CLASSROOM CODE OF CONDUCT FOR STUDENTS

It is the right and responsibility of the faculty to determine student grades at Hofstra University. An instructor’s right to determine a final grade assigned in the instructor’s class shall be abrogated only if it is demonstrated (through the procedure below) that the final course grade was not based on the student’s academic performance in the course. Each School and College at Hofstra shall adopt procedures consistent with the policy for appeals of final course grades given within that unit. Within these procedures a student shall appeal in writing first to the instructor (unless the instructor is no longer in residence or is otherwise unreachable). If this appeal does not resolve the issue, the student may then appeal to the Chair of the Department. The student shall be required to submit a written statement to the Chair detailing an argument for a change of final grade. The chair shall attempt to mediate a resolution, but cannot change a grade. If no satisfactory resolution is achieved, the student has a right to continue the appeal process by making a formal written appeal to the Dean of the unit involved. The Dean will review the issues and merits of the case. The Dean may choose to dismiss the case if there is no material basis for the appeal, to mediate a resolution or to empanel an Ad Hoc Appeals Committee according to the timeline as appropriate…

CLASSROOM CODE OF CONDUCT FOR STUDENTS

(For the complete policy, please refer to FACULTY POLICY SERIES #50 (Rev. 2010) CLASSROOM CODE OF CONDUCT FOR STUDENTS.)

I. Expectations and Obligations

…Class sessions, and class related activities such as Blackboard discussions, field trips, and programs abroad create specific requirements for responsible and mature behavior. Students are expected to come to class prepared. Prior to coming to class, students should check their Hofstra email accounts for course-related announcements, complete all assignments, and bring course-relevant materials to class. Once in the classroom, students should avoid disruptive and disrespectful conduct. Certain activities can disrupt a class session and impede learning. Other activities unrelated to the class also work against learning environments. Both types of behaviors implicitly communicate that the course and other students’ contributions are of little value.

Behaviors that may be disruptive or disrespectful include but are not limited to: shouting at the instructor or at students, physically menacing or verbally threatening the instructor or students, entering late or leaving the room during a class session, allowing one’s cellphone to ring, sending or reading text messages, side conversations, sleeping, listening to music unrelated to the class, surfing the web, playing video games, and reading material unrelated to the class.

Importantly, intellectual disagreements that arise normally in academic discussion are not in themselves disruptive or disrespectful. Intellectual disagreements can be valuable, and class participants should respect and value them. Yet, expressions of disagreement can become disruptive. Course participants must recognize, then, that when instructors judge that a class must move on to address other important subjects, they are not thereby stifling opinion.