauge of their course progress.
- 'W' and 'I' grades cannot be issued at midterm.
- When students drop after the no-penalty drop date (usually two weeks after midterm),
the student must be issued either a 'W' grade or an 'F' grade.
- The 'W' is issued at the end of the semester to students who dropped or withdrew while passing the course.
- The 'F' is issued to students who dropped or withdrew while failing.
- Faculty have the ultimate authority in issuing grades, but university policy states that if an 'F' grade has been issued as a final grade for a student who failed to properly drop the course, that 'F' cannot later be changed by the faculty member to a 'W'.
- Failure to submit grades on time creates considerable work for the office of registration and records and other offices since financial aid letters, eligibility letters, transfer documents, etc., are generated concurrently and any missing grade requires time-consuming adjustments that affect several people (please see following).
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA):
The student's right to privacy should always be considered when:
- Posting grades.
- Posting grades by student name, Social Security number, student identification number violates FERPA.
- Returning test papers or examinations.
- Announcing student grades on assignments when returning work violates FERPA.
- Allowing other students to handle another student's work with a visible grade violates FERPA.
- Publicly discussing a student's class work or grades violates FERPA.
- Care should be taken to guarantee a student's privacy when:
- Giving oral recommendations for a student;
- Remaining logged into My Grizzly Den on computers where others may access student record information; and
- Adequately disposing of confidential information regarding students.
Impact of Late Grades
… on satisfactory student academic progress process and financial aid:
- Students are not suspended who should be.
- The university is at risk for fines if audited and found not to have appropriately suspended students.
- Students are suspended who should not be.
- Students may be dropped and lose classes of first choice.
- Financial aid may be canceled, requiring students to reapply and wait for funding.
- Incorrect mailings are sent to students regarding their status.
- Time and paper waste
- Creates confusion for students
- Staff must manually re-evaluate students receiving late grades (otherwise it is an automatic process in My Grizzly Den), which is very time-consuming.
… on student records:
- Students may be assigned inaccurate Academic Standing (Chancellor's List, Vice Chancellor's List, probation, suspension, etc.) and incorrectly notified of their standing.
- The automatic end-of-term processes (entering a grade, making it part of the student's academic history and recalculating student's GPA) become a time-consuming manual process.
- Students must be notified individually that the late grade has been posted.
… on students:
- Frustration waiting for a grade
- Delay in awarding degree
- Problems transferring to another institution or entering another program
- Delay in employer reimbursement
- Confusion caused by incorrect mailings on financial aid or academic standing.
Evaluation Process for Per-Course Faculty
Faculty evaluation is an important part of what Missouri State University-West Plains does to assess its ability to deliver quality educational opportunities to the areas we serve. All per-course faculty members are evaluated by students in each course and course section taught each semester. Per-course faculty members are also evaluated by department chairs or deans or by a full-time faculty member designated by the dean. The process will include the following:
- Review of your course syllabus, including objectives, policies and course outline;
- Review of your final examination(s) and
- A classroom observation at least once per academic year.
Per-course faculty may also be required to submit for review assessment plans and reports, exams, writing assignments, samples of graded student work or other materials for the department or division. Some departments and divisions may also require a self-evaluation or other documents. The appropriate department chair and/or dean will notify a per-course faculty member of any additional requirements and schedule an evaluation time for classroom observation. Per-course faculty will be given a chance to review their classroom evaluation and respond before the evaluation is submitted to the office of academic affairs.
Syllabi must be submitted to wpacademics@missouristate.edu during the first week of class each semester. Syllabi are available to the appropriate division chair for review.
The Faculty Evaluation committee of the Faculty Senate schedules student evaluations and notification of times/days will be sent to all faculty members along with instructions for the administration of the evaluations. Faculty are reminded that student evaluations of faculty should be completed in the absence of the faculty member to assure students' confidentiality and to insure that students are free to honestly evaluate the faculty member.
Other Policies and Procedures
Instructor Permission for Course Enrollment:
In the event a course requires instructor permission for students to enroll, the student who seeks admission will be told to contact the instructor, usually through BearPass Email. Only the course instructor can grant permission for enrollment. If your course requires instructor permission, discuss procedures via email: wpacademics@missouristate.edu.
Prerequisite Problems:
University policy requires that all students meet prerequisites for courses and that department heads and division chairs must give permission in order for a student to have a prerequisite waived. Please refer students with prerequisite problems to the appropriate department chair or dean. Students should not be encouraged to seek waivers unless the student can demonstrate an extensive background in the disciplines serving as prerequisites for a course making such waivers appropriate.
Directed Study:
Per-course faculty are not approved to teach a directed study course.
Midterm Grades:
Missouri State University-West Plains requires faculty to submit midterm grades as part of its early warning system for students in academic difficulty. Midterm grades provide students with a gauge of their course progress. Faculty should meet the midterm grade deadline. Faculty should also be aware that 'W' and 'I' grades cannot be issued at midterm.
Final Grades:
If a student withdraws prior to the close of the ninth week, a grade of 'W' will be assigned for each course. If a student withdraws after the close of the ninth, the instructor gives a 'W' in the course if the student is doing passing work. If the student is not doing passing work the instructor will indicate a grade of 'W' or 'F'. A 'W' indicates the course was dropped without penalty. An 'F' grade is calculated in the grade point average.
Additional Information
Per-course faculty office space:
Office space for per-course faculty is available on the second floor of Melton Hall. These are shared spaces rather than private offices. If a confidential discussion needs to occur with a student, you may arrange with Academic Affairs to locate an empty space to use for that purpose.
