FOR FACULTY

Policy Links

Human Resources Policies for employees are listed on the HR Policies and Procedures Wiki site. Graduate Academic Policies are in linked documents on the MassArt Wiki site: Graduate Academic Policies. Students must abide by policies and the linked Student Handbook provided on the Community Standards website.

Rosters, Attendance, and Add/Drop 

Rosters are available upon login to Self-Service with one’s NetID and password. Please see the Registrar’s Self-Service information for faculty. 

Attendance is first marked after the first class meeting concludes. Please log on to Self-Service and mark any registered students who did not attend. 

If the course cap has not been reached, you may add additional students until the cap is met. In rare cases, faculty may want to allow higher numbers of students to enroll. Sign a physical add/drop form in a face-to-face course, or send an email to the student and to the Registrar, Jonathan Rand, at jrand@massart.edu to allow additional students to enroll during add/drop.

Log into Self-Service, select the course section you are teaching, and click on the “i” information button for “availability” to see the number of course seats available, the course capacity, and number of waitlisted students (available/capacity/waitlist). Note that students are not automatically moved from the waitlist to enrolled seats, so that the number of “available seats” is not automatically updated.

After Add/Drop has ended (two full weeks of class) please provide your attendance on Self-Service again. This prevents the College from billing a student who is no longer enrolled, and certifies financial aid eligibility.

Syllabus

All faculty must submit a copy of the syllabus for every course they teach. You will be prompted to submit your syllabi with an online form at the start of each semester. Faculty should email their course syllabus to gradprogram@massart.edu so that it may be placed in their faculty file.

All syllabi must include the Graduate Syllabus Policy Attachment described at the end of this document. The attachment informs students of grading policies, absence policies and information about academic accommodations. Faculty may also establish other specific guidelines for their course, and include them on the syllabus. For example, many faculty establish a tardiness policy, or a policy that cellphone usage is not allowed during class time. Some faculty include information about taking breaks during class, water but no food allowed during class time, etc. Guidelines for online classes should also be communicated clearly (cameras on/off, definition of attendance, etc.). Print the attachment from this document or request a PDF from the Graduate Team at gradprogram@massart.edu.

Office Hours

All faculty must set regular office hours and include these in their course syllabus. Each course should include 1 office hour per class meeting. Office hours may be done remotely. If an on-campus room is needed for a meeting with a student, please contact the graduate program at gradprogram@massart.edu in advance to arrange for space. If you will not be available during your office hours, please notify students of alternate hours you’re available.

Written Student Evaluation 

Students may request written course evaluations for any course taken at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The student must provide the faculty member with the evaluation form before the end of the Add/Drop period of the semester in which the class is taken. The faculty member submits a Student Performance Evaluation form to the Registrar’s Office.The Student Evaluation is intended to provide a description of the student’s achievement in the course. It addresses the student’s attendance, class participation, motivation, the work produced, and the student’s progress and technical expertise in the subject area. Letter grade equivalents are not given for pass/no credit courses.

Academic Warnings and Student Issues 

Please speak with the Graduate Program Director or the Dean of Graduate Studies if you find a student is not performing well in your course. If a student shows signs of not being able to pass a course early in the semester, faculty may submit an academic warning to inform the student that they could potentially fail the course. There are two opportunities per term to assign this warning – for the fall, in October and November, and for the spring, in February and April. Academic Warnings are submitted online through Self-Service, and the dates for doing so are on the Academic Calendar. For issues arising in summer courses, please contact the Graduate Program Director, or the Dean of Graduate Studies, as soon as possible. As summer courses schedules vary, the College does not schedule summer academic warnings.

Faculty: Running Late or Absence from Class

If you are going to be late or absent from class, email your students and email the grad team at gradprogram@massart.edu before the start of class. If we have staff on campus, and receive the message prior to the end of our work day, we will post a sign on the classroom door regarding faculty absences.

If you will be absent from class, consider alternative coursework for your students. It is recommended you have a contingency plan to keep students on track with their work, be it online, via email, or by conducting a make-up class. Keep in mind that students cannot be required to attend any make-up classes that fall outside the normal meeting time of the class, though optional classes outside of the normal meeting time can be offered.

Inclement Weather Closings/Emergency Shutdowns

When teaching in the winter months we may be subject to closings for inclement weather. If the College will be closed on a weekday, an email will be sent to your MassArt email address notifying you of the closure. It is recommended you sign up for MassArt’s RAVE alert system, which will also send you texts regarding shutdowns. Any closings will also be announced along with other Boston-area schools on your local TV or radio stations. Remote courses are also canceled when the college is closed due to inclement weather.

Course Evaluations by Students

Towards the end of the semester students in your course will be asked to evaluate the course and you as their professor. Evaluations may be conducted online or in person. If conducted in person, a graduate team member will pre-schedule a time to visit your class to distribute, oversee, and collect the paper evaluations. Faculty are required to leave the room for about 10 minutes while students complete these forms. If conducted online, the graduate team contacts students via email, with a request to complete the online form. Please reinforce the importance of participation in the evaluation process with your students.

After the conclusion of the course, faculty will receive a copy of the results;  in addition, upon request, a copy for review will be provided to the DGCE Chair (Graduate Program Director). Copies of the evaluations will be placed in faculty personnel folders in the Graduate Programs Office. The form used for these evaluations is specified in the DGCE bargaining agreement. If you find that the questions on the form do not suit your needs, you are welcome to collect your own additional feedback.

Grading Policies / Academic Policies 

Prior to grading your course, please review the grading policies in the Graduate Academic Policies on MassArt’s Wiki site. This includes information on the type of grades awarded, and the minimum passing course grades as they apply to students from each program. 

Final Grades

At the end of the semester, faculty enter grades by logging into Self-Service. See the MassArt Self-Service Wiki page for more information. Please assign grades by the appropriate deadline as indicated on MassArt’s Academic Calendar. If you have any questions about grading or incomplete grades, please contact the Registrar’s Office, registrar@massart.edu; for questions about a student’s progress through the program, please contact the Program Director and/or Nadia Savage in the Graduate Program office, nsavage@massart.edu. See “Start of the Term Policies” for information on Written Student Evaluations which students may request at the start of the term.

Incomplete Course Grade

In rare cases, and due to extenuating circumstances, a student cannot finish coursework by the end of the term. Faculty may want to grant an Incomplete grade to a student as a temporary grade. 

• If this occurs in your class, please see the incomplete grade policy included in the Graduate Academic Policies online.
• If it is the appropriate solution, the faculty and student complete an Incomplete Grade Contract together, indicating the deadline for completion, and the Registrar enters the grade after receiving the contract.
• Work should be completed within 4 weeks of the start of the following term. Faculty review work submitted and submit a Change of Grade, or the information therein via email, to the Registrar’s Office.

Change of Grade

Faculty may change any grade until the mid-semester following the course. In exceptional situations, faculty (or the Program Director or Dean of Graduate Studies in the absence of the faculty) may extend the period for completing requirements for an incomplete grade beyond this deadline.

Changes of grades, other than INC, are permitted after the deadline only with the signature of the faculty (or program director or dean, in absence of the faculty). Use the Change of Grade form to submit the change.

Grade Appeal Procedure

Faculty should be aware that on rare occasions students may appeal a course grade. This process must be initiated by the student within the first three weeks of the semester immediately following the semester in which the course was taken. The grade appeal policy is included in the Graduate Academic Policies online.