This section provides information about scholarship and research support, faculty advising, course design, conducting classes, student support.
Tenured, tenure-track and/or FTNTT faculty for whom scholarship and/or creative works are an articulated component of their job responsibilities are eligible for development funds in all categories. They may also apply for student assistantships and research fellowships offered within the College.
FTNNT faculty for whom scholarship and/or creative works are not an articulated component of their job responsibilities are eligible for development funds in Category IV.
Part-time faculty are not eligible for development funds.
Only expenses incurred for the approved event are eligible for reimbursement. Unused funds will revert to the faculty development funds pool.
Faculty may submit more than one application, but may only select one category per application.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers several research and promotion fellowships annually. Applications for these fellowships are reviewed by a faculty committee that makes a recommendation to the Dean. Each award carries a $5,000 summer stipend.
Faculty Research Fellowship
The Faculty Research Fellowship (FRF) is intended to support peer reviewed publication (or jury-reviewed presentation, in the case of the arts). Both tenured and tenure-track faculty are invited to apply for the FRF. In addition, full time non tenure-track faculty having the rank of Senior Instructor/Senior Lecturer may apply for the FRF. Two FRFs will be awarded this year.
Promotion Fellowship
The Promotion Fellowship is intended to assist Associate Professors develop their scholarly productivity toward the rank of Full Professor. In addition to the stipend, each promotion fellowship includes some funds for research expenses. To be eligible for the Promotion Fellowship, faculty must have 7 or more years at the rank of associate professor. Preference will be given to applicants whose scholarly or creative record suggests that they are within approximately two years of achieving promotion, but could benefit from the additional development support toward achieving it. There will be one award in this category.
Dean’s Research Fellowship
The Dean’s Research Fellowship provides funds for faculty to work with students on faculty scholarship, providing the student an experience of scholarly research while advancing the faculty member’s scholarly work. Each fellowship will include an extra $2,000 for projects that involve student research. These additional funds will be used as a stipend to pay a student researcher. Please indicate your interest in a student research assistant by briefly describing the student’s responsibilities and opportunities for intellectual contribution to the project above and beyond providing support work, as well as how the student will benefit from this experience. Support for this award is provided by donors to the College who contribute specifically to this fellowship, and this year we hope two awards will be given in this category.
The awards are subject to available funding. Please note that applicants can apply for more than one category of fellowship, but may only receive one. Faculty who received one of these Fellowships within the last two years are not eligible to apply. Faculty who accept the award as a summer stipend may not teach more than one summer course.
To apply for the Fellowships, please submit the following:
Dr. Sonora Jha, Associate Dean of Academic Community, sonora@seattleu.edu and Kate Reynolds, reynoldk@seattleu.edu.
Open an email to both of them here
The College of Arts and Sciences has funding available for several student research assistantships each academic year. These assistantships are intended to support faculty scholarship and creative work. Each award consists of funding for approximately fifty hours of research assistance by a student.
These assistantships are intended to support faculty scholarship and creative work. If you would like to be considered for one of these assistantships, please submit in electronic form the following:
Applications will be assessed by a faculty committee (past recipients of these assistantships) using the following criteria:
Please watch for an emailed call for applications in fall quarter.
Send your application to
Associate Dean Sonora Jha, sonora@seattleu.edu and Kate Reynolds, reynoldk@seattleu.edu.
Mission and Selection of the Endowed Chairs (Approved April 1995)
The mission of the Pigott McCone Chair is dedicated to promoting the scholarly life among faculty in Arts and Sciences and across the University; the Gaffney Chair is dedicated to promoting issues germane to the Jesuit mission and identity of Seattle University; the LeRoux Chair is dedicated to working in an area of interest to the College of Arts and Sciences as identified by the Dean.
At least one chair holder should be chosen from the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences; at times it may be desirable to choose the second chair holder from outside the University. The term of the chairs will be two years.
Whenever a chair is chosen from within the College of Arts and Sciences, the chair holder should be tenured, should have achieved excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, and should have demonstrated leadership in promoting the missions of the endowed chairs.
The Collegium for faculty of Arts and Sciences consists of all untenured tenure-track faculty. The purpose of the Collegium is to complement the mentoring of new faculty that takes place within each department by orienting new faculty to the ethos and procedures of the college and providing both information and interdepartmental support on the way toward tenure.
The director of the Collegium, who receives a stipend, maintains a confidential relationship with all untenured faculty and, for that reason, may not write letters of recommendation or serve as a spokesperson for individual untenured faculty.
The director plans quarterly events for the Collegium, helps untenured faculty to find information and, when desired by the new faculty member, recommends a confidential mentor from among the tenured faculty.
The relationship of confidential mentor serves the purpose of providing counsel, especially about requirements for tenure. Until a decision has been made about tenure, the mentor may not write letters of recommendation for the untenured faculty person or speak in any way on their behalf. Once a decision has been made about tenure, the mentor is free to write letters and to speak about the mentee but may use knowledge gained in the past only with permission of the mentee.
The quarterly events of the Collegium are an opportunity for providing information on a broad range of topics and for socializing between tenured and untenured faculty across departments.
All faculty who conduct research involving human subjects (or who supervise students conducting such research) must apply for approval to conduct that research prior to starting. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) office is available for pre-application consultations if the faculty member has questions about the process of gaining IRB approval or whether the intended faculty project qualifies as research.
Having experience with research is an important part of a student’s education. Faculty often assist student researchers as mentors and in classes. Working with student-researchers is often one of the most rewarding experiences a faculty member can have. Faculty who teach courses that involve collecting human subjects’ data should be aware that IRB approval is required for such projects. In this regard, it will be important that the faculty member and at least the chair discuss the educational objective of the project, the University IRB policy, and required IRB training for both faculty and students.
Faculty considering starting a research project involving human subjects should consult with their chair and the IRB staff. The IRB website, link below, contains a wealth of information for both faculty and students. It is highly suggested faculty consult the materials contained on the IRB site during all phases of a research project.
The University's sabbatical policies are found in the , Section XIII, pg. 39. Faculty are awarded a sabbatical every seventh year of service. Eligible faculty will be reminded by the Dean's Office to submit an application. In the College of Arts and Sciences, sabbatical applications are due by November 1st of the year preceding the proposed sabbatical.
Applications may be obtained from the Dean's office or downloaded from . Faculty are required to submit a sabbatical report to the Dean’s Office during the quarter in which they return to teaching.
Center for Faculty Development
All courses should have syllabi that include the professor's name, office location and phone numbers, office hours and, where appropriate, email addresses. In addition, the following information must be clearly stated in the syllabus:
FAQ Policy on Religious Accomodations for Students
NOTE: Faculty are advised that changes to any of the above policies are best made IN WRITING since many of the students' grievances concern a lack of clarity regarding grading procedures and especially changes in these procedures made during the course of a quarter.
Students and colleagues should submit a copy of each syllabus to the departmental administrative assistant to keep on record.
Please include in all syllabi the following statements:
Faculty are asked to provide descriptions of their courses to their department chair and departmental administrative assistant to be posted on-line. These descriptions are to be available in the previous quarter in time for registration for the quarter in question. Lecturers who know they are teaching in an upcoming quarter may be asked to prepare and submit course descriptions to the department's administrative assistant to be entered into the Catalog, which will filter the standard course description into SUOnline.
Independent study courses may be arranged with students, using a form designed for this purpose. Though there is no compensation to the instructor for these courses, instructors are occasionally inclined to do them in order to teach a specialty, or work with exceptional students. The department, however, seeks to keep the number of independent study courses very low. A situation can very easily arise wherein electives are under-enrolled and have to be cancelled because of too much competition from independent study courses. Please consult with the Chair before offering or agreeing to teach an independent study course.
Registering a student for Independent Study: Print out an Independent Study Request form to fill out with your student. After filing out the form completely, be sure to attach a syllabus which outlines all academic requirements (paper, exam, etc.), learning objectives, deadlines, and contact hours between faculty member and student. This request must be signed by the student, sponsoring faculty member, and department chair before submitting to the Dean's Office for approval.
SU Policy 78-01 Directed/Independent Study
SU Independent Study Form
Per SU Final Exam policy 75-10: “All final exams must be held during final exam week. The content of the final exam session is at the discretion of the instructor. If an instructor elects to give a take-home exam, those exams should be due no earlier than the scheduled day and time for the final exam.” Read the full policy here.
Quarterly final exam schedules are posted on SUONLINE.
Alternative Testing Agreements: Students with documented disabilities may be granted permission for alternative testing. Faculty must work with Seattle University Disabilities Services to set up an Alternative Testing Agreement. You will find additional resources on the Disabilities Services site. Disabilities Services staff will help guide you through the process. Learn more here.
Textbook Adoptions
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA-2010) is a federal law requiring disclosure of costs associated with attending institutions of higher education t the time of registration. This means that Seattle University is required to link specific textbook information for every class prior to registration. HEOA-2010 states all classes and textbook information must be available at the time of registration for all quarters and semesters.
Faculty must submit their Textbook Adoptions online via the SU campus store. You will find due dates and online order form for reporting your assigned course texts here.
The Center for Digital Learning & Innovation (CDLI) is a place where faculty can explore strategies for incorporating technology into online, hybrid and web-facilitated courses. Learn, experiment and share ideas with a supportive community of practice.
The Center promotes the professional formation of all faculty through a scholarly and interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching, research practice, and professional development.
Their work with Seattle University faculty takes a variety of forms, including:
Please contact your Department's Administrative Assistant regarding the Department's policy on students who wish to enter a closed course. Some Departments maintain a waiting list, while others leave it up to the instructor's approval. Authorization to add a course after the official deadline will normally not be granted after the second week of the quarter. Authorization will be granted by the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Support only with the written approval of the instructor of the course and only if the student has been attending class regularly since at least the start of the second week of the quarter. Authorization will always require the written agreement of the instructor of the course.
Students can drop a class during the add/drop period at the beginning of every quarter. When a student drops a class there is no record of that class on the student's transcript. Students can appeal for a late drop after the end of the add/drop period by requesting a late drop petition from the Dean's Office, but it will only be granted in cases of clear institutional error. After the add/drop period, students can withdraw from classes through week 6 of the term. See Withdrawal from Courses" below for further information.
Although full-time academic status only requires 12 credits, students typically take 15 credits per quarter at SU. Students can take up to 18 credits without overload approval.
Students may automatically register for up to 20 credits per quarter on SU Online IF they have met all of the following requirements: Sophomore standing or above, have attended SU at least one quarter, and have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in courses at SU.
Students who are graduating seniors and need certain courses to graduate but do not meet the minimum GPA requirement may submit the Petition to the Dean for Credit Overload.
This form must be signed by the student's advisor and returned to the Dean's Office. The academic record of the student will be reviewed thoroughly by the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Support before approval. Any students with a GPA below 3.5 can petition to overload but these petitions are rarely granted. First time SU students (those without an SU GPA) and students on probation may NOT register or appeal for an overload.
Students may add and drop courses on SU Online through the first week of each quarter. Students may not drop courses except in cases of institutional error after the add/drop deadline.
Withdrawal: The deadline for withdrawing from a course is published quarterly in the "Schedule of Classes." Faculty are reminded that students on probation or receiving financial aid may be violating the conditions of either status by withdrawing from classes. Therefore, before advising students to withdraw from a class, faculty should tactfully inquire about the student's status and inform them of possible consequences. Students on financial aid should be advised to consult an advisor in that office BEFORE proceeding to withdraw since financial aid of often predicated on the student taking a minimum number of credits. Official withdrawal is accomplished when a student presents a completed "Withdrawal Request" form, which must bear the signature of the instructor of the course, to the Office of the Registrar by the deadline published in the University calendar. If a student does not withdrawal by the deadline, he or she must receive the grade earned. No withdrawals will be granted after the last day to withdrawal except in cases of Hardship Withdrawal.
