Fall 2023 Information for Faculty

Calendar

It is important to know the details of the calendar every semester.  Please review the College calendar in the 2023-2024 Catalog to find out about important dates and deadlines.  Please be aware that changes may be made to the calendar throughout the semester.

Please note that College closings and alerts are always posted @CCPedu on Twitter and on the College’s homepage.

Syllabi

Every student is entitled to a syllabus for each course.  Each syllabus must have basic information that will help students understand the expected student learning outcomes, class policies and procedures including attendance expectations, and how they will be evaluated.  A syllabus that meets ADA accessibility standards must be uploaded to all Canvas courses using the CCP Syllabus tool link in Canvas to meet Title III compliance and make the syllabus publicly available according to Memorandum 14.  Some departments have specific requirements for syllabi.  If your department does not have requirements, guidelines are available at the at the Office of Curriculum Development web page. A copy of your syllabus must be uploaded no later than the first day of class and turned in to the Department Head at the start of the semester.  Having syllabi publicly available and accessible to students in a timely manner supports the successful transfer of CCP students, allows the College to meet external requirements, and sets our students up for success.  

Resources to support fostering an educational environment that is inclusive of and accessible to the diverse populations served by the College can be found here.

Classroom Assignments

Please be aware that there is a procedure in place to change classroom assignments for those classes meeting on campus.  Requests for changes should only be made in extreme circumstances where the quality of instruction is directly impacted, disruption of instruction is likely to occur and/or the safety and comfort level of the students are in question (i.e. extreme temperature).  If you need to request a classroom change for these reasons, please complete the online room change request form that is available online.

Please note that changes may only be made from one room type to another (General Purpose Classroom to Instructor Tech Classroom; Instructor Tech Classroom to Student Tech Classroom).  Instructor Tech Classrooms are classrooms with a Smart Podium, Smart Board - ClearTouch, Electronic Cart, or Touch-Enabled Flat Panel Display.  If you need an ADA accommodation, please contact Leila Lawrence ( ), Director/Title IX Coordinator, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Grade Information

The grading system at Community College of Philadelphia is a letter system with associated quality points, which are used to compute cumulative grade point averages.  The Policy on Academic Standards and Progress (Memorandum #8) contains information on grades that can be assigned.

Incomplete course work:  An "I" on a student's grade report indicates that the student has not completed all the requirements for a grade in the course.  The instructor will inform the student of all work to be completed and the date that it is due.  An incomplete grade (“I”) becomes a failing grade (“F”) if the work is not completed within six weeks from the end of the final exam period in which the “I” grade was assigned.

Fall 2023 “I” to “F” deadline dates are as follows:

Term Code	Description	“I” to “F” Deadline Date
15A	15-week – Main Campus, Regional Centers, and Online Learning	1/29/2024
10A	10-week – Main Campus, Regional Centers, and Online Learning	1/29/2024
7A	7-week Accelerated Classes	11/28/2023
7B	7-week Accelerated Classes	1/23/2024

Note: Mid-term and final grades will be available to students on the Enrollment Services channel in MyCCP; under the Employee tab, Faculty and Advising Services channel, select Attendance and Grade Report Submission Periods to see 20 percent, mid-term/50 percent and final grade due dates.  Paper grade reports are mailed upon request.

Make-up Exams

Assessment of student learning is a critical part of teaching, and test-taking is an integral part of that assessment.  Faculty should provide opportunities for students to make up exams under reasonable circumstances.  To ensure transparency and the equitable treatment of students, it is recommended that faculty clearly communicate make-up policies to students and include such policies on their course syllabus.  

Final Exams

Final exam week for Fall 2023 is scheduled for Monday, December 11, through Saturday, December 16.  Faculty are required to use the final exam week for activities such as giving an exam, teaching or reviewing additional material, or meeting virtually with students to review their performance.  Some departments have policies and procedures related to final exam week that must be observed.  Please check with your department head or dean regarding departmental policies.

Final exam grades must be turned in on time to ensure grades are reported to students in a timely manner, students may register on time for the upcoming term, and graduating students can graduate.  The deadline for faculty submission of grades for Fall 2023 (15-week and 10-week terms) is Monday, December 18.

Students have the right to appeal final grades.  In the case of student grade appeals, for the purpose of assessment and record-keeping purposes, it is recommneded that faculty maintain student work and grade records for a minimum of five years.  This includes communications about student work.  Faculty may also wish to keep copies of returned student work for this reason.  If an appeal is in process, you may need to keep the information longer.  Please review the information in the Student Handbook related to grade appeals if you need additional information about the appeal process.

Use of Banner for Class Lists, Attendance and Grades

All faculty will need to use Banner for at least the following tasks:

• printing a class list;
• documenting that a student began attendance or never attended at the census point (20% report); 
• documenting mid-term academic progress (50% report); and
• recording student grades.

