Division of Student Affairs: Relevant Policies, Protocol, and Resources for New Faculty

Academic dishonesty 

Bowdoin has an Academic Honor Code and Social Code. It is detailed in the Code of Community Standards, which is available online. All students learn Bowdoin College’s expectations and sign the Code during Orientation. The Conduct Review Board, comprised of faculty and students and chaired by a student, hears cases, determines responsibility (if any), and in cases where a student is found responsible, makes a recommendation regarding a sanction to the Dean of Students.

If you suspect a case of academic dishonesty, please DO NOT handle it locally. Call Michael Pulju (x3866), Director of Community Standards. Consistency is critical. Include pertinent information in your syllabus or on a special handout, i.e. how the Honor Code applies to your course. Please be explicit—leave no room for ambiguity. Please connect with your department on how they may message this information to students.

Bowdoin’s learning community has a distinctive set of values and qualities which support individual growth and development. These values emerge from and reinforce the finest traditions and heritage of the College. By creating and maintaining rich relationships with the world beyond, the College prepares students for engagement in the local, national, and international communities and connects them with the larger Bowdoin family.

1. Engagement in active learning and inquiry - Such a community is characterized by a lively intellectual life of inquiry, discussion, debate, and respectful disagreement; vigorous pursuit of knowledge both independently and collaboratively; the highest standards of academic and intellectual honesty; and celebration of the arts through creation, performance, and appreciation.
2. Challenge and growth - A residential community brings together people of varying experiences, values, beliefs, and interests in the recognition that learning and personal growth come through the creative exchange created in contact with difference. Such a community also encourages its members to develop their own interests and talents as individuals and together in groups, and provides opportunities for leadership and collaboration.
3. Freedom of inquiry and expression - A learning community encourages free expression of widely varying views; it challenges assumptions and values.
4. Mutual respect and civility of discourse - In a learning community, differences are prized and respected, and disagreement is not meant or understood as personal animosity.
5. Concern for others - In a learning community, members care about their neighbors, encourage their achievements, and support them when they need assistance.
6. Shared responsibility for the community - A learning community requires honesty, high integrity, and personal responsibility of its members and expects that they will hold one another accountable for living up to these values. Members of such a community learn to collaborate with one another in solving community problems.
7. Friendship and fun - In a learning community, members find close and life-long friends, relax together, meet new people, and enjoy life. Active and varied athletic, recreational, and social activities provide a context for healthy fun, as do the spontaneous activities of students.
8. Connection to the larger community - A learning community thrives in its relative isolation from the immediate demands and commitments of the world, but cannot accomplish its mission without meaningful connections that link it to that world outside. Learning is enriched through bonds between alumni, parents, and the College, through voluntary social service and political and social action that teach students by engaging them in the world, through appropriate opportunities to study in other settings, and through a lively schedule of visitors to campus to share talents, views, and experiences.
9. Commitment to serving the common good outside as well as within the College - The learning community to which we aspire at Bowdoin values and supports the activities of its members, which contribute to the quality of life at the College, in Brunswick, in Maine, and in the world beyond. The community offers opportunities to serve and celebrates the work of those who do so.
10. Affirmation of Bowdoin's history and its finest traditions - In a learning community at Bowdoin, members join together in solemn ceremonies such as Convocation and Commencement; at celebratory events such as Homecoming and Reunion Weekend; in myriad other recurrent events that remind the community members of their connections to one another and to the past and future of their college.

Note:  Pre-major advising does not begin until the second year of a long-term or tenure track faculty appointment and is preceded by a series of training workshops for new advisors, but informal advising is common and students will undoubtedly seek you out for advice.      

Academic advising

Academic advising is perhaps the most important means by which a student, with the help of a faculty member, organizes his/her academic experience at the College. It is an essential ingredient of the Bowdoin learning experience. Each student is assigned a pre-major academic advisor at the start of their first year. The pre-major academic advising system is intended to help students take full advantage of the first two years of Bowdoin and begin to plan the remaining years. It provides a framework within which a student can work with a designated faculty member to make informed academic decisions. Such a partnership is particularly important during the period of transition and adjustment that typically takes place during the first year in college. Students must declare their majors by early in the fourth semester of their college enrollment and afterwards are advised by members of their major departments.

Faculty who have been at the College for a year are asked to serve as Pre-Major Academic Advisors; however, there is all kinds of informal advising that takes place within and beyond the classroom. Students at Bowdoin College are expected to take responsibility for their own learning and decision-making. Toward that end, students are asked to consider and establish clear goals and priorities for their learning, recognizing that they may change over time.  

