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Fort Lewis College Official Seal

Policy identification number: To come...

File: Academic Policies > Instructional Policies

Course Syllabus Policy

Policy summary

This policy ensures that students have easy access to course syllabi and those syllabi contain information relevant to student success.

Policy Owner

Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs

Approval Date

February 6, 2017

Effective Date

Summer 2017

Search Terms

course, syllabus, pvpaa, c,

Scheduled for Review

Spring 2022

Policy Statement  

Instructors of record are required to develop a course syllabus for each offering of a course and communicate the syllabus to students. A current copy of each course syllabus must be made available to students in the College's learning management system by the first scheduled day of the class.

A.    Syllabus Requirements

The elements listed in this section of the policy are required.

  1. Course Information
    1. Course Title*
    2. Course Prefix and Number (example BIO 101)
    3. Number of Credit Hours received for the course*
    4. Credit Hour Statement (explanation of instructional time and expectation of out-of-class student work per credit)*
    5. Course Section and CRN
    6. Semester (designate dates if partial semester)*
    7. Class Location(s)
    8. Class Meeting Days and Times*
    9. Course Delivery Format (This is the Schedule Type listed in the Course Schedule. For example: Traditional classroom lecture, Internship/Coop, Hybrid, etc.)
    10. Final Examination Day, Time, and Location
  2. Instructor Information
    1. Instructor Name*
    2. Office Location*
    3. Contact Information (email and/or phone number)*
    4. Office Hours*
  3. Course description as stated in the current Catalog of Courses, prerequisites and/or co-requisites (if applicable)
  4. Student Course Learning Objectives*
  5. Program Learning Outcomes and/or External Accreditation Standards (if applicable see department chair or equivalent)
  6. All syllabi for Liberal Arts Core and GT Pathways courses must include the following:
    1. Specific GT Pathways category (HI, SS1, AH3, etc.) and CCHE-approved statement: “This course meets the required content and competency student learning outcomes for the GT Pathways Category xxx.”
    2. Content and competency learning outcomes designated for that category by the CCHE. (*The specific outcomes for each category are outlined below.)
  7. Course Requirements & Grading Policies*
    1.  Best practices of Fort Lewis College Faculty include listing: Assessment types (e.g. quizzes, exams, journals, observations, performances, etc.); if class participation and/or attendance are factored in, explain how these are evaluated, weighting of assessments, grading scale to be used*
  8. Course Resources
    1. Required Text (bibliographic information of printed texts/books, include ISBN numbers for all books)
    2. Required software, equipment (if applicable)
    3. Suggested readings (if applicable)
    4. Course packs (if applicable)
    5. Laboratories, studios, and learning centers available for the course (if applicable)
  9. Course and Academic Program Policies, as appropriate (e.g. attendance, travel, field experiences, engagement, make-up work, extra credit, etc.)
  10. Course expectations (Specify what students are expected to do in order to successfully complete the course.)
  11. Tentative Course Schedule/Outline with major assessment dates
  12. Fort Lewis College's statement on Academic Dishonesty by Students
  13. Fort Lewis College's statement on Disability Support Services* 

*Items marked with an asterisk denote federal compliance issues that are required by the HLC. The syllabus requirements are a minimum and faculty can include additional information. Faculty are not required to use a uniform syllabus template. The template in the Appendix is only an example.

Reason for Policy

Fort Lewis College will ensure that students have easy access to course syllabi and those syllabi contain information relevant to student success in the course. Students need a consistent level of basic information about the content, requirements and expectations for each course in which they are enrolled. For the purposes of this policy, a syllabus is a document that informs students about course requirements, expectations and information students need to know in order to successfully complete the work of the course.

The Higher Learning Commission's assumed practice states that instructors communicate course requirements to students through syllabi. In addition the Higher Learning Commission's Credit Hour Policies, developed to enforce the U.S. Department of Education's requirement related to credit hour definition, necessitates that a syllabus be available for review for each course taught.

Revision History

Policy approved October 16, 2013

Policy revised to add Section A.1.d. and make editorial changes to Appendix A, August 14, 2014 

Policy revised to make Appendix A, the Course Syllabus Template a downloadable file that could be filled out and submitted digitally, January 11, 2016.

Policy revised to add Section A.1.J. to align with Final Examinations policy, August 17, 2016.

Policy revised to amend Section A. 6. from "GT Pathways Competencies (if applicable)" to "All syllabi for Liberal Arts Core and GT Pathways courses must include the following:..," February 6, 2017.

Appendix A revised to include an ADA compliant Course Syllabus Template, April 19, 2017.

 

Appendix A

Download the Course Syllabus Sample