At the Mountain Grove campus, per-course faculty should discuss available space with campus coordinator Pam Tate.
Making Copies/Copyright:
Faculty members have access to copiers on campus. Copier codes are used to control billing to departments for copies made on Missouri State University-West Plains campuses. Obtain a copier code from Teresa Shipley (417) 255-7271 in Lybyer Enhanced Technology Center room 206.
Copy Machine Locations:
West Plains:
- Garnett Library
- Looney Hall, Room 101
- Melton Hall, Room 105
- Melton Hall, Room 212
- Lybyer Enhanced Technology Center, Room 209
- Hass-Darr, Room 103
Mountain Grove:
- Shannon Hall, faculty mail room
Do Not Violate Copyright Laws:
Section 107 of the copyright law states that "fair use is a provision of the copyright law that permits limited use of portions of a copyrighted work without the copyright owner's permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research." You may obtain further information about appropriate fair use from the Garnett Library.
Missouri State University-West Plains BearPass Card:
Your BearPass Card serves as your library card. You may get your BearPass Card by visiting the Lybyer Open Lab during its hours of operation (7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; closed Sunday).
Parking Permits:
- Per-course faculty who teach seated classes are required to purchase a parking permit . Per-course faculty who teach only online are not required to purchase a parking permit.
- Parking permits must be visible in the front windshield of your car.
- Read the parking regulations on the Campus Safety main page https://wp.missouristate.edu/CampusSafety/ and then click on the link to "Parking Regulations" on the left side of the page.
Emergency Procedures:
Emergency procedure posters are located in each classroom and office on campus near the door. Faculty should review the procedures with students so that in the event an emergency should occur, both faculty and students are familiar with the procedures. A fuller document is available online at https://wp.missouristate.edu/CampusSafety/.
Any incidents or accidents on campus should be reported as soon as possible. There are forms available to file reports in the office of academic affairs on the West Plains campus. A written report of the particular incident should be filed with director of business and support services.
Miscellaneous Information:
Garnett Library: (417) 255-7945
Hours during regular fall and spring semesters:
Office of Advising and Academic Support: (417) 255-7222
The Office of Advising and Academic Support provides make-up testing services for faculty. Advising and Academic Support will not administer tests for entire classes, nor will it serve as a testing center for all exams in a particular course.
Advising and Academic Support hours during regular fall and spring semesters:
- 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
Summer Hours:
- 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
Grizzly Tutoring Lab
Students can also be referred to the Grizzly Tutoring Lab by faculty. Specialists in the areas of math and writing supervise tutoring and tutoring in other subjects or assistance in establishing study groups are also available. Tutoring hours vary by semester, but current hours can be found at Grizzly Tutoring Services.
Academic Accommodations: (417) 255-7222
Reasonable accommodations are made for students with disabilities provided the need for accommodations is documented and the accommodations do not alter the curriculum or course objectives. Resources for students who require accommodation and for faculty and staff can be found in Advising and Academic Support by contacting the campus Disability Support Officer at (417) 255-7222.
Drago College Store:
(417) 255-7227 or WPDragoCollegeStore@MissouriState.edu
Hours:
- 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Wednesday
- 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday-Friday
Mission Statement
Missouri State University-West Plains empowers students to achieve personal success and to enrich their local and global communities. As a two-year public institution, we provide accessible, affordable, and quality educational opportunities.
Geographical Focus:
Missouri State University-West Plains is a public, two-year, open admission, separately accredited campus of the Missouri State University System primarily serving students in the Missouri counties of Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Shannon, Texas and Wright.
In addition to serving the educational needs of our service area, Missouri State University-West Plains provides programs to
- Areas not served by Missouri's other two-year institutions;
- Selected international campuses where educational opportunities benefit both regional and international students; and
- The global community of students via traditional and emerging technologies.
Educational Program Focus
Missouri State University-West Plains seeks to create educated persons through the development of their skills in communication, critical thinking, information management, valuing, global awareness and responsible action and knowledge in core subject areas.
Because of its commitment to learning and service, Missouri State University-West Plains:
- strives through ongoing assessment to improve educational outcomes by evaluating what students know, understand and can do with their knowledge as a result of their campus experience;
- hosts upper-level courses provided by the Missouri State University System leading to selected bachelor’s and graduate degrees;
- offers informal educational opportunities designed to enhance community life through cultural enrichment programs, regional economic development and customized training;
- promotes extracurricular learning opportunities for students, faculty, staff and community in areas such as intercollegiate athletics and student life and development activities and a variety of noncredit educational opportunities and
- develops educated persons of high character and integrity, inspiring them to serve others and their respective communities through its commitment to the Missouri State University System’s mission in Public Affairs.
Divisions
| Division | Chair | Phone | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Education and Preprofessional Programs | Leigh Adams | (417) 255-7282 | Melton 108 |
| Career and Technical Education | Cathy Proffitt-Boys | (417) 255-7278 | Lybyer 209B |
| Nursing and Allied Health | Lisa Wade | (417) 255-7970 | Looney 212 |
Division Expectations:
- Regularly check campus email for communication from the department head/division chair.
- Schedule a classroom observation time for the evaluation process with the department head/division chair.
- Encourage students to complete the on-line instructor evaluations.
- Faculty members are required to use a final test/culminating activity.
- At the end of the semester, submit assessment reports.
- Nursing: See Nursing Faculty Handbook.