Procedure Details
Procedure Title: Timely Faculty Response to Students
Procedure #: AA.010
Revision #: 002
Unit Responsible: Academic Affairs
Individual Responsible: Academic Affairs
Effective Date: 02/27/2026
Initial Approval Date: 06/16/2020
Last Review/Update Date: 02/27/2026
Next Review Date: 02/01/2029
*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 4.070-Ethics and Standards of Conduct for Employees Supplement to Standard of Conducts
Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page
*Does this procedure support HLC criteria and/or Assumed Practices? Yes
If yes, identify: 3C
HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria
HLC Assumed Practices can be found at: HLC Assumed Practices
*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A
*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.
Timely Faculty Response to Students, BP 4.070
1. Purpose
To ensure student success, responses to communication need to be timely. This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) establishes the timeframe for communication.
2. Scope
Applies to faculty teaching credit-bearing and non-credit bearing courses.
3. Prerequisites
Confidential information, including personally identifiable information (PII), must be communicated in accordance with the guidelines established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
4. Responsibilities
- Provost/Senior Vice President or designee – Responsible for implementing and overseeing SOP.
- Faculty – Responsible for providing timely responses to students via the College’s approved communication methods and setting up automatic out-of-office replies when necessary.
5. Procedure
Faculty will respond to students via the College’s approved communication methods, including Course Management System (CMS), Lansing Community College (LCC) email, or another form of appropriate communication as indicated in the section syllabus, within 2 business days.
Faculty who will not be responding to communication during scheduled workdays should set up an automatic out-of-office reply on their email and, if applicable, voicemail accounts.
6. Reference
- Email Communication with Students, RO.034
- LCC will provide support and/or training necessary to assist faculty in overcoming any barriers to communication.
- Preferred method of communication may need to be established between faculty and students in a given course section. Such communication preferences should be included in the syllabus.
7. Definitions
- Business Day - A day in which normal LCC business operations are conducted.
- Course Management System (CMS) - An online course delivery platform that includes a grading management system.