Procedure Manual for Faculty

Student Services

FACULTY PORTAL

You can access your course schedule, class rosters, email, and the eCollege or eCompanion platform, as well as enter attendance and grades on the Faculty Portal at https://portal.argosy.edu. Log onto the portal by entering the same username as you use for your Argosy email account (usually your first initial and last name), then enter the password “au1”  plus your 5-digit employee identification number, unless you have already changed your password. If you are unsure of your employee ID please contact the Human Resources Generalist.

For example, Pat Smith would type “https://portal.argosy.edu” into the address bar from the desktop, and choose the “Faculty” option when the Portal page appears. Pat, whose employee identification number is 55555, would log in by entering “psmith” into the username field, and “au15555” into the password field. This will allow Pat to access his/her specific faculty account. Refer to Faculty Portal Instructions for complete information.

If you have difficulty accessing the faculty portal, please contact your Program Chair for assistance. You may also email student services at auchicagostudentserv@argosy.edu or call the department at 312.777.7686 for help.

Faculty email: It is the responsibility of each member of our faculty to regularly and consistently monitor their Argosy email for University announcements and messages. Failure to do so may result in missing important information and time-sensitive messages regarding attendance, grades, and other matters that affect your work with our students.

Course Schedule: Faculty are encouraged to review teaching assignments in the Faculty Portal at least 7-days in advance of the beginning of each session. Check the course schedule to make sure your courses have been listed correctly (i.e., that the day, date, and time is correct).  You are also encouraged to click your course link to make sure your class roster and eCollege (for blended course sections) are available (Refer to Faculty Portal Instructions for complete information) If there are any errors, contact your Department Administrator or Program Chair immediately. 

Cancelling or delay of class: There may be an occasion when you are not able to hold class as scheduled. When this occurs, it is very important that you email your students and let the University know. Please contact your Department Administrator and the Associate Director of Student Services, Jennifer FitzGibbon, at jfitzgibbon@argosy.edu. Cancelling a class will naturally result in the reduction of contact hours, so please contact your Program Chair to determine if you must schedule a make-up class meeting. See detailed instructions for additional information here.

Class Roster: Class rosters can be accessed and/or downloaded directly from the Faculty Portal.  Student Services will provide a printed roster for classes at the beginning of each term. These rosters are meant to be used throughout the term and kept for your records.  Printed rosters will show all the students registered for the class at the time the roster is printed. Subsequent changes may not be reflected on the printed roster. The most up-to-date information can always be found on the Faculty Portal, since the information is pulled directly from CampusVue.

ATTENDANCE

Faculty are required to keep up-to-date attendance records for their courses and enter attendance on the Faculty Portal at every class session including the end portion of blended classes. There are a number of reasons for this, including financial aid eligibility and Department of Education reporting requirements. Specific attendance policies for your class should be part of each syllabus. 

Students are required by the University to attend classes regularly and will be withdrawn if they are absent for two weeks in a row. Students in blended courses are expected to login on the first day of the term to review course materials and participate, if required by the faculty. Students who have logged into the online portion of a blended class are considered to be in attendance. While logging in does count for attendance, participation, or lack thereof, is factored into the student’s grade in accordance with stipulations in the syllabus.   Please review the detailed instructions for entering attendance on the Faculty Portal.

Attendance is entered by the faculty on the Faculty Portal every week, regardless of the class meeting schedule*. It is due immediately upon conclusion of each class meeting or no later than 24-hours after each class meeting, unless otherwise instructed. Faculty who instruct courses meeting in the classroom every other week or on alternating weekends must enter attendance based on student login activity between class meetings. For clarification, please contact your Program Chair or the Director of Student Services, Eric Ziehlke.
 
*Attendance for students in Dissertation (Block II to defense) or Clinical Research Project is based on contact with the instructor during the first week of each semester and mid-way through the semester based on continued academic progress. A sample email and Documentation of CRP/Dissertation Form is available for this purpose.   Faculty will enter attendance at these two points every semester for their students in dissertation/CRP (Entering Attendance Instructions).
 
First class meeting: A new student who is not present for the first class and does not contact the instructor may be dropped from the class meeting. Students are not permitted to join a class after they have missed the first two meetings.  
 
