This document outlines expectations of members of the faculty at Avalon Center. It also describes the grievance procedures to which the faculty members are subject.
Competence
Faculty should endeavor to teach classes carefully and competently. Faculty should prepare adequately for each class, should strive consistently to improve their performance in the classroom, and should keep abreast of new scholarly work and teaching materials in their field and, where appropriate, update their teaching to reflect developments. Because of the online component of our curriculum, faculty should stay up-to-date with the technology being used by the Center to manage courses and student records.
Reliability
All Avalon teachers are expected to fulfil their commitments to teach. Once a teacher has agreed he or she will offer a course in a particular term, the class must be carried out to the finish within the allotted twelve weeks, except in the even that all students withdraw before the end of term.
Faculty members must have their courses created online prior to the start of term and keep up during the quarter on a weekly basis. Teachers are expected to check in on class discussions during the week at least twice and preferably more often. Teachers must respond to student questions and e-mail in a timely fashion (within 48 hours wherever possible). Members of the faculty must submit their grade reports on time, according to the instructions of the Registrar. Syllabi for new courses must be submitted at least one quarter in advance of the date on which the course is intended to be offered. Teachers are expected to respond promptly to e-mail or telephone calls from the administration of the Center.
Community
Faculty are expected to participate regularly (on at least a weekly basis) in discussions with their colleagues at ACDS. Because we do not yet share offices and a faculty common room in a physical locale, we must make an effort to "talk" online either through chat rooms or our discussion board. Discussion of teaching methods, problems, and curriculum should be taken up in the Faculty Senate forum on the AvalOnline discussion board. Other faculty forums for specific areas of discussion may be created in the future as needed. In addition, faculty are strongly encouraged to post to the public forums of the discussion board, conversing with students, faculty, and guests and especially initiating interesting discussion topics relative to the departments in which they teach.
Mentoring
Faculty should be reasonably available to their students outside class for advice, counseling, and instruction on matters related to the student's class work and academic program. This includes responding to E-mail and private messages in a timely way. Faculty are expected to serve as academic advisers to students when requested to do so by a student. If work load or other personal circumstances prevent a teacher from serving as a faculty adviser, the situation should be explained to the Chancellor or the Dean, as appropriate.
Scholarship
Faculty should consistently endeavor to produce scholarship of high quality, and to seek publication both on the ACD website and in other venues. Remember that the reputation of any scholarly institution rests on the publications of its faculty as well as on the quality of teaching.
Service
Faculty are expected to serve the Center, and their community through activities such as faculty governance, administration, participation in the life of the academic community, and public relations. This includes, but is not limited to, checking in regularly on discussions in the Faculty Senate forum and in the various departmental forums at the ACD message board, and representing the Center at conferences, camps, and other gatherings.
In addition, members of the Avalon Faculty should seek out local opportunities to serve nature through conservation work, environmental clean-up projects, tree planting, gardening, or Green education as a local volunteer. Teachers are also encouraged to seek out volunteer opportunities in the areas of social justice and community work of all kinds.
Ethics
Faculty are required to uphold and practice the highest standards of ethical behavior, respect, and honor in all their professional dealings with students, colleagues, staff, and persons outside the Center. Relationships between teachers and students should be kept professional and any potential difficulties reported to the Chancellor or the Dean. Teachers are not permitted to engage in sexual relations with students and must not engage in sexual harassment, or indeed harassment of any kind. Nor are they permitted to engage in discriminatory behavior on the basis of gender, race, sexuality, political ideas, age, disability, or nationality. Avalon faculty must always remember that their behavior and expressed opinions reflect on the integrity and honor of the whole institution.
Spirituality and Faith
Faculty are expected to practice some variety of druidry, neopaganism, magic, or reverence for nature. There are no stipulations in this respect, and each faculty member is entitled to form his or her own beliefs, opinions, and to follow whatever religious practices he or she may choose. As a corollary to this freedom of thought and conscience, faculty are expected to treat their students, their colleagues, and all others with the same respect and engage courteously in the discussion of philosophical positions and differences in beliefs. Behaviors that would lead to difficulty in the Avalon community are narrow dogmatism, fanaticism, egomania, or aggressive attempts to "convert" others to one's own beliefs.
Each member of the faculty, to an even greater degree than students, is expected to extol and explain the beauty, elegance, wisdom, and practicality of his or her own beliefs for the edification of others. However, it is not desirable for members of the faculty to actively promulgate their own religious ideas except as their courses may require it. The goal should always be to encourage students to develop their own ideas and think for themselves, to weigh and question their own beliefs and assumptions in order to arrive at a reasoned opinion. Preaching is not appropriate, and statements about druidry or other traditions should be made with reference to the teacher's sources of information, whether they be historical, academic, traditional, or from personal inspiration. That practice will deter students from mistaking personal opinion and creative inspiration for historical facts, much less universal truths.
Judicial System and Grievances
Although we hope to coexist as a harmonious community of individuals, tolerant of each other's views, there will, from time to time, be instances in which conflict occurs. Members of the faculty are expected to submit themselves freely to the judicial system of the Center and to serve that system as needed.
Any faculty member whose behavior has been called into question by a student or fellow member of the Center staff, may be required to appear before a judicial hearing in front of the Chancellor and the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. That body will judge whether the accusations have merit and in consultation with the accused and the plaintiff, may either sanction the accused or refer the matter to the full faculty senate. An accused member of the staff may also insist upon being heard before the full senate.
In the event of a judicial hearing, faculty members are required to attend, either physically or via conference telephone or other means as decided by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.
The accused has a right to hear the charges against him or her and to seek mediation before a hearing occurs. In the event that the faculty senate fails to reach a conclusion, the matter will pass to the Board of Governors for judgment. The judgment of the Governors regarding acceptable conduct of the staff will be final. In the event that criminal activity appears to be evident, judicial matters will be referred to the civil authorities.
The Grievance procedure shall be subject to regular review by the Governors and the faculty senate in the hopes of protecting the rights and freedoms of students, staff, and faculty members.
Last revised 9/24/2007
