• The General Information Catalog and UT Canvas Adoption policy 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 the Canvas LMS 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 81^st 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 does not require the listing of office location, office hours, and teaching assistant information.

• 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….

Note: Do not include any information about the teaching assistant(s) in the public version.

• Include prerequisites, the subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and learning outcomes for the course and how they will be assessed.
• 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.

• 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.
• OPTIONAL: Class Attendance
  • 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, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. For questions regarding religious accommodations, please contact the Office of the Dean of Students”
• 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 “Grading for this Course.”
• OPTIONAL: Academic Integrity Expectations
  Which could include:
  • 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.
  • It is strongly recommended that you outline any individual expectations for assignments completion, including parameters around group work, authorized resources, citation requirements, use 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 that fail to adhere to the assignment directions.
• OPTIONAL: Generative Artificial Intelligence
  • [Please note, the use of generative AI Detection software is not permitted unless a university contract is in place. For more information on the use of AI Detection software, please refer to the AI Detection Software Guidance website or contact the Office of Academic Technology at oat@utexas.edu.]
  • The Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Academic Technology also recommend that faculty practice transparency by disclosing to students how they will use AI tools. Faculty are encouraged to use AI tools responsibly and according to ISO’s acceptable use policy, which prohibits the use of confidential or controlled data in non-vetted tools and generative AI for grading and feedback.
  • The Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity and Office of Academic Technology recommend including a statement about the use of artificial intelligence tools in class and outlines three levels of permissibility from which to choose. If you select option two or three, ensure that you include a transparent citation policy for students. Please tailor the statement below to meet your needs:
  • “The University encourages all students to engage with AI responsibly and to recognize the important limitations of using generative AI for learning. The University offers specific guidance for responsible adoption of AI for learning and the limitations of using generative AI for learning that all students should review regularly. In this course, students are 100% responsible for all academic work they produce.
  • The use of generative artificial intelligence tools (or Large Language Models [LLMs]) such as CoPilot, UT Spark or ChatGPT in this class:
    • is strictly prohibited. This includes using AI to generate ideas, outline an approach, answer questions, solve problems, or create original language. All work in this course must be your own or created in group work, where allowed.
    • …shall be permitted on a limited basis. You will be informed 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 my prior-approval to use generative AI on any assignment. In either instance, generative AI should be used with caution and proper citation, as the use of generative AI must be properly attributed. Using generative AI tools without authorization or failing to cite generative AI use according to the citation policy in this course, even where permitted, may constitute a violation of UT Austin’s Institutional Rules on academic integrity and may be referred to student conduct for resolution.
    • is permitted for students who wish to use them, provided the content generated by AI is properly cited according to the citation policies in this syllabus.
  • If you are considering the use of generative AI but are unsure if your use is aligned with course policy, or the extent to which they may be utilized responsibility, please ask.”
  • For a quick overview of a Generative AI tool commonly used in higher education, see the Center for Teaching and Learning’s “5 Things to Know about ChatGPT” webpage. For more information on the generative AI tools available to students at UT Austin, see the Enterprise Technology UT.AI tools page. For a deeper dive into topics like AI tools, course design for AI, and designing assessments with AI in mind, see CTL’s guide “Generative AI for Teaching and Learning“. For information on Response AI used in Teaching and Learning, please see the Office of Academic Technology’s guidance.

• 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 sample syllabi language for instructors:
    • 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”
    • “Expectations for use of Honorlock tool: All students are required to use Honorlock, an online proctoring tool, to complete exams for this course.”
    • “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.

• 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 UT Service Desk or <your local support unit(s)>.”

• Please provide a link in your syllabus to the Final Exam Schedule.

• Please provide a notice that students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Disability and Access (D&A). (Suggested wording available here.)
• Note that 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 accommodation. 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.
  

• 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.