Classroom Policy: Persons attending a class, lab, or other must be registered students, except for (a) those special guests, speakers, or others granted temporary access to the classroom by the instructor, and (b) Institute officials while conducting their official duties.
Class Schedule: Any changes in the scheduled class meeting time or place must have prior approval from the Registrar. If a class is scheduled to meet temporarily at another location (for instance, the library or a field trip location), faculty should leave a signed, dated note on the classroom door or whiteboard and obtain prior approval. Class should be held for the entire period; however, if circumstances shorten a class period, the instructor must remain in the classroom for the entire period. BAMSI policy requires instructors to provide a 10-minute break after the first 100 minutes of instruction, and additional 10-minute breaks after every 50 minutes of instruction using the following guidelines:
- Breaks cannot be taken at the beginning or end of class.
- Breaks should be taken regularly and cannot be accumulated until the end of the class in order to dismiss the class early. Faculty should review their course agenda to ensure that holidays or other days when the Institute is not in session do not lessen the required hours of instruction (e.g. lab versus class hours). In the event there are not enough hours, the instructor should make arrangements to make up the hours of missed instruction. This make up should be documented in Populi and communicated to the Executive Director or designee well in advance.
Missed Classes: When an instructor is absent, he or she must notify the Academic Dean or Department Head in advance, if possible, so that a substitute may be provided and notice may be posted for students’ information. All instructional time missed, whether due to instructor leave, inclement weather, or another situation, must be made-up and/or accounted for. The method of reconciliation must be approved and will be kept on file by the Executive Director. Appropriate methods of class reconciliation include:
- Obtaining a substitute instructor: Substitute instructors must be approved by the Executive Director. The absent instructor has the responsibility of providing the substitute with materials, plans, and other information that will ensure that the class is as meaningful as possible.
- Rescheduling the class time: Instructors must inform the Registrar or designee as to when the class will be rescheduled if an alternate method of instruction is not available or substitute instruction is not obtained. Extending class, or lab time or meeting on another date cannot interfere with any other course and must be agreed upon by all.
- Providing an alternative assignment: The instructor can provide an alternative assignment that covers the time missed. Approved activities include:
- Outside assignment (i.e., book report, library assignment, video, computer assignment, lab assignment)
- Individual/Group conference equal to time missed
- Online discussion
- Any method approved in writing by Academic Dean or designee
Low Enrollment: Determinations of course cancellation due to low enrollment are made prior to the first class meeting. It is the responsibility of the Department Chairs, Program Coordinators, etc. to communicate regarding cancellation of classes. The Registrar will inform of low enrollment courses and those courses will be approved by the Executive Director on a case by case basis. These are normally scheduled classes on the published/master schedule in which enough students do not enroll for a viable and cost-effective learning experience. The Executive Director must approve these courses and will maintain a file listing courses reviewed and those approved to run despite low enrollment. The Institute reserves the right to cancel any class due to insufficient enrollment, limitation of funds, lack of qualified staff availability, or lack of facilities.
Distance Learning: Distance learning courses have the same learning objectives as traditional seated classes but use the Internet to document attendance and participation in place of face-to-face meetings in traditional seated classes. BAMSI offers distance learning courses in fully online and hybrid formats. The term Distance Education courses refers to both online and hybrid formats.
Gradesheet: Faculty are required to maintain an updated, detailed and accurate gradesheet for each course. Grade entry and gradesheet is calculated in POPULI. Please note that when setting up the gradesheet, each assessment must be listed with its title, the actual grades should be inputted and not the percentage: hence the total value for each assessment must be visible. A signed hard copy of the completed gradesheet should also be submitted to the Registrar at the end of each semester and after finalizing the grades in Populi.
Online Courses: An online course is defined as one for which 100% of all regularly scheduled face-to-face class meetings are replaced by required activities and assignments completed at a distance and managed online through the Learning Management System (LMS) called Populi or Moodle. Online courses allow students to participate academically from geographically remote locations without the need to come to campus. The tuition for these courses includes a DL fee.
Hybrid Courses: A hybrid course is defined as one in which there is reduced seat time and where up to 75% of the activities and assignments are conducted and managed online through the LMS called Populi or sometimes Moodle. Time traditionally spent in the classroom is reduced but not eliminated. For example, if the course traditionally meets 16 times in a semester, the requirement for a hybrid course is 4 meetings; if they meet 8 times, the hybrid meets twice. Special situations outside these parameters can be addressed and approved. The goal of hybrid courses is to join the best features of a traditional class with the best features of online learning. Tuition for these courses includes a technology fee.