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Return to: Faculty & Adjunct Handbook Home
Section 504 – Rehabilitation Act of 1973
AdventHealth University, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and University policy, does not discriminate on the basis of disability.
Equal educational opportunity is required under federal law, including:
Under federal law, an individual with a disability is defined as a person who:
- Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
- Has a record of such an impairment; or
- Is regarded as having such an impairment.
AdventHealth University is committed to ensuring that qualified students with disabilities are provided equal access to educational programs, services, and activities in compliance with these laws.
Office of Disabilities Contact Information
Students may contact the Office of Disabilities in the following ways:
Student Responsibilities
Students seeking accommodations are responsible for:
- Initiating the request for accommodation by contacting the Office of Disabilities.
- Self-identifying as a student with a disability.
- Providing appropriate and current documentation supporting the disability and requested accommodation. Documentation must be dated within the past seven (7) years and completed after the student turned 18.
- Completing the following required electronic forms:
- Submitting a new Trimester Accommodation Request Form for every trimester in which accommodations are desired or needed.
- Allowing up to 14 business days for processing after all required documentation has been received.
Faculty members at AdventHealth University are expected to:
- Understand applicable federal laws and University guidelines regarding students with disabilities.
- Provide approved accommodations and academic adjustments upon receipt of an official accommodation letter from the Office of Disabilities.
- Maintain strict confidentiality of all disability-related information.
- Implement accommodations exactly as approved through the established University process.
- Refer students to the Office of Disabilities when appropriate.
To Support Students with Testing Accommodations, Faculty Will:
- Review the official accommodation letter promptly upon receipt.
- Coordinate with the Testing Center within one week or before the student’s next exam, whichever comes first.
- Ensure all approved accommodations (e.g., extended time, reduced-distraction environment) are properly implemented in the designated testing platform.
- Provide required testing materials and passwords to the Testing Center in a timely manner.
Faculty May Not:
- Limit, alter, or discourage the use of approved accommodations.
- Shorten extended testing time under any circumstances.
- Deny access to the Testing Center if it is an approved accommodation.
- Require a student to test in the classroom unless all approved accommodations (such as extended time and a reduced-distraction environment) are fully provided.
- Provide accommodations without an official accommodation letter from the Office of Disabilities.
Testing Center Responsibilities
The Testing Center is responsible for:
- Administering exams in accordance with approved accommodations.
- Providing a reduced-distraction environment when approved.
- Monitoring exams according to University testing policies.
Faculty Responsibilities Related to the Testing Center
- To schedule accommodations testing in the testing center, faculty will access and download the most recent version of the Test Request Form here: https://my.ahu.edu/forms and fill it out to send to this email address: TestingCenter@ahu.edu
- Provide the exam password directly to the Testing Center at least 24 hours before the scheduled test date and time.
Examplify
- Upon receipt of an accommodation letter indicating extended time, faculty must immediately notify David.Tao@ahu.edu so that approved extended time can be programmed into the system.
Canvas
- Faculty are responsible for entering approved extended time in Canvas. This is a two-step process. Set the time window of availability from date/time –to– date/time. (remember to extend for the extra time)
- Set the number of minutes allowed for the extra time by taking the number of minutes for the regular class and multiplying it by 1.5
- Please reach out to Nancy.Kucera@ahu.edu or David.Tao@ahu.edu for assistance.
All learning and all teaching take place within the framework of a worldview of the nature of reality, humanity, knowledge, and values. The roots of academic freedom in the Christian university are found in a principle that the best education is attained when intellectual growth occurs within an environment in which Biblically-based concepts are central to the aims of education.
AdventHealth University subscribes to principles of academic freedom generally held to be important in higher education. These principles make possible the disciplined and creative pursuit of truth, recognizing that freedom is never absolute and implies commensurate responsibilities.
At AHU, the principle of academic freedom is central to establishing such aims. This principle reflects a belief in freedom as an essential right in a democratic society, but with a particular focus in an academic community. It is the guarantee that instructors and students will be able to carry on the functions of learning, research, and teaching with minimum restrictions. It applies to subjects within the instructor’s professional expertise, within which there is a special need for freedom to pursue truth. It also applies to the atmosphere of open inquiry necessary in an academic community if learning is to be honest and thorough.
