NORTHARK FACULTY 411

Clarity for some issues on this page may be found by downloading the following information: Northark College Catalog, Staff Handbook, Faculty Handbook, Part-Time Faculty Procedures Manual, and the Northark Student Handbook.

Paychecks

   Warrants for employees shall be issued every other Friday of each month for full-time and part time hourly employees and monthly for part-time contract employees.

   Paychecks are normally available on Thursday of a payroll Friday. Full time employees can pick up their checks at the Cashier's desk on Thursday. Part time checks and off campus employee checks will be mailed on Wednesday prior to pay date.

   A written request to the payroll office is required to deviate from the above policy or for someone other than the employee to pick up a paycheck.

Limits on Credit Hours and Clock Hours

   Part-time hourly employees will be limited to 19 hours per week or 988 cumulative hours per fiscal year for seasonal needs.

   All hours worked, (teaching, work study, part-time institutional), shall be included in the 988 limit.

   Part-time faculty or instructors will be limited to 7 course credit hours per semester and/or 14 cumulative course credit hours per fiscal or academic year for seasonal needs.

Phone Usage

Internal Dialing
   To call another college office or employee, please use the extension list and dial the 3-digit extension to be connected.

Dialing External Numbers
   To dial an outside phone number, you must press 9 + the number desired.  For example, to call 911 you must dial 9+911.

Long Distance
   Long distance calling is only available to those who have been given a 4-digit long distance code.  This code must be approved by your supervisor and is distributed by the business office located on the 4th floor of the Center Campus in suite C40??

   For example, to dial the long distance number (123) 456-7890 you must enter the following:  

   9+1+1234567890+CODE

Voicemail
   Voicemail is available for select extensions and must be requested by the departmental supervisors.  To access the voicemail system, there are two numbers that must be used.  From a college extension, you must dial 743-6245.  From outside the college, you can access the voicemail system by calling 743-6243.  Please click here for a detailed procedure regarding the use of voicemail. 

Copiers / Faculty Secretaries

Internal Copies/Reproduction
   Departments are charged $.05 per copy at any location.

   For small, quick turnaround copy needs, employees may make copies at the following locations -

South Campus
   Business Office
   Library
   Open Learning
   JPH Building (second floor)
   Student Services
   Athletic Office
   Learning Center

North Campus
   Mail/Forms Room

   When using these copy machines, all copies should be logged and the three (3) digit department number and the individual's name should be recorded. For those copiers with control counter devices, manual logging is not required if you have an assigned copy card or counter.

   For academic copies and large copy needs, the Faculty Support Office will make copies for you. Some scheduling may be required.

External Copies/Reproduction/Printing
   The Department of Corrections offers printing and reproduction services at very reasonable rates. They are typically used for large, recurring jobs such as office forms and small brochures. The regular purchasing process should be followed for this service. As much as three (3) to five (5) weeks should be allowed.

   Any large, high quality, multi-color printing jobs must follow the regular purchasing process. Turnaround times may vary.

   Note: No outside printing, reproduction, or copying service may be used without following the regular purchasing process. This is controlled by state contracts and any circumvention will result in personal obligation or expense.

Deans

   Ed Proctor—Dean of Business and Technology

   Laura Berry—Dean of Arts and Sciences

   Beth Robinson—Dean of Allied Health

Campus Mail / Mailboxes / Mail Schedule

Mail Routing & Distribution (formerly Campus Mail/Mailboxes/Mail Schedule)

Intra-Campus Mail may be placed in the employee’s mailbox located next to the front desk on the South Campus, behind the front desk on the North Campus and in Office C107 on the Center Campus.

Inter-Campus Mail should be placed in the marked drop boxes located with the employee mailboxes on each campus, or the Bookstore on the South Campus.

All outgoing US mail must have postage or have the mailing party’s three digit department number written in pencil in the top right hand corner. Multiple mail items may be bound together with just the department number written on the top envelope only. Outgoing US mail should be placed in the marked drop boxes located with the employee mailboxes on each campus, or the Bookstore on the South Campus.

Mail Pick-Up Schedule
10:15 AM Pick-Up South Campus / Bookstore
10:20 AM Pick-Up & Delivery South Campus / Front
10:30 AM Pick-Up & Delivery North Campus / Front
10:40 AM Pick-Up & Delivery AHEC / Front
10:45 AM Pick-Up & Delivery Center Campus / Room 107
10:50 AM Delivery South Campus / Front
10:55 AM Delivery South Campus / Bookstore
(Note: US mail delivery to the South Campus / Front ranges from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM)

3:00 PM Pick-Up South Campus / Bookstore
3:05 PM Pick-Up & Delivery South Campus / Front
3:15 PM Pick-Up & Delivery North Campus / Front
3:25 PM Pick-Up & Delivery AHEC / Front
3:30 PM Pick-Up & Delivery Center Campus / Room 107
3:35 PM Delivery South Campus / Front
3:40 PM Delivery South Campus / Bookstore
(Note: US mail departure from the South Campus / Bookstore is approximately 4:00 PM)

Parking

   Part-time faculty should park in the student parking lots.  These are located on the south, west, and north sides of the building.  Parking on the sides up next to the building is reserved for full-time employees.

