Faculty Resources – General Information

Professional Development

OTC commits itself to providing staff development opportunities to the extent that is financially feasible. This includes funding for college development activities, satellite conferences and video tapes. We also provide funds for travel and registration for professional meetings and seminars, on-the-job training and formal classes for full-time instructors. Our institution also encourages staff, full-time and adjunct instructors to contact the office of the Institutional Effectiveness (417.447.8108) with suggestions, questions and comments. College Development Days are contract days. OTC requires full-time faculty participation unless your dean approves an alternative job-related activity.

The Board of Trustees policy, Professional Development Plan, explains the hours required of employees. Full-time faculty members should earn at least twenty (20) hours on an annual basis. Faculty must document their hours and submit them for approval by a supervisor. Submit a complete list of hours obtained with your annual evaluation packet.

Travel Reimbursement

Faculty should complete an Advance Travel Request form in advance of the travel activity. Make sure your request gains approval before making expenditures. Forms are available on Finance Office forms website. The amount submitted on this form will be a guide for reimbursement.

Copyright Compliance

OTC expects you to adhere to the Copyright Laws. Please do not make copies of copyrighted material without the publisher’s permission. This includes computer software and videos as well as print material. Check with a librarian in the library if you have questions regarding the fair use of material for your classroom and consult the Board of Trustees policy, Copyright Compliance Policy, for additional information.

Sexual Harassment

IMPORTANT: All adjunct and full-time faculty members must complete an online anti-harassment training each year.

The Preventing Sexual Harassment Exam is found on the Human Resources portion of the website. Individuals should send the completed certificate to the Human Resources Office before receiving your first payroll. Employees should complete the exam on an annual basis in January.

In addition, OTC requires full-time faculty members to attend “live” anti-harassment presentations. Adjunct faculty members may view a video presentation on Blackboard.

Please see the Sexual Harassment policy in the Policies and Procedures Manual.

Please see the Personal Relationships policy in the Policies and Procedures Manual.

If you have additional questions concerning OTC’s Sexual Harassment Policy, please contact Human Resources at 417.447.2631 or the Office of Equity and Compliance at 417-447-8188.

Crisis Plan

A crisis plan should be posted in each classroom. The plan includes procedures to be followed in case of earthquake, fire or explosions, serious illness or injury, suicide, telephone threats and tornadoes. The plan also includes the location of first aid kits and spill kits. For further information about the crisis plan, contact Safety and Security at 417.447.6985.

Safety & Security

If you feel threatened in class or have any medical emergencies, immediately notify the OTC Safety and Security office by calling 417.447.6911. They will notify the appropriate offices, as soon as possible, for communication throughout the campus, when appropriate.

As soon as practicable after criminal action, accident, injury or other emergency situation, employees and students shall file a written report for each incident with the Office of Safety and Security. In the event of illness or injury, they should also file an “Internal Report of Injury” with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services.

Anti-Discrimination Statement

OTC commits itself to providing equal opportunities for all persons and does not discriminate or retaliate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, citizenship or legal immigration status, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state and local laws (“protected status”). This extends to admissions, employment, services and educational programs and activities that the college operates (collectively “programs and activities”).

Anti-Discrimination Statement

Commencement

Participation in commencement activities is part of a full-time faculty member’s contractual obligation.

Information about commencement is available in the Registrar’s Office or from commencement@otc.edu.

Drug-Free Workplace

Please refer to the Board of Trustees policy, Drug-Free Workplace, for complete information.

Safety and Hazardous Work Conditions 

Please refer to the Board of Trustees policy, 6.16 Safety, for complete information.

Health and Wellness Center

The college established the Health and Wellness Center as a benefit to its full-time employees in an effort to promote their overall health and wellness. The Health and Wellness Center is a full family practice which also offers routine lab work on-site.

All full-time OTC employees and their dependents are eligible for the clinic, free of charge. For appointments, hours or more information, call 417.866.3133.

Infectious and Contagious Diseases

Employees and/or students of Ozarks Technical Community College who may become infected with any type of contagious diseases, such as AIDS, H1N1, SARS, Hepatitis, among others, will not be excluded from enrollment or employment. Moreover, OTC will not restrict their access to college services or facilities.

The college complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We make every effort to ensure that we afford persons with disabilities admitted to the college  all of the rights and privileges this act provides them with. However, OTC expects persons who know or suspect that they have an infectious illness seek expert advice about their health circumstances. Individuals are obligated ethically and legally to conduct themselves responsibly in accordance with such knowledge for the protection of others.

