Provost Communications

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to begin another academic year together on campus!

We have a few quick academic-related updates for you in advance of the all-college welcome on Tuesday, August 26th (during the noon hour in Emerson Suites):

Syllabus Guidelines: As always, on the Provost’s Faculty Resources page, you can find updated syllabus guidelines. This includes links to: college policy about required elements on a syllabus; a syllabus template in Word to support development of complete syllabi guidelines for how to incorporate Credit Hour Expectations and Time Spent into the syllabus (a required element since 2023); a Title IX insert; and optional statements on Generative AI Usage. Please take a moment to review these materials and to make sure your current syllabi incorporate updated information (links and contact information have changed in the refreshed template!). In this way, you can help ensure that our students receive consistent information across all coursework they complete at the college.

Attendance Policy: The Ithaca College attendance policy can be found on this dedicated catalog page. It is also available in its entirety within the syllabus template. We would like to highlight that students must be excused from class or examinations:

1. on days that conflict with religious beliefs, in which case the faculty member is responsible for providing the student with an opportunity to make up the work missed, and the absence does not count towards any instructor-established maximum absence policy for the class
2. for family or individual health emergencies, and to appear in a court of law
3. to participate in local, state, or federal elections.

Staffing Updates: There have been several staffing changes over the summer in our office. Please welcome:

• Emma Harms, Academic Coordinator. With the departure of two academic program coordinators this summer, Angela Gian-Cursio and Zaira Sylvain, Emma has joined the office. She will be primarily supporting APC and the ICSM and ICC programs.
   
• Jeremy Kinsman, Director of Extended Studies. We are grateful to Jessica Ford for filling this position on an interim basis these past six months. Jeremy joins us with experience at both Wells and Cornell.
   
• Michelle Landers, Director of Sponsored Research and Corporate and Foundation Relations. Michelle replaces Warren Calderone, who retired this summer after many years of service.
   
• Matt Weaver, Administrative and Financial Operations Coordinator. With the departure of Martha Van de Wall this summer, Matt works with Maria Haner to support the budget and financial needs of Academic Affairs.

CFE Leadership Updates: Due to staffing pressures in the Education department Ellie Fulmer will be shouldering greater responsibilities in her department, and so the CFE will be co-directed this year by Matt Clauhs and Amie Germain, with Ellie, Lisa Farman, and Enrique Gonalez-Conty contributing as Dana Teaching Fellows to support CFE operations. Thank you to Ellie for helping her department in a time of need, and for everything she has contributed to the CFE to date! Please keep an eye out for subsequent communication about CFE programs and opportunities to be offered in the coming year.

Course reserves: If you will be putting course materials on reserve through the library for Fall courses, please plan to submit those at least 2 weeks before the start of the semester. Requests should be submitted via Canvas using the Course Readings tool.

Canvas advising sites . All advisors have an Academic Advising site in Canvas. The course site provides a space for advisors to share resources, post Announcements or send messages with Inbox, and invite students to set an appointment using Scheduler. The Academic Advising site builds consistency for students across the college, meeting the request of both students and faculty to have academic advising resources in one space and on a familiar platform.
If you have any questions, feedback, or need support with the Academic Advising site in Canvas, please contact Matthew Clauhs, Co-Director, Center for Faculty Excellence (mclauhs@ithaca.edu) or Jenna Linskens, Director, Center for Instructional Design & Educational Technology (jlinskens@ithaca.edu). 
 

Deadlines

Upcoming Events

We are looking forward to seeing you at the first all-college faculty meeting and best wishes for the start of a new semester!

Melanie Stein, Provost 
Ingrid Johnston, Associate Provost
Chris McNamara, Associate Provost 
Brendan Murday, Associate Provost

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues,

We write now to share with you a message just sent to our current undergraduate students announcing the college’s launch of our Academic Support Center (ASC) with the start of the fall semester. 

Designed to serve all students and support faculty, ASC is a centralized hub where students, faculty, and staff can find quick answers, smart referrals, and helpful guidance—right when they need it.

While faculty remain the essential, central part of academic advising as they focus on academic planning, mentorship, and career guidance, ASC will support this work by helping with the “how” of learning—study skills, tutoring, coaching, and administrative processes. You can now confidently send students to a single, trusted location for a wide range of needs knowing that ASC is a reliable partner in providing academic support.

We're truly excited about this new initiative and the positive impact it will have on our students’ academic experiences.

Regards,
Melanie I. Stein, Executive Vice President and Provost
Elizabeth Bleicher, Dean of Student Success
Melodye MacAlpine, Dean of Student Success
Jacqueline Winslow, Dean of Student Success