Introduction

The Office of Human Resources, in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, participates in the coordination and administration of academic personnel policies. Questions pertaining to retirement, academic professional performance evaluations, human resource records, and general personnel procedures should be directed to Human Resources at 6-6652. Inquiries concerning specific academic personnel policies should be directed to the Provost’s Office at 6-6614.

 

Boyer Model of Scholarship

Since its creation in 1970, the campus has recognized excellence in teaching as the main component of its institutional mission. UIS faculty view themselves as teacher-scholars, a concept that was described in the UIS Vision Statement adopted by the Campus Senate in May 1996. Without diminishing the importance of their instructional role, UIS faculty are expected to be actively engaged in scholarship ­ a term preferred to research in keeping with the recent national dialogue that has redefined faculty work to reflect the full range of mandates addressed by the professoriate.

As referenced in Article 3 of the UIS Faculty Personnel Policy and in Chapter 7 of the campus’ 1997 NCA Self-Study Report, UIS has adopted the typology of scholarship presented in Ernest Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate (Princeton: Carnegie Institute for the Advancement of Teaching, 1990) available in Brookens Library, call number: LA227.3.B694 1990. By defining the scholarly modes of discovery, application, integration, and teaching, Boyer validates scholarly activity whether directed toward instruction, basic research, or applied research that serves the community.

UIS faculty often cite the Boyer framework and terminology in general discussions of their activities as well as in individual self-reports. Faculty at UIS engage in scholarship as part of their normal instructional assignments or through non-instructional assignments (NIAs) available through academic departments or programs and colleges or through the Center for State Policy and Leadership. UIS’ emphasis on public affairs in its instruction, research, and service has strengthened their inter-relationships and produced many projects that serve government or non-governmental agencies.

 

Conflicts of Commitment and Interest

Active participation by academic staff members in external activities that enhance their professional skills or constitute public service can be beneficial to the University as well as to the individual. Because such activities can lead to conflicts of commitment or interest with regard to one’s University responsibilities, it is necessary to measure and monitor the non-University activities of staff members.

The University of Illinois Policy on Conflicts of Commitment and Interest (COCI) provides a framework for measuring and monitoring the propriety and advisability of non-University activities of academic staff members. At UIS, the provost serves as the vice chancellor for research (VCR) and administers this policy.

Link to the University of Illinois Policy on Conflicts of Commitment and Interest, as well as COCI Guidelines for Civil Service Employees.

 

Copyright Compliance

The Copyright Act of 1976 specifies the exclusive rights of a copyright owner in his or her copyrighted work. The use of copyrighted material in the classroom therefore requires compliance with this Act. The fair use exception to the Act allows teachers to duplicate copyrighted materials to a limited extent for such purposes as criticism, comment, instruction, scholarship, or research.

Since 1996 the campus has used the services of the bookstore to follow copyright compliance procedures for the reproduction and sale of copyrighted content in textual materials assembled by instructors. No materials will be copied or sold without copyright clearance or other written approval from the copyright holder. Procedures for obtaining copyright clearance should begin early as it may take six to eight weeks to secure approval. Instructors who duplicate materials without following these procedures do so at their own risk. In addition, instructors wishing to have such copyrighted materials sold in the bookstore must place the orders directly with Campus Services and provide all original copies.

 

Course Evaluations: Student Perceptions of the Educational Experience

Each semester, students have the opportunity to complete a “UIS Faculty and Course Evaluation” form for each course in which they are enrolled.  The survey instrument includes questions related to students’ perceptions of the quality of the educational experience and the faculty member’s performance in teaching the course. This process is a part of the campus’ well-established tradition of incorporating student feedback into the evaluation of faculty for reappointment, promotion, and tenure. An online evaluation form is used for courses offered online; instructors may also select online evaluations for courses offered in an on-campus classroom.

Course evaluation packets for administration of paper evaluations are prepared in the Provost’s Office and must be personally picked up by the faculty member within the designated timeframe. In the unlikely event that a faculty member is unable to pick up course evaluation packets personally, he/she may arrange with the provost’s administrative assistant for packets to be picked up by a named designee. Course evaluation packets for adjunct faculty may be picked up by the program/department chair or secretary. Faculty members are expected to check the packets for accuracy of the enrollment count on the day of distribution; any extra evaluation forms should be removed from the packet and not left in the classroom. Course evaluation packets should not be left in unsecured department mail boxes.

The evaluation process is confidential for both online and paper administration.  If paper evaluation forms are used, a student in each class is identified to administer the evaluations, collect the forms, and deposit them in the nearest campus course evaluation lock box. Neither the completed forms nor the printed results of the assessment are seen by the instructor until final grades for the course have been submitted to the Registrar.

Completed paper evaluations are picked up from the lock boxes by Provost’s Office staff.  Results are tabulated for forms completed within the designated timeframe and administered according to the established protocol, and these paper forms are returned to faculty members after grades for the semester have been transmitted to the Registrar.  Summary reports on each course are generated from paper and online course evaluations.  One copy is provided to the faculty member, and one copy is placed in each faculty member’s personnel file in the Faculty Files Office for use in faculty review processes.

The Faculty Personnel Policy requires that alternative evaluation forms used in place of the standard form be approved by the department/program, dean, and the provost prior to use. In addition to using the required standard evaluations, some faculty, departments, and programs develop and have students administer supplemental evaluations of courses and teaching.

For additional information about standard, alternative, and supplemental course evaluations, see Article 9, Section 3, Paragraphs N and O of the Faculty Personnel Policy.

9.14

 

Faculty and Academic Staff Activity Analysis Report

Each fall and spring semester faculty and academic staff complete activity analysis reports that provide information enabling Institutional Research to prepare data for various campus reporting requirements. This form classifies the activities of faculty, graduate assistants, and other academic staff who are assigned to cost study accounts. The Provost’s Office administers the collection of information for the activity analysis. The data are not related to individual performance nor are they used to assess individual workload. The data are used to compile an analysis by function to meet reporting requirements set by the University of Illinois and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, as well as for special analytical studies. The IBHE uses the information to complete an annual study of costs at Illinois public universities. The information is used to help formulate the annual operation budget for public universities, to assist university administrators in program planning and re-evaluation, to establish a historical reference for the study of changing instructional costs, and to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of post-secondary education. Questions about completing this form should be directed to the dean or division head.

 

Intellectual Property

The University of Illinois Springfield is guided by the U of I System policy on intellectual property as set forth in the General Rules of the University of Illinois, Article III.

 

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

To plagiarize is to present as one’s own a thought, writing, or invention belonging to another. It usually takes one of the following three forms and is done without proper acknowledgement: the inclusion of another person’s writing in one’s own essay; paraphrasing of another person’s work; or presentation of another person’s original theories, views, etc.

When an allegation of plagiarism or academic dishonesty exists, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated and carried out within the academic program of the teaching faculty in which the alleged offense occurred. Faculty can determine penalties which are limited to the course in which the alleged offense occurred (i.e., lowering the grade, awarding a failing grade for the assignment or the course). Faculty should consult with the chair, convener, or director of the department or program or with the dean of the college to ascertain departmental, programmatic, and/or college practices for dealing with such matters. Students have the right to grieve such actions taken against them by filing a grievance with the vice chancellor for student affairs.

Any action to place a student on probation, or to suspend or dismiss a student from a department or program or from UIS for plagiarism, academic dishonesty or other proscribed conduct is to be initiated under the provisions of the campus Student Disciplinary Code, and requires the filing of a disciplinary complaint with the vice chancellor for student affairs.

Link to Student Disciplinary Code 

Link to Academic Integrity website

Updated 2.14

 

Religious Observances – Accommodation of

UIS follows the campus policy adopted on October 6, 1993, to comply with a statutory mandate. The policy is paraphrased below.

