DEI @ IAC Overview

The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts community recognizes that a positive working environment affects employee productivity and individual well-being. Our cultural values include commitments to diversity, collaboration, and engagement as integral to our work in higher education. We value intellectual diversity, recognizing that there are differences of opinion among employees. This document articulates community standards promoting mutual respect among colleagues and acknowledges the responsibilities that faculty and staff members hold in interacting with one other.

The College is at its best when faculty and staff work together creatively, inclusively, and openly. Pursuing these aims requires that employees share a common understanding of the College’s expectations. The College’s Diversity and Inclusion Council can help faculty and staff to develop and share this understanding. Following are expectations aligned with Georgia Tech’s expressed values of integrity, respect, community, accountability, and adaptability.

I. Shared Expectations

All College employees have a right to expect:

1. An inclusive, positive, respectful, and engaged environment in all workplace settings;
2. Recognition and respect for differences in culture, ethnicity, gender identity, lifestyle, and other dimensions of diversity;
3. To be able to communicate and express concerns without fear of retribution;
4. Clear and respectful communication and a commitment to transparency;
5. An understanding that College employees have multiple responsibilities, and that priorities are negotiated in a respectful, patient, flexible, and professional manner;
6. Access to an up-to-date organizational chart

II. Staff Expectations of Faculty

All College staff members have a right to expect:

1. To be recognized as professionals and to be approached in a collegial manner;
2. To be recognized as vital to the College’s mission and essential to faculty success;
3. To be supported in engaging with the spectrum of Institute activities;
4. To be supported in professional growth and development;
5. To be recognized for their expertise;
6. To be seen and valued as a team member;
7. That faculty have a basic understanding of staff roles and functions.

III. Faculty Expectations of Staff

All faculty in the College have a right to expect:

1. Staff members to be effective, resourceful problem solvers;
2. That staff understand the arenas in which faculty operate, including their external roles and responsibilities;
3. That staff managers are receptive to faculty feedback on personnel, and to have supervisors solicit said feedback during performance reviews;
4. That staff members are open to feedback and suggestions;
5. Staff to develop competencies in an effort for ongoing improvement;
6. Staff to be proactive, responsible, and accessible, while fulfilling primary responsibilities of their role;
7. That staff members, as appropriate, will inform faculty of their professional development opportunities and aspirations.

The Georgia Tech community believes that it is important to continually strive for an atmosphere of mutual respect, acknowledgement, and responsibility between faculty members and the student body. Therefore, we herein endeavors to enumerate the specific expectations of each side. However, this document is not intended to be either comprehensive or limiting in regards to the Institute's statutes. Ultimately, simple respect for knowledge, hard work, and cordial interactions will help build the environment we seek. We remain committed to the ideals of Georgia Tech, agree to abide by these principles in our time here, and will encourage each other to uphold these responsibilities.

I. Student Expectations

We hold that all students have the right to expect:

1. a positive, respectful, and engaged academic environment inside and outside the classroom;
2. to attend classes at regularly scheduled times without undue variations and without penalty if the student cannot attend instructional, lab, or examination hours not institutionally scheduled; to have their instructor of record be present during most scheduled lecture periods.
3. to receive a syllabus which should include an outline of the course objectives, evaluation criteria, and any other requirements for successful completion of each course during the first week of class meetings and to be clearly informed of any changes made to the syllabus during the semester with reasonable time to adjust to these changes;
4. to consult with faculty outside of usual classroom times through regularly scheduled office hours or a mutually convenient appointment;
5. to have reasonable access to Institute facilities and equipment in order to complete course assignments and/or objectives;
6. to have reasonable time to learn course material prior to the administration of an examination;
7. to receive a clear explanation of the faculty's definition and interpretation of academic misconduct within the course that extends over and beyond those clearly defined in the Georgia Tech Honor Code;
8. to have reasonable access to graded materials for assignments, projects, or exams, to review graded material in a timely fashion, and to have a clear explanation of grading criteria and grade determination;
9. to have their letter grade in a class based on their performance based on course criteria and not solely on their performance relative to their classmates;
10. faculty to adhere to formal Institute policies, rules and regulations, such as the policy on Final Instructional Class Days and Reading Periods, and the confidentiality policies of FERPA.
11. faculty to be supportive of students’ desires and needs to find rewarding careers after graduation from Georgia Tech. Faculty should be flexible in allowing students to attend the Georgia Tech All Majors Career Fair that occurs in the Fall and Spring Semesters and should refrain when possible from scheduling quizzes or tests on those days;
12. faculty to be flexible during the semester when students have off campus interviews for jobs or graduate/professional schools and should allow students to make up missed work when possible.
13. to be allowed to make up course assignments that were due prior to the student's addition of that course during Phase II registration.

II. Faculty Expectations

We hold that all faculty members have the right to expect:

1. a positive, respectful, and engaged academic environment inside and outside the classroom;
2. students to appear regularly for class meetings in a timely fashion;
3. to select qualified Teaching Assistants in accordance with departmental protocols as well as the right to delegate grading, studio and laboratory instruction, tutoring, and other academic activities to these individuals;
4. students to appear at office hours or a mutually convenient appointment for official matters of academic concern;
5. full attendance at examination, midterms, presentations, studios, and laboratories, with the exception of formal pre-approved excused absences or emergency situations;
6. students to be prepared for class, appearing with appropriate materials and having completed assigned readings and homework;
7. full engagement within the classroom, including meaningful focus during lectures, appropriate and relevant questions, and class participation;
8. to cancel class due to emergency situations and to cover missed material during subsequent class meeting times at the discretion of the instructor;
9. students to act with integrity and to adhere to the principles of the Georgia Tech Student Honor Code;
10. students to adhere to the formal Institute policies, such as the Student Code of Conduct.
11. students to make every effort to minimize their absences from scheduled lectures, laboratories, and studios during the Georgia Tech All Majors Career Fair that occurs in the Fall and Spring Semesters, and to notify them in advance if they intend to miss class to attend the Georgia Tech All Majors Career Fair;
12. students to notify them as soon as possible when they have off campus interviews for jobs or graduate/professional schools that conflict with class attendance.
13. students would be responsible for obtaining and completing any missed assignments or material in a timely manner when they add a course during Phase II registration after the first class meeting.