For the faith-based institution, academic freedom has an additional significance. This places a responsibility on Christian faculty to be self-disciplined, responsible, mature scholars, and to investigate, teach, and publish within the area of their academic competence without external restraint. They will have due regard for the character and aims of the institution and a concern for the spiritual and intellectual needs of their students.
Academic integrity is fundamental to the vision and mission of AdventHealth University. We place a high value on truth, which implies a corresponding intolerance of academic dishonesty. It is important that all students are judged on their ability, and no student is allowed an unfair advantage over others. Anything which affects the security and integrity of the learning process or diminishes the reliability and quality of a conferred degree is not acceptable. To graduate ethical, skilled professionals and citizens is a desired outcome of the University.
Ethical and Professional Behavior
Students are expected to adhere to the ethical and professional standards associated with their programs and academic courses. Such standards are generally communicated to students by instructors and are available through publications produced by professional organizations. Unethical or unprofessional behavior will be treated in the same manner as academic dishonesty.
Remote Learning - Required Acknowledgement
All academic integrity standards apply to online courses, including exams, as they do in traditional campus courses.
Students who utilize remote education through AdventHealth University (AHU) are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty and integrity, and to conduct themselves in a professional manner.
Failure to comply with the Academic Integrity and Conduct Policies of AHU may be grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including removal from access to AHU remote learning and academic programs.
A.I. Classroom Usage Policy
AHU encourages the adoption and responsible use of AI tools as aids to enhance learning and productivity. It is important to understand that AI tools are intended to support student work, and not to replace original thought or effort. These tools should be used only with explicit and clear permission from the course faculty, and then only in the ways allowed by the instructor.
All submissions, unless otherwise specified by the course faculty, must be the student’s own, original work. This includes but is not limited to draft or final assignments, papers, projects, exams/quizzes, oral presentations, discussion boards, or other work. Use of any other person, or AI for submitted work will be treated as non-original work and is considered academic misconduct and is subject to appropriate actions.
AHU encourages the adoption and responsible use of AI tools as aids to enhance learning and productivity. It is important to understand that AI tools are intended to support student work, and not to replace original thought or effort. These tools should be used only with explicit and clear permission from the course faculty, and then only in the ways allowed by the instructor.
All submissions, unless otherwise specified by the course faculty, must be the student’s own, original work. This includes but is not limited to draft or final assignments, papers, projects, exams/quizzes, oral presentations, discussion boards, or other work. Use of any other person, or AI for submitted work it will be treated as non-original work and is considered academic misconduct and is subject to appropriate penalties.
A. Refer to the AHU Campus Safety Manual
B. Refer to the Emergency Campus Closure Policy
C. Refer to the Emergency Campus Closure Satandard Operation Procedures
D. Refer to the Inclement Weather Campus Closure SOP-Florida
E. Refer to the Inclement Weather Campus Closure SOP-Denver
Citation styles reflect the priorities of each discipline and allow authors to demonstrate their disciplinary expertise. The Modern Language Association (MLA) is typically used within the humanities, social and health sciences often follow the American Psychological Association (APA), and scholars from history tend to use Chicago/Turabian styles. Even within these broad categories citation practices may vary between journals and presses within a discipline.
AdventHealth University recommends following APA style for writing assignments in undergraduate courses and official University documents. When writing for journals or other publications, authors should prepare their writing according to style requirements specified by the publication. Citation styles other than APA are appropriate when submitted to the AHU Scientific Review Committee (SRC) or the Institutional Review Committee (IRB).
Citation guidelines for APA style can be found at http://www.apastyle.org.
The Academic Catalog outlines the policies regarding deferred grades and incompletes. Deferred and Incomplete grades should be given only under special circumstances. An Incomplete is given when the student is unable to complete the work after the final withdrawal date within the trimester. (Students are responsible for completing the Request for Grade of Incomplete Form.) The Deferred grade is given when the instructor is unable to give a grade in a timely manner. A Deferred grade issued by the course instructor is to be submitted only with the department chair’s approval. The Deferred grade and Incomplete grade must be submitted when all other class grades are due to the Registrar’s Office.