OTC urges infected persons who know they have an infection to share that information with the appropriate administrator. Then, the college can respond appropriately to their needs. We only disclose such information to responsible college officials on a strictly limited need-to-know basis unless the individual consents in writing to other releases of the information.

Printing

The IT Department implemented software allowing faculty and students 500 free printed pages each semester. This includes wireless from laptops at designated locations. Pages available at the end of the semester will not carry forward to the next semester. OTC does not give refunds for pages remaining on accounts. Various locations for printing can be found at OTC each location. For more information, call: 417.447.7548.

Wireless Printing

You can find the wireless printing link at MyOTC, on the “Resources” tab, under “IT Resources.” We deduct pages students print wirelessly from the 500 free or paid pages.

The college encourages employees to become members of organizations in their community and chosen field. Participation in these organizations might count towards an employee’s professional development hours.

One such example is the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA), an organization that represents the community colleges of the state through legislative representation. It also strives to increase public awareness of the community college. The college provides MCCA memberships to all full-time employees.

Board of Trustees’ Policy 3.74 explains the Tuition Reimbursement Plan OTC offers.

Please refer to the Board of Trustees policy, Workload and Expectations for complete information.

Workload and Expectations

Classroom Media

OTC equips classrooms with a computer for the instructor and appropriate audio-visual equipment. If there are problems or issues with any of the equipment, please contact helpdesk@otc.edu.

Center for Academic Innovation

The Center for Academic Innovation‘s mission is to promote educational development to advance teaching and learning. Our vision is to support faculty innovation, collaboration, and educational development to further student learning and success.  Educational development consists of three areas:  faculty development, instructional development, and organizational development.

FERPA

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) was passed by Congress in 1974. It applies to all educational agencies or institutions, including OTC, that receive funds under any program administered by the Secretary of Education. FERPA governs what information school officials may release but does not require that any information be released.

It grants four specific rights to a postsecondary student. They may:

• Inspect and review their education record
• Seek to amend their education record
• Consent to disclosure of their records
• File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the college to comply with the requirements of FERPA

It’s Your Responsibility

As a faculty or staff member, you have a legal responsibility under FERPA to protect the confidentiality of student educational records in your possession. You have access to student information only for legitimate use in the completion of your responsibilities as a college employee. Need to know is the basic principle.

As a faculty or staff member, you have a legal responsibility under FERPA to protect the confidentiality of student educational records in your possession including those in electronic format. You have access to student information only for legitimate use in the completion of your responsibilities as a college employee. Your access to student information, including your own grade book information, is reliant on your faculty or staff role within the college. Instructors may not release student information to any third party outside your departmental unit.

OTC considers student educational records (other than college-defined directory information) confidential. You may not release these records without the written consent of the student.

Here are some practical things to keep in mind:

The college intends this information to provide general information and to acquaint faculty and staff with some of the privacy issues surrounding students’ educational records. We do not intend it as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice on any particular issue.

If you are in doubt about a request for student information, contact the Office of the Registrar at 417.447.6903.

FERPA

Final Exams

Policy 2.20 explains the need for comprehensive final examinations.

The Final Exam schedule can be found on the website. OTC expects instructors to utilize the final exam period scheduled for each course section that is taught.

Length of Classes

Instructors should utilize the entire, regularly scheduled class period established for each class. Minute requirements for credit hours have been determined by federal regulations. You as the instructor are responsible for seeing that the class meets this requirement. It is important to utilize this time wisely – even the first class session. For questions related to length of class, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs at 417-447-8241.

Behavioral Intervention Team

We encourage faculty to call on OTC’s Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) when a student’s behavior rises to a level of concern. The BIT provides our faculty, staff and students a vehicle to more easily identify students in distress. The simple, confidential electronic reporting system also makes it easy to report a student’s behavior(s). You can find detailed information about recognizing, responding to and referring students in distress as well as how to report students whose behaviors are of concern at the OTC Cares pages. You may also contact the BIT help line at 417.447.6697.

In addition, Counseling Services provides numerous supportive resources to assist members of the OTC Community. OTC offers services on a regular basis at the Springfield and Richwood Valley campuses. Additionally, Counseling Services offers distance counseling for the Tablerock, Lebanon and Waynesville locations. The main office location is on the Springfield Campus in ICW 219. You can contact them at 417.447.6974 or via email at counseling@otc.edu.

