Faculty Guidelines

Classroom Management Information

*Daytona State College Campus Safety: Ext. 4444 or (386) 506-4444

This guide covers some of the classroom management issues you may face as an instructor. These include medical emergencies and student behaviors that can disrupt teaching and learning activities. Please use this guide as a resource in managing your classroom.  

Campus Safety offers several presentations throughout the year that discuss handling emergencies such as weather emergencies and violent persons. You may also request a Campus Safety presentation. The Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) and the Annual Security Report and Campus Safety Guide are two documents that have information on responding to emergencies. They are available on the Campus Safety website and the Campus Safety folder in the Document Repository (instructions below).

Medical Emergencies

Call 911 immediately for any medical emergency, then contact Campus Safety at ext. 4444 or (386) 506-4444.

Your first priority in a medical emergency is to provide immediate help and to quickly reach out for competent medical assistance. We recommend that faculty consider learning CPR. For information on CPR classes at Daytona State College, call (386) 506-3298. Make sure you know where the Automated External Defibrillators are located. To find the locations, follow the steps below. 

1. Go to MyDaytonaState and select Falcon Self-Service.
2. Login using your college credentials and ensure you are on the Employee homepage.
3. Select the Document Repository tile ⇒ Departments ⇒ Campus Safety.

Disruptive Behavior

Any behavior is disruptive if it impedes the normal processes and activities essential to the mission of Daytona State College to provide quality education and to meet the educational goals of all its students in a safe and secure environment.

Students may act improperly due to personal pressures, issues with drug or alcohol abuse, regulation of prescription medication, or simply due to difficulty controlling their behavior. 

Whatever the reasons behind it, faculty must be prepared to deal effectively with disruptive behavior.

This brief guide will identify the kinds of disruptive behavior you may face and will recommend ways you can prepare for and respond to such behavior when it occurs.

Be Prepared 

You will be better prepared to respond to inappropriate behavior if your students know up front what is and what is not acceptable.

• Clearly explain your expectations for student behavior in your syllabus and in your activities early in the term.
• Refer to the College Network Use Policy in your syllabus and post the policy in your Falcon Online course shell.
• Identify specific student behaviors that are both predictable and inappropriate.
• Advise students of the consequences of inappropriate behavior, such as warnings, grade penalties, requests to leave class, referrals to the Department Chair or Judicial Affairs.

Minor Disruptive Behavior includes:

• Failure to comply with classroom rules.
• Failure to comply with Computing Commons rules.
• First violation of the College Network Policy.
• Sleeping/eating/drinking in class.
• Answering cell phones/text messages in class.
• Academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism).
  • See DSC Policies for handling violations of Academic Integrity.

Handling Minor Disruptions

Minor disruptions are typically handled as classroom management issues.

• Faculty should address inappropriate behavior when it first occurs. If ignored, these minor behaviors may become more frequent and increase in intensity.
• Share specific guidelines with the class as a whole.
• Whenever possible, address individual violators Outside of Class, where the student is not embarrassed and cannot play to an audience. A brief meeting after class or in your office is best.
• Always remain calm, professional, and supportive in your actions, language, and tone.
• Consult with your department chair for any departmental guidelines.
• Follow up with the Counseling & Accessibility Services Office if the behavior is related to a documented disability.

Major Disruptive Behavior includes:

• Verbal threats or verbal abuse
• Challenges to faculty authority; failure to comply with instructions
• Demanding & belligerent behavior
• Sexual harassment or assault
• Indecent/obscene gestures or behavior
• Talking or writing about plans of violence
• Fighting
• Refusal to leave class when asked by faculty

Handling Major Disruptions

First Priority: If you or anyone else is in danger, remove yourself from danger, then:

• If appropriate, call 911 on your cell phone or 9-911 from a college phone.
• Call Campus Safety (ext. 4444). Use the code word “infirmary” to signal that you need Campus Safety to respond immediately. Campus Safety will respond to your location immediately upon hearing the code word “infirmary”.
  • For example, to avoid agitating an angry person, you might say, “Hello, I’m <name> at <location> and I need to cancel my appointment at the infirmary.”

Deal Professionally with the Situation: Keep your cool until help arrives.

• Use a calm, professional, and non-confrontational approach to defuse the situation. Example: “Please lower your voice. We can’t continue to talk if you threaten me.”
• Maintain a safe distance and do not turn your back to the student.
• Do not touch the student or the student’s belongings. An agitated student may see physical touch as an assault.
• If you believe the student's behavior is related to a documented disability, inform Campus Safety upon arrival.

