Syllabus Requirements: Crookston, Morris, Rochester, Twin Cities

Instructors are required to develop a course syllabus for each offering of a course and communicate the syllabus to students unless the course is offered to an individual student (e.g. directed study, readings or research courses that require contracts between the student and instructor). For the purposes of this policy, a syllabus is a written or electronic document that contains information students need to know in order to successfully complete the work of the course.

Each syllabus includes two types of information. First is information specific to the course such as its title, goals, readings, assignments and instructor. Second is information informing students of University policies that may have an impact on their participation in the course.

A. Syllabus Requirements: Information Specific to the Course

The elements listed in this section of the policy are required. (For additional recommendations for good practice in teaching, see Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Instructor and Unit Responsibilities).

1. Catalog information including the course name, department, number, meeting time, meeting place, credits, and modality.
2. Instructor(s) name and preferred contact information. (All individuals responsible for grading should be affiliated with the course and listed in the course syllabus. See Administrative Policy: Grade Accountability.)
3. Course prerequisites if any exist.
4. Course goals and objectives. (For undergraduate courses on the Twin Cities campus, instructors are encouraged to identify learning and development outcomes addressed by the course.)
5. Required and recommended materials and, if necessary, the location of materials. After the second week of the term, minor, but not major, changes in the assigned readings may be made (see Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Instructor and Unit Responsibilities).
6. General description of assignments, papers, projects, exams and other student work; a schedule of approximate due dates and relative weight of each toward the grade; and a description of how the overall course grade will be determined (e.g., total points or percentage of points equivalent to a particular letter grade and whether a “curve” will be applied). Minor but not major changes may be made to assignments after the second week of the term.
7. Description of any course meetings that occur outside of the regularly scheduled class time (see Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Instructor and Unit Responsibilities).
8. Attendance requirements and penalties, if any (see Administrative Policy: Enrolling in Overlapping or Back-to-back Classes).
9. Statement on extra credit. If an instructor wishes to offer what is commonly known as extra credit opportunities for students in a class to allow them to improve their grade, those opportunities must be announced and made available to all students. (This provision does not address the option of increasing the number of credits a student may earn for the course.)
10. Policy for making up missed exams and grading late work, consistent with Administrative Policy: Excused Absences and Makeup Work.
11. The date, time and place of the final examination if one is scheduled. Instructors who schedule final exams that are longer than two hours must provide alternative testing times for students who have other final exams scheduled during that time (see Administrative Policy: Scheduling Examinations, Final Examinations, and Study Days).
12. As required by the Appendix: Equal Opportunity and Disability Accommodations to Administrative Policy: Hiring Faculty and Staff, instructors must include the following statement in their syllabus with the appropriate department contact information: "This publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact (name, department, address, phone number)."

B. Syllabus Requirements: Policy Statements

Instructors must have as part of the syllabus references to, or statements on the following policies and resources and are encouraged to discuss elements particularly applicable to their course (see Appendix: Recommended Policy Statements for Syllabi):

1. Grade definitions from Administrative Policy: Grading and Transcripts.
2. Scholastic Dishonesty (see Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code and Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Instructor and Unit Responsibilities).
3. Administrative Policy: Excused Absences and Makeup Work.
4. Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code; Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Student Responsibilities.
5. Board of Regents Policy: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Stalking and Relationship Violence
6. Board of Regents Policy: Diversity, Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Affirmative Action.
7. Administrative Policy: Discrimination.
8. Board of Regents Policy: Disability Resources.
9. Statement about the availability of mental health and stress management services.
10. Board of Regents Policy: Academic Freedom and Responsibility.
11. If applicable, Administrative Policy: Student Travel and Education Abroad: Health and Safety.

Instructors must include references to the above policies and may use the Appendix: Recommended Policy Statements for Syllabi to incorporate this information into syllabi by copying and pasting the statements or adapting the language to their specific teaching and course context.

Exclusions

This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus.