1) Course instructors are required to provide a syllabus to students registered in their course section.
2) Recognizing that a syllabus may be a creative and personal statement of teaching philosophy and style, this policy does not impose a specific template or organizational framework, although academic units responsible for specific educational programs may choose to do so. This policy only pertains to the mandatory elements of a syllabus and does not address the many ways syllabi can be used in the educational context.
3) The syllabus shall inform students about the requirements and expectations of a course or course section.
4) Course instructors must provide the syllabus within the first week of class unless the syllabus will be created in consultation with the student(s) at the beginning of a course section, in which case the syllabus must be finalized prior to the last date by which students are permitted to drop the course without receiving a “W” on their transcript.
5) The requirements of a syllabus in Section 7 a-j, can be met in one or more dated digital documents or websites, as appropriate. A paper copy will be provided to any student who requests one.
6) Academic units may also specify the inclusion of additional or modified policies or statements in their syllabi, provided these do not conflict with University policies and regulations, which shall take precedence.
7) A syllabus includes, at a minimum, the following content areas:
a. The course title and description such as in the Academic Calendar (syllabi for courses without a published description should include a brief representative description) and any prerequisites or corequisites;
b. The name of the course instructor and details of when, and by what, means students may contact them; at the discretion of the course instructor the names of any other student-facing members of teaching staff such as teaching assistants involved in the offering of the course (if not available on the Student Service Centre or on Workday), and details of when and by what means students may contact them;
c. A description of the course structure such as, for example, lecture, lab, tutorial, flipped classroom, mixed-mode, contact hours per week; day, time, and location of classes, or other activities that may not be available on the Student Service Centre or on Workday.
d. A proposed course schedule including a list of topics;
e. Course-level learning outcomes or objectives, i.e., what is to be achieved and assessed in the course (more details of module, week, or class learning outcomes or objectives may be provided during the course);
f. A description of the learning activities the students will engage in to achieve the stated learning outcomes or objectives (e.g., participation in class, written analysis of case studies, required readings, participation in on-line discussions, term papers, presentations, lab and field activities);
g. A list of required learning materials including, among others, textbooks, reading packages, on-line assessment tools, lab and field trip manuals and an estimate of associated costs for materials and activities;
h. The methods used to assess achievement of stated learning outcomes or objectives, including the weighting of each component in the final grade; the class policies on re-grading of marked work and on both late submissions and missed in-class assessments (in accordance with the Academic Calendar language on Grading Practices); and the schedule of assessments;
i. Information on any resources to support student learning that are supported by the academic unit responsible for the course; and,
j. A statement about the University’s values and policies with a link to the website where details are provided such as Resources to Support Student Success.
8) Nothing in a syllabus shall contravene any Academic Calendar regulation or University policy. When resolving any discrepancy, Academic Calendar regulations and University policies take precedence.
9) Changes to a syllabus:
a. Should the course instructor wish to make a material change to a syllabus after the last day by which students are permitted to drop the course without receiving a ‘W’ on the transcript (i.e., the add/drop date), the course instructor must explain the rationale to the class. The course instructor must ensure that registered students have access to the changed details in a revised and dated version of the syllabus and should send electronic communication to students alerting them that a change has been made.
b. Any student who sees the change to a syllabus as detrimental to their academic progress is entitled to discuss the case with the course instructor and seek a resolution. Where student and instructor cannot agree, students are encouraged to take their protest to the head of the department concerned and then to the dean of the faculty responsible for the course in accordance with the Academic Calendar regulations on protests for academic standings.
10) Faculties and/or Departments must keep an archive of their syllabi from previous years.
11) Faculties and/or Departments shall make three (3) previous years’ syllabi available to students upon request, provided that it is made clear that a past syllabus may vary from future versions of the syllabus for the same course.
12) Procedures
The Senate Academic Policy Committee may set procedures under this policy to assist with its implementation and interpretation.