The policies stated on this page are not meant to be authoritative! Links to each policy are given (usually, to the 2018-19 ETSU Undergraduate Catalog) and the links are active as of spring semester 2020.

NOTE/WARNING: The information on this webpage is not meant to override any formal university policy, but instead to give you an idea of the policies. Follow the online links to university sources that do state formal policies.

The ETSU undergraduate grades are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog. This is available in the online catalog (scroll down some for the grade point information).

You can assign a grade of I ("incomplete") only if a student is passing a course at the end of the semester, but the student has not completed the course for reasons beyond the student's control (it is reasonable to expect the student to provide evidence, such as doctor's excuses, for such a situation). If you assign an incomplete grade, then you are accepting an obligation of working with the student to complete the work. If the incomplete grade is not cleared within one calendar year, then the grade reverts to an F. The university policy on incomplete grades is in the online catalog.

Students can get grades of W or WF if they withdraw from a class (neither grade affects the student's GPA). If a student withdraws during the first two weeks of classes, then the class does not appear on their record. If they withdraw between the third and eighth week are recorded with a grade of W. After the eighth week, the student is given a grade of W ("withdraw") or WF ("withdraw failing") at the "discretion of the instructor." The formal dates are given on the university's academic calendar. The university policy on withdrawal is in the catalog online.

I cannot find an authoritative policy on the FN (Failure for Non-attendance) grade. My personal view is that this grade is appropriate for a student who does less than half of the work for a class and then disappears (including students who do none of the work for a class, but fail to drop or withdraw). I would assign a grade of F to a student who does half or more of the work (and so probably doesn't disappear until after the middle of the term), but fails to take all tests or the final and, as a result, has a failing average. Although I cannot find a website with relevant information, I do have an excerpt from an e-mail concerning the FN grade: "Please report an 'FN' (Failure for Non-attendance) for all students who stop attending or who never attend your class and appear on the grade roster at the conclusion of the semester. Assign the 'FN', not the 'F' grade, if the student quits attending or never attends. The 'FN' will allow us to examine the student's record for possible refund or repayment of financial aid, thus reducing the university’s liability for financial aid." (From an e-mail from 'Office of the Provost and VPAA.')

ETSU does not have a university policy concerning required attendance. However, departments can set an attendance policy (subject to approval by the college dean). This is explained in the online catalog. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics has an approved attendance policy which reads as follows:

Of course, if you have an attendance policy, then you will need to take attendance! I recommend typing up a list of student names and then having them sign "on the dotted line" each class day. This approach avoids the waste of time of calling names and marking attendance. By having the students sign, you have a written record of attendance (in the event of any complaints about a student's attendance). It is also easier to record absences from a standard form than from having students simply sign a sheet of paper (which requires you to search down individual names).

"Attendance Reporting" is a standard part of the paperwork required by those who are primary instructor for a class. The categories of attendance to be reported are as follows:

• Y (YES) - student is attending and do not enter a last date of attendance (LDA).
• N (NO) - if the student NEVER attended. The LDA will automatically default to the day before the 1st day of class.
• S (STOPPED) - if the student has stopped attending. This option requires the last day of attendance to be entered.

Early Semester Progress Reports, also known as "midterm grades," are another required obligation of course instructors. These grades are entered through GoldLink around the 8th week of fall and spring semesters. These grades are not part of a student's official transcript and are simply meant to reflect the student's progress during the first half of the semester. The policy for "ESPR" is in the online catalog. You may also occasionally receive a letter from various athletic officials who request feedback on the progress of student athletes. These letters come with signed forms which show that the student has given his/her permission for instructors to give this information to the athletic officials. Please provide this information, since personal tutors are often provided to student athletes who are struggling in their classes.

In my opinion, one of the most ignored policies on the ETSU campus is the Pre-Finals Week Policy. Fortunately, I don't think violations of this policy occur in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. However, there is a good chance that you will have students claiming that the only final they have during finals week is yours. I encourage you to tell them that it is Tennessee Board of Regents policy that we must give finals during finals week and not before. This is such a widespread problem, I have started including a statement of the policy on all of my undergraduate syllabi. The policy is in the undergraduate catalog and undergraduate handbook. The statement from the catalog is online. The complete policy from the catalog is as follows (with my emphasis added):

If you teach a class for the ETSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics, then the class will come with a Desire To Learn (D2L) site. This is an excellent place for you to post a copy of your syllabus, copies of your tests, homework assignments, and homework/test solutions. You can also use the D2L site to e-mail all of your students, allowing you to communicate with them with any necessary but unplanned changes (such as cancelled classes due to weather). An additional benefit of using D2L is that it gives you experience with online classroom management software. In pursuing your next step (employment or further graduate study) after completing our M.S. program, you will benefit from strengthening your resume'. Experience with D2L makes you a stronger candidate for a teaching position elsewhere and for a teaching assistantship in some Ph.D. program. You can access D2L at: https://elearn.etsu.edu/.