Behavior Intervention Team/Counseling Services

The Speech Communication Center

The OTC Speech Communication Center is a free service provided to help students in all classes with any aspect of a speech assignment. Student tutors can help with all areas of speech and presentation development. The center encourages instructors from all disciplines to send their students to the Speech Center before any presentation.

The Speech Communication Center is co-located with The Carol Jones Writing Center on the second floor of the Information Commons building in room IC 200. Walk-ins are welcome. However, we do encourage students to schedule an appointment. Email: speechcenter@otc.edu, or call 417.447.8982.

Speech Communication Center

The Speckman Tutoring & Learning Center

We encourage any student wanting to improve their learning strategies and grades to visit the Speckman Tutoring & Learning Center (TLC) in ICE 212 on the Springfield campus or at the Academic Support Center (ASC) in Room 206 on the Richwood Valley campus. TLC services are especially useful to students who come to college academically under-prepared. Services are free to students enrolled in OTC credit courses. Instructors, staff and skilled peer tutors work with students in a lab-like environment. For further information, please call 417.447.8164 for the Springfield campus or 417.447.7447 for the Richwood Valley Campus. Check with the office at any OTC location (Lebanon, Republic, Waynesville and Table Rock) to find out what services they offer.

Tutoring & Learning Center

The Carol Jones Writing Center

The Carol Jones Writing Center is a free service provided to all OTC students. Student peer tutors will assist students with all aspects of a writing assignment for any course. Whether students are selecting a topic, pre-writing, organizing, composing the draft, revising, editing or documenting sources, the writing center can help.

Walk-ins are welcome. However, it is strongly recommended to call ahead for an appointment to make sure someone is available. Email: writingcenter@otc.edu Telephone: 417.447.8235.

Writing Center

Academic Standing and Probation

The college wants to see students succeed. In an effort to assist the students, we expect that you keep your students informed of their progress in your class. The college will notify students of mid-term grade deficiencies of “D” or “F” via their student email account. The notice will encourage the student to seek your assistance, talk with an advisor and visit the Speckman Tutoring and Learning Center.

OTC will place students who do not maintain a satisfactory grade point average on academic probation. This is to encourage students to limit the number of credit hours that are attempted and enroll in appropriate developmental courses or repeat courses. While on academic probation, OTC requires students to make contact with their academic advisor to review their education plan before being released to register.

 

Academic Standing and Probation

Academic and Course Grade Appeal

The college has established an equitable and orderly process to resolve academic dissatisfaction at the college. This may include final grades, instructional procedures, attendance, instructional quality and situations related to academic issues. Please refer to the appeals website for complete information (Academic and Course Grade Appeal).

Academic Freedom and Responsibility

Please refer to the Board of Trustees Policy, Academic Freedom and Responsibility, for complete information.

Attachments to Walls/Moving Furniture

If rearranging tables and chairs within the classroom, please return them to their original position before leaving. Also, if you require additional furniture, inform the appropriate department chair. Please do not attach nails, screws, tape or other objects to walls which may damage the surface.

Contact maintenance@otc.edu if you need the following:

• To hang pictures or objects
• The furniture needs repairs
• Removal of furniture

Bookstore

The OTC Bookstore provides many services for students, faculty and staff. It offers a full line of textbooks, both new and used, academically priced hardware and software, reference books and materials, official OTC apparel and gifts, office supplies and convenience items. The bookstore also provides a buyback program in which used textbooks may be sold back for cash. Students may purchase textbooks in store by credit card, cash, check or charged to a MyPay account. Individuals may also make purchases online and either ship them or place them on reservation for in-store pick-up.

The college gives OTC employees a 10% discount on items purchased from the bookstore.

The location of the OTC Bookstore is at the corner of Sherman and Brower, just west of the Information Commons on the Springfield Campus. For additional information or any questions, call the bookstore at 417.447.6620.

For textbook adoption resources, please refer to the OTC Bookstore website for textbook proposal and approval procedures.

Desk Copies of Textbooks

You are more likely to receive desk copies if your dean requests them on formal college letterhead. The bookstore does not request desk copies of textbooks for instructors. See your department chair or secretary if you have not received a complimentary desk copy of the textbooks.

Campus Visitors

You should direct any individual who comes to campus looking for either a student or staff member to the Safety and Security Office. As a matter of security, a faculty member should never open his or her classroom to an unexpected visitor unless accompanied by Safety and Security.

Safety and Security will ask all visitors to provide identification. They will then determine if there is an immediate reason to find the person being sought. In the event of an emergency, Safety and Security will ask the visitor to wait in the Safety and Security office while the officer goes to find the person.

No one should release the student or staff member’s whereabouts or information if there is no emergency or immediate need to contact the individual.

Children on Campus

OTC provides environments that promote learning for students who are enrolled. Classroom, studio, library and laboratory settings are not appropriate places for children. The campuses are also places of easy access to the public and do not have resources to protect unsupervised children. Therefore, OTC prohibits employees, students and visitors from leaving a child unattended at any college facility. OTC may remove students from class until they make appropriate childcare arrangements. For more information, contact the Safety and Security office, IC 208, 417.447.6911.

Please refer to the Board of Trustee policy, Staff Enrollment and Tuition Exemption, for credit and non-credit classes taken at OTC.

Course Tuition Waiver

Please refer to the Board of Trustees policy, Credit-By-Exam, for additional information.

Credit by Exam

Curriculum Approval

New programs, courses or requests for any significant changes to a program or course must be presented to the Curriculum Committee for approval and recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. See your department chair or program director for curriculum due dates and procedures to submit your proposal for review.

You can find the forms and instructions for curriculum changes on the Curriculum Development site.

Contact the Coordinator of Curriculum at gravesr@otc.edu or 447.8115 if you have questions regarding the curriculum proposal process.

Field Trips

The college recognizes that instruction can take place outside of the typical classroom and lab areas. On this premise, OTC encourages faculty to pursue instructional activities through first-hand experiences that relate directly to the respective subject area. Instructors should make field trip requests in advance. They should also submit these requests to the appropriate department chair for approval from the division dean.

Grievance Procedure for Students of Non-Academic Issues

Students with non-academic complaints which cannot readily be resolved through normal channels, may bring their complaints to the dean of students.

Guest Speakers

Please refer to the Board of Trustees policy, Guest Speakers, at OTC for complete information.

Hazardous Materials

Address questions concerning hazardous materials storage or disposal to the Coordinator of Environmental Safety and Compliance at 417.447.8243 or the Director of Safety and Security, 417.447.6911.

Full -Time Instructors

OTC expects all full-time instructors to maintain a minimum of five office hours per week. See Board of Trustees’ policy, Full-time Faculty Workload and Expectations. You should set the times to hours convenient to the students and distribute them throughout the week. No office time should be less than one-half hour.

List your office hours on your course syllabi and provide them to your division and location office. You should also post them on an outside door to your office, such that students can see the times even if you are not in your office.

Adjunct Instructors

Please talk to your department chair or program director about adjunct office locations and their use for office time.

OTC Online provides resources, support, training and reviews for online teaching and learning for students and faculty.

Contact Information: online@otc.edu, or call 417.447.8200.

Safety in the Classroom

Safety practices shall always be enforced, especially in shop and laboratory facilities. Please follow these guidelines:

The instructor is the expert on safety in their area. Therefore, it is their responsibility to teach safety to their students and see that they understand and follow safe practices. The instructor is also responsible for keeping the area and equipment in safe operating order.

An instructor must ALWAYS be present when shops and laboratories are in use.

If it is necessary to leave while class is in progress, place another knowledgeable instructor in charge. Or, give the students a break and lock the room.

In case of an accident, employees are required to report immediately to Safety and Security at 417.447.6911 all criminal actions, accidents, injuries or other emergencies occurring on college property or in college facilities. The nearest college administrator and supervisor should also be notified as quickly as possible.

Crisis Management

OTC places a crisis flip chart in each classroom on the wall next to the exit. Please familiarize yourself with this flip chart and the specific instructions for the classroom in the event of an actual crisis situation. Notify Safety and Security at 417.447.6911 if the crisis flip chart is missing.

Computer Labs

Open computer labs are available for currently enrolled OTC students to do homework, research, printing and practice using software applications. Open computer lab locations are as follows available at each OTC location.

OTC’s Information Technology Department implemented Messaging Records Management (MRM) to help reduce the footprint of email storage, reduce cost and keep a more consistent and efficient email environment.

MRM Quick Reference

Best Practices

• Go through email and email folders and delete items that are no longer needed.
• Move required items into one of the five “Managed Folders” or leave the items if a one year retention policy is sufficient and appropriate.

Laptops

Laptops are able to access the Internet in most main campus classrooms when connected to the green data port in the wall outlet.

All OTC laptops need to connect to the OTC network at least once a month for virus-scanning and Microsoft updates. Please remember if you have an OTC laptop, it is your responsibility to keep it safe and secure. IT may charge laptop replacement or repair costs resulting from employee negligence to the employee’s department.