Financial aid policies and procedures make it imperative that the census attendance reports are completed on time.  Failure to do so has a profoundly negative impact on students seeking financial aid. You can find information on attendance and grade submission in MyCCP under the Employee tab, Faculty and Advising Services channel; select Attendance and Grade Report Submission Periods to see 20 percent, mid-term/50 percent and final grade due dates. Please contact your department head regarding any Banner questions or training.

Enrollment Guide

The Enrollment Guide provides important information such as semester dates, refund periods, withdrawal dates, registration information, payment deadlines and payment plan options. You can access the Fall 2023 Enrollment Guide online.

Student Handbook

This publication includes many of the policies and procedures that govern student life, including the Student Code of Conduct and Student Appeals Procedure. You can access the Student Handbook online.

Pride Portal

Pride Portal is CCP's "one stop hub for campus engagement" provided by the Division of Student Development featuring a comprehensive events calendar (and mobile app) and suite of management tools for student organizations and campus departments.  Visit PridePortal.ccp.edu to learn more or contact to request a page for your office, department or division to better engage with your students.  To access  helpful training videos and support services to best manage your Pride Portal page(s), review this Resource Guide and the links here.

College Policies

Click here for a link to all College policies.

Starfish Connect

Starfish Connect is designed to connect faculty, students, and staff to support student academic success.  Faculty can provide students with timely feedback by completing Starfish Progress Surveys at both the 20 percent and 50 percent points of the term which provides an opportunity to raise flags to alert students to concerns about their course performance. The goal of raising flags is to nudge a student to take an action(s) that will get them back on track in their course, and to get the support needed to develop a plan for recovery and successful course completion. Progress surveys also offer faculty the opportunity to raise Kudos as a way to give positive reinforcement to students who are doing well in courses.  If an instructor would like to provide feedback to students at times other than the 20 percent and 50 percent points in the term, flags and Kudos can be manually raised at any time during the term.

Instructors may also use Starfish Connect to direct students to campus services by making referrals to a variety of campus resources.

To access Starfish Connect, log into MyCCP, click on Launchpad and then click on “Starfish Connect.”

Resource information for faculty can be found by clicking here.  Starfish training sessions are offered in the fall and spring semesters and are announced through CNEWS emails.  For assistance with Starfish Connect and to request training, email or contact Lynne Sutherland at .

Guided Pathways

As described in “The City’s College:  Impact 2025,” the Community College of Philadelphia has made focusing on student success a fundamental priority for the College and its stakeholders.  While the College had instituted numerous student success initiatives prior to its Guided Pathways work, Guided Pathways has been a full-scale transformation of redesigned programs and support services.  The College has made significant enhancements to several areas to better support students, including curriculum mapping, proactive advising, early alerts and student monitoring, developmental education, intake/onboarding processes, placement, and first-year experience courses.  Work on Guided Pathways has been integrated throughout the College's practices, with efforts still going forward as part of the College's commitment to student success.  Having been awarded a Title III grant in 2020, the College is able to further expand its work in enhancing holistic student supports already begun under Guided Pathways, including ensuring students are learning with additional resources for Pathway Communities and faculty professional development.  To learn more about the College’s efforts, access the Guided Pathways web page.

Technology Training

CCP uses a variety of instructional technology including a learning management system, video conferencing software, and video storage/management tools.  Training is provided both as regularly scheduled workshops and 1:1 training.  Check the Academic Technology website for information on Professional Development workshops online, in person, and to find resources and video guides.  You can also contact Academic Technology at to request assistance and schedule training opportunities for many technology tools, including Kaltura, ClearTouch, Turnitin, Zoom and Canvas. 

Academic Technologies can also assist in selecting the best technology tools for your course and with piloting more innovative technology strategies in your classroom.

Canvas

Canvas is the College's learning management system.  All courses, online, on-campus and hybrid, automatically get a Canvas course space.  Access to Canvas is through the MyCCP portal.  If you have any questions or concerns about your online courses, please contact or submit a ticket to the 4ITSupport help desk through the portal; problems with logging in should go to .

Kaltura

Kaltura is a cloud-based video management system that stores, hosts and distributes videos, right from your Canvas course.  Videos help to increase student engagement and creativity, foster a sense of community, and improve learning outcomes. With instructional videos in Kaltura, faculty can easily view, record, manage, edit, search, share, convert and deliver high-quality video that is visible on any device, at any time.  

Faculty can upload videos as a resource which students must watch by embedding on a Canvas page or as a stand-alone Kaltura Mediaspace item.  You can add a Kaltura Media Assignment which requires students to submit videos for a grade. Kaltura is also available in discussion forums so video responses to discussion prompts can also be achieved by using Kaltura.  Support and training for Kaltura is provided by Academic Technologies.  Please access Kaltura Video Management System for basic assistance or contact .

