The orientation covered several topics to support student success including the importance of faculty-student relationships, advising services, disability services, the attendance policy, student reinstatement requests, notices of concern, and ways faculty can promote retention such as utilizing tutoring services and being engaging with students. The attendance policy requires daily attendance tracking in the first week and allows for administrative withdrawal for excessive absences.

1. September 20 & 21, 2012

2. Fall Faculty Orientation In-Service
September 20 & 21, 2012
Paul Zang, Director of Counseling and Assessment
Karen Weissert, Coordinator of Academic Support Services
Nancy Daily, Disability Services Coordinator
30 minutes
• The importance of the student-faculty relationship
• Advising Services – a description of the services we offer.
• Disability Services
• Baker College Attendance Policy
• Student Request for Reinstatement into Class after Withdrawal
• Student Notice of Concern (NOC)
• Academic Office Hours

3. Faculty Involvement in Promoting Student Retention+
“Studies have found that the successful integration
of students into the college environment promotes
commitment to postsecondary education and
increases the likelihood that students will persist.”*
*John Braxton et al., ―Faculty teaching skills and their influence on the college student departure process,‖ Journal of
College Student Development (2000), 1, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3752/is_200003/ai_n8898932/pg_1
+http://www.hanoverresearch.com/library/assets/libPdfs/Faculty%20Involvement%20in%20Promoting%20Student%20Re
tention%20-%20Membership.pdf - © 2008 The Hanover Research Council

4. Embrace undergraduates and their learning:
• “Instructors must strive to support both the academic
(performance) and developmental (self-confidence, social
integration) growth of students. In so doing, instructors must
develop the talents of their students and learn how to support
students who are less academically prepared than their peers.
• Critical to this effort is the early establishment of a connection
with students. Instructors are encouraged to set a positive tone
that focuses on the students’ success from the outset of a
particular course. It is important, for example, that instructors
reassure students who feel overwhelmed by academic workloads
by confirming that they are confident in their students’ abilities to
succeed and will be available to provide help when needed.
• Retention may be facilitated when students understand the
academic support mechanisms available through their
instructors.”+
+http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lsaret/LauraSaretOaktonWebSite/Ways%20Faculty%20Can%20Encourage%20Student%20Ret
ention.htm

5. Things YOU can do:
• Be positive and engaging with your students
• Encourage Learning Support Services (LSS) – Free tutoring
• Arrive 15 minutes before class to build relationships and
answer questions
• Respond to student e-mail correspondence
• Refer students to the Academic Office for Academic
Advising, Counseling, and Registrar services

6. Academic Office Counseling & Advising Services
Academic Counseling and Advising includes:
Counselors and Advisors assist students with scheduling
classes, drops, adds, withdrawals, amnesty, explanation of
Rotation and Step Plans, waiver testing, graduation
requirements and academic appeals.
Career Counseling includes:
Counselors utilize the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to help
students make realistic decisions about their career choices.
Personal Counseling includes:
Counselors help students with personal issues and will refer
them to outside clinics, agencies, etc. for extended services,
if necessary.

7. Disability Services & Special Needs Accommodations:
Students with physical limitations and/or documented
learning disabilities will be provided accommodations
upon request. Questions about accommodations
should be directed to the Disability Coordinator,
Nancy Daily, (810) 766-4137 or Lori Crawford-Milbrot,
Career Assessment Coordinator, (810) 766-4126. Baker
College does not provide testing for learning
disabilities. Students not tested in Elementary or High
school will need to pay for testing by a licensed
psychologist.

8. Information regarding students’ disabilities will
NOT be disclosed to instructors
Information regarding specific approved
accommodations WILL be disclosed to instructors
at the discretion of students approved for services

10. Baker College of Flint
Volunteer Note Taker Instructions for Instructors
Date
Instructor’s Name Class Section
Student Requiring a Note Taker:
Dear Instructor,
You have received this letter because you will have a student (see above) with a disability
requiring a note taker in your class. Please recruit a volunteer note taker at the beginning of class.
Volunteer note takers will receive a gift at the end of the Quarter. Volunteer hours are beneficial for use
on scholarship applications, resumes, and public service requirements. Note takers should have very good
attendance in class.
When you ask your class for a volunteer, please remember the identity of the student receiving
notes is confidential. The note taker must sign the note taker agreement (in the packet) and deliver it to
the Academic Office. You will also be given a packet of carbon note taker paper to give to the note taker.
Let the note taker know for whom s/he is note taking by showing him/her the student’s picture from your
attendance roster.
If you are unable to get a note taker or do not need a note taker for your class, please check
the appropriate box below and return this form to the Academic Office.
I have recruited , UIN: to be the note
taker.
□ I was unable to get a volunteer to take notes.
□ I will give the student a copy of my lecture notes.
□ This student is not in my class.
□ Other:
If you have any questions, please call or email Nancy Daily (810 766-4137 nancy.daily@baker.edu),
or Lori Crawford-Milbrot (810 766-4126 Lori.crawfordmilbrot@baker.edu).
Please return this completed form to the Disability Services Coordinator, Academic Office.

11. BAKER COLLEGE
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Since September 2008

12. *
Student Success and Persistence!
* The Academic Office needs your
support throughout the quarter
* We know that good attendance is
directly correlated to success!

13. WEEK ONE
ATTENDANCE and CALL TRACKING via the Web
All full and part-time faculty must take daily attendance.
Call Tracking on OASIS:
* Attendance is due by 9am the day after your class meets.
* Instructors will phone all returning students who miss a class session in
the first week.
* Please review your “Web Attendance for Baker College Faculty”
booklet for directions.
* New students who are absent during week one will be called by the
Admissions department.
* Your Dean or Department Chair will automatically be notified if your
attendance is late.
* Please review FERPA rules which are distributed prior to week 1 each
quarter.
Our ultimate goal is to find out if these absent students still plan on
attending this quarter.

14. * Prior to Tuesday, Week 2
* The Academic office will identify those students who were
absent during week 1, but have not been contacted by an
instructor.
* We will administratively withdraw students who have not
attended any classes during week one, unless we have
documentation from the instructor and/or student
indicating the student’s intent to attend.

15. Criteria for administrative withdrawals include:
* Student is absent the first week of the course, unless documentation has
been provided by the instructor (via Call Tracking) or point person in charge
of attendance.
* Student is absent TWO consecutive weeks, unless documentation has been
provided by the instructor (Student Referral form ) or point person in charge
of attendance.
* Student is absent more than 40% of the class, unless documentation has
been provided by the instructor (Student Referral form) or point person in
charge of attendance.
* Additionally, if an instructor thinks that a student’s absences have been
excessive and unjustified, the instructor may request that the student be
withdrawn from the course.

16. Potential Excessive Absence
Warning Letter to Students

17. Dear A Student,
Baker College cares about your academic success. Therefore, please be
informed that you are in potential violation of Baker College's
Attendance Policy for Section 01690 - COLLEGE & CAREER PRP.
Currently, you have missed 10% of this course. If you miss 40% of
this course, or two consecutive weeks of this course, you will be
administratively withdrawn for excessive absenteeism.
Class withdrawals can negatively impact both your financial aid and
your academic program. Students may be left with a balance due to the
college. It is recommended you:
* Contact your instructor immediately to discuss your status in
this course.
* Contact the Academic office immediately at (810) 766-4112 if you
do not plan to complete this course.
Attendance has a direct bearing on a student's future employability,
financial aid, and academic performance. Students are expected to
attend every class session for each course in which they are
registered. Please refer to the Baker College Catalog/Student
Handbook for the Attendance Policy at
https://www.baker.edu/departments/admissions/BakerHB2/index.html.
This will be your only attendance notification for this class. Thank
you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Academic Office
BAKER COLLEGE OF FLINT

18. Student Request for Reinstatement
into Class after Withdrawal

19. Dear Instructor: Smith
UIN: 101-12369
Student: A. Student
You have a "Student Request for Reinstatement into Class" message from this student as of Month, Date,
Year. This reinstatement request appears in bold red font on your Section Utilities screen in ORBIT. It is
YOUR responsibility to complete the application for reinstatement process WITHIN 24 hours of the
student’s application by first logging into the SOLAR System and going to the Section Utilities page on the
ORBIT System. Click on the Enter link in the Request for Reinstatement section. You will APPROVE or
DENY the request for reinstatement and enter a plan for completing missed course work, projected date for
completing missed course work, and a comment explaining YOUR decision to APPROVE or DENY the
student for reinstatement back into class. Failure to respond to students’ Reinstatement Applications may
result in serious Title IV financial aid outcomes for students and Baker College of Flint. Your Dean and Dr.
Johnson, V.P. For Academics, will be monitoring your compliance with this process.
Sincerely,
Amy Atwell
Academic Administrative Assistant
Baker College of Flint
1050 West Bristol Road
Flint,MI 48507
Office:(810)766-8750
Fax:(810)766-4020
E-mail;amy.atwell@baker.edu

20. Student Notice of
Concern
The NOC is a Faculty communication
tool used to electronically notify the
Academic Office regarding concerns
Faculty have about students that
CANNOT be resolved at the
student/instructor level and represent
obstacles to student success.

21. The NOC is not a substitution for
normal instructor rapport with students.
Rather, the NOC is to be used when
normal classroom management
strategies fail.

22. When these risk factors appear to interfere with students’ success then a NOC is appropriate:
1. Divorce or end of a relationship or domestic abuse
2. Marriage
3. Change in living arrangements (new roommates or moving in with a significant other)
4. Move to a new residence
5. Pregnancy or a new baby
6. Longer hours or increased responsibility at work
7. Financial concerns
8. Children leaving home or moving back home
9. Care-taking responsibilities for elderly or ill family members
10. Significant changes in family routine
11. Death of a family member
12. Significant health problems of a family member
13. Change in working status of a family member (begins work, changes jobs or retires)
14. Frequent travel, either for business or for pleasure
15. Limited leisure or free time
16. Failing grades
17. Excessive absences
18. Loss of transportation
19. Foreclosure or eviction

23. Do NOT submit a Notice of Concern if you only want to
document:
 an observation or interaction with a student but are NOT
requesting intervention by an Advisor.
 an absence/tardy. If this is an ongoing issue which has
not been resolved with normal classroom management
strategies then a request for advisor intervention is
appropriate.
 missed assignments.
 failed assignments.
 poor study habits.

24. Disruptive behavior is detrimental to the academic community
because it interferes with the learning process, inhibits the
ability of instructors to teach effectively, diverts college energy
and resources away from the educational mission and may
indicate a significant level of personal problems or distress on the
part of the disrupter.

25. Disruptive Behavior IS:
- The student in your class who is persistently tardy or leaves early
- The student who talks incessantly while you are delivering a lecture
- The student who loudly and frequently interrupts the flow of class with questions or
interjections
- The student who becomes belligerent when you confront his or her inappropriate
behavior in class
- Cell phones ringing in a classroom, text messaging, chatting online
- Persistent and unreasonable demands for time and attention both in and out of the
classroom
Disruptive Behavior is NOT:
- Cultural differences
- Appropriate demonstrations of disagreements or differences of opinion
- A clash of values or beliefs
- Needing extra time or attention based on reasonable accommodation*
*http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/examplesofdisruptivebehavior

26. Academic Office Hours
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 7:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Walk-in and appointment options available for students

27. http://guides.baker.edu/Flintfacultytraining
The Academic Office would like to introduce a new ONLINE
Faculty training guide.
A variety of academic topics will now be available to assist
Faculty with basic academic responsibilities and procedures.
You will have access to a growing and current number of
relevant topics including those discussed in this presentation.
Your Dean will send you this link to your Baker College email.