Academic Policy Message - Fall 2022

Dear Colleagues, 

This message is to remind you of several academic policies that may affect your course planning for Fall 2022. The Office of the Provost hosts an Academic Policy library that covers many topics instructors should review. This message highlights the following topics: 

NEW! Course Attendance and Engagement Policy
This is a new policy approved by the University Senate in Spring of 2022, effective Fall 2022. The policy provides parameters for course attendance, engagement and make-up policies.

REVISED! Incomplete Policy
The University Senate approved significant revisions to the Incomplete Policy in Spring 2022, effective Fall 2022. Please review to ensure you are applying the policy correctly.

Accessible Education Center (AEC) and Accommodations 
Instructors have the responsibility to ensure full access for students with disabilities by responding to a student's need or request for accommodations as outlined here. Students with approved accommodations should present you with a notification letter from AEC. If they request an accommodation but do not have a notification letter, refer them to AEC. 

Syllabus Policy 
The University Senate passed a syllabus requirement in Spring of 2021. This policy states that instructors shall provide a syllabus for all university undergraduate courses (including 400/500 level courses) and that the syllabus must be made available to students (hard copy or online as a downloadable document) on the first day of class or sooner. This link takes you to a Canvas page of all Office of the Provost approved syllabus statements that you can import into your Canvas sites. In addition, due to Oregon House Bill 2919, instructors should not list any required course materials on their syllabus that have not been reported through the university’s course materials reporting process. 

Canvas Policy 
The University Senate passed a Canvas use policy in the Spring of 2021. It states that for all undergraduate classes (including 400/500 level courses) with more than 5 students, instructors shall publish at least one Canvas site by the first day of each term’s classes that is used at a minimum for the communication of course information including: 

Course syllabus 
For classes where progress is not communicated individually to students through other means, provide available information on student progress to date. This information is meant to help students make decisions about the course, such as continuing in the course or changing the grade option. As such, this shall be done by at least two student decision points of the term: 

  1. By the end of Week 6 (prior to deadline to withdraw from a class or change grading option which is end of Week 7) 
  2. Prior to the final exam 

Attendance and religious observances 
The University of Oregon is committed to compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, and regulations relating to religious accommodations of its stakeholders, and respects the right of all students and employees to observe their religious holidays. Faculty and staff will make reasonable accommodations, upon request, for such observances. Students that need to be absent from a class for religious obligation or observance reasons had to make arrangements with instructors by the end of the second week of the term by completing the Student Religious Accommodation Request form found on this page. You can use the Religious Observances Calendar to identify events, classes, exams, or UO activities that may intersect with religious observances.

You can use the Religious Observances Calendar to identify events, classes, exams, or UO activities that may intersect with religious observances. 

Student Attendance and Athletic Events 
Team travel may result in student participants (student-athletes, cheerleaders, band members, etc.) in athletic events missing classes in terms when their sport is in season. Because they are traveling for university-sponsored activities, faculty are strongly encouraged to make pedagogically sound and justifiable accommodations that will enable the students to be successful in the classroom, just as we would encourage such accommodations for other students traveling on university-sponsored activities. However, this request has limits and conditions: 

  • Students are given a letter to share with instructors at the beginning of every term that reports when they will be traveling. It is the student’s responsibility to share this letter with their instructors and to discuss travel conflicts in time to arrange for appropriate accommodations. 

  • In classes with substantial class participation, project or lab work, appropriate accommodations may not be possible. In those instances, the student should be informed that the course is not a good fit in a term with significant travel. Under no circumstances should the instructor offer an accommodation that is pedagogically unsound or that would be unavailable to other students. It is especially important that student-athletes in NCAA governed sports are not provided academic extra benefits. See policy here. 

Dead Week 
Faculty legislation controls assignments that may be required during the last week of regular classes, commonly known as Dead Week. Make sure your syllabus clearly specifies any project that will be due during Dead Week. 

In the week preceding final examinations during fall, winter, and spring terms: 

  • No examination worth more than 20% of the final grade will be given, with the exception of make-up examinations. 
  • No final examinations will be given under any guise. 
  • No projects will be due unless they have been clearly specified on the class syllabus within the first two weeks of the term. 
  • Take-home examinations will be due no earlier than the day of the formally assigned final examination for the class in question. 

 

If you have questions about these policies, or are faced with a situation you are unable to resolve, please contact us at OtP@uoregon.edu. 

Sincerely, 

Janet Woodruff-Borden 
Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs