Adjunct Starter Kit: Reporting Obligations

1. Section Syllabus Submission

Deadline: Prior to the start of each term
System: SharePoint
Instructions:

• Save your syllabus in the format: COURSE#.Section#.LastName.TermYear (Example: ENGL100.M01.Jones.Fall2025)
• Upload your document to the correct program folder under the current term in SharePoint.

2. Census Date Reporting

Purpose: Mandatory reporting for Federal financial aid.
Deadline: Fall 2025 – September 8
System: Self Service
Instructions:

• Log into MyTC3 → Self Service → Classes → Course Management
• Select the course and then click on Overall Attendance from the Dashboard.
• Enter attendance of either “Verified” or “Never Attended” for each student in your class using the dropdowns in the “Overall Attendance” column.
• An entry must be made for every student on your class roster. A student should be marked as “Verified” if they have attended at least once by the reporting deadline. If not, the student should be marked as “Never Attended”.

3. Early Concern Flags

Purpose: To identify students showing early academic difficulties for timely intervention during each of the first three weeks of class.
Deadline Example: Fall 2025 – 15-week course: August 29, September 5, and September 12
System: Starfish
Instructions:

• Log into MyTC3 → Starfish
• Click on the “Outstanding Progress Surveys” under the top banner, which will take you to a survey to complete for each class.
• Watch this brief tutorial for more detailed instructions.

4. Early Progress Reports

Purpose: Identify students showing early academic difficulties for timely intervention. Required for: All 15-week and 10-week courses (not for other sessions)
Deadline Example: Fall 2025 – Monday, September 22 at Noon
System: Self Service

Instructions:

• Log into MyTC3 → Self Service → Classes → Course Management
• Select the course, then under Submitted/Approved Early Progress Report enter one of:
  • S = Satisfactory
  • S- = Less than satisfactory
  • U = Unsatisfactory
• Submit for all students on your roster.

Please be sure your students know what these marks mean in your class. For example, an instructor of a section of ENGL100 might give a student a U if the student’s current grade is a C-, since students must earn at least a C in ENGL100 in order to move on to ENGL101.

5. Final Grades

Deadline Example: Fall 2025 – Monday, December 15 at Noon
System: MyTC3 (Self Service)
Instructions:

• Log into MyTC3 → Self Service → Course Management.
• Select the course → Overall Grades → Enter final grades.
• Click Submit Final to ensure grades are posted. If granting an Incomplete, complete the form in SharePoint under Academic Records – Forms.

Note: Grades in Brightspace are for instructor/student reference; only grades in Self Service are official.

6. SLO (Student Learning Outcomes) Assessment Reports

Deadline Example: Fall 2025 - Tuesday, December 16 at Noon
System: SLO Assessment MS Form
Instructions:

• Complete the MS Form for all courses and all sections you teach each semester.
• Review this guide for detailed instructions on SLO Assessment Reporting and contact your department chair with questions.

7. Teaching Availability & Contract Confirmation

Deadline Example: Fall 2025 - Tuesday, December 16 at Noon
System: MS Form & Paycor
Instructions:

• Complete the Adjunct Availability Form if you wish to teach next term (Emailed by Associate Provost Mathers)
• Sign and submit your Work Offer Acceptance Form once received (Sent in Paycor)

Starfish

Starfish is an interactive program that allows for two-way communication between an instructor and students. It can be used to help track progress and raise a variety of “tracking items” These tracking items can consist of “kudos” (a way of letting students know they are doing well in the class); and “flags” which let students know there are concerns with attendance, academic performance, and more. Week 8 progress reports can be recorded in Starfish. Starfish is used for scheduling office hours and appointments, and it can be helpful for advisement. Instructors have the ability to “loop in” other members of the campus community, including students’ advisors and student success staff.

Early Concern Flags

Early Concern Flags – Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 Progress Surveys

• To help identify and assist at-risk students, instructors shall be expected to raise “Early Concern Flags” during the first 3 weeks of the semester.  Though faculty may submit a flag at any time on a rolling basis, it is expected that they will review each course roster and raise appropriate flags on the Early Concern progress survey in Starfish for the first three weeks of classes (e.g., by Friday 9/1, 9/8 and 9/15).
• To view a video on how to fill out a progress survey using Starfish, please follow this link.
• NOTE:  A) faculty will report early concern flags 3 times; B) faculty will submit flags through the PROGRESS SURVEY tab in Starfish for each section; C) faculty will receive an e-mail alerting them when the progress survey for each class is open with a link.
• Instructors shall be expected to raise an “Early Concern Flag” for academic reasons (missing class, missing assignments, performing poorly on early assignments, etc.) and/or non-academic reasons (transportation, health and wellness concerns, food insecurity, financial burdens, etc.) Faculty shall provide a brief comments within the flag to note the reason for the concern. 
• VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE #1:  Faculty should raise an early concern flag only once per class per student.  Please do not raise flags in successive weeks for the same student.
• If you have no Early Concerns in a given course section, submit the progress survey with no flags.
• Follow Up: Advisors will use this as a tool to help identify at-risk students. Student Success Advisors will support faculty advisors with these time-sensitive early concerns by following up with students who have flags in half of their classes or more. 
• VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE #2: If the issue that prompted the early concern flag to be raised has been mitigated (e.g. a student starts attending or performing work well), then instructors should resolve the flag.  This will allow us to focus our intervention efforts on other students who may still need our support.

