Bemidji State has a well-established academic tradition. Our institutional policies are essential in ensuring that that tradition continues.

Herein, you will find the guidelines for academic integrity, final examination procedures, syllabi, authorized excused absences and faculty credit for internships. If anything is not covered, please feel free to contact the Office of Academic Affairs.

Academic Integrity

Bemidji State University’s Academic Integrity Policy outlines the expectations for ethical and honest academic behavior for all students, faculty and staff at BSU.

Authorized Excused Absences

All university scheduled events that are approved by the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs shall assure students participating in such events the right to make up exams and other class requirements that may have been missed as a result of authorized excused absences.

Faculty and coaches responsible for the approved university activity will provide a schedule of activities and names of students involved in advance.

The student is responsible for informing the instructor of the absence in advance and making-up the exam/class requirements in a timely manner.

The instructor will determine the nature, time and place of the make-up work. The make-up test/class requirements will be fair and comparable to those given in class.

Any questions that arise will be resolved through the respective Dean’s office.

Course Syllabi MnSCU Board Policy 3.22

Each college and university shall establish institutional procedures which assure that each student enrolled in a course shall be provided a course syllabus within a maximum of one week from the first class meeting. When courses are offered in a condensed format, the time frame for distribution of the syllabus shall be adjusted accordingly.

Date of Implementation: 7/01/98; Date of Adoption: 6/17/98

Faculty Credit for Internships

Normally, faculty members will perform duties as the instructor of record for student internships within their regular workload. Adjustments to teaching load are not typically provided for such work, and departments have historically managed internships within the normal load of faculty.

This approach is consistent with the terms of the IFO Agreement, which designates internship supervision and “and related kinds of individualized instruction” as ineligible for overload compensation. See Article 12, Section C. Thus, the University will not adjust the teaching load where the internship supervision work can reasonably be said to fall
within the tradition of faculty experience with the relevant department or program.

In some cases, however, it is recognized that the additional work involved in faculty-directed internships may fall clearly outside of the tradition in the relevant department or program (the “excess internship supervision”). In those cases, an adjustment to the teaching load for the affected faculty member may be justified. Departments have been and can be a source of advice about when internships do not fit within the normal faculty load.

Internship Credit Guidelines

Determining whether or not an adjustment of teaching load is justified involves consideration of numerous relevant factors, including but not limited to the following:

  • Number of visits by the faculty member to the internship site
  • Number of evaluations conducted by the faculty member of the intern’s work
  • The number of internship credits a student is registered for

There is no hard and fast formula for determining what level of teaching load adjustment is appropriate. In many instances, the University may elect to compare a faculty member’s excess internship supervision to student teaching supervision. During student teaching supervision, a faculty member who is a University Supervisor conducts five visits a semester and does four evaluations and is allowed 1 cr. per 1.5 students. (This is based on students who are registered for 12 cr.) Faculty members who do a larger number of visits and on-site evaluations of a student’s work would be paid proportionately more. Faculty members who do a reduced number of site visits, evaluations or both, would be paid proportionately less.

So, for example, holding site visits and evaluations at 4 per semester, with a student taking 12 credits as a starting point:

  • 1 site visit, 1 evaluation, 12 cr. internship = 1 cr. per 6 students
  • 2 site visits, 2 evaluations, 12 cr. internship = 1 cr. per 3 students

In some cases, it is recognized that it may be more practical to compensate faculty an appropriate amount on an extra duty day basis, rather than on a per credit basis, for internship supervision that falls outside of the normal expectations.

Final Exams

The university provides an examination schedule for all courses of two credits or more during the final examination week.

Final examinations in all one-credit courses are to be held on the last class meeting during the last week of instruction. No final examination is to be given at any other time without the permission of the dean and the vice president for academic affairs. Also, no major examination in any course of two credits or more can be scheduled during the last week of classes.