Your Syllabus at UT Austin

• The General Information Catalog, UT Canvas Adoption policy and the Handbook of Operating Procedures 2-9970 require instructors to provide students with a course syllabus on or before the first day of classes by uploading and publishing a complete syllabus to a course’s Canvas site as a file or by using the Simple Syllabus tool. 
• For assistance publishing courses or syllabi in Canvas or using the Simple Syllabus tool, please contact the University’s Canvas team, drop by during Office Hours, or attend a workshop. 
• Each instructor of record for an organized undergraduate course must also submit a copy of their course syllabus to their departmental office or dean’s office (in non-departmentalized schools and colleges) on or before the first day of classes so they can be made publicly available at the University’s Access Syllabi and CVs website. Instructors for organized graduate courses must submit their course syllabi and curriculum vitae according to their departmental office or dean’s office (for non-departmentalized units) specifications. 
• Making undergraduate course information available to the public is mandated by HB 2504, passed by the 81st Texas Legislature (2009). The administrative units must upload instructor CVs and syllabi of all undergraduate courses to the University’s public website no later than seven days after the first day of classes. 
  • This requirement applies to undergraduate courses offered to five or more students. It excludes independent study courses where the content is “tailored specifically for individual students” and it also excludes “laboratory, practicum, or discussion sections that are intrinsic and required parts of larger lecture courses and are directly supervised by the same instructor(s) of record for those large courses.” 
  • As noted under “Required Syllabus Content” below, the publicly available version of the syllabus does not require the listing of office location, office hours, and prohibits inclusion of teaching assistant information. 

• REQUIRED: Course number and title

• REQUIRED: Instructor’s name, office, location, and office hours
  • Note: Office location and office hours are optional for the public version.
• OPTIONAL: Asking for Help
  • Share with students how best to access or ask questions of the instructor (and teaching assistants) outside of class time, and/or how office hours will be conducted.
• OPTIONAL: Carrying of Handguns in my Personal Office:
  • “Per my right, I prohibit carrying of handguns in my personal office. Note that this information will also be conveyed to all students verbally during the first week of class. This written notice is intended to reinforce the verbal notification and is not a “legally effective” means of notification in its own right.” Review the university policy regarding campus carry for more information.
• OPTIONAL: General Campus Safety Information
  • Please familiarize yourself with important safety information available to you on the Security and Emergency Management website.
• OPTIONAL: Longhorn Alert Emergency Notification System
  • The Longhorn Alert emergency notification system is used in a multitude of ways to communicate with the entire University of Texas at Austin community….

• REQUIRED: Names, office locations, and office hours for any teaching assistants.
  • Note: Do not include any information about the teaching assistant(s) in the public version.

• REQUIRED: Include prerequisites, the subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and learning outcomes for the course and how they will be assessed.
• REQUIRED: HOP 2-9970 prohibits students from recording class instruction (audio or video) unless a student obtains the instructor’s permission or Disability & Access has approved audio recording as an accommodation.
• OPTIONAL: Teaching Modality Information
  • State the course modality and clearly explain how class meetings will be conducted. Modalities could include fully online (asynchronous or a combination of synchronous/asynchronous learning), in-person (requires in-person attendance), or hybrid (online plus optional in-person class time). The course modality must match the modality published in the Course Schedule.
  • If there will be no alternative to in-person attendance, other than normal emergency accommodations, note this clearly (some in-person course instructors choose to post course recordings, and students get confused and think everyone is required to do so). If the course has multiple formats—e.g. lecture, lab and discussion, group learning projects and/or presentations—these should be explained.
• OPTIONAL: Classroom Behavior Expectations
  • State the guidelines and ground rules for appropriate behavior. You can reference a class-specific code of conduct (some instructors ask students to write this during the first week of class) or, more formally and officially, Section 11-400 of the Institutional Rules in the General Information Catalog.
• OPTIONAL: Professional Standards
  • List and describe any professional standards that apply in your school or to the subject being studied in your course.
• OPTIONAL: General Campus Safety Information
  • Please familiarize yourself with important safety information available to you on the Security and Emergency Management website. You can find information on building safety, common emergency terms, campus closures, emergency communications and more.
• OPTIONAL: Longhorn Alert Emergency Notification System
  • The Longhorn Alert emergency notification system is used in a multitude of ways to communicate with the entire University of Texas at Austin community. All UT community members are automatically enrolled at the beginning of each academic year with the option to unsubscribe.