When using laptops for presentations outside of OTC, test the presentation on and off the OTC network to ensure you install all drivers and plug-ins.

The IT Help Desk has laptops available for faculty and staff to check out for classroom usage, OTC events and OTC-related business travel. The department chair needs to submit faculty requests for laptop check-out. Please contact helpdesk@otc.edu at least one week in advance to reserve one.

Network Storage

OTC grants faculty, staff and students network access providing storage space on an on-campus server to store work or school-related data. Documents saved to the network are backed up nightly and can be retrieved if accidentally deleted. There are three network drives:

• H Drive – Your “My Documents” folder or home drive
• S Drive – Instructor and student curriculum storage. IT deletes content seven days after it deletes the class.
• R Drive – Departmental storage and common area – available to all faculty and staff

Note: documents saved on the OTC network are accessible from campus computers only. You can save documents to the Storage area in MyOTC to access it off campus. Remember that computers do not back up documents saved to the local hard drive (C:drive) and desktop.

Software Guidelines

The IT department must approve all OTC-purchased software prior to purchasing. Send all the software information, websites, links and trial software to helpdesk@otc.edu or deliver to Graff 203 for evaluation. Only the IT department has software installation rights on computers in classrooms and labs.

Full-time instructors

• Administrative rights on office computers
• Can install software

Note: if the computer requires a rebuild due to a repair or virus, you will need to reinstall any instructor-installed software.

Adjunct instructors – No software installation rights

Note: if you require additional OTC-approved software on an adjunct office computer, deliver the software to the IT Help Desk (GRF 203) with room location and computer name (i.e. DT012345).

You may submit licensed software, when approved by the appropriate dean, to the Help Desk with a license to install it on a computer or computers designated by the dean. The Help Desk requires a minimum of two weeks after receiving the software for testing and installation.

The dean’s office should approve all work order requests to change software or configuration in a computer lab and then forward to the Help Desk.

Technology in Seated Courses

As technology continues to advance, more instructors incorporate online and web-based instructional tools in the classroom. The college encourages instructors to utilize alternative teaching practices when they are beneficial to student learning. In the process of incorporating these methods, an instructor must be cognizant of the student population and have an understanding of the limitations that many students face when accessing online materials. As instructors, we should provide students with opportunities and expose them to increasing technological advances in order to enhance their level of computer proficiency.

Currently, the college requires that every instructor includes their syllabus and staff information on the Canvas site. Instructors may enhance their Canvas courses at their discretion.

Copier

A copy machine will be available for your use. The division secretaries will be able to assist. If you need extensive numbers of copies or the number of pages is extensive, please allow time for the material to go to the print shop. The division secretary will be able to help you with a print shop order.

Fax

Several offices of the college have a fax machine (it may be attached to a copier). There is also a fax machine in the library for student use.

The college locates first aid kits in various areas. For a list of first aid kit locations, please refer to the Crisis Plan posted in each room of the college.

Parking

OTC has open parking in all lots. Please observe “no parking” signs.

Telephones

Cisco IP phone systems provide many useful functions and features for OTC. For assistance, please contact the Help Desk.

• OTC phones have a seven-digit phone number that begins with 447. However, when dialing from one OTC phone to another, you need only use the last four digits.
• To dial an off-campus local number, dial 9 and then the seven-digit number. Example: 9-123-4567.
• In order to make a local (off-site) call from an OTC phone at the Lebanon, Republic, Waynesville or Table Rock locations, dial 99, then the seven-digit number. Example: 99-123-4567.
• To dial 911 on an OTC phone from any campus dial 9-911.
• For long-distance numbers, dial 1 + area code + seven-digit number. Example: 1-702-123-4567.

The campus phone system includes voicemail capability for full-time employees.

Conference Room Locations

The college has named several conference rooms after individuals. When invited to meetings, sometimes you may see “(Last Name) Conference Room” as the meeting location. Following are the physical locations of each of those rooms

Brooks Conference Room – ICW 219P (Springfield Student Affairs)

Clinkebeard Conference Room – ITTC 204 (Springfield)

Farmer Conference Room – NKM 135 (Springfield Gen Ed Suite)

Fisk Conference Room – Lebanon Center

McKinsey Conference Room – LCN 209 (Springfield)

Myers Conference Room – IC 205 (Springfield Chancellor’s Suite)

Simmons Conference Room – ICE 224 (Springfield Academic Affairs)