Policies and Resources

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

The College of Charleston is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who anticipate or experience disability-related barriers in the academic setting should notify their professor, and also initiate contact with the Center for Disability Services (CDS) to move forward with the college’s established accommodation process (email: snap@cofc.edu; phone:  843-953-1431; location:  Lightsey Center 104). Students already connected with CDS for academic-related accommodations should share their Professor Notification Letter (PNL) with each professor as early in the semester as possible so that accommodations can be made in a timely manner. The PNL informs faculty of potential course access and accommodations that might be necessary and reasonable. It is the student’s responsibility to follow this process each semester.

OAKS and Course Website (WordPress)

OAKS, including Gradebook, Dropbox, and Discussion BOard, will be used for this course throughout the semester to provide access to the syllabus and class materials and grades for each assignment, which will be regularly posted. Our course website on WordPress will house the syllabus itself along with assignment sheets and schedule.

Inclement Weather, Pandemic or Substantial Interruption of Instruction

If in-person classes are suspended, faculty will announce to their students a detailed plan for a change in modality to ensure the continuity of learning. All students must have access to a computer equipped with a web camera, microphone, and Internet access. Resources are available to provide students with these essential tools.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)

In this class, we may use generative artificial intelligence (GAI) writing tools such as ChatGPT. Your professor will inform you as to when, where, and how these tools will be permitted for use, along with guidance for referencing. Any use of GAI must also be cited and acknowledged. Any use outside of this permission constitutes a violation of the CofC Honor Code. 

The Center for Student Learning 

The CSL offers academic support services for most College classes in a centralized location in the Addlestone Library. Services include drop-in and by appointment tutoring, SI (Supplemental Instruction), and academic coaching, offered at no additional charge for CofC students. Peer educators—recommended by faculty and trained by CSL staff—comprise the bulk of the staff, and as one of the largest student employers on campus, the CSL can offer on-campus employment to 130+ qualified students each year. All students are encouraged to visit, call, or email the CSL at the start of each semester to discuss which academic support services align with their current course schedule; they can also request a Personalized Resource Plan.

Attendance Verification

Only students officially registered (graded or auditing) for this course may attend class.  During the week following the drop/add deadline, the professor will verify student enrollments in this course.  Any student appearing on the class roll but determined not to have attended the class even once will be removed, except for cases where a student is absent because of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.

Land and Labor Acknowledgement

We are located on the traditional lands of the first people of Charleston: the Etiwan, Kiawah, Edisto Natchez Kusso, Santee, and Wassamassaw people (also known as Varner Town Indians). We acknowledge and honor all indigenous people who lived, labored and were faithful stewards of the land. We express our deep gratitude for the land and continued faithful stewardship to the next generations.

We also acknowledge the lives and labor of the Africans who were enslaved to build Charleston, South Carolina. On this campus and in this space, African and African-descended people used skilled labor in ornamental ironwork, historic architecture, and low country agriculture and food production. As a member of the College of Charleston community, I acknowledge the Black lives and labor that built our city and our campus.

Diversity and Inclusion in the classroom

I am committed to creating an inclusive and accessible classroom environment for all students. I view the diversity that students bring to this class as a resource, strength, and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, generational status, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, religious background, and immigration status. Any suggestions for promoting a positive and open environment will be appreciated and given serious consideration.

I will gladly honor your request to address you by the name and gender pronouns of your choice. Please advise me of this early in the semester via your college-issued email account or during office hours so that I may make the appropriate notation on my class list.

Inclusion

The Multicultural Student Programs and Services provides a safe haven for students to develop connections with other students. It exists to help students be successful, provide advocacy, support services, and culturally based programs that educate about diversity and multiculturalism and empower them to be agents of social change in an increasingly diverse and global community.

The Gender & Sexuality Equity Center enhances the well-being of our diverse LGBTQ+ community at the College of Charleston. We provide programs, services and resources to build and maintain a visible and accessible community for our LGBTQ+ students. For more information about LGBTQ+ resources including the Campus Pride Center, Gender Inclusive Facilities, Name and Pronouns information, and more. Please visit at the Campus Pride Center at 9 ½ Glebe Street or contact Dr. Naomi Simmons at simmonsn1@cofc.edu.