Keys / Campus Access

   General access doors on all three campuses are unlocked between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 pm. General access doors are locked and access is restricted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, and on weekends, holidays and school closings.

   Security and/or maintenance staff are not authorized to open any internal area or office for anyone, including Northark employees, without direct authorization from faculty or management of the particular area or office. Keys to campus doors are distributed to part-time employees only in exceptional cases and only at the discretion of the supervisor or dean.

    The Testing Center is located in room M154 of the Learning Assistance Center. It offers a quiet environment for written or computerized make-up testing. Students should arrive one hour before closing time to allow themselves enough time to finish their tests. Hours for the Testing Center are Monday 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Friday 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

    The Certification Center, housed in the North Arkansas College South Campus Library room L117, provides students and the general public the opportunity to take a variety of professional examinations for information technology, occupational assessment, professional licensure, as well as other computer-based exams. Additionally, the center is staffed with certified computer technicians who offer applications and hardware support to the Open Computer Lab and the Digital Media lab. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and weekends and evenings by appointment.

Inclement Weather Policy

    Should inclement weather make it necessary to cancel classes, the following radio stations will be notified:  KCWD 96.1 FM Harrison, and KHOZ 102.9 FM Harrison.  An announcement will only be made if classes are cancelled.  Every effort will be made to notify the stations by 6:30 a.m.  Cancellations concerning day or evening courses will be announced as soon as a decision is made.  In the event of inclement weather, students, faculty, and staff may also call (870) 743-SNOW (7669) to find out the status of college classes.  Efforts are also made to post cancellations on the Northark web site.

   In an emergency situation, call 911.  Students should not be sent to Northark’s Nursing faculty.  In the case of accidents or illness, students will be referred to their own physician or a local health care facility.  If the situation warrants it, they will be transported to North Arkansas Regional Medical Center by ambulance.  Students will be responsible for all medical expenses incurred during medical emergency and non emergency situations.  All on-campus medical emergency and non-emergency incidents must be reported to the Student Services Office, room M185.

Online Faculty / Blackboard / Tech Support

   Approximately 20 faculty teach 28 courses fully online requiring students to travel to campus only a few times during the semester. Another 15 faculty are using the internet to deliver part of their course material in order to reduce the number of days students must attend class on campus. Other faculty use the internet to enhance their courses by providing access to lecture material and web links to class related information.

   Northark uses a Course Management System called Blackboard. Blackboard is powerful software that allows faculty and students to teach and learn anytime/anywhere. The Blackboard program is housed and maintained at Northark and is a proven solution to students who have limited day-time access to the college. Faculty train to be able to use Blackboard’s many functions and applications to produce viable course material and manage their cyber classrooms.

   Since Blackboard is housed and maintained at Northark, Technical Support problems are responded to quickly and professionally. For Blackboard Technical Support or questions contact John Walsh at 391-3308 or Larry Stroud at 391-3289. You can also stop by their office at M-141.

Title III

   The Title III Strengthening Institutions Program is a highly competitive Department of Education grant program that was established by Congress as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965.The purpose of the program is to provide grants to eligible institutions of higher education to improve their academic programs, institutional management, and fiscal stability in order to increase their self-sufficiency and strengthen their capacity to make a substantial contribution to the higher education resources of the nation.  

   Northark’s Title III program, Here for You:  Strengthening Northark Student Success, was awarded in the fall of 2006.  Providing an excellent source of new resources for the college, this program is designed to enhance student intake systems, track student progress, improve academic programs and increase student success and retention.  The grant provides opportunities to pilot test new technology, implement proven solutions and institutionalize practices that work best to positively impact student success.

Grades / No Shows / Drops / Rosters

Grades
   Faculty members will include grading and make-up policies in the syllabus for the course, at the course website, or announce such policies at the beginning of class meetings for each course.

   Normally, mid-term and final exams are held in all courses.  The mid-term exam is chiefly to aid the instructor and student in assessing growth.  Mid-term deficient grades are posted to Northark’s Campus Connect for students to review.  Instructors have the option of posting all mid-term grades or only deficient mid-term grades to Campus Connect for students enrolled only for college credit; however, instructors must  post midterm grades for all students enrolled for concurrent college and high school credit.

