UTexas

Class Syllabi

Each instructor must provide students with a syllabus by the first day that the class meets. To the extent practicable, the syllabus must include the following information by the first day:

  • The course number and title
  • The instructor’s name, office location, and office hours
  • The names, office locations, and office hours of any teaching assistants
  • An overview of the class, including prerequisites, the subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and the learning outcomes for the course and how they will be assessed
  • Grading policy, including: (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
  • 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
  • A list of required and recommended materials, such as textbooks, image collections, audio and audiovisual materials, supplies, articles, chapters, and excerpts as appropriate, identified by author, title, and publisher
  • Final exam date and time (when available)
  • The class website, if any
  • A notice that students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE), Disability and Access (SSD)

Posting a complete syllabus to a course’s Canvas site is adequate to meet the requirement to provide a syllabus to students, as long as the site has been published and made available to students by the first day of class.

Instructors of undergraduate courses are required to submit a course syllabus and curriculum vitae to their departmental office or dean's office (in non-departmentalized colleges/schools) by the first day of classes each semester. The administrative units must upload instructor CVs and syllabi of undergraduate courses to the University's public website no later than seven days after the first day of classes. Faculty members who utilize Canvas should separately upload syllabi to the learning management system. Listing of office location, office hours, and teaching assistant information is not required for the publicly available version of the syllabus. Making undergraduate course information available to the public is mandated by HB 2504, passed by the 81st Texas Legislature (2009).