• REQUIRED: Include (1) the means of evaluation and assignment of class grades; (2) whether plus and minus grades will be used for the final class grade; and (3) whether and, if so, how attendance will be used in determining the final class grade.
• OPTIONAL: Making up Missed Work
  • Describe policies and procedures around makeup assignments.
• REQUIRED: Class Attendance
  • State whether and, if so, how attendance will be used in determining the final class grade. State your expectations for attendance with the rationale. Explain the consequences for not attending if there are any.
• OPTIONAL: Religious Holy Days
  • Whether or not it is included in the syllabus, the statement below is University policy as presented in the General Information Catalog. Some faculty members find it helpful to be more explicit about the temporal elements of the policy by specifying a minimum period for advance notice and for completion of the assignment. Whether or not notification is provided in the syllabus, the accommodation must be made, and it must be “reasonable.” 
  • “By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence for a religious holy day as far in advance as possible of the date of observance. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, please fill out the required form administered by the Office of the Dean of Students. You will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence, as per Texas Education Code Section 51.911.”
• OPTIONAL: Class Participation
  • Describe what you mean by this and how students can succeed. If participation is included in the course grade, you should also list it in the assignments under “Assessments for this Course.”
• OPTIONAL: Academic Integrity Expectations
  It is strongly recommended that you outline any individual expectations for assignment completion, including parameters around group work, authorized resources, citation requirements, use and disclosure of AI tools, etc., in the assignment directions. Clear and detailed expectations not only reduce the likelihood of a possible violation, but they also aid the Student Conduct team in holding students accountable who fail to adhere to the assignment directions. 
  • The following statement can be included in your syllabus: “Academic integrity is foundational to scholarly work. To learn more about academic integrity standards, tips for avoiding a potential academic misconduct violation, and the overall conduct process, please visit the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website.” 

• Instructors have the discretion to permit, partially permit, or prohibit the use of generative AI in their courses. Instructors are responsible for communicating to students AI tasks that may foster the achievement of course learning outcomes and/or those that inhibit the achievement of those outcomes in their courses. All courses must include a Course Artificial Intelligence Policy in the course syllabi at the time each syllabus is published each semester. The Artificial Intelligence Policy must include the University’s Course AI Policy Syllabus Statement below and designate whether AI is 1) permitted, 2) prohibited, or 3) partially permitted in each course. Instructors must describe key conditions for use under the designation they have selected. If an instructor permits or partially permits use of AI in their courses, they must also provide written instructions on what is permissible and what is not and how they expect students to disclose such use. Related Guidance: University’s Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, Chapter 11, Texas Statement on Academic Integrity Acceptable Use of Generative AI Policy    

REQUIRED: Course AI Policy Statement

In accordance with the University’s Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities, Chapter 11, students accept the responsibility to always uphold academic integrity and an honor code reflective of a scholarly community devoted to academic and personal success. All members of the University community are fully accountable and responsible for any output they produce as part of academic work. They are also responsible for following the guidance specified in the Texas Statement on Academic Integrity and avoiding prohibited uses of generative AI tools outlined in the Information Security Office’s guidance on Acceptable Use of Generative AI Tools. 

In this course, generative AI use is [permitted]*, [partially permitted]*, [prohibited]. 

[Note: A designation with conditions and guidance must be included. Below are example descriptions which instructors may customize depending on their course specifics.]

• Generative AI use is permitted for academic work in this course, provided that students 1) use AI responsibly, 2) practice discernment and conduct meaningful human review of any output generated by AI, and 3) properly disclose use according to the disclosure policies in this syllabus. Using generative AI tools without proper adherence to the disclosure policy in this course, even when AI use is permitted, may constitute academic misconduct under UT Austin’s Institutional Rules and may be referred to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students for resolution. 

• Generative AI use shall be permitted on a partial basis for academic work in this course, provided that students 1) use AI responsibly, 2) practice critical discernment and conduct meaningful human review of any output generated by AI, and 3) properly disclose use according to the disclosure policies in this syllabus. You will be informed by your instructor/s in writing as to the aspects of the assignments for which AI may be utilized and how it may be utilized. You are also welcome to seek prior approval to use of generative AI on any assignment. Using generative AI tools without authorization or failing to disclose generative AI use according to the disclosure policy in this course, even when AI use is permitted, may constitute academic misconduct under UT Austin’s Institutional Rules and may be referred to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students for resolution. 

• Generative AI use is strictly prohibited. Students are not authorized to use AI to generate ideas, outline an approach, answer questions, solve problems, or to create any product or output with any generative AI tool. All work in this course must be produced entirely on your own or created in group work, where allowed. Using generative AI tools for academic work in this course may constitute academic misconduct under UT Austin’s Institutional Rules and may be referred to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students for resolution. 

*Disclosure policies must be included if instructors permit or partially permit the use of generative AI.   