   Final grades are posted electronically on Northark’s Campus Connect for review.  Students can review and print unofficial copies of their current grades and transcripts through the college’s Campus Connect system.

   A copy of the final examination schedule is published in the Schedule of Classes. Any final examination must be given at times specified in the schedule. Whenever extreme circumstances make necessary a deviation from the announced schedule, clearance for such deviation must be obtained in advance from the appropriate supervisor and the Vice President of Learning.

   Final examinations in the summer term courses are to be given at the final scheduled class session.

   Faculty members are responsible for submitting final grades on Faculty Access and copies of their grade books to the VP of Learning consistent with procedures established.

No Shows
   In an effort to more accurately report official enrollment and to reduce the amount of money the college is liable for repaying from overpayment of financial aid, Northark implemented a No-Show Procedure that will require each instructor to verify rosters at the beginning of the semester on Faculty Access and indicate students who have never appeared in class even though they appear on the official rosters. Those students will be administratively dropped from the course(s).  

1. The Registrar’s Office will e-mail a memo to all faculty on the fifth class day of a fall or spring semester or the third class day of a summer session requesting all rosters be verified.  

2. Using Faculty Access, faculty will verify enrollment in each class and record a “NS” (No-Show) grade in the grade block for any student who has never attended the class. Each class roster will be submitted whether a No-Show is reported or not.

3. All rosters must be verified and submitted through Faculty Access by the end of the tenth class day of a fall or spring semester or the fourth day of a summer session.

4. The Registrar’s Office will drop all courses graded with a “NS” grade at 100% refund. (Students will not receive financial aid for those courses.)

5. The “NS” grade will only be available as a valid grade on faculty Access during this time frame.

Drops

   The policies for Incompletes, grade changes, Challenge Exams, and withdrawals are outlined in the college catalog, pages 54-61.

Rosters

   Rosters are available through Faculty Access virtually 24/7. The Registrar’s Office will correspond with faculty four times a semester via e-mail regarding important roster information:  

1. Preliminary rosters: the Registrar’s Office will send an e-mail before classes begin as soon as preliminary rosters are ready. These rosters will reflect up-to date registration and adds or drops, and instructors should check them before each class meeting until they receive official rosters.  

2. Official class rosters: the Registrar’s Office will send an e-mail on the fifth (5th) day of class for fall or spring semesters and the third (3rd) day of summer sessions requesting that instructors verify rosters and submit them electronically (on Faculty Access), indicating any No-Show students. (See No-Show Procedure above.)  

3. Mid-term rosters: the Registrar’s Office will send an e-mail before the mid-term exam period requesting deficient grades for all students and mid-term grades for all high school students to be submitted electronically (on Faculty Access). The Registrar’s Office will provide a list of high school students to appropriate instructors.  

4. Final grade rosters: the Registrar’s Office will send an e-mail before the final exam period requesting final grades to be submitted electronically (on Faculty Access) by the deadlines in the official semester/summer session calendars.

Class Cancellations

   Occasionally there is a need to cancel class due to health or other personal reasons other than inclement weather policy.

   Instructors should notify the dean and lead instructor in their respective areas.  They should also call Gail Beth Eoff at 391-3217.

Classroom Scheduling

   Scheduling of classrooms is done by your supervisor or dean.

Student Evaluations

   Student evaluations are performed annually under the supervision of each dean.

Classroom Policies / Environment / AV / Supplies / Books

Classroom Policies
   Link from student handbook for student policies and link from employee handbook Section 2-15 for employee conduct.

Environmental Controls
   Most classrooms have been regulated to a preset temperature and do not have the ability to be set by the instructor.  However, if there are problems with the heating or air conditioning levels, the maintenance department should be contacted at the following extensions
   South Campus – Ext 246 or 124
   North Campus – Ext 373
   Center Campus – Ext 186

Equipment and Audio/Visual Control
   Several classrooms are equipped with various levels of audiovisual equipment.  The basic classroom should have a TV with either a VCR or a VCR/DVD combo unit connected.  Other classrooms have LCD projectors that can be used in conjunction with laptops.  Support for most classrooms is provided by personnel from the Library and can be contacted at Ext. 357 .For a complete list of classrooms and capabilities and instructions for its use, please click this link.  (I will work with the library staff to develop a document that lists each classroom and what equipment is located in each classroom and basic instructions on how to use the equipment.

Supplies
   Please see the Northark Employee Handbook for more information.  

Books
   To obtain books for classes you will need to contact the dean for that department or the lead instructor in that area.

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Voice (870) 391-3000 | Fax (870) 391-3250