Hardship Withdrawal A "Hardship Withdrawal" can be assigned at any time during the quarter as long as a medically documented request is forwarded along with the "Petition to the Dean" and the request is approved. A grade of "HW" is assigned to the student's transcript. A "Hardship Withdrawal" is assigned only for extremely grave reasons. Some examples of grave reasons include the following: inability of a student to attend class due to an extraordinary family crisis or to a sudden, long-term illness. Should you have a student in one of these situations, please have them contact the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Services immediately.
International Students Withdrawing from Courses: Course withdrawal by international students may endanger their status with the University and the Federal Government. Advise these students to first contact the International Student Center to fully understand the implications of withdrawal on their immigration status. You may also refer these students to the Academic Advising Support Center in the Dean's office of the Casey building for advising support and withdrawal form preparation assistance.
Please note that two forms, "Petition to the Dean," and "Petition to Exception to Policy" (also known as P.E.P.) have to be signed by the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Services. All applicable signatures and attachments must be complete before submitting to the Dean's Office front desk staff who are responsible for tracking the progress of all student petitions as they are under review.
Up to date class rosters are available under the Faculty section of SU Online. From this roster you can email a student individually or the class as a whole. NOTE: Students who are registered for a class but who do not attend during the first two weeks may justifiably be advised by the instructor to withdraw from the course.
Required 10th Day Roster Verification Checks
Faculty will receive quarterly email reminders to complete their roster verification check of who is actually attending their courses. You must verify that the class roster for each of your courses is correct, that each of the students listed on the roster is attending the course, and that there are no students attending who are not registered.
If a student has made prior arrangements with you to miss class, please DO NOT report them on the roster check, as they will be withdrawn from the course. If your class has not yet met, please submit your roster verification after the first class meeting.
Why roster checks are required
How to Submit a Roster Check
Professors assign letter grades (with plus or minus if appropriate) through SU Online.
Grades must be submitted by noon of the date indicated in each quarter's Schedule of Classes or the University's academic calendar. It is extremely important that grades are submitted on time since they are posted by the evening of the date scheduled and sent to students the next day. Missing grades impact students' financial aid, probation and dismissal decisions, graduation and more.
Seattle University interprets the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as prohibiting professors from sharing student grades with other students. This means that grades should not be posted publicly nor should graded papers/exams be left for student to pick up in a public place. Try, as much as possible, to return assignments in class or have students retrieve them from your department or office in sealed envelopes.
A student may challenge their final grade for a course. (Grades leading up to the final grades are not subject to grievance procedures.)
The Academic Grading Grievance Policy and procedures are set forth in the Seattle University Student Handbook and on the Registrar’s Policy website. An Associate Dean oversees the grievance procedures in the College, solicits members (faculty and students) for the Grievance Review panel, and meets with students, Chairs, and faculty to ensure a fair and consistent policy in regard to grievances. Every effort is made to handle grievances through informal mediation as stated in the Student Handbook. Grievances that are not settled through informal mediation, must follow the procedures set out in the Grade Grievance Policy. Faculty members who have any questions should consult the appropriate divisional Associate Dean.
Academic Grading Grievance Policy and Procedures
Once grades have been verified by the Office of the Registrar (24 hours after submission), a grade can be change for one of two reasons:
Changes are made through SU Online Grade Change.
The grading option of an Incomplete ("I") should be considered by a faculty member when a student, for good reason, has difficulty completing a final exam or paper for a course. Incompletes are appropriate only if the student has completed substantial requirements of the course and has only a project or exam outstanding. If an Incomplete is granted, the students must complete the academic work, according to the University policy, by the first four weeks of the next quarter (excluding summer session).
Faculty members should draw up with the student a written contract specifying the nature of the work to be done and appropriate deadlines. The appropriate divisional Associate Dean oversees this process in the College and, where necessary, grants extensions to a student upon the recommendation of the faculty member, up to two additional quarters beyond the normal deadline. It is required by policy 97-3 that the instructor indicates a provisional grade that the student will receive should the remaining required work not be completed. I grades may be submitted and changed online. If an "I" grade is to be extended past the allotted time, then a Petition for Exception to Policy is required.
