Course Syllabus Policy

Sponsor:	Office of Academic Affairs
Contact:	Provost/Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Category:	Academic
Number:	100.137
Effective Date:	09/02/2025
Implementation History:	The 2024 Course Syllabus Policy is the revised and renamed policy most recently titled Learning Contract Policy and Procedures. The June 2017 version of this policy was approved by the president upon the recommendation of the college Senate and Undergraduate Committee for Academic Programs’ (UCAP) predecessor, Committee on Undergraduate Studies and Policies (CUSP) as the Learning Contract Policy and superseded the Learning Contract Study and Undergraduate Students Policy of March 2012.
Keywords:	Course Syllabus, Criteria for Evaluation, Learning Activities, Learning Contract, Learning Outcomes
Background Information:	The 2024 version of this policy, which includes a title change, is to bring it in line with current university expectations, program assessment standards, and to update terminology. The 2017 revision was undertaken to align with the new course catalog initiative and academic restructuring, and the policy was rewritten as part of the Catalog Policy Retreat held in May 2016. The revisions to the 2011 version of the policy were made concurrently with revisions to the policy on undergraduate student evaluation and grading to eliminate narrative contract evaluations and delineate more explicit expectations about statements of learning outcomes and formative assessment than earlier versions.

Purpose

This policy establishes principles that guide the design of effective course syllabi, specify the content of course syllabi, and detail the relationship of course syllabi to other documents such as the course information document in the university catalog.

Empire State University is committed to the following principles:

• student needs are at the center of effective course syllabi
• learning occurs in varied ways, places, and modes
• learning styles differ by individual student
• promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion

Well-designed course syllabi lay the foundation for student success by aligning learning outcomes and activities, allowing for timely and meaningful engagement and feedback, and identifying specific criteria for evaluation.

Definitions

Academic Program: refers to a set of courses or educational experiences offered by the institution that leads to a degree, certificate, or micro-credential.

Course: refers to a study, regardless of modality, created by a faculty member. Although the course syllabus might allow for flexibility within specific assignments, the course itself contains course learning outcomes that are consistent with the course learning outcomes listed in the university course catalog.

Course Syllabus: refers to the document that outlines the responsibilities of students and faculty in a course. The course syllabus provides specific information about what students will learn, how they will learn, and how students will demonstrate what they have learned in the course. Course syllabi are required for all course sections. The course syllabus was previously referred to as a learning contract.

Course Learning Outcomes: describe the intended skills, abilities, and knowledge that students are expected to demonstrate upon successful completion of a course.

Program Learning Outcomes:  describe the intended skills, abilities, and knowledge that students are expected to demonstrate upon successful completion of an academic program.

Totally Individualized Study (TIS): refers to a study created for and with a student in response to a student’s particular interests, goals, and learning needs. A TIS may afford the student the opportunity to help design the study’s learning objectives/outcomes and/or learning activities in dialog with a faculty member.

University Learning Goals: describe the intended skills, abilities, and knowledge that every student at the university, regardless of program, is expected to achieve and demonstrate upon graduation.

Statements

The university catalog includes information representing an agreement among faculty members who oversee each course regarding the course description, course learning outcomes, university learning goals, credits, level, and general education status and other related information. Some components of course syllabi—such as course learning outcomes stated in the course catalog and university learning goals—must be standardized across all sections of the course to ensure consistency. Other aspects, such as additional course learning outcomes, texts and readings, and assignments, can be individualized by instructor.

Course syllabi must include:

(a) Course learning outcomes
(b) University learning goals as applicable
(c) Course learning activities
(d) Criteria for evaluating student achievement of course learning outcomes and university learning goals
(e) Information on how students can contact the instructor.
(f) Identification of forms of substantive interaction and scheduled opportunities for instructor- student interaction.
(g) References to appropriate course and university policies, including the Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures.
(h) A statement on the instructor’s policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence in course assignments.
(i) Links to student support and resources.

Course syllabi must be submitted two weeks before the start date of the term, except for courses designated as Totally Individualized Studies (TIS). Courses designated as TIS must meet the same criteria as non-TIS courses, but course syllabi for TIS-designated courses may be submitted up to two weeks after the start date of the term.

Applicable Legislation and Regulations

State the relevant legislation this policy must comply with or is referenced to. Regulations are rules or orders issued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of government that have the force of law. State any relevant regulations that affect this policy.