A course syllabus is required for proposals for new courses, converting a course to a new delivery mode and reactivating a “sunset course”.
The submitted syllabus should be for a 10-week academic year course, as SCOC does not approve summer-only courses. The syllabus should be a close approximation of what you will give to your students, and be in a format that is accessible to SCOC members (e.g. in English, a PDF document). SCOC recognizes that a syllabus is a living document that will change over time. We assume that future iterations will remain faithful to the catalog description, learning objectives and expectations for academic rigor.
Your School/department/program committee may require additional information about how your course aligns with their curriculum goals.
The Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI, dtei@uci.edu) offers resources, workshops and consultations to assist with designing traditional, hybrid and online courses.
1. Course Information
1a. Course Number (if known) and Title
1b. Course meeting information and format. Expected meeting times, meeting format (in-person, online, mixed modality), or if the course is entirely asynchronous online. Describe the online components and mechanisms, the mode (synchronous vs. asynchronous), and the allotted time and mode for interactions between the instructor, TAs and the students.
1c. Instructor Information
- Instructor’s name. The instructor listed on the proposal must be ladder rank faculty (except for X and XI designated courses for the Division of Continuing Education).
- Instructor contact information
- Office Location and Office Hours. Indicate if you anticipate meeting in-person or online. [Instructors are required to have an office hour (APM-25). Additional scheduled hours and/or meetings by appointment are optional].
2. Course Description
2a. Briefly describe course content and goals. Descriptions should make clear how the course presents an integrated body of knowledge with a focus on core principles and theories. If the course focuses primarily on the development of skills or techniques, the description should describe whether skills/techniques are emphasized (a) as a means of learning, analyzing, and criticizing theories and principles, and/or (b) as an integral part of professional training in a recognized professional curriculum (see also UCI Definitions, Policies and Procedures for Course Development).
2b. List specific course learning outcomes that will be assessed in the course. It may be useful to also consult the list of student learning outcomes for individual majors, as well as learning outcomes for General Education courses (if applicable). DTEI offers consultations and resources to help faculty write learning outcomes.
3. Prerequisites. If applicable, explain what subject background and/or courses the student should be familiar with in order to comprehend the material presented in this course.
4.Required Materials
4a. Reading Lists/Texts: List the text(s) and/or readings that are required for the course, and if students will need to purchase them. Since SCOC can’t access your Canvas page, please list the readings on the submitted syllabus. If the reading list is extensive, separate it into required and recommended. If applicable, provide direct links to the text or instructions on how to access the text.
Except for General Education courses that have required learning outcomes for the campus, SCOC does not evaluate course content. However, if there are no readings, or if the committee has questions about the source(s) of the course material, we may ask the instructor’s School/department/program to confirm that the content is appropriate.
4b. Other materials. If applicable, list other materials students will be required to purchase such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or art supplies.
4c. Technology requirements: If applicable, list general hardware (e.g. webcam) and software requirements, including instructions on accessing the tools, and available support resources for students.
Note: If you are requiring students to use a 3rd party online tool that is not already integrated into Canvas, be aware of potential privacy, security and/or FERPA issues.
4d. Technology support (not required but highly recommended, especially for online/hybrid). Some suggestions for technical support resources
- How to use Duo (and how to still access Canvas if a student’s phone runs out of battery or they lose their phone).
- A password manager such as LastPass which is free to UCI students.
- How to download the VPN software rather than use the weblink
- Anti-viral/anti-malware software
- A suggestion to make a back-up plan in case of a home WiFi outage (cell phone hotspot, friend’s home, come to campus, go to a public library or Starbucks, some Irvine company apartment complexes have a business/study suite with WiFi)
5. Communication Expectations: Provide guidelines regarding how and when students should communicate with instructors and teaching assistants, and expectations regarding when they should receive a response. This may also include Classroom Etiquette, Course Conduct, and Netiquette.
6. Weekly Course Outline
6a. Provide a list of weekly or daily topics and the readings and/or text assignments associated with the topic. Specific topics may vary to some degree from quarter to quarter. This list should include those topics most likely to be covered in all offerings of the course, regardless of the instructor.
6b. Finals week activity. Courses must have a finals week activity during the 11th week of the quarter (with the exception of Laboratory and Studio classes) (UCI Senate Regulation A465). For courses that have multiple assessment activities, at least one of the activities should be scheduled during finals week.
Examples of finals week activities include:
- The final exam for courses that rely on exams for student assessment.
- The due date for the term paper or project in courses for which a term project or paper is required in lieu of a final exam.
- Student presentations in courses graded based on student presentations.
- Lab practical in courses graded based on student performance in laboratory.
7. Topical Outline for Other Course Components (Laboratories, Field Trips, Discussions, etc.): If applicable, provide a list of weekly or daily topics (and any associated readings) to be covered for these components and information about related requirements (forms, fees, etc.). Since the topics may vary, include topics most likely to be covered in all offerings.
Note: This is not for the syllabus, but you should be aware that
- When planning field trips or activities where students provide their own transportation, the office of Risk Services can help you with a liability waiver.
- When proposing a class that will have a fee (Course Materials and Service Fee), the fee is reviewed independently by the campus Budget Office and requests are only reviewed annually.
8. Activities and Assessments
8a. A description of the course activities and assessments that will be assigned to ensure the total amount of work for the course will match the number of units proposed. The University of California’s unit value calls for one unit of credit for three hours of work (in-class instruction and/or outside course-related assignments) by each student per week (UC Senate Regulation Chapter 4.1.760). This amount of required work per credit unit is consistent with the WSCUC credit hour policy: Credit Hour Policy Resources – WSCUC. (You may find this tool useful for estimating how much time students will ideally spend on different activities: https://cat.wfu.edu/resources/tools/estimator2/).
A typical four-unit lecture course is expected to be approximately 12 hours of work per week when averaged over the whole quarter, generally consisting of four instructor-student contact hours per week (e.g. 3-hrs in-class instruction and 1-hr discussion section) and the expectation that students will spend two hours doing preparatory or course-related work outside of class for each in-class hour. However, course structures can be very diverse, and the activities may vary greatly between courses. Thus, it’s important to explain to students what activities you will use, how you will assess learning and how students should expect to allocate their time.
Please provide a description of activities (e.g. attending class, participation, reading prescribed materials, watching pre-class videos, writing, completing assignments, taking quizzes, reviewing for exams and quizzes, etc) and approximately how many hours students should expect to spend on those activities during a typical week. The total number of hours to complete the activities should add up to 12 hours per week or 120 hours during the quarter for a 4-unit course.
8b. If a course requires concurrent enrollment in more than one component (e.g. Lecture and Discussion, Lab and Lecture), describe what students should expect in each component. If applicable, if attendance is required and the expected format (in-person, online, synchronous, asynchronous).
- Clarification is needed when the number of course units is more than expected based on the anticipated workload. In such cases, the syllabus should include a description of the additional course activities or work that will be assigned (e.g. field trips, field work, community service learning etc) to ensure the total amount of work for the course will match the number of units proposed.
9. Grading: List and describe activities and assessments that will be the basis for determining grades (e.g., papers, problem sets, reports, examinations, participation, attendance, etc.) and the percentage of the course grade that corresponds to each of the items that are used to determine the grade. It is highly recommended (but not required) that instructors use more frequent and more diverse assessments than just a midterm and a final exam. DTEI offers consultations and resources for helping instructors align different types of activities and assessments with course learning outcomes.
10. Concurrent Enrollment (graduate/undergraduate): If a course will concurrently enroll undergraduates and graduate students, graduate-level assignments should be clearly distinct from undergraduate assignments and described with different goals in mind. Simply adding more of the same kind of work to graduate students is not sufficient. For example, undergraduates might write a short review paper while graduate students write an introductory chapter for a thesis.
11. Accommodations, Student Conduct and Integrity. The syllabus should include information about disability accommodations, expectations for student conduct and integrity, and copyright policy. DTEI can help you customize language and policies for your specific course needs.
- Disability Services Center has resources for instructors such as syllabus statements and information about testing accommodations, accessibility and universal design for learning.
- Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct: it is highly recommended that you provide expectations for integrity and conduct that are specific to the activities and assessments in your course.
- University of California Copyright in the Classroom policy:
12. Additional Student Resources (Optional)
- Share links and information about campus resources, such as the Center for Excellence in Writing and Communication, Student Health Center, Counseling Center, and more.
- Share strategies for students to be successful in your course.
Approved March 2, 2023