Prepared by the University Ombudsman Office, The University of Kansas, rev. 2002, 2005
The following from the University Senate Rules and Regulations are relevant to the preparation of course information:

Article II, Section 1.1

The evaluation of student performance shall be based upon examinations, written papers, class participation and such other requirements as the instructor in each course may determine.

Article II, Section 1.2

2.1.2 Information about the basis for evaluating students' performance and about the requirements that students must fulfill should be made available to students, preferably in writing, within the first two weeks of class. Students who are not in class when such information is provided are responsible for knowing it. Students are also responsible for subsequent announcements about course content and grading policies. This information should not be considered a contract; the information may be revised as the course progresses, provided students are given timely notice of such revisions.

SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS

BASIC INFORMATION

• Full number and title of course
• Full name and title of instructor
• Office and phone contact information
• Name and contact information of any others involved in the course (i.e., TA's, discussion leaders, guest instructors)
• Course description in clear language*
• Arrangements for persons with disabilities
• Arrangements concerning religious holidays

*Note: if the description varies from the catalog or previously distributed department or school information, the fact of the change should be emphasized.

SPECIFIC LIST OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

1. Reading - text and other: Give complete information on reading required and recommended.
   
2. State class attendance and participation expectations.
   Be as specific as possible regarding any absence and excuse policy.
   If "class participation" is expected, be specific about what it means:
   - student asking instructor questions
   - student answering instructor's questions
   - student responding to other students' questions
   - student initiating discussion
   Be clear as to how "participation" is graded.
   
3. Describe seating requirements, if any, especially as they affect taking examinations
   
4. Lab participation
   
5. External requirements: field trips, lecture/concert attendance, etc.
   
6. Discussion group participation
7. Papers/projects
8. Examinations
   
9. Policy regarding make-up examinations
   
10. Time limits on scheduled examinations
    
11. Indicate any flexibility in the above requirements, and how the changes are negotiated

CLEAR STATEMENT OF GRADING SYSTEM

• Explanation of grading system
  
• Points? Letter grades with numerical values?
  
  For example:

If points on an exam or project are then translated into a letter grade by the instructor, then worked through a percentage application at the end of the semester, the method for doing so must be made very clear.

• Clarify any curve applied and how it works
  
• Make clear any provision for a student "dropping" or substituting any portion of the requirements, and how such changes relate to grading
  
• If any adjustments are made at the end of the semester, how are they done? What is the rationale? When, where and how are grades announced?
  
• Opportunities for discussing grades
  
• Grade consequences for missing deadlines
  
• Any portion of the course that is required to pass the course (i.e., taking final exam) must be specified
  
• The University grade appeal policy should be noted

POLICY REGARDING STUDENT ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT, WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM, INCLUDING CONSEQUENCES

You may wish to quote the university statements on academic integrity and misconduct.
Interpretations of plagiarism especially relevant to your discipline can be helpful.

COURSE SCHEDULE

• Provide as much specific detail as feasible, including dates of examinations and due dates of assignments
  
• Identify the relationship of readings to lectures/class activities

RULES

• regarding classroom procedure, if relevant
  
• regarding use of materials in class, in labs, or during examinations
  
• related to writing assignments:
  length requirements
  acceptability of handwritten work
  requirements of grammar and style, including punctuation and spelling, and any grading implications
  
• requirements of supporting materials for answers or solutions to quizzes, homework, lab reports or exams
  
• how are these related to grades?

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

1. If students are to be held responsible for knowing about oral announcements or requirements during the progress of the course (a risky procedure!), they should be forewarned in writing.
   
2. If changes are made in the syllabus, especially related to requirements, grading or deadlines, these should be distributed in printed form, with effort made to reach all students in the course in sufficient time for them to make necessary adjustments.
   
3. If you, or your department, have a system for catching up with students who do not meet prerequisites or other requirements for the course, it is well to warn them in writing that this can happen, and that it may require their disenrollment at a potentially inconvenient time.
   
4. In scheduling exams or other written material (and their return to students), keep in mind that students should have an opportunity to receive some grade evaluation in the course before the withdrawal deadline.
   
5. If it is known that the university final examination schedule has your exam scheduled for an evening hour at the same time as another course in which some of your students could be enrolled, it is helpful to call that to their attention, as well as the page in the Timetable regarding priorities in such cases, and state what your arrangements are in the event of such a conflict.

SUMMARY

• Be as specific as possible.
  
• If you or a colleague have recently been engaged in a time-consuming dispute with a student over an "I didn't know that" issue, it is probably worth paying attention to the content of that issue in preparation of your syllabus.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION YOU SHOULD KNOW!

