Being available for consultation with students outside of scheduled classes is an important part of a faculty member's responsibilities. Faculty should be responsive to student-initiated contact by returning emails and other messages within a reasonable period to facilitate student learning and be consistent with professional practice. All full- and part-time faculty engaged in teaching are expected to be available during the academic term to meet synchronously with students outside of their scheduled instructional hours. They should be available to engage with students for a reasonable amount and range of times that are convenient for the faculty member and for most students and are in alignment with their unit’s policies. Although faculty are not expected to repeat class lectures, they should be responsive to follow-up questions, clarifications on assignments, and course-related inquiries.
Faculty will inform students of their availability for consultation outside of scheduled classes by including specific information about the process for establishing in-person or online appointments in the course syllabi and by posting it on the official course site. Faculty should also set student expectations for an acceptable response time to student‐initiated contact. The faculty member’s plan for responsiveness to student messages should be clearly stated in terms of hours or days in the syllabus and on the course site. In responding to students, faculty are expected to adhere to the policies relating to students with disabilities, to the general student attendance policy, and student absence policy for university sanctioned activities.
Faculty must evaluate all student work with sufficient promptness to enhance the learning experience and provide sufficient graded feedback early in the term and before the deadline for withdrawing from classes to enable students to assess their progress in the course. Faculty should communicate to students a reasonable plan for returning feedback on assignments and/or tests that is clearly stated in terms of hours or days in the syllabus and on the course site.
The chairperson/area coordinator/program director of each academic unit, in consultation with that academic unit's dean, will develop procedures to implement this policy.
UMSL Office of Academic Affairs, February 2025
Reviewed and endorsed by the Faculty Senate, January - February 2025