The State of Illinois enacted a law [110 IL Comp Stat 110/1], which mandates that all public institutions of higher education adopt a policy requiring the reasonable accommodation of religious observances by students. To comply with this statutory mandate, the administrative policy excerpted below took effect on campus on October 6, 1993.

Reasonable accommodation of the religious observances of individual students will be provided in regard to admissions, class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and course assignments.

All scheduling of admission and registration, examinations, and assignment dates during a semester should be established with consideration for the possible occurrence of religious observances during the term. Alternative dates for examinations or major assignments and the use of existing mechanisms for the administration of “make-up” tests may be necessary to accommodate students who are unavailable as a result of religious observances.

 

Student Advising

Advising is central to this campus, and is carried out by an extensive advising team including professional and faculty advisors.

Advising Students upon Entry to UIS

After students are admitted to UIS, they are linked with an advisor based on the major and the number of academic hours they have completed. First-time, first year students and transfer students with twenty-nine academic hours or fewer will be advised by a professional advisor in the Center for Academic Success & Advising (CASA). Transfer students who enter UIS having earned thirty or more academic hours will be connected with a professional or faculty advisor housed in the appropriate major department. Advisors will work with students entering UIS to:

  • make informed choices concerning their majors;
  • select their initial courses;
  • track student success and report on student progress,
  • assist students in accessing support from other student services offices, and
  • develop an understanding of additional campus requirements and policies related to successful completion of academic coursework.

Incoming freshmen are assigned to an advisor in CASA based on a number of factors and will be notified of this assignment during Summer Orientation. Transfer students who will receive advising within a major department will be connected with either a professional advisor in the department or a faculty advisor upon admission to UIS and will be notified of this assignment during the admissions process.

Traditional freshmen students will be advised by professional advisors in CASA until they have completed thirty credit hours successfully. At that time, students will attend a Transition Day, during which students are transitioned from CASA to a professional or faculty advisor in their major departments. CASA will identify students prepared to transition to advising in major departments and then will include these students in the Transition Day process so that each student gains a thorough understanding of the transition process and how to proceed through advising in the major.

The Role of Advising

Advising provides a means for faculty and professional advisors to communicate information to students, including department/program requirements, course sequencing, and overall student performance expectations, as well as career prospects and opportunities. It can help students achieve personal, professional, and career goals, and it can play a direct role in student persistence and completion rates. For the department, advising can play a vital role in information gathering for curriculum review and evaluation, course design, and student placement. Advising can also contribute to excellence in teaching by strengthening ongoing program evaluation and assessment, and by encouraging professional development. Finally, successful advising involves cooperation and support from the entire campus community. Additional information on advising can be viewed at the CASA website.

Documenting Advising Performance

The UIS Faculty Personnel Policy emphasizes student advising by faculty. Article 3, Section 2.A. explains that “Advising of students is a critical component of faculty duties, and advising activities and outcomes are an important consideration in the evaluation of faculty. As such faculty shall be prepared to demonstrate that they are actively and effectively engaging in academic advising of students on an ongoing and consistent basis.” Quantitative measures of advising effectiveness, such as numbers of advisees, should be used in relationship to qualitative measures, such as comments by students, reports on activities, advising syllabi, information from institutional retention/advising software, and other relevant materials. Article 9, Section 3.M. of the Faculty Personnel Policy indicates that full-time faculty should be available to students for advising at “mutually convenient times and places” The Portfolio Guidelines for faculty, as explained in Appendix 10, Section V.1 of the Faculty Personnel Policy provide examples of activities that can be documented to support narratives of advising effectiveness. For further information about advising, contact the chair, head, or director of the appropriate department or program.

Professional advisors in the academic colleges or in the Center for Academic Success & Advising are classified as Academic Professionals and are evaluated each year through the campus Performance Evaluation Program. Measures of advising effectiveness and documentation of advising performance may be established by the units to which the advisors are appointed.