Early Progress Reports

Students can access their Progress Report through the Grades tab in Self Service. This information will also be released to academic advisors, who are expected to follow up with students who receive an S- or U on an early semester progress report. In addition, please don’t assume students will know what these marks mean. In some cases, they may not even check their progress reports, or know how to access them. Please take a brief moment to make students aware of the scale, how to access the reports, and encourage them to follow up with an instructor when needed. Any student receiving an S- or U should meet with the instructor for clear communication about why there is not satisfactory achievement in the course at that time, and what it will take to get there.

Reporting Dates for Fall 2025

Attendance Verification/No-Shows Due by Noon in Self Service ....................... September 8 (M)
Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish....................................................... September 9 (T)
Early Student Progress Reports Due by Noon in Self Service .......................... September 22 (M)
Incompletes (SP25 & SU25) - Final Grades Due to Academic Records ............ September 26 (F)
Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ............................................................ December 15 (M)
SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in Microsoft Forms ................................. December 16 (T)

15-week classes ............................................................................... August 25 – December 12

• Attendance Verification/No-Shows Due by Noon in Self Service ..... September 8 (M)
• Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish ...................................... September 9 (T)
• Early Student Progress Reports Due by Noon in Self Service .......... September 22 (M)
• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................ December 15 (M)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Ten Week classes .............................................................................. August 25 – November 4

• Attendance Verification/No-Shows Due by Noon in Self Service ..... September 8 (M)
• Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish ...................................... September 9 (T)
• Early Student Progress Reports Due by Noon in Self Service .......... September 22 (M)
• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................... November 7 (F)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

First 5-week classes ...................................................................... August 25 – September 29

• Attendance Verification/No-Shows Due by Noon in Self Service ..... September 8 (M)
• Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish ...................................... September 9 (T)
• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ............................................... October 3 (F)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Second 5-week classes ................................................................ September 30 – November 4

• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................... November 7 (F)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Third 5-week classes ................................................................... November 5 – December 12

• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................ December 15 (M)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

First 7 ½-week classes ........................................................................ August 25 – October 15

• Attendance Verification/No-Shows Due by Noon in Self Service ..... September 8 (M)
• Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish ...................................... September 9 (T)
• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ............................................. October 21 (T)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Second 7 ½-week classes ...............................................................October 16 – December 12

• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................ December 15 (M)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Delayed Start classes ................................................................ September 16 – December 12

• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................ December 15 (M)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Late Start classes ...................................................................... September 30 – December 12

• Early Concern Flags Due by Noon in Starfish ........................................ October 10 (F)
• Final Grades Due by Noon in Self Service ........................................ December 15 (M)
• SLO Assessment Forms Due by Noon in MS Forms .......................... December 16 (T)

Attendance Reporting

Faculty must verify attendance at the end of the second week of the semester. This information is reported by faculty through Self Service. To be considered “attending,” a student must either attend a class, participate in an online discussion, submit an assignment, or initiate contact with the instructor to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course. Logging into a fully online class (or any class) without active participation does not constitute attendance, but any submission of work does constitute attendance. It is imperative that faculty report this information accurately.

It is strongly recommended that all teaching faculty maintain personal attendance records for your classes, most particularly in situations where students have been informed through course syllabi that attendance comprises part of how the final course grade is assigned.

Faculty may maintain attendance records through Self Service, in Brightspace, in Starfish or through Teams.

Please keep in mind that many of our colleagues, including counselors, coaches, advisors, financial aid staff, residence hall staff, and student success/advisement staff, will continue to rely on attendance information from faculty to sustain efforts that help our students succeed at Tompkins Cortland.

Student Groups That Require Reporting

Some groups of students require their instructors to provide regular reports on their course progress: student athletes, Pathways scholars, and students who have fallen below the college’s minimum academic standards. These reports will most likely be in a digital format through Starfish. These reports are very helpful to identify areas of support students need. If you have any questions, contact an advisor in the Student Success office.