BSW Instructor Orientation

• Start Date-- The date that your course officially starts. 
• End Date-- The day when your course ends.
• Add/Drop Date-- The last day students may add or drop a course without penalty. If students do not drop by the add/drop date, they will incur an expense. 
  • Fall and spring semesters: The end of the first week of classes  
  • Short and nonstandard courses: End of the day following the first day of a given class 
  • Summer courses: End of the day following the first day of a given class 
  • Intersession courses: End of day on the first day of class
• Religious Observance Notification Deadline— If a student wishes to receive accommodation to observe a religious holiday, they must inform their instructor by this date. 
• Withdrawal Date-- The last day for students to withdraw from the course and receive a grade of W on their transcript. Failure to withdraw from classes by this deadline could result in failing grades. 
  • The final withdrawal date occurs at the end of the first 11 weeks of the semester. For short and nonstandard courses, the deadline is the day when one-half of the course has been completed. During the summer term, the withdrawal date varies by each course.
  • Students who wish to withdraw or have questions about whether withdrawing is in their best interest should meet with their academic advisor before doing so.

The following are holidays. Classes are not held on these days.

• Monday, September 1
• Friday, October 17 (Reading day, no classes held. University is open.)
• Tuesday, November 4
• Monday-Sunday, November 24 - 30 (Fall break, no classes held. University offices open November 24 - 26. University closed Wednesday-Sunday, November 26 - 30.)

The following are holidays. Classes are not held on these days.

• Monday, December 22 - Sunday, January 11 (Winter break, prior to start of spring term).
• Monday, January 19 (MLK Jr. Day, university closed).
• Sunday, March 8 - Sunday, March 15 (Spring break).

The following are holidays. Classes are not held on these days.

• Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day, university closed).
• Friday, June 19 (Juneteenth, university closed).
• Friday, July 3 (University closed).

All final grades should be submitted to Faculty eServices by Thursday, May 12 at noon. Enter grades sooner if you are able. After 12:00 pm on May 12, you will not be able to enter grades for the Spring 2026 semester in eServices. Any subsequent or missing grades will need to be entered by hand. This action is labor-intensive, so submitting by May 12 is critical.

Video tutorial: Entering final grades.

Each required B.S.W. course has an associated key assessment assignment used to assess student learning and evaluate the program. Here is a list of the Key Assessment Assignments. Instructors are required to use the key assessment assignment and its accompanying rubric without alterations. 

The program administration uses key assessment assignments to assess student learning in our course competencies. The assignment scores are reported to VCU to evaluate our program's achievement of its learning goals and to the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) as part of our program accreditation. Therefore, it is critically important that the identified assignments are examined with as much consistency as possible and that grades are submitted in a timely manner. To that end, Key Assessment Assignments:

• May not be assigned as a group project.
• Must use the assignment rubric in Canvas with no alterations/amendments.
• Must use a 100 point scale OR easily convert to a 100 point scale (for reporting purposes at the end of the semester). If you use percentages or something other than a 100 point scale of the other assignments in the course, please consult with the BSW program team for additional guidance as you convert grades. 
• Note: Rubrics must not assess students in the areas of APA, formatting/tone, materials used, etc. 
  • This is for key assessment assignments only. These skills are also important, but the CSWE asks us not to collect this information as their focus is content over form.

At the end of each semester, the B.S.W. Program Coordinator will ask you for your key assessment assignment grades. They will send a document with instructions and ask you to add your grades to the sheet. You will need to report these based on your students' grades in Canvas. Here is a video explaining how to enter your Key Assessment Assignment grades, from the SSW Director of Data and Assessment.