Course Syllabus

A description of course logistics is required to convey specific identifying information about the course. What to include:

Instructor contact information is required to convey specific identifying and contact information about the instructor(s) and/or teaching assistant(s). What to include:

A list of required and/or recommended materials and course fees is required to lay out clear expectations for procurement of all texts and/or materials needed or recommended for the course. To satisfy this requirement, include the following components (where applicable):

Required because NWCCU Accreditation Standards include an institution-wide obligation to identify and publish expected course, program, and degree learning outcomes.

To satisfy this requirement, include following components:

• An overview of course-level student learning outcomes and means of assessment.
• Identification of how assignments and activities advance learning outcomes, including in-class, online, and/or out-of-class components.
• If applicable, an overview of how course-level outcomes support UCORE learning outcomes, if the course is a UCORE course.
• If applicable, an overview of how course-level outcomes support program-level learning outcomes.   

Expectations for student effort are required because NWCCU Accreditation Standards and Federal Policy (which WSU has incorporated into Academic Regulation 27) include an institution-wide obligation to identify and publish policies aligning student effort with credit hours earned. To satisfy this requirement, the following components should appear in the course syllabus:

• Clear guidance for how much time and effort students should expect to invest in the course.
• Graduate Courses should include the statement, “For each hour of lecture equivalent, students should expect to have a minimum of two hours of work outside class.”
• Global Campus Courses automatically include credit hour equivalents in the syllabus.

Provision of a course timeline is required because NWCCU Accreditation Standards and Federal Policy (which WSU has incorporated into Academic Regulation 27) include an institution-wide obligation to identify and publish policies aligning student effort with credit hours earned.

To satisfy this requirement, include a timeline for expected organizing questions/topics, assignments, exams, and other course activities. Include dates of additional activities such as field trips or competitions. Ideally, this will show details week-by-week. In LMS spaces, this can be offered as a separate page clearly linked to the course syllabus.

Descriptions of assignments, assessments, and grading policies are required in order to comply with NWCCU standard 2.C.3 and WSU Academic Regulation #90. To satisfy this requirement, do the following:

• Describe all types of assignments used for assessing student learning outcomes.
• Provide relative weighting (points or percentages) of assignments in determining final course grades.
• Provide details for requirements to earn specific grades.
  • Indicate letter-grade equivalencies (such as numerical ranges for each potential grade) or other grading criteria to determine student progress and grades. Consult Academic Regulation 100 for allowable final grades.
  • Provide information about how grades will be rounded and avoid non-specified ranges (e.g., if 89% earns a B+ and 90% earns an A-, what grade is given to a student with an 89.5%?)

Provision of an attendance and make-up policy complies with NWCCU standard 2.C.3 and WSU Academic Regulation 72.

Sample attendance statement: “Students should make all reasonable efforts to attend all class meetings. However, in the event a student is unable to attend a class, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor as soon as possible, explain the reason for the absence (and provide documentation, if appropriate), and make up class work missed within a reasonable amount of time, if allowed. Missing class meetings may result in reducing the overall grade in the class.” 

Provision of an academic integrity statement complies with WAC 504-26-010(3) and WAC 504-26-404. Course-specific sanctions for violating WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy must be included in the bolded italicized portion of the statement below. Include the following statement in your syllabus:

“You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will: 

• [insert academic sanction (e.g., fail the course, fail the assignment, etc.)].
• Be reported to the Center for Community Standards.
• Have the right to appeal my decision.
• Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished.  

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.”

The Office of the Provost expects every instructor to set clear expectations and policies related to acceptable and/or unacceptable AI use in their course(s). Instructors must clearly indicate their course policy about AI use in every class syllabus, and potentially, for each and every assessment. An expectation for our students is that there is accurate and transparent attribution of AI use in their classroom assessments. 

Effective Fall 2023, faculty must include the following statement and link to the University syllabus:

“Students are responsible for reading and understanding all university-wide policies and resources pertaining to all courses (for instance: accommodations, care resources, policies on discrimination or harassment), which can be found in the university syllabus.”

This statement replaces the need to include the full text of the statements provided in the university syllabus in your course syllabus.

It is recommended that the course syllabus include policies concerning the following (these lists are not exhaustive):

It is recommended that the course syllabus direct students to information regarding final exams, through a statement such as: “Final exams are scheduled for last week of the semester; the Final Exam Schedule is posted on the Registrar’s website (www.registrar.wsu.edu).” It is recommended that if the course does not require a final exam that that be communicated in the course syllabus.

Academic Regulation 90 states that a grade of Incomplete (I) may be entered only if “the student is unable to complete their work on time due to circumstances beyond their control.” It is recommended that instructors clearly articulate a policy concerning incomplete grades in the course syllabus.

It is recommended that all instructors utilize the university’s Learning Management System (LMS) to provide course materials and communicate with students instead of through a personal webpage. See https://wsu.instructure.com for details about using Canvas, the current LMS used across WSU since Fall 2021. It is recommended that instructors convey in the syllabus any information concerning your course’s LMS resources or other course websites. The LMS can provide a forum to start or continue a course if there is a weather-related or other disruption of campus activities.

Students should follow these steps to resolve concerns or complaints about grades, instruction, or course policies: 

• For concerns on course policies as outlined in the course syllabus, the concern should be emailed to the instructor within 5 business days after the first day of class instruction, or for students who enroll after the first day of class within 5 days of receiving access to the syllabus, in either hard-copy or electronic form.
• For grades on individual assignments, the concern should be emailed to the instructor in a timely way (typically within a week of receiving the grade, or as defined by the instructor) so that the issue may be addressed.
• For final grades, the concern must be emailed to the instructor within 10 business days of the final grading deadline and posting to the transcript. 
• For any other concerns about instruction that arise during the course, the student should email the instructor to attempt to resolve the issue. 

If the concern is not resolved with the instructor within 10 business days of sending the email, or if the instructor is unavailable, then the student may work directly with the chair of the academic department in which the course is offered.  The chair’s decision shall be rendered within 10 additional business days.  

After the chair’s decision, the student may appeal to the Dean’s Office of the academic college. Concerns must be emailed to the college dean within 10 business days of the chair’s decision. The written statement should:describe the concern, provide supporting evidence of how the student has attempted to resolve the concern,indicate how the issue affects the student, and state the remedy sought from the college dean. 

The decision of the college dean is the final step and shall be made within 10 business days. 

On the Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver campuses, the program leader or academic director will act in place of the department chair. The program leader or academic director will outline next steps if the student is dissatisfied.

The University Ombuds is available at any stage for advice or assistance in resolving academic concerns. 

Note:  Though chairs and college deans (and program leaders and campus chancellors) may resolve concerns about instruction and grading, they may not change a final grade without the consent of the instructor, except as provided by Rule 105.