Skip to Main Content

Faculty Guidelines

College Policies & Procedures

Daytona State College policies and procedures can be accessed from the the Document Repository under Departments ⇒ President's Office.  Login to Office 365 using your college credentials. For information on downloading and using Microsoft Office products, view the Tech Help & Resources InfoGuide.

The most current version of policies and procedures are maintained in the President's Office folder and supersede anything in this InfoGuide. Each policy and procedure include a citation of the authority on which it is based.

Academic Freedom and Responsibility (Policy 4.07)

This policy ensures freedom from reprisal for faculty and students to examine all pertinent data, to question assumptions, to be guided by the evidence of scholarly research, to teach and study the substance of a given discipline, and to fully participate in the development and debate of institutional policies and procedures and relevant matters in the classroom. While some course materials and activities require a uniform approach, such as assessment of course learning outcomes and accrediting standards, DSC supports faculty innovation and experimentation in the development of pedagogy and course assignments. Department committees play an important role in setting standards and expectations but their decisions or recommendations should be routinely brought back to the full department for discussion. Faculty who want to experiment with assignments and approaches should be able to, with the knowledge that outcomes will be assessed and effectiveness of the approach must be demonstrable.


Reproduced in full:

The Board affirms the principles of academic freedom and responsibility in accordance with the mission of the College. The principles are rooted in a conception of the College as an environment united in the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom in an atmosphere of tolerance and freedom. The responsibility implies a commitment to actively foster within the College a climate favorable to the responsible exercise of freedom by developing and maintaining academic policies and procedures.

Academic freedom is the liberty to devise appropriate instructional material, to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore avenues of scholarship, research and creative expression, to speak freely on policies and procedures, and to speak, write or act as a public citizen on matters of public concern.

Academic responsibility implies the honest performance of academic duties and obligations, the commitment to support the responsible exercise of academic freedom by others, and the candor to disclose that the individual is not speaking as a representative of the College in matters of public concern.


If you believe your rights have been violated, please follow the procedures for employment dispute resolution as outlined in College Procedure 610.

Code of Standard of Ethics & Professionalism For Public Officers & Employees of Agencies (Policy 3.01)

Excerpt:

The Board and employees of the college shall become familiar with and comply with Florida Statutes 112.311 et. seq. regarding the Code of Ethics and the Detection, Prevention, and Reporting of Fraud for Public Officers and Employees. The College has developed and implemented procedures that are consistent with applicable laws.

General Statement

The College is committed to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism as an institution that upholds the public trust. Consistent with the Florida Constitution and state statutes, the accomplishment of these standards necessitates the establishment of a code of ethics and professional conduct that reflects these standards. According to Section 8 of Article II of the Florida Constitution: “Ethics in Government. - A public office is a public trust. The people shall have the right to secure and sustain that trust against abuse."

The Standard of Ethics and Professionalism 

The College aims to promote and maintain an organizational environment and culture that promotes ethical conduct by setting high standards for professional conduct. All employees are expected to carry out their duties in a professional manner and in accordance with all College policies and procedures and federal and state law.

The College encourages the exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives within a culture of respect. Consistent with College Policy 3.11, Harassment Prohibition, all personnel are expected to treat members of the College community equitably with respect and courtesy. In addition, College policies that define the confidentiality of certain records and transactions, such as College Policy 3.07, College Records, must be maintained.

The full policy covers:

  • Solicitation or acceptance of gifts
  • Doing business with one’s agency
  • Unauthorized compensation
  • Misuse of public position
  • Conflicting employment or contractual relationship
  • Disclosure of use of certain information
  • Employees holding office
  • General or prevailing policy
  • Implementation and oversight of the policy  
  • Violations of the policy

Code Of Conduct & Ethics (Procedure 301)

Excerpt:

The College Procedure of Conduct and Ethics (the “Procedure”) expresses the core values of our College. Each employee of the College must read, understand, and abide by the letter and the spirit of this procedure. The honesty, integrity, confidentiality and sound judgment of our employees are essential to the College’s reputation and success. In all situations, employees will act to avoid even the appearance of the legal or ethical impropriety.

The full procedure covers:

  • What employees can expect from the college
  • What the college expects of employees
  • Gifts and outside employment

Faculty Code Of Ethics

Daytona State strives to protect academic freedom, to help preserve the highest standards of teaching and to advance the mission of the college as an institution of higher learning. In doing so, it requires that faculty be sensitive to the potential for abuse inherent in any authority relationship, keeping in mind that the instructor/student relationship is essentially unequal. It is expected that faculty members demonstrate respect for students as individuals, and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors. The standards of conduct include, but may not be limited to:

  • Treat all students with fairness and respect, striving to be fair in the evaluation of student work.
  • Encourage free discussion of ideas between students and yourself.
  • Do not disclose information about students obtained in the course of professional service.
  • Do not pursue personal and unethical relationships with students that may hinder any student’s academic progress or create a situation in which any student is either favored or negatively impacted on ground other than academic performance.
  • Do not enter into a sexual relationship with a student while engaged in a professional relationship.
  • Meet classes as scheduled, maintain office hours, and provide reasonable means for student access to course information.

College Use of Email

Email is the official and primary internal communication method of Daytona State College. Employees and admitted students are assigned a Daytona State College email account. This account will serve to act as the primary mechanism for official communication with the College for employees and all registered students. Official College communications to employees and registered students will not be sent to personal email accounts (i.e., AOL, Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo). Communication of protected student record information will not be sent to personal email accounts at any time regardless of an individual's registration status.

The college has the right to send communications and to expect that communications are received and read in a timely manner. Official email communications are used solely to meet the academic and administrative needs of the campus community. Email is not the sole method for notification of legal action.

Network and Internet Use (Procedure 312)

Excerpt: 

Computer accounts are provided to students and employees as a privilege associated with membership in the College community and with varying access rights according to institutional role. College students and employees are generally free to use College technology, telecommunications, and electronic information resources as necessary to carry out their assigned responsibilities, subject to the authorized use of those resources as described in this procedure.


The College has the right to disconnect or remove College or privately-owned equipment, systems, files or web sites or restrict use thereof at any time as required to maintain the functionality, security, or integrity of College technology resources.