OFFICIAL

Policy and Procedure Statement 4.03	Professional Responsibilities Related
Original: Fa/86	to but not included with Teaching
Review Cycle: Oct. 1, E3Y	(11 paragraphs)
Review Date: 2/1/2002
Reviewer: AVPAA

This statement concerns the professional responsibilities that instructors incur as result of their position but may not be considered part of teaching itself. The topics include the following, with paragraph numbers in parentheses:

Counseling and learning assistance services (2)

Confidentiality (3-9)

Student Organizations (10)

COUNSELING AND LEARNING ASSISTANCE SERVICES

1. The University offers many services intended to assist the student academically, professionally, and personally. These services include the Counseling Center, which provides academic, career, and psychological counseling; Special Services, which assists first generation college students and students from families with low incomes; the Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC), which assists students in their study and classroom performance; the Write Stuff, which instructs students in writing; and the Mathematics Laboratory. Instructors have the opportunity to recommend these services whenever appropriate.

CONFIDENTIALITY

2. Instructors should maintain professional confidentiality with both colleagues and students. Instructors should not divulge information such as the grades, academic weaknesses, or personal problems of a student to anyone except a person with a professional interest in both the student and the information. Except in emergencies or as otherwise authorized by law, no confidential information should be divulged without the student's consent. The following suggestions are intended to ensure confidentiality.
3. If a student is absent when graded examinations are returned, the student's examination should not, without written permission from the student, be conveyed to him or her through another student.
4. Instructors should not display assigned student work to other instructors except for assistance in grading or in helping the student to improve
5. Instructors should not use a student's work as classroom example - even as an anonymous example - without the student's consent.
6. Instructors should not post grades in a manner that would publicly identify the student as would, for example, identification by name or social security number.
7. Instructors should allow each student access to his or her own records.
8. Instructors should be aware that both federal and state laws protect privacy.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

9. Student organizations of academic value such as Alpha Chi, Golden Key, and disciplinary honorary societies depend upon participation by both faculty and students. Instructors are encouraged to assist these organizations and to recommend participation to appropriate students.

CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

10. This PPS has been approved by the reviewer listed below and represents Texas State's Division of Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superceded.

Review Cycle: _____________________________		Review Date: _______________________
Reviewer: ________________________________		Date: _____________________________
Approved: ________________________________		Date: _____________________________
	Perry Moore
	Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Texas State University-San Marcos

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Last Updated: June 28, 2005

Send comments and questions to:tg12@txstate.edu