Office of the Provost: Memorandum
To: All Faculty and Staff
From: N. John DiNardo, Ph.D, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Subject: Key Reminders for Faculty and Staff: Fall 2007
Date: 20 September 2007
Key Reminders for Faculty and Staff: Fall 2007
As you know, classes for the Fall Quarter, 2007-08 begin on Monday, September 24th. We have provided important academic information that is relevant to faculty and staff on this web page. To view critical calendar dates and academic policies that have been made available to students, please click here.
Click on a topic below for which you are seeking more information:
Critical Dates
- Academic Calendar AY2007-08
- Midterm Grades/Early Warning System
- Student Progress
- Fall Census
- Convocation
Important Policy Reminders
Key Practices
Key Information
Critical Dates
The Academic Calendar, available at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/calendars/quarter provides additional information regarding academic deadlines; critical SCDC/Co-operative education dates; and holidays.
Undergraduate Students
Course Add/Drop: Sunday, October 7th
Course Withdrawal: Friday, November 2ndAccelerated Courses
Course Add/Drop: Friday, September 28th (Section A) and Friday, November 2nd (Section B)
Course Withdrawal: Friday, October 12th (Section A) and Friday, November 16th (Section B)Saturday Scholars
Course Add/Drop: Friday, October 5th (Term A) and Friday, November 9th (Term B)
Course Withdrawal: Monday, November 5th
Midterm Grades/Early Warning System
The Early Warning System is a system by which the University has the opportunity to identify freshmen students who are at-risk of satisfactory academic performance in critical freshman courses.
The success of this new initiative is dependent on the submission of midterm grades by faculty. We are asking that midterm grades (midterm examinations) for the following courses be uploaded no later than October 26 th at 5:00 PM:
ANAT 101 ANAT 102 CHEM 101 CHEM 108 COOP 101 EDUC 301 EDUC 310 ENGL 101 ENGL 102 ENGL 103 MATH 100 MATH 101 MATH 110 MATH 121 MATH 122 MATH 200 NURS 200 NURS 201 NURS 300 PHYS 101 PHYS 102 TDEC 140 UNIV 101 A series reminder communications regarding the submission of midterm grades will be delivered to department heads beginning in the third week of the Fall term.
In order for a student to make a reasonable decision regarding course withdrawal, it is important to provide information regarding his or her performance before this date. It is critical that every instructor make certain that students are apprised of their performance in courses by the end of the fifth week of classes. That is, by Friday, October 26th.
Instructors for accelerated sessions are also asked to abide by this practice by providing information - such that all of their students will know where they stand in the course - by the end of the second week of the accelerated session, that is Friday, October 5th (Section A) or Friday, October 26th (Section B). Saturday scholars should be apprised of their performance by Saturday, October 27th.
Courses should be structured accordingly; graded quizzes, exams, lab work, essays, etc. should be returned to students by the end of the fifth week and should provide a sufficient basis on which they can usefully assess their standing in the course.
In order to provide an earlier and more accurate census for the 2007-08 academic year, instructors are being asked to record attendance in Banner during the second week of the quarter.
A detailed overview of this process can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/census/taking_attendance.asp.
Convocation will be held on on Thursday, October 18th from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm in the Main Auditorium. As such, courses will not meet during this time.
A full description of Convocation events and exercises can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/convocation.
Important Policy Reminders
Instructors may implement the plus/minus grading scale based on numerical grades or other defined standards. Each instructor should communicate with students how the grading scale will be implemented in the course syllabus.
To review the grading scale, please access: http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/grades.asp
Please also note the revised schedule for grade submission for graduating students.
Final Examinations and Final Grade Submission
A final exam or project is expected in all undergraduate courses with the exception of laboratory courses. Take home exams or final projects or papers may be required instead of an in-class final. These will be due during final exam week at a time designated by the instructor. Standards for take home finals and or projects will be established by the instructor in the course syllabus and students must abide by those standards.
No final examination may be given in the 10th week of the quarter.
During finals week, no student is obligated to take more than two (2) finals on any given day. The Final Examination policy states that students may appeal to the Office of the Provost for accomodation at least three (3) days before the examination date. Students who are seeking accommodations may download the appeal form and submit it to the Provost's Office in Main 102.
Instructors for those courses with the highest course number will be asked to give a special exam for the fall 2007 quarter.
Final Grade Submission
- For classes with enrollment less than 50: 48 hours after the final exam
- For classes with enrollment of 50 or more: 72 hours after the final exam
The ability to submit grades via DrexelOne will be removed on Wednesday, December 19th at 12:00 PM.
Instructors are responsible to adhere to their classroom assignments. Classroom or time change requests must be remitted to the scheduler and reported to the Office of the University Registrar.
The Office of the Provost will communicate any new or revised policies separately. These will appear in a special section of the policy website at http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies.
Key Practices
The University is committed to promoting an environment that supports cultural and spiritual diversity.
It is essential that students contact their instructors at the beginning of the term for religious observance accommodation requests.
For more information, please review the Office of the Provost Statement on Religious Observances
It is the University's policy to provide a learning environment that provides all students with the opportunity to realize their full potential. To this end, the goal of the Office of Disability Services ("ODS") is to assist students with disabilities in becoming self-sufficient, independent, and successful members of the University's community and to provide students with disabilities with equal opportunity of access to University courses, programs, facilities, services, and activities.
Students seeking reasonable accommodations for their disabilities must first register with ODS. The staff of ODS will work closely with students to review medical documentation, assess their individual needs, and link them with the services necessary to ensure them the opportunity to participate fully in college life. The Office of Disability Services website can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/ods/.
Key Information
Register Today: Mobile Notification Alert System
Recent events highlight the need for fast and far-reaching campus communication.
An upgrade to DrexelOne has enabled instant alert notification capabilities via cell phone text messages. To protect the privacy of students, faculty and staff, the University offers them the choice to provide their cell phone information to receive mobile alerts. Users can choose to receive messages based on preferences.
To learn more and to register for mobile notification, login to DrexelOne and click on the “Drexel” tab, the find “Mobile Notification” in the “Technology Services” channel.