Faculty are responsible for submitting final grades within the requested deadlines.
All grade books are the property of AHU and must be submitted to the Department Chair at the end of each trimester.
Faculty, including adjunct instructional and online education, must follow the grading system as indicated in the catalog. The University uses pluses and minuses for undergraduates. Grades must be consistent and students must be aware of the grading scale and how grades are calculated. This must be clearly outlined in the course syllabus. Faculty are responsible to submit final grades within the requested deadlines.
Adjunct Faculty for Clinical Practice: Contract clinical faculty follow the clinical grading criteria and procedures as indicated by the course syllabus and corresponding student handbook supplement.
Course syllabi should follow the Sample Syllabus (see Appendix C ) with regards to order and information required. An electronic copy of syllabi should be submitted to the Department Chair prior to the beginning of class for departmental approval.
All exams should be given within the regular class schedule. A schedule of final exams is published at the beginning of the trimester. Efforts will be made to schedule final exams on the day and time that the class meets.
The Commencement ceremony follows the end of the Spring trimester each year.
Administration and Faculty are required to participate in the Commencement Processional. Staff are welcome to march if they choose. Information on graduation is distributed early in the Spring trimester each year. All employees are required to attend the commencement ceremony. Adjunct Faculty are invited, but not required, to participate in the Commencement Processional.
AdventHealth University (“AHU” or “University”), a Seventh-day Adventist institution, specializes in the education of professionals in healthcare. Service-oriented and guided by the values of nurture, excellence, spirituality, and stewardship, the University seeks to develop leaders who will practice healthcare as a ministry. This philosophy is based on the idea that true wellness is not achieved through medical care alone, but through healing relationships that speak to peoples’ minds, bodies, and souls. This mission and philosophy underpins each course of study in our associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs and this Intellectual Property Policy (“Policy”). This Policy clarifies the rights and responsibilities of AHU and AHU Community Members with respect to the creation, use, disclosure, and commercialization of Intellectual Property to advance the University’s mission and benefit the public.
Refer to the full published policy in Appendix B .
Office hours and contact information must be posted by offices and available online in courses. Office hours may also be a combination of in-person and virtual. Appropriate representation of each department on campus is expected during weekdays. Adjunct faculty should check with the department in which they are teaching for designated office space. Due to the nature of online education, each course will have set forth a schedule of online hours. A schedule of office hours must be provided to the students.
It is expected of all faculty and adjunct faculty to respond to course work emails from students in their classes within 24 hours whenever possible and no later than 48 hours. Emails that are received Friday after 3:00 pm need to be answered by Monday 3:00 pm, with the exception of courses that meet on Sunday or have assignments due on Sunday.
Faculty members at AHU are required to take student attendance for each didactic and laboratory class period. The faculty member will record all student tardiness and absenteeism. The faculty member will record whether absence is excused or not excused. Faculty will record attendance of all classes in programs that are approved by the administration. Faculty members receive attendance records from the clinical faculty or preceptors and are required to drop students as listed below.
The last day of attendance must be reported on the drop/add form and must be submitted no later than 14 calendar days after the student’s last date of attendance as determined by the faculty member in their attendance records. Faculty will complete and submit an administrative drop form to the Registrar’s Office no later than 14 calendar days after the last day of attendance.
Access the Faculty Taking Student Attendance Policy.
Adjunct Faculty for Clinical Practice: Student tardiness and absenteeism should be documented according to program and departmental policies and reported to the appropriate course coordinator or program director in a timely manner.
Adjunct Faculty for Online Education: Student attendance and participation should follow the requirements outlined in the contract per the University’s policy. If a student drops a class, the last day of participation should be included on the Drop/Add Form.
Student Drop/Withdrawal Policy: Students desiring to withdraw from a class should complete the appropriate Drop/Withdrawal Form available from the Registrar’s Office.
If a student is absent for a period of two consecutive weeks, the faculty should contact the Registrar’s Office to initiate an administrative drop. This form must include the last date of attendance for the student.
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