FACULTY AND STAFF WHO WORK WITH UNDERAGE STUDENTS

General Background Information for FAQS

ACC District Policies & Procedures

Off-Campus/Early College Start students are required to follow all ACC policies and procedures with regard to conduct and academic standards and to abide by ACC’s Student Rights and Responsibilities as found in the Student Handbook. Some policies and procedures that may affect students are:

Information disclosure
Students are covered under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits ACC from disclosing information to anyone, including parents, without students’ written consent.

Required attendance
Students are required to abide by the college’s academic calendar, which may vary from high schools. ACC does not differentiate between Off-Campus or Early College Start students and their on campus traditional college peers; all students should make the necessary schedule commitment required of their class.

Withdrawing from class
Students may withdraw from an ACC class after the semester has started, but must do so in person at an ACC Admissions Office before the deadline listed in the ACC registration calendar. ACC does not automatically withdraw students who choose to stop attending class. Students who fail to officially withdraw will receive a failing or incomplete grade in the course. Check with a high school counselor before withdrawing from a dual credit course.

The following FAQS are adapted from a document produced by the AVP for Student Services, August 2002

AGE AND HIGH SCHOOL STATUS

1. Is there a difference in the way I must treat a seventeen-year old who is a high school or GED recipient and a seventeen-year old who is still in high school and taking Early College Start classes at ACC?

Answer: No. All are college students and should be treated as such.

2. Is there a difference in the way I must treat ECS students who are taking ACC classes at their high school and ECS students who are taking classes at an ACC campus or site?

Answer: No. All are college students to whom FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) applies.

TEACHING STYLE OR COURSE CONTENT

1. I always have treated my students as adults and allowed them (and myself) some latitude in expressing opinions. When I have a high school student in my ACC class, am I obligated to make sure that discussions are “appropriate” for sixteen and seventeen year olds?

Answer: Faculty members have an obligation to make sure that discussions are appropriate for all college students. It is a good idea to let all students know at the beginning of the term that a course may contain material that some find objectionable.

2. I teach literature and occasionally use selections that some would consider controversial. A colleague recently informed me that I would have to eliminate these selections if an ECS student enrolled in my course. Is my colleague correct?

Answer: No. ECS students are taking college-level courses and should be treated as college students. It is a good idea to let all students know at the beginning of the term that a course may contain material that some find objectionable.

CLASSROOM/OFFICE/LAB MANAGEMENT

1. When an ECS student acts inappropriately in my classroom or office, may I hold her/him to the same standard that I hold ACC students?

Answer: Yes. ECS students are college students.

2. I try to treat ECS students the same as I treat other students. However, some are not as mature as the other students in the class. Is it acceptable for me to identify ECS students to the others in the class? My goal is to help class members understand that ECS students are high school students; they are not “regular” ACC students.

Answer: ECS students are college students. Faculty members may not identify these students to the rest of the class, but they may (and should) hold them to the same standards of behavior to which they hold other students.

3. ECS students want excused absences at ACC because they have excused absences in their high school classes. I do not allow excused absences to any of my students. Must I allow them for ECS students?

Answer: No. ECS students are college students. If you do not allow excused absences for non-ECS students, you may not allow excused absences for ECS students.

4. If I catch an ECS student cheating, do I report the cheating to the high school or do I handle it in the same way I usually handle cheating?

Answer: Faculty members must treat instances of academic dishonesty according to the guidelines in the current ACC STUDENT HANDBOOK, whether the student is an ECS student or a high school graduate attending ACC.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

An ECS student in my ACC class presented me with his Individual Educational Plan (IEP) and informed me that I was legally obligated to follow it. The IEP lists accommodations that ACC does not provide to its own students. How do I handle this?

Answer: Refer the student to the Office for Students with Disabilities on your campus. The OSD Specialist will evaluate the request and identify the accommodations that ACC will provide. In general, ACC is obligated to provide only the accommodations it routinely provides for high school graduates attending ACC.

WORKING WITH PARENTS/GUARDIANS

1. I have an ECS student in one of my courses who is being home-schooled. Her parents want to review my syllabus, lecture notes and textbook to make sure that I am not teaching anything inconsistent with their religious beliefs. Am I obligated to allow the student’s parents to review my lecture notes? Do they have the right to ask me not to teach certain topics?

Answer: No. Faculty members are not obligated to allow parents to review their lecture notes or limit what they can teach. Students receive a syllabus the first day of class and anyone can buy a textbook. If students choose to share the syllabus and textbook with their parents, they may. ECS students are taking college-level courses and faculty should treat them as college students. It is a good idea to let all students know at the beginning of the term that a course may contain material that some find objectionable.

2. The parents of an ECS student ask for a parent-teacher conference. Am I obligated to meet with them?

Answer: No, although faculty members may allow parents to attend a student-teacher conference if the student gives written consent. [NOTE: I rarely meet with parents, even if a student gives written consent. However, if a student insists, I stress that the parents may attend only as observers—not participants.]

3. An ECS student asked me for help after class. I gave her my office hours. She indicated that my hours were not convenient for her and, because she was an ECS student, I would have to accommodate her schedule.

Answer: Treat her just as you treat non-ECS students. Refer her to the Learning Lab on your campus if she cannot meet with you during scheduled office hours.

4. The father of an ECS student informed me that he would call weekly to find out whether his son was attending class and keeping up with his homework. When I informed the father that I could not give him that information, he indicated that I was obligated to provide this information since his son was not yet eighteen years of age.

Answer: Since the information the father requested would reveal his son’s daily attendance habits, you may not share that information without the student’s written consent.

5. The parents of an ECS student want me to give them a copy of the grades he/she earned in my class. How do I respond?

Answer: Students under eighteen are protected by FERPA as soon as they enroll in college-credit classes at ACC. Faculty members may not communicate information about class progress or grades without the student’s written consent.