Follow Up

Document the Incident: Soon after the incident, you should document the disruptive behavior, and send your report to Judicial Affairs and to your Department Chair. Be sure to include:

• The student’s Name and ID #
• The class and section number, if relevant
• A detailed description of what happened and how you handled it
• Other relevant comments or recommendations

Further Consequences: Students who violate the College’s conduct rules and regulations are subject to further disciplinary actions as outlined in the most recent Student Handbook. Depending on the severity of the incident:

• Campus Safety may also write an Incident Report and refer the matter to the Judicial Affairs office.
• The Judicial Affairs office may call for an administrative meeting with the student and may implement procedures for college disciplinary actions.
• Local law enforcement may also become involved.

Flow Charts and Strategies for Addressing Disruptive Behavior

This flow chart is intended as a guideline for the instructor, with the understanding that there is no “one size fits all” solution for disruptive behavior.

Scenario 1: If the student’s behavior is irritating, but not particularly disruptive (e.g., cell phone use). Use the following approach if you feel comfortable being alone with the student.  

Flow Chart Sequence

Step 1

Talk to the student privately immediately after class. If you must deal with the student’s behavior during class, you should calmly but firmly inform the student that the behavior is disruptive and ask that it be stopped.

Example: “Your use of your cell phone is bothering me and disrupting the class. Please end your conversation now and refrain from in-class phone calls in the future.”

Step 2

If the disruptive behavior continues during either the present or some future class, meet with the student in private to warn that continuing this behavior will result in disciplinary action.

Example: “I’ve already warned you about talking when I am speaking to the class. If you disrupt the class again in this manner, I will refer this to the Office of Judicial Affairs.”

Step 3

If the disruptive behavior continues despite this warning, you should inform the student that you will refer this for disciplinary action and should then instruct the student to leave the classroom. 

Following the class, you should document the incident and email the Vice President of Student Development Administrative Assistant to request that the case be assigned to a Judicial Affairs officer. If you have no access to email, you may call ext. 4510.

Step 4

If the student refuses to leave the classroom, you may announce a short break for the class or adjourn class for the day, depending on the situation. You should then contact Campus Safety (remember "the infirmary") immediately to request assistance with a disruptive student.

Step 5

Document this and other incidents. Keep your department chair informed as situations develop. Seek guidance and support from your chair and your colleagues.

Scenario 2: Responding to disruptive behavior (e.g., if the student's behavior is considered dangerous, if you sense that a disruptive situation is escalating and that a student may pose a physical threat to you or other students).

Flow Chart Sequence

If a threat of harm is present, do not mention disciplinary action or police intervention. If you have already mentioned these, work to refocus the student’s attention away from the future consequences of their behavior.

Example: “You’ve raised some important issues. I need to consult with my department chair to see what we can do."

Please Note: If the disruptive student threatens to harm you, other students, or themselves:

Step 1

Immediately dismiss the class and contact Campus Safety (ext. 4444, code word Infirmary). The Police, in association with Campus Safety will investigate the threats, warn intended victims if necessary, and determine whether the student may have committed a crime. Campus Safety will most likely ask you for information to include in a Campus Safety Incident Report.

Step 2

After the danger has passed, consult with the VP of Student Development regarding the judicial process and determine the appropriate process to be initiated. 

Step 3

If a student's behavior is so disruptive that you request to administratively withdraw them from the class, the case will be reviewed by the VP of Student Development. An outcome of the judicial process might also recommend that the student be withdrawn from a class and may impose other sanctions. 

Possible Sanctions

Written Reprimand – A written reprimand puts the student on warning through the end of the next full semester. It terminates automatically when the imposed period expires.

Disciplinary Warning – When on disciplinary warning, the student must comply with certain conditions in order to continue enrollment at the College. Warnings may last for up to one calendar year. It terminates automatically when the imposed period expires.

Suspension – When suspended, the student is dropped from all classes and not allowed to re-enroll through the end of the following semester, at a minimum. Certain conditions must also be met before the student is allowed to enroll again.

While suspended, the student may not come onto campus. Failure to abide by this condition may result in arrest for criminal trespassing.

A student who is suspended after the deadline for withdrawal with a “W” shall be assigned a grade of “W” by each instructor based upon the academic performance prior to the suspension.

Expulsion – Expulsion is the permanent dismissal of a student from Daytona State College and requires the president’s approval.

 

Contact Information

Department	Phone Number
Campus Safety	Ext. 4444 or (386) 506-4444
Judicial Affairs	Ext. 4510 or (386) 506-4510
Vice President of Student Development	Ext. 4510 or (386) 506-3981

Helpful Resources

Department	Phone	Website
Campus Safety	(386) 506-4444	DaytonaState.edu/Campus_Safety
Counseling & Accessibility Services	(386) 506-3038	DaytonaState.edu/CAS
Judicial Affairs	(386) 506-4510	DaytonaState.edu/Student_Dev
Office of Equity & Inclusion	(386) 506-3973	DaytonaState.edu/Equity
Student Advocate	(386) 506-3381	DaytonaState.edu/Student_Dev