University Senate Rules and Regulations pertaining to:

GRADE APPEALS

Article II, Section 2.3.1-2.3.5.3

Section 3. Change of Grade

2.3.1 Unless the provisions of 2.3.2 obtain, no change in a grade shall be made after it is filed with the University Registrar except upon the written request of the faculty member in charge of the course with the approval of the chairperson of the department in which the course is given. Such a change may be made only if (1) the original grade resulted from an error, or (2) the original letter was I or P. In either case this change of letter shall not include the change to a W.

2.3.2 In the following exceptional cases a committee of at least three faculty members appointed by the chairperson of the department in which the course is given may review a student's work and assign the course grade:

2.3.2.1 When a faculty member who has been charged with and found guilty of sexual harassment or academic misconduct has assigned a grade to the student who has pressed charges.

2.3.2.2 When a clerical error is suspected in a course grade assigned by a faculty member who has become seriously ill and incapacitated or has died or whom the chairperson of the department in which the course is given cannot locate with due diligence.

2.3.2.3 When a student is found guilty of academic misconduct after the course grade has been assigned by a faculty member who has become seriously ill and incapacitated or has died or whom the chairperson of the department in which the course is given cannot locate with due diligence.

2.3.2.4 When there is procedural irregularity in the assignment of the course grade. However, in such a case, the grade shall be assigned in accordance with section 2.3.5.3 of the University Senate Rules and Regulations.

2.3.3 In the most extreme and unusual circumstances a student may petition to either:

a) withdraw from all the courses in which he/she was enrolled. In this case a properly constituted committee from the school or College in which he/she was enrolled may assign the letter W in all courses of that semester. The faculty members (s) in charge of the course(s) need not be consulted. Or
b) if the student is asking for selective relief in a course in which he/she was enrolled, a properly constituted committee from the school or College in which the course was taken may assign, after consultation/concurrence with the faculty member in charge of the course, the letter I, incomplete, or W, withdrawal. If the incomplete is assigned, it is to be completed in the next semester in which the student is enrolled at the University in accordance with University Senate Rule 2.2.3.2. The work necessary to complete the course and remove the incomplete is to be determined by the faculty member in charge of the course. If the faculty member in charge of the course is unavailable or otherwise unable to provide a regime of work to complete the course, the department will take responsibility to determine the required work.

Each course is to be considered separately but the same committee may consider more than one course at the discretion of the dean of the school responsible for the course.

2.3.4. To insure uniform implementation of these procedures a) each school and the College will develop a written policy for the guidance of the committee and b) each school or College will adopt a uniform policy as to whether concurrence or only consultation is required. The policies are to be made available to faculty and student.

2.3.5 A student may initiate a grade appeal of a final course grade if he or she believes that there has been an improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor.

2.3.5.1 Each academic unit within the University shall provide its members access to an exclusive procedure for appeal of a final course grade, which shall be the sole procedure available to such members at the unit level.

2.3.5.2 Such an appeal shall be made in accord with the procedures established by the unit under Article V, section 2 of the University Senate Rules and Regulations. To the extent that a grade appeal involves charges of improper application of grading procedures, the dispute shall be resolved under the applicable procedures for disputes involving improper application of grading procedure, and appeal to the Judicial Board shall be available in accordance with those procedures. To the extent that a grade appeal involves charges of academic misconduct, the dispute shall be resolved under the applicable procedures for disputes involving academic misconduct, and appeal to the Judicial Board shall be available in accordance with those procedures.

2.3.5.3 If the Judicial Board sustains the student's appeal, the grade shall be assigned in accordance with Section 2.3.2 of the University Senate Rules and Regulations.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT

Section 6. Academic Misconduct

2.6.1 Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to, disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an academic setting; giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized changing of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures; falsification of research results; plagiarizing of another's work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.
Academic misconduct by an instructor shall include, but not be limited to, grading student work by criteria other than academic performance, willful neglect in the discharge of teaching duties, falsification of research results, plagiarizing of another's work, violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects, or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.

2.6.2 After consultation with the department chairperson, an instructor may, with due notice to the student, treat as unsatisfactory (1) any student work that is a product of academic misconduct, or (2) a student's performance for a course when there are severe or repeated instances of academic misconduct as defined in Section 2.6.1. If an instructor deems other sanctions for academic misconduct by a student to be advisable, or if a student wishes to protest a grade based upon work judged by an instructor to be a product of academic misconduct, or if a faculty member is charged with academic misconduct in connection with the assignment of a grade or otherwise, the case shall be reported to the Dean of the College or School in which the course is offered and processed in accord with applicable procedures.

2.6.3 If either party to a charge of academic misconduct or to a grade appeal involving a charge of academic misconduct is dissatisfied with the unit level resolution of the charge, he or she may seek review by the Judicial Board in accordance with applicable procedures.

2.6.4 Every instructor shall make clear, at the beginning of each course, his or her rules for the preparation of classroom assignments, collateral reading, notebooks, or other outside work, in order that his or her students may not, through ignorance, subject themselves to the charge of academic misconduct. An instructor has the authority to set reasonable rules for classroom conduct. When an instructor judges that a student's behavior is disruptive or obstructive to learning, the instructor can request that the student leave the classroom. Refusal to comply with a request to leave a classroom can itself be grounds for a charge of academic misconduct.