Some time around fall 2012 semester, copies of the ETSU Honor Code were widely posted around campus. The Honor Code is also on the Syllabus Attachment. For the record, it reads: "East Tennessee State University is committed to developing the intellect and ethical behavior of its students. Students found to be in violation of policies on plagiarism, cheating, and/or fabrication will be held accountable for their actions. Any knowledge of academic misconduct should be reported. Students are expected to act with honesty, integrity, and civility in all matters." The Honor Pledge says that by becoming a member of the campus community, students agree to live by the standards of the honor code and, thereby, pledge the following: "I pledge to act with honesty, integrity, and civility in all matters." (Honor Code and Pledge revised and adopted February 16, 2012.)
You may find the older Honor Code posted in classrooms. It dates from when ETSU was governed by the Tennessee Coard of Regents and states: "ETSU is committed to developing the intellect and moral character of its students. To that end, all instances of plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct shall be punished in accord with Tennessee Board of Regents Policy. Any knowledge of conduct of this nature should be reported to the proper authorities. Not reporting instances of academic misconduct represents a fundamental break with honor code policy, and although this offense is not punishable, reflects a callous disregard for yourself, your classmates, and your professors. Penalties for academic misconduct will vary with the seriousness of the offense and may include, but are not limited to: a grade of F on the work in question, a grade of F for the course, reprimand, probation, suspension, and expulsion. For a second academic misconduct offense, the penalty is permanent expulsion."

Here's the statement I put on my upper level class syllabi concerning cheating: "While I suspect that you may work with each other on the homework problems (in fact, I encourage you to), I expect that the work you turn in is your own and that you understand it. Some of the homework problems are fairly standard for this class, and you may find proofs online or in an online version of the solutions manual. The online proofs may not be done with the notation, definitions, and specific methods which we are developing and, therefore, are not acceptable for this class. If I get homework from two (or more) of you that is virtually identical, then neither of you will get any credit. If you copy homework solutions from an online source, then you will get no credit. These are examples of plagiarism and I will have to act on this as spelled out on ETSU's "Academic Integrity @ ETSU" webpage:http://www.etsu.edu/academicintegrity/faculty.php (last accessed 1/18/2019). To avoid this, do not copy homework and turn it in as your own!!! Even if you collaborate with someone, if you write the homework problems out in such a way that you understand all of the little steps and details, then it will be unique and your own work." As always, the official policy is spelled out by the university.

ETSU policy on student misconduct is in the catalog and the online catalog. My advice to you in dealing with this is to take your concerns to the department chair as soon as problems arise. Some of the official policy is: " [The instructor] can order the temporary removal or exclusion from the classroom of any student engaged in disruptive conduct or conduct that violates the general rules and regulations of the institution for each class session during which the conduct occurs. ... Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly, through participation or assistance, are immediately responsible to the instructor of the class. In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions which may be imposed through the university’s academic misconduct policy as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or a zero ("0") for the exercise or examination, or to assign an "F" in the course. [Students have the right to appeal a grade assignment.] Disruptive behavior in the classroom may be defined as, but not limited to, behavior that obstructs or disrupts the learning environment (e.g., offensive language, harassment of students and professors, repeated outbursts from a student which disrupt the flow of instruction or prevent concentration on the subject taught, failure to cooperate in maintaining classroom decorum, etc.), text messaging, and the continued use of any electronic or other noise or light emitting device which disturbs others...."

If you find yourself in a conversation with a student who seems to be displaying unusual behavior which might be illustrative of psychiatric problems, drug or alcohol issues, or suicidal tendencies, then ETSU has the Counseling Center with trained people to help students with such problems. Of course, you want to be supportive of a student with problems, but you are likely not trained in dealing with these issues, so it is best to direct students to the center. It is located in Room 345 of the Culp Center and the website is: http://www.etsu.edu/students/counseling/.

ETSU occasionally must cancel classes and close due to the weather or other unavoidable problems such as power outages (and one time due to a state level budget crisis!). Even when the university is open, there are occasions when some students cannot make it to the university. You should be reasonable in helping these students complete missed work. The university policy on inclement weather is in the online catalog. In part, it states that: "Students are responsible for any academic work that they miss as a result of inclement weather. It is the individual student's responsibility to take the initiative in making up any missed work, and it is the faculty's responsibility to provide students a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work." When bad weather does interfere with scheduled classes, this is a good time to make use of D2L to e-mail students and give them updated plans (for example, if the university is shut down the day before or day of a scheduled test). You should encourage your students to sign up for the ETSU automatic alert system which will contact them by text message. They can sign up through the ETSU Safe mobile app: https://www.etsu.edu/safety/etsu_safe.php.

You might find the following useful, both for yourself and your students (but notice that undergraduates and graduates have slightly different policies):

• ETSU Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. This is ETSU policies are formally stated and represents, in a sense, the "contract" between ETSU and its students.
• Graduate Assistant/Tuition Scholar Handbook contains many of the policies mentioned here and includes some of your rights and responsibilities as an ETSU graduate student on an assistantship or tuition scholarship.
• Syllabus Attachment includes information about advisement, library hours, Information Technology Lab hours, and bookstore hours, and ETSU Honor Code.
• Official Calendar with important dates, such as last day to drop/add.
• Final Exam Schedule with the times and dates of all university finals (you should adhere to this policy and make your students aware of this schedule and the TBR Pre-Finals Week Policy).
• General Statement on Discrimination and Harassment.

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Last updated: January 24, 2020.