Class roster: Students who are not on your roster may attend your class. Names of students who attend your class but who are not on your roster, must be reported immediately upon conclusion of the class meeting or no later than 24-hours after by emailing the Registrar, Tyler Shippen, at tshippen@argosy.edu
 
Excused absences: Students who are absent from a class but have made appropriate arrangements with the faculty prior to the absence may be considered excused at the instructor’s discretion. Faculty will mark that student absent. Names of students who are absent but excused must be reported upon conclusion of the class meeting or no later than 24-hours after by emailing the Registrar, Tyler Shippen, at tshippen@argosy.edu . DO NOT USE AN EXCUSED ABSENCE OPTION WHEN ENTERING ATTENDANCE IN THESE CASES. 
 
Add/Drop: The add-drop period (Add-Drop Deadlines) starts at the beginning of each term and ends on the second Friday after the term begins. During this time, students may make adjustments to their schedules by completing and submitting an Add/Drop Form to the Student Services Department.
 
Student must secure permission from their Student Advisor (Undergraduate Studies, Graduate Business, Counselor Education, Clinical Psychology) or Program Chair (Education) to add a class if they have missed the first class meeting. Students should not contact an instructor directly to request permission to be added to a class since faculty may not be aware of program requirements or other factors influencing a student’s eligibility to take their course. If a student receives permission from the Student Advisor or Program Chair, he/she must secure the instructor’s signature before submitting their Add/Drop Form to the Student Services Department. A student can be added to a class only upon the first or second class meeting.

 GRADES:

Grades are due no later than 7-days after each session or semester. Final grades are submitted by the faculty on the Faculty Portal. All students on the class roster must receive a grade.  If a student is on the roster, but did not finish the course, please submit the appropriate grade of an incomplete, incomplete progressing, or failure (see “INCOMPLETES” section below).  If you are unsure what type of grade would be appropriate please contact your program chair. Please review the detailed instructions for submitting grades via the Faculty Portal. 

Incomplete grades: A grade of “Incomplete” (I) is given at the faculty member’s discretion to a student who has not completed all course requirements, but has attended at least 67-percent of the course.  Any course for which a student receives an “I” must be made up within ten days after the end of the semester.  A student who cannot reasonably make up an “I” within the ten-day timeframe because of medical or other serious extenuating circumstances may receive an “Incomplete in Progress” (IP) grade with the approval of the Program Chair. Requirements for an “IP” grade must be fulfilled by the end of the next semester. A grade of “I” or “IP” is changed to the permanent grade once the final grade is submitted by the faculty member before the final deadline. If the final grade is not submitted by this deadline, the incomplete grade will automatically be changed to an “F.”  
 

The University is required to report Attendance and Satisfactory Academic Progress for all students at the end of every semester. Grades and Attendance also impact student funding. This is a time-intensive and time-sensitive activity. Submitting grades even one or two days late can delay important communication regarding the affected student’s academic status and can put the student at risk of losing their funding, among other potential negative consequences.

FORMS: 

Most forms for students and faculty can be found here at Student Forms or Faculty forms. Program specific forms may be found by clicking other department or program links. Note: “Change of Grade” forms can only be obtained by contacting the Registrar, Tyler Shippen via email at tshippen@argosy.edu.   
 
Hard copies of forms found on the Student Services link can be obtained at the Campus Student Services Window on the Upper Concourse Level. Forms can also be requested by emailing the Student Services Department at auchicagostudentserv@argosy.edu.  

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT:

As indicated in the AU Academic Catalogs, Argosy University Chicago recognizes and accepts its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability and requiring that reasonable accommodations be provided to qualified students in all programs and activities within the control of the institution.  Students with disabilities are encouraged to inform Argosy University, Chicago of a disability and to provide documentation of this disability.  All initial requests for accommodations should be made in writing to the Director of Student Services, Eric Ziehlke. The University reserves the right to define "reasonable accommodation" in light of the totality of the circumstances. The campus has an ADA committee composed of faculty experts and the Director of Student Services who collaborate to determine appropriate accommodation when indicated.

What follows is a statement to be included in instructors’ course syllabi regarding accommodations for students with disabilities.  All instructors are required to follow this policy:
 
“It is the policy of the Argosy University, Chicago to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  If a student with disabilities needs accommodations to complete the instructor’s course requirements, the student must notify the Director of Student Services.  Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable accommodation will be provided to students upon request.”
 
Students will be notified in writing by the Director of Student Services, when each request for accommodation is approved or denied via the designated form. It is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her discretion) to the instructor in order to receive the requested accommodations in class.  University administrators and officials are not allowed to disclose, discuss, or otherwise communicate any information about a student who has sought or secured accommodation under ADA.