Classroom Technology

Our goal has always been for 100% of the classrooms, at all locations, to be technology-enabled, and we have achieved this.  All classrooms (except for Math) are being equipped with ClearTouch displays, as well as whiteboards, cameras and microphones, for easy recording or use of Zoom.  Information on using ClearTouch displays is on the Technology Classroom page, and training sessions are available.  Click here for the schedule of trainings, or review the video and quick start guides here.  For issues with the ClearTouch panels, contact Multimedia Services (MMS) at 215.751.8469 or .

The hybrid flexible, or HyFlex, course format is an instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online. Students can decide how to participate at any given point in the class.

HyFlex classrooms have additional display panels and pan/tilt/zoom cameras.  Hardware allows the switching between cameras. For assistance in using the HyFlex technology, contact Academic Technology at .

One Button Studio Station

One Button Studio Station, located in the Library and Learning Commons and in the CBI building in Room C3-27, is a quick, simple and convenient solution for one-touch recording of high-quality video and audio presentations. Pressing one button takes the guesswork out of recording, storing and sharing your video presentation.  You can reserve the StudioStation here. Click here for the schedule of trainings. 

Zoom

Zoom videoconferencing is available to all faculty through single sign-on in the portal and through Canvas.  Look for training opportunities through Academic Technology and for best practices and tips for use on the Resources for Online Instruction page.

Anti-Plagiarism Software - Turnitin

Turnitin is a plagiarism checking tool that can be enabled for Canvas assignments.  Enable Turnitin for file upload and text submission assignment, and it will generate an Originality Report showing unoriginal content that checks student submissions against a large database of websites, texts, journals, periodicals, and previously submitted student works.  Reports can be found in SpeedGrader and detail the specific parts of a student submission that are unoriginal.

Do note that Turnitin, while very useful, is not completely accurate and you should always check Originality Reports for erroneously flagged content.  Sometimes quotations or small, common phrases will be flagged in error.  For more information, see Interpreting the Similarity Score below.

For additional information and resources visit the academic technology website. 

Online Exam Proctoring

The College provides access to two tools for proctoring online exams: Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor. These two products work in tandem.  Respondus Lockdown Browser is a custom browser that locks the testing environment within Canvas so that students are unable to print, copy, go to another URL, or access other applications on their computer or iPad.  Respondus Monitor builds on Lockdown Browser, using a student’s webcam and video analytics to discourage cheating during online exams. Monitor is an automated system which records the student taking the exam and alerts faculty to possible exam-taking irregularities. A video explaining how Lockdown Browser and Monitor work together is at: Protecting the Integrity of Online Exams.

To learn more about these tools, please check the Online Proctoring for Faculty page. To inform your students about Lockdown Browser and Monitor, this page also includes suggested information to add to your syllabus. We also have a page of information for students at Online Proctoring for Students.  

Please note that some students might not have the necessary equipment to use Monitor. For example, a webcam is required. If you have questions or concerns after reviewing the links, please let us know at . Training is available from Academic Technology.  The schedule of trainings is located here, or contact to schedule an appointment.

Concourse Syllabus Tool

All syllabi must be posted in Canvas using the Syllabus tool to meet Title III compliance. However, syllabi for online courses must also be made publicly available according to Memorandum 14. To facilitate this, the College has added a tool called Concourse. To make syllabi publicly available via Concourse, faculty upload their syllabi in the CCP Syllabus tool in Canvas, in addition to loading it to the regular Syllabus tool in Canvas.  Faculty should upload their syllabi no later than the first day of class, if not before, to allow students the opportunity to be adequately prepared for the semester.

Concourse allows syllabi to be accessible from Coursefinder when a student searches for a course, and also to be posted to the website for syllabi maintained by Online Learning.  If you have questions about this tool or need assistance, please contact .

Student Support Service Hours

Both in-person and virtual services will be available for fall, and students can also access services through the Student Support Services site, as well as financial and community resources.  

Emergencies/Fire Drills

The College has an established emergency notification system called Send Word Now. This system enables fast and efficient dissemination of critical information to students, faculty and staff of the College community, including the Regional Centers. Faculty, staff and students at the College are automatically enrolled in Send Word Now. You will only be deleted from the system if your employment terminates or for adjunct faculty, you do not teach at the College for four consecutive terms. To review and/or update your information, log into MyCCP and within the Employee Tab under Administrative Forms and Links channel, click on Update Contact Information.

For information on campus security, emergency preparedness, public safety videos and more, visit the Department of Public Safety website.

In order to help you effectively plan around fire drills if you are meeting on campus, the current schedule for Fall 2023 is as follows:

Wednesday, September 6 – West and Pavilion Buildings
Friday, September 15 – Northeast Regional Center
Wednesday, October 18 – Winnet Student Life Building
Friday, October 20 – West Regional Center (CATC)
Wednesday, November 1 – Mint and Bonnell Buildings
Friday, November 10 - CBI
Tuesday, December 5 - West Regional Center (CATC)
Wednesday, December 6 – Athletics Center

Please contact your Department Head, Division Dean or the Office of Academic and Student Success if you have questions or concerns.