Academic advisors may make recommendations about courses, combinations of courses, or direct students towards other resources of the College. They may also play a role at moments of academic difficulty. The effectiveness of the system depends on the commitment of the student and the advisor.

Resources for students in academic distress

-Pre-Major or Major Academic Advisor (see Polaris)

-The students’ dean (see Polaris)

-Director of the Baldwin Center for Learning and Teaching and Lecturer in Education, Katie Byrnes (x5035)

-Director of Quantitative Reasoning Program and Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Eric Gaze (x3135)

-Director of Writing and Rhetoric and Lecturer in English, Meredith McCarroll (x5056)

-Associate Director of the Baldwin Center, Academic Communications, Lisa Flanagan (x3056)

-Assistant Director of the Baldwin Center, Academic Coaching, Tina Chong (x3825)

-The Counseling and Wellness Services (x3145)

-The student’s athletic coach (x3326)

Communicating about a student’s academic performance

An electronic Comment Card system to report academic concerns or highlight achievement is available via the Faculty Gateway (link through Polaris button). This is a great mechanism for communicating with the student, advisor, dean, and if applicable, athletic coach. Failure cards are generated at the end of the semester and accompany grade reports. Our hope is that if a student is issued a failure card, they should have also received comment cards over the course of the semester.

Exceptions to academic rules and procedures

The Recording Committee (for a more complete description, refer to the Academic Handbook), a committee of the faculty, staff, and students meets every other week to consider student petitions for exceptions to academic rules and procedures (e.g. dropping a course after the deadline.) Course instructors, advisors, Counseling and Wellness Services, Health Services, and the Office of the Dean of Students may provide input.The standard of judgment for an exception is an extreme medical or personal circumstance.

On-call emergency contacts 

The Administrator-on-Call (AOC) serves as the primary crisis responder for campus.  If need be the AOC can reach the doctor or counselor-on-call.  Please contact Security (x3314) any time after hours when classes are in session to reach the AOC.

Why direct a student to the Dean of Students office? 

If you are concerned about an academic or personal problem and don’t know where to turn, call: 

• Melissa Quinby '91, Senior Associate Dean of Students and Director of First Year Experience; First Years (x3489)
• Danielle Hussey, Assistant Class Dean (Sophmores) (x3223)
• Khoa Khuong '04, Associate Class Dean and Associate Director of International Student Experience (Juniors and F-1 Visa Holders) (x7026)
• Roosevelt Boon, Assistant Class Dean (Seniors) (x2937)
• Lisa Hardej '05, Assistant Dean of Case Management (x2936)
• Kristina Bethea Odejimi, Dean of Students (x3490)

Other key resources in Student Affairs

• Eduardo Pazos, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for Inclusion and Diversity and Director of Multicultural Student Life (x4196)
• Oliver Goodrich, Director of the Rachel Lord Center for Religious and Spiritual Life (x2977)
• Lisa Bouffard, Test Center Coordinator (x5112)
• Lesley Levy, Director of Student Accessibility (x4187)
• Rachel Reinke, Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Health Education (x3037)
• Kate Stern, Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Inclusion and Diversity & Director of
  the Sexuality, Women and Gender Center (x4223)

Why direct someone to Counseling? 

Student disclosures are not unusual. If you are worried about a student, you can call Counseling and Wellness Services (x3145) or the student’s dean. Useful information can be found on the Counseling Services website.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974

Federal legislation (FERPA) has established guidelines governing the way in which colleges maintain and supervise students’ educational records. The legislation seeks to guarantee that these files are used only for legitimate educational purposes and are not released outside the College without the permission of the student. The College’s Student Privacy Rights Policies are detailed in the Code of Community Standards.  

“Education records” are records maintained by the College that are directly related to
students. These include biographical and demographic data, application materials, course
schedules, grades and work-study records. As faculty members, you should know that a
student’s “educational record” does not include information in your private files used
only as a personal memory aid and not accessible or revealed to any other person.
When communicating information about a student, the best guide regarding appropriate
communication is whether the person with whom you are communicating the information has
an “educational interest” or need to know. If the person does not, then you should not share
the information. For example, if you are concerned about the health or well-being of a
student, it is absolutely appropriate to contact the student’s dean, advisor, member of the
Center for Learning and Teaching, or the student’s athletic coach (at Bowdoin, we expect
athletic coaches to promote the academic success of their student athletes). However, if you
are concerned about a case of academic dishonesty in your class, it would not be appropriate
to share the student’s name with a faculty colleague, but you could certainly seek advice and
discuss the case without revealing the student’s name.

Please be especially careful in your handling of grades. Grades should only be accessible to
the student, the staff in the Registrar’s Office, and the student’s advisor, dean, and coach, if
relevant. Note: Coaches do receive grade information for their student athletes at the end of
each semester.

Conversely, a student’s dean will provide information about a student to you if you have an
educational interest. The Dean will not give you all the specific details unless it is necessary
or the student has given permission. For example, the Office of the Dean of Students will
inform you that a student in your course has taken a Medical Leave of Absence, but the
student’s dean will not tell you medical details unless the student has given the dean
permission to share that information with you.

Health Services and Counseling and Wellness Services appreciate hearing your concerns
about your students and will listen to all you have to say, but by law (HIPAA) they cannot
share medical information about a student without her/his permission.

Communicating with a Student’s Parents or Guardians

It would not be uncommon for a parent to call you to discuss their student. Do not hesitate to direct those calls to the student’s dean. Deans are often the designated resource for parent or guardian communication. Similarly, if a parent contacts you to advocate on behalf their student, perhaps about getting into a course or contesting a grade, it is best to encourage the parent to have the student reach out directly.  Our goal is to have students advocate for themselves, although we recognize that there may be times when they may be unable to do so. 

Specific policies regarding communication with parents or guardians:

Consistent with Bowdoin’s efforts to promote each student’s personal growth and autonomy, and to preserve a climate of trust with them, the College will not release any information contained within a student’s educational record to parents without the student’s consent. However, when appropriate and as allowed by FERPA, the College does permit the release of certain information of dependent students (as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 152) to parents without the student’s consent. The specific instances in which Bowdoin will and will not notify parents warrant particular attention.

Note: The College reserves the right to notify a parent or guardian of their student’s status in situations not specifically listed below if the circumstances warrant and if it is in the best interest of the student and the College community.

Notice of a Student’s Academic Standing

The College believes that each student is ultimately responsible for their academic progress and performance. Therefore, Bowdoin communicates only with students regarding their academic performance. For instance, in an effort to foster students’ sense of responsibility for their academic endeavors, grades, comment cards, and failure cards are sent directly to students and are not released to parents or guardians unless a student specifically requests in writing to the Office of the Registrar that they be released. While students are encouraged to share information regarding their academic progress with their parents, Bowdoin does not mandate it. 

Academically, however, there are instances when the College will typically notify parents of a student’s academic performance. Parents will be notified of a student’s academic standing regardless of consent when there is a change of status, i.e., when a student is placed on academic probation, when a student is academically suspended, or if a student is academically dismissed from Bowdoin. In these cases, copies of correspondence with the student that outline the student’s academic standing will be sent to the student’s parents or guardian.

Notice of a Student’s Disciplinary/Conduct Standing

During a student’s tenure at Bowdoin, the College expects each student to take responsibility for their actions. Upon arrival at Bowdoin, each student reads and signs the Academic Honor Code and Social Code (that is embedded in the Code of Community Standards) that serve as a standard and guide for students’ behavior. Signing the pledge implies a student’s commitment to uphold the principles and rules outlined in the Codes.

Since the Code of Community Standards (CCS) are meant to preserve the integrity and safety of the Bowdoin community, violations of either Code warrant a College response. Generally, the College will communicate any disciplinary response to a CCS violation directly with the student, and parents or guardians will not be notified, unless the student chooses to inform his or her parents. However, if the College response results in a change in the student’s status (i.e., dismissal, suspension, probation, and in some cases, reprimand), copies of correspondence with the student that detail the resolution of the situation will be sent to the student’s parents or guardian. Likewise, Bowdoin reserves the right to inform the parents of any student if the student violates any Federal, State, or local law, or campus regulation governing the use or possession of alcohol or drugs.

Notice of a Student’s Health/Welfare Standing

Information regarding a student’s health and/or psychological welfare is protected by strict policies instituted to ensure the student’s confidentiality. While students are encouraged to share information regarding their health and/or psychological welfare with their parents, without students’ informed consent (typically in writing), the College cannot share this type of information with their parents or guardian.

Bowdoin recognizes, however, that situations arise in which a student may be unable to give informed consent (e.g., accident or alcohol poisoning leading to unconsciousness, psychotic episode). Where possible, the College will allow the individual student time to make direct notification to parent or guardian or explicitly identify a third party to make contact with the parent or guardian. In such instances when a student is being treated by an external healthcare provider, the College expects the external provider to determine the appropriateness of parental notification and undertake such notification when deemed appropriate. Having the external provider directly notify the parents ensures that parents receive the most informed and precise information regarding their child’s well-being. In these cases, a representative of the College is always available for further follow-up by way of the on-call system accessible through the Office of Safety and Security.

Likewise, if a student is deemed a threat to him or herself or to others, the College may decide to notify parents without the consent of the student. The College may also contact a parent or guardian if it comes to the attention of school officials that a student has been inexplicably absent from class or campus for a prolonged period of time.

