A large part — perhaps the biggest part — of administering our applied music program involves organizing teaching times/locations. Applied faculty should keep accurate records on each student’s attendance and progress.

Drop/Add Deadlines

The deadline to drop or add a course without recourse is generally the end of the second week of the term (you may consult the academic calendar on the Registrar’s web page for current dates and details). Dropping a course before the deadline has no effect on the student’s class transcripts, whereas late drops are listed (though they do not affect the student’s GPA).

Likewise, students are only allowed to add a course during the first two weeks of the term; lessons cannot be started anytime thereafter. Applied faculty should be aware that students will need approval from their instructor at or before the Drop/Add deadline. This process is completed in Workday.

At the very beginning of the term, applied faculty should inform (or remind) students about the financial implications of a late drop: students are not given a refund for late drops unless there is a medical reason or other similar circumstance as determined by the Chair.  The Late Drop Deadline is Friday of the seventh week of each term.

Verifying Enrollment

At the end of the second week of classes, the Department Assistant will obtain lists of students enrolled in music courses as of the end of the Drop/Add period. Each faculty member will be asked to verify their enrollment as soon as possible.

All faculty teaching applied music must review their enrollment, make any necessary corrections, and confirm them with the Department Assistant as soon as possible. At this time, the instructor should confirm the number of lessons given to any student who dropped during the Drop/Add period. It is on the basis of these verified class enrollments that students are billed for lesson fees and applied teaching loads are reckoned. A prompt response will also assure a timely payment of any additional fees to which applied faculty members are entitled, such as “overloads,” and so forth.

When verifying enrollment, applied faculty members should update and confirm their teaching schedules with the Department Assistant. This information is helpful in a variety of ways, especially should the applied faculty member have to miss a teaching day. This is especially important as studio space is limited, and other instructors may well use open studio times for make-up lessons.

Missed Teaching Days and Missed Lessons

Applied faculty members must immediately inform the Department Assistant and their students if they are not able to meet their students as scheduled. At that time, they should also consult with the Department Assistant about possible make-up date(s) and teaching space. Do not assume that studio space will be available at a time different from your normal schedule. Since trying to make up several lessons at once during the final Reading Days is usually unproductive, extra make-up times typically need to be scheduled earlier in the term.

Instructors may wish to remind their students of the following policies:

  • Students who need to miss lessons due to illness or off-campus field trips should inform the instructor at least 24 hours in advance and arrange a make-up lesson at the instructor’s conven­ience.
  • The instructor will not make up lessons that are missed because a student is too busy or has not practiced, but advance notice is a courtesy which permits the instructor to use his or her time more efficiently.
  • Some instructors may allow unpre­pared students to come at their scheduled time and use the lesson time for work on technique, theory, etc.
  • Students who have more than three unexcused absences from lessons should be advised by the instructor to late drop or accept an F or NC grade.

Teaching During Mid-Term Break

Classes are not held over Mid-Term Break weekend (which is generally the Saturday and Sunday of the end of the fifth week of the term and the Monday of the sixth week of the term). Faculty who teach on Mid-Term Break Monday may arrange, with the consent of the student(s), to teach, or to make up those lessons at a later date. Students, however, are under no obligation to have lessons during Mid-Term Break.

Academic Difficulty

Because they see their students in a one-on-one teaching context each week, and because applied music study is often a form of “stress relief” for students, applied instructors are often the first to see signs of academic and/or personal distress. If a student seems to be experiencing significant academic difficulty–for example, they suddenly start missing lessons, or is markedly unpre­pared for lessons, please notify the Dean of Students Office. That office may then notify the student’s advisor and other instructors as needed.

While we are all sympathetic to the plights of our students, it is not the applied faculty member’s role to serve as counselor or therapist. Indeed, the College strongly prefers that you not take on this role.

Teaching During Reading Days

Reading Days occur between the last day of classes and exams. Applied faculty are advised not to teach lessons on Reading Days; ideally, every effort should be made to complete all teaching by the last day of class.

Grades

Grades should be submitted by the last day of exams (you may consult the Registrar’s Page on the Carleton web site for current exam week information). Be aware that grades for Seniors at the end of Spring Term are due on a special, accelerated schedule; please note this as Spring grades are prepared.

It is the responsibility of each applied faculty member to keep accurate and detailed records on each student — missed lessons, the progress of the student, and the grade given at the end of the term.

Studio Assignments and Teaching Schedules

Well before the beginning of each term, applied faculty members will contact the Department Assistant and determine their studio assignments and teaching timeframes for the upcoming term. We will always try to honor faculty requests for particular teaching spaces.

During the sixth week (approximately) of each term, students register for courses for the following term. Applied faculty should provide the Department Assistant with a copy of their teaching schedule as it is set, but most certainly by the first day of classes.

At the first lesson of each term, it is the responsibility of the instructor to distribute the “Information and Guidelines”. If applied faculty wish to convey any additional information to students (e.g., your own personal lesson policy, information about equipment or music suppliers, etc.), such information should be given to the Department Assistant three weeks before the beginning of the term.

NOTE: Unless otherwise notified by the student, lessons may be scheduled during Common Time and Convocation. If a student’s lesson with an instructor is scheduled during Common Time more than one term during the academic year, the student has the right to contact the instructor for a new lesson time. Notices regarding this policy will be posted at all teaching locations.

Student requests for lesson time changes will be referred directly to the instructor. Unless specifically requested to do so, the Department Assistant will not be involved in changes to the lesson schedule after it is initially set. If an instructor makes any such changes, however, they must send an updated copy of their teaching schedule to the Department Assistant.