Faculty Responsibilities

1. Academic Advising

Academic advising is to be a collaborative effort between faculty and staff. As a component of their teaching responsibilities, all CHS faculty should expect to engage in student advisement as a component of their professional responsibilities.

2. Class Rosters

Faculty members have access to their class rosters through WaveNet. During the first week of classes, a request for roster verification will be sent to the faculty member via email. On the class roster link within WaveNet, the faculty should add comments regarding attendance at the first class meeting and any recommended action regarding add/drop.

Following the add/drop period, a second roster verification request will also be sent to faculty. Instructions accompanying this request must be followed promptly and explicitly. Discrepancies between the second roster and the students actually in attendance must be reconciled immediately so that the final grade roster will be accurate.

Photo rosters are also provided through WaveNet.

3. Commencement & Similar Ceremonies

It is a professional responsibility for all CHS faculty to attend commencement/graduation and other college or school ceremonial events, e.g., white coat ceremonies.

4. Committee Service

Pepperdine University encourages participation by faculty on a number of faculty, CHS administration, and University standing and ad hoc committees. Participation in committee work is a required component of the faculty member's responsibilities to the University and CHS.

5. Course Evaluations

In all CHS courses, students are provided the opportunity to evaluate the course and the faculty member. Participation in the evaluation process is a requirement and must be supported by all CHS faculty. The evaluations will occur near the end of each academic term. Notification messages regarding the course evaluations will be distributed to students and faculty approximately two weeks before the end of the term. The student message will contain instructions on how to complete the course evaluation instrument.

All CHS faculty should encourage students to participate in the course evaluation process. When doing so, faculty should assure students that their course evaluation responses are anonymous and are not made available to faculty until after grades are submitted. Once all CHS course grades for a specific academic term are posted to Wavenet by the Registrar, course evaluation results will be distributed to CHS faculty and all school deans and program directors.

Only course evaluations administered by the CHS are used in the faculty's annual evaluation. In cases in which a faculty member is being considered for promotion, step advancement, tenure, or five-year review, the information from the course evaluations will be shared with the faculty members who are preparing a peer review, the RTP committee, the University Tenure Committee (tenure cases only), appropriate CHS and University administrators, and the Board of Regents.

If a faculty member identifies a violation of academic integrity by a student, the faculty member may request that the student's evaluation be removed. The request must be submitted to and approved by the school dean or program director.

6. Course Syllabi

Faculty members are required to prepare a syllabus for each course. All syllabi should include the following elements:

6.1. Instructor Information: Name, title, contact information, office hours with location
6.2. Course information: Title, catalog number, brief description/purpose, meeting time and place.
6.3. Required course materials: textbook(s), lab manuals, etc.
6.4. Student Learning Outcomes
6.5. Alignment with University and CHS mission: A brief statement on the relationship between the course and the respective mission statements.
6.6. Course Calendar and topics, including course readings
6.7. Grading: Include both the methods that will be used to assess/evaluate student learning and the criteria for assigning the course grade should be defined.
6.8. Final Examination; The date and time of the final exam.
6.9. Course Evaluation Policy
6.10. A statement concerning the Office of Student Accessibility: An exemplary statement is provided on their website.
6.11. A statement regarding academic integrity
6.12. Any attendance policy or requirements

For in-person courses, the completed syllabi should be provided to the school or program office at least 30 days prior to the first class meeting.For online courses or any course with a standard syllabus, the syllabus is completed in advance and will be shared with the faculty member. Faculty will be granted access to all standard syllabi well in advance of the first class meeting.

7. Copy/Reproduction Guidelines and Copyright Compliance

The Copying Guidelines for Classroom and Research Use are found on the Provost's website.

8. Final Examinations

A final examination or concluding evaluative activity must be held for each didactic/lecture course at the time and place published in the final examination schedule. Exceptions must be approved in writing by the appropriate school dean or program director. Failure to comply with this policy is a serious dereliction of duty as a member of the CHS faculty, subject to disciplinary action.

All students are required to be present during the final exam period. Exceptions may be granted only in case of emergencies or very special circumstances. Faculty members are not required to give a student permission to take a final at any time other than the time scheduled. However, in exceptional cases, students may petition to have their final exam day/time changed by filling out the Change of Final Exam form.