Student class absences for medical or personal reasons

Bowdoin does not have an attendance policy (refer to the Faculty Handbook, Conduct of Instruction, Attendance). Use your syllabus to define any attendance expectation you have. Health and Counseling and Wellness do not write notes excusing a student from class or an exam. In rare instances, they will communicate with the Office of the Dean of Students which will inform you if the student cannot be in class because of an exceptional medical or personal circumstance. However, it is generally left to the student to engage directly with faculty on class absences. Faculty have the discretion to decide how to handle absences and if any arrangements will be permitted. Students are always responsible for missed work and assignments.

Student class absences for athletic conflicts

Thirty-six percent of Bowdoin students participate in intercollegiate sports. All students are responsible for all course material. In recognizing the educational value of extra-curricular pursuits, you are encouraged to make reasonable accommodations when conflicts arise, but you are under no obligation to do so. Student athletes are instructed by their coaches to bring conflicts to your attention as soon as possible. The Department of Athletics works hard to limit conflicts. In advance of each season, Tim Ryan, Ashmead White Director of Athletics, will share with faculty the travel schedule for teams. All concerns should be directed to Tim’s attention (x3247).

Students with Accessibility Needs

Lesley Levy is the Director of Student Accessibility. Her office reviews all student requests for accommodations and the necessary documentation of a disability and determines what reasonable accommodation(s) a student is approved for. Upon request from the student, the Student Accessibility Office communicates (by letter) the approved accommodation(s) to the appropriate instructors and other persons. Lesley encourages students to follow-up in person with each of their professors to discuss academic accommodations. Please consider including a disability statement on your syllabus and
announcing to the class your desire to meet with students regarding accommodations, as these are two things that go a long way to encourage students with disabilities to meet with you.

Faculty members play an important role in determining whether the approved accommodation(s) are appropriate in the context of their course design and evaluation. If a faculty member believes that the approved accommodation fundamentally alters an essential element of the course, they should contact the Director of Student Accessibility immediately. Changes or additions to the approved accommodations are sometimes made mid-semester because student needs may not be entirely understood or may change after the accommodations are first approved. Faculty will be notified of any changes or additions.

In the fall of 2018, the College opened a test center on the second floor of Hawthorne and Longfellow (H-L) Library. Students with test-related accommodations (extra time on exams, reduced distraction space) and others students who need to take make-up exams are able to take proctored exams in the test center. Please contact the Test Center on how to make the necessary arrangements.

Notetaking Assistants are arranged through the Student Accessibility Office. You may be asked for assistance in identifying note taking assistants if no volunteers come forward.

There may be financial assistance available for students who are interested in (and for whom there are indications to support) neuropsychological testing to explore a disability diagnosis. Students should work directly with the Director of Student Accessibility if looking for financial assistance.

All disability-related information is confidential and should only be discussed with the student and/or the Student Accessibility Office. More information is available in the Faculty Guide to Accommodations for Students with Disabilities and Lesley is available to discuss individual needs and circumstances (x4187).

Student-Faculty interaction beyond the classroom

Students will sometimes invite you to do a talk, serve on a panel, attend a dinner, etc. Much of this activity will be based in the College Houses. Please participate whenever you can.  Interaction with faculty within and beyond the classroom is what students describe as the most satisfying part of their experience. Residential Life (x3225) also has money available to help fund a special speaker, dinner, etc. in the College Houses. 

Special funds for meals with students

The Office of the Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs provides meal tickets to faculty to promote student-faculty interaction beyond the classroom. You will receive a few at the start of the year and your Academic Departmental Coordinator should have some on hand as well.

The Office of the Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs also has a small pool of
funds to help defray the cost of entertaining students in your home. Reimbursement is $8 per
student per event with a maximum reimbursement of $150 per event for food and beverages.
These funds are for group entertainment, not 1-on-1 meetings and alcohol cannot be
purchased. For reimbursement, submit itemized receipts through Workday and use codes
CC419.

Special funds to support student research

Corey Colwill, Associate Director of the Center for Cocurricular Opportunities,
administers the mini-grant program through the Office of Student Fellowships and
Research. Throughout the academic year, students may apply for mini-grants worth up to
$1000 to support research expenses and travel associated with a research project (e.g., to
an archive or national conference). More information about the application and eligibility
criteria can be found on the Student Fellowships and Research website.

Special funds to support students with unexpected needs

The Office of the Dean of Students has some grant and loan funds available through their Supplemental and Emergency Funding for aided students.  For example, a high need student may need to return home suddenly because of a death in the family. Contact should be made with the student’s dean who will evaluate and explain criteria for funding based on each student’s situation.