EXAMINATIONS

Section 3. Final Examination Schedules

1.3.1 The Calendar Committee shall prepare and submit to the University Council for approval a schedule for final examinations for each semester, so that it may be included in the Official Timetable of Classes.

1.3.2. A Comprehensive Final Examination is defined as an examination that tests over class content covering the entire term. A Section Examination is defined as an examination that tests over class content covering a unit, section, topic or part of the term, but does not cover the entire content of the class.

Normally the last examination in a course - whether a comprehensive Final Examination or a Section Exam - is administered at the appointed time during the regularly scheduled final exam period. n An exam may be given during the last week of classes ONLY if it is a Section Exam preceding a Comprehensive Final Examination; this Comprehensive Final Examination must be administered at the appointed time during the regularly scheduled final exam period. If neither a Section Examination nor a Comprehensive Final Examination is to be given, the class is not required to meet at its appointed time during the regularly scheduled final examination period. The above does not apply to assignments such as projects, performances, or papers. These may be due or take place during the last week of regular classes.

Any exceptions to the above rules must be approved by the Calendar Committee. Petitions to the committee must be submitted at least three weeks before the last scheduled day of classes. Students' academic best interests shall be the criteria for the Calendar Committee's decisions on petitions.

Students should report violations of the above to the appropriate department head or dean, or to the Provost.

1.3.3 The instructor of a course shall decide whether a final examination is necessary unless the department in which a course is given (or the College or school, for courses, which are not listed in a department) makes that decision. Decisions by the department, the College, or school would normally relate to multisections or service courses. As early as possible in the course, the instructor shall inform the students of the function of the examination in determining the course grade.

1.3.4 Except for those excused in advance by the instructor, all students are required to take final examinations when prescribed. No student shall be obligated to take more than two (2) examinations on the same day. In the event that a student has three (3) or more final examinations scheduled on the same day, and wishes to take no fewer than two (2) final examinations on the same day, the student shall notify the instructor(s) from the highest numbered course(s) no later than two weeks before the last day of class to provide a make-up examination to be administered at a mutually acceptable time.

1.3.5 Within the guidelines established by these rules and regulations, the faculty of the College and each school of the University may establish regulations regarding the administration of final examinations, with due concern for students outside the College or school. (a) The faculty of the College and each school of the University may stipulate that if a final examination is required in a course offered in the school's curriculum, no other examination shall be given in that course in the week immediately preceding the period of final examinations. (b) The faculty of the College and each school of the University may allocate the decision-making responsibility for that stipulation in (a) supra to the faculty of each department within the College or school.

1.3.6 Each semester, the Calendar Committee shall make arrangements to inform students and faculty, through the Official Timetable of Classes, of the regulations governing final examinations and the appropriate procedures to be followed if questions arise about the application of the regulations. The Provost's Office shall remind faculty of these regulations by circulating copies each semester.

1.3.7 No university organization shall schedule events or meetings that require student participation during the final examination period, including Stop Day. Exceptions are allowed for local events or meetings that are scheduled on Saturday and up to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. A committee that must meet during the final examination period to resolve an academic issue may meet only at a time mutually convenient to all members. No other exceptions allowed unless by explicit direction of the Chancellor.

1.3.8 Students with a verifiable medical crisis of a relative or friend may be excused from being present for the final examination. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate discussion with the instructor, prior to the examination/test if possible. The instructor and student shall attempt to come to a mutually agreeable method of making up the missed work.

Section 4. Examinations, Quizzes and Tests Other Than Final Examinations

1.4.2 Examinations and tests other than final examinations may be given at times other than regular class hours when the time and place are approved by the Calendar Committee and published in advance in the Official Timetable of Classes. When such examinations conflict with a student's obligation to other regularly scheduled university classes the student shall be accorded the opportunity to take the examination or test at a time not in conflict with other regularly scheduled university classes. In the event of the cancellation of an examination due to an emergency, rescheduling of the examination shall be negotiated by the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs with the affected unit.

1.4.3 Examinations and tests other than final examinations should not be scheduled in conflict with mandated religious observances. In order to ascertain in a given class if a scheduled examination conflicts with a mandated religious observance, at the beginning of the semester the instructor shall ask students who may be affected to identify themselves privately so that a make-up examination may be scheduled at a mutually acceptable time.

1.4.4 Students with a verifiable medical crisis of a relative or friend may be excused from being present for scheduled examinations and tests. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate discussion with the instructor, prior to the examination/test if possible. The instructor and student shall come to a mutually agreeable method of making up the missed work.

Prepared by the University Ombudsman Office, Revised, January, 2002, August 2005

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