• Students at Pasadena City College are expected to attend every session of each class in which they are enrolled.
• Instructors may consider 3 tardies the equivalent of 1 absence.
• Non-participants (in a class) are defined as students who have continuous or cumulative absences totaling at least 12.5 percent of the total hours the class is scheduled to meet. In a regular 16-week course, for example, a student becomes a nonparticipant when his or her cumulative absences reach the number of hours a class is scheduled to meet in a two-week period.
• A student who stops attending but does not drop a class may receive a failing grade in that class.

• Require a set number of course activities for each week. For example — a 3 unit course might require 2-3 activities each week on non-consecutive days.
• Require a set number of discussion posts for each week. For example – a 3 unit course might require one discussion post and 2 comments to classmate’s posts for every weekly module.
  • In order to get full credit, provide examples and a rubric detailing what constitutes an adequate post or response.
• Give weekly quizzes on course material.
• Require timely completion of assignments.

(Chronicle of Higher Education)

• Make certain students are clear as to where and when (day, date, time & time zone) to post their work for each assignment. For example – assignments might be emailed to the instructor directly but discussions posted in the unit/weekly discussion board.
• Encourage students to check their grade book so that if they have submitted an assignment but it hasn’t been received, students can be aware of what they are doing wrong before it becomes a recurring problem.
• Decide whether or not late work will be accepted. If accepted consider the following:
  • Specific final deadline for assignments.
  • Specific point value deduction for late assignments (letter grade/percentage/points).
  • Where students will post late work.
• Be clear if late work will be accepted due to extenuating or ‘legitimate circumstances’.

• Each instructor is required to drop all students who fail to attend the first meeting of a class if they have not made prior arrangements with that instructor, and may drop students who arrive late at the first meeting of a class or who fail to attend the second meeting if they have not made prior arrangements with that instructor.
• Each instructor is required to drop all students who become nonparticipants by the census date. In a regular 16-week class the census date is usually Monday of the third week of class. (For all other courses, see the official policy to determine the census date or contact the Registration Office.)
• After the census date and before the final drop deadline for the class, each instructor has the option of dropping students who, in his or her judgment, become inactive in class.
• Prior to the final drop deadline, a student may drop a class by submitting the approved form in the Registration Office, or by using the telephone or on-line registration system.

• …Students may add classes with an approval signature from the instructor. The instructor’s signature indicates that there is room in the class and the student has a reasonable chance of catching up.
• Students will not be allowed to add a full-term class after the second week of the term.
• The new unpaid wait list process will take affect Spring 2011. Students on a registration wait list are not required to pay for the class until they are added by the instructor.

• It is the policy of the Pasadena Area Community College District that appropriate evaluation of each student’s academic performance is an integral part of the student’s learning experience at Pasadena City College. In the absence of mistake, fraud, bad faith or incompetency, the faculty instructor (tenured, non-tenured, or adjunct) is the final authority on the assignment of grades. Procedures for grading, awarding credit, including credit by examination, and appealing decisions shall be understandable, fair, and consistent with State laws and regulations.
• Courses shall be graded using the grading system established by Title 5 regulations.

“…portions of courses delivered through electronic means (need to) adhere to the same principles of academic quality and integrity (Distance Learning Manual 11).”

This means that students should receive the same type, amount and frequency of feedback from assignments and tests as they would were they taking a course on-campus.

Conduct prohibited by the College:
• Dishonesty, such as cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or knowingly furnishing false information to the College or its officials; intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of dishonesty.
• Unauthorized use of computers and telecommunication resources, including but not limited to:
  • Unauthorized entry into a file to use, read, or change the contents, or for any other purpose;
  • Unauthorized transfer of a file;
  • Unauthorized use of another individual’s identification and password;
  • Use of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another student, faculty member or College official;
  • Use of computing and telecommunications resources to send obscene or abusive messages.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in the distance education environment is student authentication. Using PCC’s LMS secure login system and incorporating best practices for regular effective contact — such as getting to know students and their writing styles — are effective means to help to ensure that students registered for the course are truly the ones contributing to it. For instructors teaching hybrid courses with proctored exams on campus, this may be less of an issue than for those who are teaching fully online courses for high stakes exams.

• Clearly explain what constitutes cheating, plagiarism and proper netiquette.
• Establish classroom guidelines in your online syllabus for the types of behavior that are appropriate and inappropriate.
• Provide students with standards for groupwork and how those differ from unauthorized collaboration on class projects.
• Let students know what the consequences will be for academic dishonest behavior.

(“A Guide for Faculty”)

• Raise students’ awareness by designing rules for academic honesty and classroom behavior as part of an initial class activity.
• Provide external resources on how to avoid plagiarism (for example, Purdue OWL’s page on plagiarism).
• Give students examples and/or provide activities describing how to properly cite sources and how to paraphrase properly.
• Ask students to provide their source material as part of each formal writing assignment.
• Create a range of authentic assessments in the course design that measure critical thinking skills and knowledge integration instead of relying solely on objective tests.
• Use test banks which randomize questions and answers on objective tests.

(“Best Practice Strategies“)