Mental & Physical Wellbeing

We take each student’s mental and physical wellbeing seriously. If you find yourself experiencing physical illnesses, please reach out to student health services (843.953.5520). And if you find yourself experiencing any mental health challenges (for example, anxiety, depression, stressful life events, sleep deprivation, and/or loneliness/homesickness) please consider contacting either the Counseling Center (professional counselors at CofC Counseling Center or 843.953.5640 3^rd Floor of Robert Scott Small Building) or the Students 4 Support (certified volunteers through texting “4support” to 839863, or meet with them in person 411 (4^th Floor) Stern Center). Learn more about Students 4 Support on CofC’s Hub. These services are there for you to help you cope with difficulties you may be experiencing and to maintain optimal physical and mental health.

Food & Housing Resources

Many CofC students report experiencing food and housing insecurity. If you are facing challenges in securing food (such as not being able to afford groceries or get sufficient food to eat every day) and housing (such as lacking a safe and stable place to live), please contact the Dean of Students for support (SALT – Student Affairs Leadership Team). Also, you can go to Student Food and Housing Insecurity to learn about food and housing assistance that is available to you. In addition, there are several resources on and off campus to help. You can visit the Cougar Pantry in the Stern Center (2nd floor), a student-run food pantry that provides dry-goods and hygiene products at no charge to any student in need. Please also consider reaching out to Professor ABC if you are comfortable in doing so.

Safe Environment

CofC is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of prohibited discrimination, including sexual harassment and violence (i.e. sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and gender or sex-based bullying and stalking). If you have experienced discrimination or harassment, help and support are available. CofC employees, other than designated confidential resources, must report information they receive about prohibited discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This means that if you tell me about a situation involving sexual harassment, sexual violence, discrimination, or harassment, I must share the information with the Title IX Coordinator. You may speak to someone confidentially by contacting the Office of Victim Services at 843-953-2273, Counseling Center at 843-953-5640, or Student Health Services at 843-953-5520. You can also report any sexual misconduct or discrimination, or learn more about your options and resources, by contacting the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs at 843-953-5754.

Religious Accommodation for Students (4.6):
(Faculty/Administration Manual VIII.A.10)

The College of Charleston community is enriched by students of many faiths that have various religious observances, practices, and beliefs.  We value student rights and freedoms, including the right of each student to adhere to individual systems of religion.  The College prohibits discrimination against any student because of such student’s religious belief or any absence thereof.

The College acknowledges that religious practices differ from tradition to tradition and that the demands of religious observances in some traditions may cause conflicts with student schedules.  In affirming this diversity, like many other colleges and universities, the College supports the concept of “reasonable accommodation for religious observance” in regard to class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and other academic work requirements, unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship on the College.  Faculty are required, as part of their responsibility to students and the College, to ascribe to this policy and to ensure its fair and full implementation.

The accommodation request imposes responsibilities and obligations on both the individual requesting the accommodation and the College.  Faculty members are expected to reasonably accommodate individual religious practices.  Examples of reasonable accommodations for student absences might include:  rescheduling of an exam or giving a make-up exam for the student in question; altering the time of a student’s presentation; allowing extra-credit assignments to substitute for missed class work or arranging for an increased flexibility in assignment dates.  Regardless of any accommodation that may be granted, students are responsible for satisfying all academic objectives, requirements and prerequisites as defined by the instructor and by the College.

2023 – 2024 Religious Holidays¹

¹ The previously included Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha falls outside the regular academic year and is therefore not listed here. Other religious holidays such as Orthodox Christian Christmas (1/7), Sankranti (1/14) and Purim (3/7) fall outside of the semester class schedule (breaks and weekends) and therefore are also not listed.
² All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the evening before the date given.
³ Orthodox Christian holidays begin at sunset on the evening before the date given.