• REQUIRED: Include a brief descriptive overview of all major course requirements and assignments, along with the dates of exams and assignments that count for 20 percent or more of the class grade.
• OPTIONAL: Content Warning
  • “Our classroom provides an open space for the critical and orderly exchange of ideas through discussion. Some readings and other content in this course will include topics and comments that some students may find offensive and/or traumatizing. I’ll aim to forewarn students about potentially disturbing content, and I ask all students to help to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and sensitivity.”
  • [Best practice discussions around content warnings also suggest including tags or other warnings on the Course Outline next to the assigned material. One possible statement is listed below:
  • “In this class, I will provide content warnings when we will be reading, discussing, imagining, or problem solving in relation to physical or emotional hurt or harm.
  • In any course where theoretical frameworks are applied to real world case studies, there is an opportunity to reactivate or cause secondary trauma. With that being said, I’ve provided content warnings next to readings on the calendar for topics having to do with hate, harm, or violence.”
• OPTIONAL: Honorlock
  • Faculty who use Honorlock must communicate in their syllabi that an option for Alternative Testing Locations is available to students to help them understand requirements for scheduling an exam on-campus. This option is for students without access to a suitable environment for testing (e.g., private space, stable internet, compatible technology).
  • The University offers limited, on-campus seating through the Campus Testing Center (CTC) for virtual/remote exams that are typically proctored through tools like Honorlock. The Office of Academic Technology has prepared the following three points as sample syllabi language for instructors:
    • “Expectations for use of Honorlock tool: All students are required to use Honorlock, an online proctoring tool, to complete exams for this course.
    • Alternate Exam Locations for Remote Proctoring: With the exception of the final exam period each semester, students may request to book the option to complete an exam on campus in the Campus Testing Center. To use this option, students must contact their instructor no less than ten business days before a scheduled exam. Your instructor will then work with the Campus Testing Center to schedule the exam if space is available.
    • Planning ahead: Students can plan for their first Honorlock exam by completing the Honorlock Guided Tour. This guide checks to make sure your device is compatible before beginning your exam.”
  • Important: The option for Alternate Testing Locations is instructor-initiated and requires advance coordination between instructors and students! Seats in the Campus Testing Center (CTC) are limited and will be assigned on a first-come basis.
• OPTIONAL: Respondus LockDown Browser
  • Respondus Lockdown Browser is available in Canvas courses to administer in-class exams. The Office of Academic Technology has prepared sample syllabi language for instructors:
    • “Expectations for use of Respondus LockDown Browser tool: All students are required to use LockDown Browser, a proctoring tool, to complete in-class exams for this course.”

• REQUIRED: Include a list of required and recommended course materials, such as textbooks, image collections, audio and audiovisual materials, supplies, articles, chapters and excerpts as appropriate, identified by author, title and publisher.
• OPTIONAL: Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited
  • Anyone concerned about the unauthorized sharing of their course materials through online sites should consider adding the statement listed below to their syllabus. Including this statement regarding the posting and/or use of your course content by students establishes a proactive directive to students that is helpful to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in administering the conduct process should the material be posted in opposition to your written directive.
  • “No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class without my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials may facilitate cheating. The University is aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in initiation of the student conduct process and include charge(s) for academic misconduct, potentially resulting in sanctions, including a grade impact.”
• OPTIONAL: Longhorn Textbook Access
  • If you are using digital course materials through the Longhorn Textbook Access (LTA) program, please consider including the following in your course syllabus:
  • “The materials for this class are available through the Longhorn Textbook Access (LTA) program, a collaboration between UT Austin, The University Co-op and textbook publishers to significantly reduce the cost of digital course materials for students. You can access your required materials through the “My Textbooks” tab in Canvas. You are automatically opted into the program but can easily opt-out (and back in) via Canvas through the 12^th class day. If you remain opted-in at the end of the add/drop period (12^th class day fall/spring, 4^th class day summer sessions), you will receive a bill through your “What I Owe” page. If you do not pay your bill by the specified deadline, you will lose access to the course materials and your charge will be removed. More information about the LTA program is available at Longhorn Textbook Access website.
• OPTIONAL: Required Devices
  • Describe any devices, especially computers or other electronic devices, that are needed to succeed in the course.
• OPTIONAL: Confidentiality of Class Recordings
  • If class recordings that include student personally identifiable information are made, University Risk and Compliance Services has indicated that the following disclosure should be included in the syllabus and wherever recordings are posted on Canvas:
    • “Class recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational purposes and are protected under FERPA. The recordings should not be shared outside the class in any form. Violation of this restriction by a student could lead to Student Misconduct proceedings.”
• OPTIONAL: Getting Help with Technology
  • To learn more about available technologies for students or if you require technical assistance, please visit the Technology for Students website.
  • This support will vary by department, unit, and course modality, making it confusing for students. A statement such as the following, tailored to your context, would help students who encounter difficulties: “Students needing help with technology in this course should contact the Support Center or <your local support unit(s)>.”

• Required: Final exam date and time
• Note: Use the Registrar’s schedule of final exam times.  

• REQUIRED: A link to the class Canvas site

• REQUIRED: Please provide a notice that students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Disability and Access (D&A). (Suggested wording available here.)
• Note: Instructors must not use the syllabus to limit in any way a student’s right to receive or deliver an accommodation letter or to request accommodations. Questions or concerns about accommodating students in courses may be discussed with the student’s assigned Access Coordinator, listed on the accommodation letter or with the Executive Director of Disability and Access.

• REQUIRED: In addition to the above requirements specified in the General Information Catalog, please provide a link in your syllabus to the University Policies and Resources for Students Canvas page, which provides a list of resources that are important for students as they engage with and navigate your course and the university.