Procedure Details
Procedure Title: Faculty Availability for Student Inquiry
Procedure #: AA.023
Revision #: 000
Unit Responsible: Academic Affairs
Individual Responsible: Academic Affairs
Effective Date: 06/09/2023
Initial Approval Date: 06/09/2023
Last Review/Update Date: 06/09/2023
Next Review Date: 06/01/2026
*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.170 – Student Attendance
Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page
*Does this procedure support HLC criteria? Yes
If yes, identify: 3C
HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria
*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A
*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.
Faculty Availability for Student Inquiry, BP 3.170
1. Purpose
To ensure that faculty are available for student inquiries throughout the semester during which the faculty member is assigned to teach a section (or sections) of a credit-bearing course being offered at Lansing Community College (LCC).
2. Scope
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) applies to all Teaching Faculty during a semester in which they are currently assigned to a section (or sections) of an LCC credit-bearing course.
3. Prerequisites
The HLC Criteria for Accreditation require that “Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.”
The Michigan Association for Higher Education (MAHE) contract states that Teaching Faculty are expected to “model teaching effectiveness, instruct courses as scheduled, and hold office hours as scheduled” (Article VIII), and also lists “student needs and interests” as the first of the primary factors to be considered when making teaching assignments (Article XI). The MAHE contract sets the requirements for full-time faculty workloads, and states that personal leave is limited to 16 hours for full-time faculty or one day for part-time faculty per academic year (Article XXIII).
Faculty are also required to comply with the Timely and Meaningful Feedback and Timely Faculty Response to Students SOPs.
4. Responsibilities
Teaching Faculty are expected to be available to their students throughout the semester in accordance with the above cited prerequisites, with allowances for official holidays and the prescribed number of personal hours/days.
The Academic Deans, Associate Deans, or Program Directors will provide appropriate oversight to ensure that faculty are serving the needs of their students in accordance with this SOP.
5. Procedure
- Faculty teaching sections with scheduled meeting times will hold class during the scheduled time.
- If faculty are unable to hold class for any reason, they will follow their departmental guidelines for arranging a substitute instructor.
- Faculty will hold their office hours in accordance with the syllabus.
- Faculty will respond to student inquiries within two (2) business days, in accordance with the Timely Faculty Response to Students SOP.*
- Faculty will provide feedback on assessments in accordance with the Timely and Meaningful Feedback SOP.*
*Note: Steps 4 and 5 apply to all sections, whether face-to-face, online, hybrid, or hyflex.
6. Reference
HLC Criteria for Accreditation
Timely Faculty Response to Students SOP
Timely and Meaningful Feedback SOP
7. Definitions
HLC Criteria for Accreditation – Standards of Quality by which Higher Learning Commission (HLC) determines whether an institution merits accreditation or reaffirmation of accreditation.