As office space is available, faculty should schedule at least two hours per week outside of class for drop-in office hours with students. When dedicated office space is not available, faculty may conduct “office hours” by phone, email, Canvas, Zoom, etc.
The classroom experience is an essential and intrinsic element of the educative process. In any course in which attendance is necessary to the achievement of a clearly defined set of course objectives, it may be a valid consideration in determining the student's grade. While there is no all-university regulation requiring class attendance, it is the responsibility of the instructor to state the relevance of attendance at the beginning of each course. It is recommended that this statement be included in the course syllabus.
Many students for whom English is a second language are still learning English, and this may create extra difficulties in writing-intensive fields. It can be frustrating for faculty to try to assess papers with significant language barriers. A general strategy is to maintain standards while helping students to consider how to improve their written language skills and seek editing help through campus services such as The Writing Center.
It is encouraging to know that a study of grade point averages among Seattle University students revealed that international students as a group start out with lower-than-average GPA's, but have higher than average ones by their senior year. This data would seem to reflect that they are typically willing to work hard to meet the standards that are set for them.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides free, confidential service for enrolled students, offering individual, couples, and group counseling. Skill-building workshops on topics such as stress management, assertiveness training, life-change adjustments, and relationship enhancement are also provided. By appointment or walk-in.
CAPS Information for Faculty and Staff
Instructors need to work with Disability Services to accommodate students with physical or learning disabilities.
Most often this situation takes the form of students taking their exams in the Disability Services Testing Center. Disability Services Testing Center notifies and works with the faculty member to facilitate an Alternative Testing Agreement (ATA). While the University is required to accommodate disabilities, the intention is that students with disabilities should meet the same academic standards as other students do.
The Disability Services website contains a plethora of helpful information. Pages that may be of most interest to faculty and staff are linked below:
The SU Learning Assistance Programs (located in the Lemieux Library) offers individual consultations, tutoring, study groups, and workshops for SU students.
The Writing Center provides student tutors to assist other students in generating paper ideas, formulating theses, organizing writing, and editing. Tutors collaborate with students to make informed judgments about what aspects of their writing project need the most attention. Consultation is by appointment. Representatives from the writing center can visit classes, offering presentations on how to get the most benefit out of the Writing Center.
The Arts and Sciences Advising Center (ASAC) is a college-wide centralized advising office that provides academic advising and educational assistance to all College of Arts and Sciences students and supports faculty advisors in their individual work with students.
If you encounter problems or have questions while working with an advisee, please contact a member of the ASAC staff.
Faculty advisors and students can contact the ASAC directly at 206-296-2840, by individual email, or through the general email address, ASCAdvising@seattleu.edu.
Contact and specialization information for individual advisors is available here.
The ASAC is located in Casey 1W, co-located with the Dean's office. The ASAC is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:30-6:00PM and Tuesday and Friday from 8:30-4:30 p.m.. Academic advisors are available on a drop-in basis Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9-5:30 p.m. and Tuesday and Friday from 9-4 p.m.
Our Jesuit tradition of intellectual, moral, spiritual, and social development is the foundation of our Redhawk Commitment and Code of Student Conduct. We aim to provide all students with the tools needed for success in a pluralistic society by providing feedback about behaviors that both enhance and harm the community, as well as helpful resources and opportunities to modify unacceptable behaviors.
As a Jesuit and Catholic institution, we hold our students to the highest standard of ethical behavior both on- and off-campus. All students are expected to read, model, and comply with the policies in the Code of Student Conduct. Lack of awareness of these policies does not exclude students from their responsibility to follow them.
This handbook contains the policies and procedures for students living on campus.
Seattle University asserts that academic honesty and integrity are important values in the educational process. Academic dishonesty in any form is a serious offense against the academic community. Acts of academic dishonesty or fraud will be addressed according to the Academic Integrity Policy.
Academic Integrity Violation Forms and Procedures for Faculty
The consumption of food is not permitted in the classroom except by express permission of the instructor who should clearly state his or her expectations in the first class session. Faculty should be mindful of two considerations: