Blackboard Institutional Review Board (IRB) All human subjects research conducted by VCSU faculty, staff, and students must be approved by the Institutional Review Board, under Policy V611.08. Please see the IRB website for additional information. Student Organization Advising Faculty are encouraged to advise student organizations, and may work with students to develop new organizations on campus. The Vice President for Student Affairs will provide support in developing new organizations. Advisors must submit organizational rosters for all active student organizations each fall. Fundraising:  All fund-raising activities (such as students selling products or organizations soliciting donations in the community) must be approved through the VCSU Foundation office. See V809.02 VCSU Fund raising Guidelines for further details. Field Trips Faculty and staff taking students on field trips should use the Field Trip application process found on the VCSU policies website. The application should be submitted at least one week in advance of any trip: faculty who fail to file this form assume personal liability. These forms can be found here: V1910.02 Use of State Vehicle V1910.03 Distracted Driving V512 Student Drivers and Use of State Vehicles by Students State Fleet Vehicle Request Form In addition, campus faculty as a whole should be notified no later than 1 week prior to the proposed travel: (1) names of travelling students; (2) reason for/destination of travel; (3) dates and expected time of departure/return. Please ask your departmental assistant to send this announcement via email. Students remain responsible for directly contacting all instructors in advance and making arrangements for covering the missed work. The Learning Commons Disability Support Services is located in the Office of Student Academic Services. Our goal is to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). Congress subsequently expanded protection for people with disabilities under the ADA through passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA). Valley City State University (VCSU) uses 'the ADA' to refer to both the original 1990 Act and the 2008 amendments. The ADA makes it illegal to discriminate against someone because of a disability. VCSU will provide reasonable accommodations, promote an inclusive campus environment, and encourage student independence. Reasonable accommodations are afforded to eligible students and are individualized to address specific functional limitations based on the documentation provided by a certified/licensed professional. Students requesting accommodations at VCSU must be referred to the office of Student Academic Services.  To be eligible for reasonable accommodations, the student must have a documented disability that significantly interferes with access to the curriculum, services or programs at VCSU. The student needs to: Submit current documentation of the disability as soon as possible after receiving a letter of acceptance to the university; Meet with the Director of Student Academic Services to identify the functional limitations of the disability based on the documented disability in order to determine reasonable accommodations. Additional accommodations may be determined once the student has begun classes and determines there is a related barrier which prevents equal access. If a student has a documented disability, you will receive notice from the Director of Student Academic Services regarding the accommodations required. Please contact the Director if you have any questions. Student Absences and Attendance Reporting Attendance records: Faculty are expected to keep attendance records in all classes and to be able to document the last date the student attended class; the last date the student handed in assigned course work; and the last date the student wrote an examination. If the student is absent for more than two class periods, and you have not heard from him or her, please flag the student using the “attendance concern” flag in Starfish. The Director of Student Academic Services will follow up with the student to ascertain why he/she has been missing and to encourage the student to return to class. Student absences do occur. Faculty determine how to handle student absences. If attendance counts for a grade, it must be clearly stated in the syllabus. Some faculty and departments identify two types of “excused” absences: (1) university- approved activities (field trips, athletic road trips, etc., documented by faculty/coaches); and (2) medical absences (documented by the student). If you plan to distinguish between “excused” and “unexcused” absences, make certain you make your criteria clear in your syllabus. In all cases, the student is to give the professor advance notice and is responsible for completing all assignments. If a student is absent due to military duty (e.g. National Guard) the instructor must make reasonable accommodations for the student (NDUS policy 510). Academic Advising Advising In regard of the following .... Academic Program Learning Outcomes Student Affairs Program Learning Outcomes General Education Program Learning Outcomes 1) Dropping a Course: Students may want to drop a class  the registrar will send out a card that states the deadlines for dropping a course, both for full refund and for a grade of W (but no refund). After this deadline, the student will require your signature and will then need to petition for a withdrawal from the course. 2) Registration:Students register via ConnectND.  3) Auditing a Class: Students are permitted to audit most courses by paying one-half tuition.  4) Adding a class: Students who wish to add a class after the semester begins must get their advisor’s and the instructor’s signature 5) Special Topics/Independent Studies Courses: They are not recognized as part of load and are unpaid. For obvious reasons, instructors should be sparing in offering such courses and then only after a rationale has been approved by the chair of the Department. Student Academic Services Student Academic Services provides consultation and advice regarding academic issues, e.g. creating a personal course schedule, course drop/add, adding or changing majors/minors/certificates, and changing advisors. Contact info for Student Academic Services: Kaleen Peterson, Director of Student Academic Services kaleen.peterson@vcsu.edu Ann Dorman, Disability Support Services McFarland 319 ann.dorman@vcsu.edu