class coordinator responsibilities

Responsibilites of Coordinators and Directors for Courses

Associated with the PPHA Office

(Bio250A, Bio250B, Bio250C, Bio249, and Bio340)

(Applications are due April 1 for the fall semester and October 1 for the spring semester.
Notebooks are due the first weekday of finals and grades will be decreased for every day they are late.)

Class Coordinators hold responsible leadership positions in the Preprofessional Health Advising Office Team. Topics coordinators are enrolled in PH499 for two units of credit for a letter grade. Preventive Dentistry Coordinators and Directors are enrolled in Bio 340B for two units of credit for a letter grade.

As representatives of the Preprofessional Health Advising Office, class coordinators must be strong advocates for the PPHA office without reservation, and plan to go through the SDSU Committee Letter Process.
Coordinators must have active files with the Preprofessional Health Advising Office. (Files remain active as long as students meet with the preprofessional health advisor for an advising session at least once a year.)
The coordinators will meet with the Preprofessional Health Advisor before the first of the semester to develop a class syllabus, to agree on speakers, and to review the format of the class and the responsibilities of all concerned. All speakers should be lined up before the first day of class.
All coordinators will work closely with the Preprofessional Health Advisor, obtaining approval for any changes (including additional meetings/classes) before they are made and to develop a plan of action for any challenges that face the coordinator.
The coordinators and PPH Advisor work as a team, but ultimate responsibility for final grades rests with the Preprofessional Health Advisor. The coordinators' grades will be based on their cooperation, efficiency, dependability and leadership of the class.
Coordinators will maintain records of attendance, grades and points and have those materials available to class members and the instructor on a weekly basis. (A list of grades/attendance with names should be provided to the PPHA Advisor weekly.)
For the Topics (Bio250) and Careers (Bio249) classes, coordinators will be responsible for finding speakers, sending verifying letters with maps and parking passes (as needed), following up with timely thank you letters and providing lists of speakers to the PPH Advisor so the webpage/syllabus is up-to-date at all times. It is a good idea to line up on-campus or local backup speakers.
For Preventive Dentistry Coordinators and Directors who are enrolled in Bio340B (Predental Leadership), duties are distributed by function. The Class Co-coordinators guide and train the Directors who, in turn, train their successors, who are enrolled in Bio340A and are listed in the syllabus as Apprentices. Preventive Dentistry coordinators and Directors are chosen by the Preprofessional Health Advisor who may solicit the advice of the previous Coordinators. Class Co-coordinators have overview and point collection responsibilities for the entire class. Directors, including the Marketing Director, trip coordinators, Hygiene Trainer, and Annual Yearbook Coordinator (enrolled in Bio340B) and their apprentices (enrolled in Bio340A), are responsible for completing all assignments in Bio340A and their notebooks in addition to their unique functions.
In all cases, Class Coordinators are expected to look for students with leadership qualities whom they can encourage and train to be future Coordinators.
Since Coordinators and Directors are representatives of the PPHA office, they are expected to present a professional image to speakers and students. This includes:
- Verifying that all correspondence to speakers is neat, complete, personalized, and reviewed by the instructor and sent out in a timely manner.
- Dressing in appropriate attire. For admissions officer visits, this should be a suit, slacks and sportcoat, or dress. For other speakers, coordinators should dress in a style that reflects what they believe the speaker will wear (if necessary, erring on the side of more businesslike attire.)
- Meeting the speaker and maintaining their comfort--not ignoring the speaker while other business is carried on.
- Anticipating speakers' needs, from AV equipment to a glass/bottle of water.
- Preparing an introduction ahead of time.
- Maintaining a professional level of conversation.
Although a brief informal weekly meeting of the coordinators and the PPH Advisor is preferable, coordinators and the PPH Advisor will determine a time to meet at least once every two weeks.
A written evaluation in the form of a letter to the next Coordinator/Director (at least one page) will be due the day after your class final along with the Coordinator/Director notebook. This should include methods used, changes, challenges, suggestions for future Coordinators/Directors, and anything else that will help us to continue to improve the class. These evaluations will be included in a notebook for future Class Coordinators/Directors. The notebook is updated and passed on from coordinator/directo to coordinator/directo each year and provides samples of letters, lists of speakers, sample evaluations, and other useful information. In addition, Coordinators/Directors may write a confidential evaluation for the instructor's eyes only. Bio 340 Directors must include an evaluation of their Apprentice, but this should be separate from the notebook as it will not be passed on. If an apprentice is failing to fulfill their duties, the Director should contact the instructor as early as possible.
Since the Bio250 classes involve a series of speakers, and students may take these classes only once for credit, the coordinators will post a list of the speakers on the web and bulletin boards so those who are not enrolled can attend on a space-available basis. Coordinators are encouraged to post additional speaker announcements throughout the campus on a weekly basis.