9. Grades and Grading

9.1. Testing and Grading

Grades must be assigned accurately and fairly. Careful records of student progress should be maintained throughout the academic term and all records pertaining to students' work should be retained for one semester following conclusion of a class.

Throughout a course, students should be informed of their status and progress. To achieve this standard, a systematic evaluation process should begin early in the term, continue at reasonable intervals, and be communicated regularly to students.

9.2. Final Course Grades

The due dates for final course grades are sent out via email approximately one month prior to the term end date and then sent again one week prior to the term end. Faculty must submit the final course grades in WaveNet in advance of the deadline communicated by their dean or program director. Care should be taken to avoid any errors in grade input. In the event of an error or a need for a grade change, such as for submission of late work by a student, a Grade Change Request form must be submitted. All course grade changes need to be approved by the program dean/director as well as the grade supervisor for the program.

An incomplete or "I" grade may only be granted in compliance with the Incomplete policy articulated in the CHS or applicable school/program catalog. An incomplete grade is not intended to give students with poor grades additional time to improve their performance in the course.

9.3. Grade Dispute Policy

Grades measure student performance and serve as a means of determining graduation eligibility and honors. As such, the CHS recognizes that a fair and rigorous assessment of student coursework is vital to the mission of the school and wishes to ensure that disagreements that arise over assigned grades are handled promptly, fairly, and professionally. The grade dispute policy may be found on the University website.

10. Independent Study

CHS faculty directing students' independent study courses must prepare a written contract specifying the requirements, deadlines, and basis for grading. The contract must be completed using the electronic form found on Etrieve and it must be signed by the faculty member, student, and the appropriate school dean or program director. Copies of the completed agreement should be in the possession of both parties and also filed in the school or program' office.

11. Meeting Classes

All classes should begin promptly at the time scheduled. Necessary absences must be reported to the relevant program director/dean in advance whenever possible. Failure to meet scheduled classes and chronic tardiness are serious lapses of professional behavior.

12. Office Hours

Availability for student consultation is one of the most significant aspects of the work of a student-focused college dedicated to the development of healthcare professionals. Faculty members are expected to make themselves available to students at regular times for at least three hours distributed over two business days weekly during all academic terms when they are teaching. Faculty are encouraged to be available for student meetings by request at other times.

Office hours should be conducted in the primary delivery modality of the academic program, either in person or via Zoom. Office hours should be documented on the class syllabus, posted prominently at the faculty member's office, and filed with the appropriate school or program office each term.

13. Outside Activities

13.1. Other Teaching Assignments

Teaching assignments at other colleges and universities are generally discouraged. Therefore, all full-time CHS faculty must obtain advance written approval before accepting a work assignment from any other school, college, or university, including another school within Pepperdine University. The faculty member applies to their school dean or program director who considers the impact on the faculty member's ability to perform in the areas of teaching, intellectual contribution, service, and professional/clinical activities. The request must be recommended by the school dean or program director and also approved by the CHS Dean. Faculty members must request approval for each occurrence of outside employment and on a trimester-by-trimester basis.

13.2. Relevant Healthcare Endeavors

The CHS earnestly and diligently supports the mission of Pepperdine University in the "education of the entire person." Major objectives of the faculty are the provisions of "relevance" and "currency" within their roles as teacher, educator, and mentor. Relevance and currency can be fostered by faculty being actively involved in the pursuit of their specialty in healthcare. CHS faculty are encouraged to practice their specialties in order to maintain clinical proficiency and expertise in order to deliver current knowledge and information in their classes and in supervising student internships and preceptorships.

The provisions of "relevance" and "currency" for faculty are consistent with the CHS's mission of providing both a theoretical and applied health science education. Faculty members are encouraged to produce intellectual contributions in the area of applied scholarship to complement the active practice of their profession in the world of healthcare. Maintaining currency through scholarship and healthcare connections will ensure the incorporation of appropriate experiences into the classroom, thereby enabling the CHS to remain at the forefront in health science education.

Faculty members shall regard their responsibility to the CHS as striving for excellence in teaching, intellectual and scholarly contributions, service to the school, University, and community, and healthcare connections. It is the individual faculty member's obligation, and the school dean or program director's duty to ensure that the faculty member's professional responsibilities are not compromised by external activities.

Professional activities may be considered as part of the evaluation process, and are reported to the faculty member's respective dean or director during the evaluation period. Sufficient detail must be provided to verify that the activities are supportive of the faculty member's teaching discipline or area of expertise, and/or supportive in the development of the faculty member's scholarship. Evidence of these details are important for deans and directors to verify the extent and relevance of the activity.

A full-time contract at the College of Health Science requires that faculty devote the majority of their working time to teaching, scholarship, service, and support of the University and college missions. Additionally, if specified in their contract, faculty are also expected to engage in a sufficient level of clinical practice to maintain their licensure and professional expertise.

13.3. Conflict of Interest

Outside activities shall not place CHS faculty members in a situation where there may be a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, between private interests and duties, on the one hand, and their responsibilities to Pepperdine as a faculty member, on the other.

CHS faculty will be required to report professional activities to the CHS administration on a regular basis. The faculty are also expected to comply with the University's Conflict of Interest policy, which can be found in Section 6.4 of the University Policy Manual.

14. Release Time

Release time may be awarded for research and certain administrative and/or professional service responsibilities. All release time is granted for a single calendar year. All release time awards are approved by the CHS Dean and the school dean or program director.

15. Sale of Required Course Materials to Students

Pepperdine University encourages its faculty members to develop instructional materials as a part of their professional responsibility for scholarship and teaching. The University also considers the selection of required course materials to be primarily the right and responsibility of the faculty, except in courses that use a standardized syllabus. However, when faculty members require students enrolled in their classes to purchase materials they themselves have developed, issues arise regarding both academic responsibility and real or perceived conﬂicts of interest. Therefore, except as provided below, it is the policy of the CHS that no faculty members shall receive compensation from the sale of instructional materials that they require students to purchase. The term "instructional materials" includes, but is not limited to, syllabi, outlines, custom-published coursepacks, workbooks, books, CDs, audio or videotapes, or material accessible on the Internet. Furthermore, all sales of such materials should be handled by either the University or the program ofﬁces and never by the faculty member directly.

An exception is recognized for the receipt of ordinary royalties earned from the sale of traditionally published textbooks or their equivalent, i.e. works of scholarship in any medium that are available outside as well as within the University and that have been subjected to some form of independent review generally recognized within the scholarly community. In these instances, to avoid even the slightest appearance of conﬂict of interest, faculty members are strongly encouraged to consider returning to the students, contributing to the University, or donating to charity any royalties earned by sales to students enrolled in their classes.

16. Student Accessibility

It is the policy of Pepperdine University to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and state and local regulations regarding students and applicants with disabilities. Pursuant to these laws, no qualiﬁed individual with a disability shall unlawfully be denied access to or participation in any services, programs, or activities of Pepperdine University. Faculty are expected to make reasonable accommodations of either their own accord or as directed by CHS leadership to accommodate students with disabilities. The role of the Ofﬁce of Student Accessibility (OSA) is to provide support to faculty as it helps to maintain an environment that guarantees students with disabilities full access to all University educational programs, activities, and facilities. All services through the OSA are kept strictly conﬁdential.

As part of our distinctly Christian mission, we are dedicated to the dignity, independence and self-determination of all of our students, including their needs in the classroom. This includes the acquisition of course materials. By choosing materials that are available in hard copy and accessible PDF, you are creating an inclusive environment for our students with disabilities.

The complete University policy for accommodating students and applicants with disabilities is found on the Ofﬁce of Student Accessibility website.

17. Teaching

17.1. Teaching Load

The normal teaching load for full-time tenure-track and tenured CHS faculty is 24 units per academic year. Typically, faculty fulfill this load by teaching classes. However, other activities such as serving as a dean/director, clinical coordinator, chairing dissertations, engaging in scholarly activity, or release time approved by the CHS dean may contribute to fulfilling the 24 unit teaching load.

The teaching load for full-time faculty in clinical-series, teaching-series, visiting, instructor, lecturer, or other non- tenure-track or tenured appointments will be determined by the CHS and school on an annual basis and also at the time of initial hire. Absent exception, the normal teaching load for all full-time faculty who are not in a tenure-track or tenured appointment will be a minimum of 24 units. If a faculty member's teaching load is less than 24 units it will be associated with a concomitant reduction in base salary.

CHS faculty will receive one unit teaching credit for each 50 to 60 minutes of directed instruction per week for which they have academic responsibility, including synchronous and asynchronous content. Each unit of instruction requires 15 hours of directed instruction, which includes face-to-face class time, asynchronous instructional online content, and synchronous online instruction. The Pepperdine University Credit Hour Policy for students is maintained by the Provost's Office.

In consultation with their school dean or program director and consistent with the faculty member's developmental plan, tenured and tenure track faculty may teach in two trimesters during an academic year to provide time to focus on research and intellectual contributions in the third trimester. Deans and program directors must aim to attain adequate participating faculty teaching coverage in all trimesters, including the summer. Faculty who do not have teaching responsibilities in a trimester will need to ensure their service responsibilities are fulfilled, and this consideration may impact committee choices made by CHS administration. Teaching responsibilities are assigned by the school dean or program director in consultation with the faculty. All teaching assignments are ultimately approved by the CHS Dean.

17.2. Teaching Assignment

The school dean or program is responsible for the assignment of courses to each faculty member. Whenever possible, faculty preference will be considered during the assignment process.

17.3. Overload

As a general CHS policy, overload teaching assignments are discouraged; however, overload may be permitted at the discretion of the school dean or program director and the CHS Dean. Unless specified by provision in the annual contract, an overload teaching assignment shall be accompanied by additional compensation in accordance with the prevailing CHS overload rate.

In exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the school dean or program director, a full-time faculty member may have an overload teaching assignment in one trimester and receive a reduction in course load during a subsequent trimester in lieu of additional compensation for the overload. However, any banked overload units may not be carried into the subsequent academic year.

17.4. Team Teaching

CHS faculty wishing to team teach a class must first receive approval from their school dean or program director and the CHS Dean. If approved, both faculty will be granted half of the unit or workload credit for the course.

18. Course Scheduling

In each academic term or trimester, the school dean or program director will determine the days of the week, time of day, and the location of each course. Faculty may be consulted during the scheduling process, but priority will be granted to ensuring timely progress toward degree completion when developing the course schedule.

19. Units for Scholarly Activity

Full-time tenure track and tenured faculty may be allocated three or four units during an academic year for scholarly activity upon approval by the school dean or program director and the CHS Dean.

20. Compensation for Independent Studies

Faculty will be paid at the prevailing CHS rate per unit for students engaged in an independent study under their direction. The independent study must be approved in advance by their school dean or program director. Independent study teaching opportunities are not granted teaching units nor do they act to fulfill a full-time faculty person's teaching load requirement as detailed in Section 17.1 of this chapter of the Faculty Handbook.

21. Course Cancellation and Proration Policy

Any CHS class may be canceled prior to the beginning of an academic term or trimester when enrollment falls below a designated minimum as determined by the school dean or program director. The decision to cancel a class is solely at the discretion of the school dean or program director.

CHS administration also reserves the ability to prorate compensation for a class with low enrollment. For instance in a three-unit class where 18 students is the designated minimum enrollment and the course has only 12 students enrolled, in lieu of canceling the class the school dean or program director may offer the instructor the option of accepting two units for the course. All classes with fewer than three students will be considered independent study.

If a class does not meet its enrollment minimum, the faculty member has the option of declining the prorated teaching opportunity or the independent study assignment. In these cases, the faculty member may choose to meet their required teaching load through another course assignment. Once the academic term or trimester has begun and the first class meeting has occurred, the faculty teaching assignment and compensation agreement cannot be changed.

22. Compensation for Preparing and Teaching Online Courses

CHS faculty with a full-time faculty appointment who developed an online course will be compensated either with release time or a stipend.

23. University Faculty Conference

The University faculty participates in a faculty conference, scheduled once a year, typically in the early fall, and coordinated by the Provost's Office. All full-time faculty members are expected to attend this University-wide conference as a part of their professional and personal responsibility to the University. The date of the faculty conference is indicated in the official CHS academic calendar annually and no classes are held on the day of the conference.