Do you require students to attend class synchronously?PPM 6-100  requires faculty to provide reasonable attendance accommodations to students who cannot attend classes due to sanctioned University activities, University closures, disability accommodations, and/or sudden illness or emergencies. 

Does your department have any requirements? Some programs and departments have discipline-specific requirements for their syllabi. Be sure to consult with your department and find out if there is a template or set of guidelines you are required to use.

Do you have course-specific policies regarding submission of late work, use of technology, etc.? Ensure your students know about your expectations ahead of time.

Are there specific teaching and/or learning methods to be used in this course? Describe your teaching process.

Where can students find/purchase materials for your course?What are the expectations (e.g., readings completed before class, after class)? Help students understand how to be best prepared for class.

Is there any sensitive content shared in your class? Notify students of any challenging or triggering topics that may result in students needing extra support.

What is your semester plan? Expand on the preliminary schedule in the Core Syllabus by adding in specific readings, class dates, due dates, etc.

Is there anything else you'd like to highlight for your students? Find a variety of optional ideas at the bottom of this page.

Students may drop a course within the first two weeks of a given semester without any penalties.

Students may officially withdraw (W) from a class or all classes after the drop deadline through the midpoint of a course. A “W” grade is recorded on the transcript and appropriate tuition/fees are assessed. The grade “W” is not used in calculating the student’s GPA.

For deadlines to withdraw from full-term, first, and second session classes, see the U's Academic Calendar.

Responsible employees are required under University policy to inform the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) of all reports of discrimination or sexual misconduct. Some employees (e.g. campus security authorities, those classified as confidential) are not required to report to OEO, but may have other reporting obligations. Learn more about how the OEO reporting process functions. 

Pregnant and parenting students are protected through Title IX from discrimination in educational settings. Students may request reasonable modifications through the Title IX Office as a result of pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.

For further support, please contact:

Title IX Coordinator & Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action

  801-581-8365
  oeo.utah.edu
  135 Park Building
  201 Presidents' Cir.
  Salt Lake City, UT 84112

You may be balancing your student responsibilities with the responsibility of being a parent or caregiver. If this is the case, I encourage you to reach out to me to discuss how I can best support your success in this course. You can also reach out to the Student Parent Support Center or the Center for Student Access and Support for additional resources.

Lauren’s Promise is a vow that anyone– faculty, staff, students, parents, and community members– can take to indicate to others that they represent a safe haven for sharing incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking. Anyone who makes Lauren’s Promise vows to:

1. Listen to and believe those individuals who are being threatened or experiencing sexual assault, dating violence or stalking;
2. Represent a safe haven for sharing incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking, and;
3. Change campus culture that responds poorly to dating violence and stalking.

By making Lauren’s Promise, individuals are helping to change campus cultures that respond poorly to dating violence and stalking throughout the nation.

The University of Utah has both historical and contemporary relationships with Indigenous peoples. Given that the Salt Lake Valley has always been a gathering place for Indigenous peoples, we acknowledge that this land, which is named for the Ute Tribe, is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes and is a crossroad for Indigenous peoples.

The University of Utah recognizes the enduring relationships between many Indigenous peoples and their traditional homelands. We are grateful for the territory upon which we gather today; we respect Utah’s Indigenous peoples, the original stewards of this land; and we value the sovereign relationships that exist between tribal governments, state governments, and the federal government. Today, approximately 60,000 American Indian and Alaska Native peoples live in Utah. As a state institution, the University of Utah is committed to serving Native communities throughout Utah in partnership with Native Nations and our Urban Indian communities through research, education, and community outreach activities.

Your personal health and wellness are essential to your success as a student. Personal concerns like stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, or cross-cultural differences can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed and thrive in this course and at the University of Utah. Please feel welcome to reach out to your instructor or TA to handle issues regarding your coursework.

For helpful resources to manage your personal wellness and counseling options, contact:

Counseling Services 

  801-581-6826
  counselingcenter.utah.edu
  Student Services Building
  201 South 1460 East, Rm 426
  Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Center for Student Wellness 

  801-581-7776
  wellness.utah.edu
  2100 Eccles Student Life Center
  1836 Student Life Way
  Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Your success at the University of Utah is important to all of us here! If you feel like you need extra support in academics, overcoming personal difficulties, or finding community, the U is here for you. Please refer to the Student Support Services page for the U for updated information.

Success at The University of Utah includes learning about and using available resources. The Basic Needs Collective (BNC) is a coordinated resource referral hub. They educate about and connect students to campus and community resources to help them meet their basic needs. As a central location for resource referrals related to food, housing, health insurance, managing finances, legal services, mental health, etc., any student experiencing difficulties with basic needs is encouraged to contact them. Drop into their office located in the Union basement, or schedule with them online for an in-person or virtual visit through their webpage: basicneeds.utah.edu.

Given the nature of this course, attendance is required and adjustments will only be permitted as required by Policy 6-100, Section III.O. If you need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy due to a disability, please contact the Center for Disability and Access (CDA). CDA will work with us to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

I stand in support of compassion, dignity, value-of-life, fair treatment, belonging, and justice for all individuals regardless of color, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, language, socioeconomic status, ability, gender, gender identity or expression, immigration status, or any type of marginalization. I stand in support of making our society more fair and compassionate for all individuals. I stand against discrimination in all its various forms.

It is expected that students adhere to University of Utah policies regarding academic honesty, including but not limited to refraining from cheating, plagiarizing, misrepresenting one's work, and/or inappropriately collaborating.

This includes the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools without citation, documentation, or authorization. Students are expected to adhere to the prescribed professional and ethical standards of the profession/discipline for which they are preparing.

Any student who engages in academic dishonesty or who violates the professional and ethical standards for their profession/discipline may be subject to academic sanctions as per Policy 6-410, Student Academic Performance, Academic Conduct, and Professional and Ethical Conduct.

To ensure you are viewing due dates and times correctly, as well as events in the calendar, set your student Canvas time zone to your current location by following this guide.

If you do not change your time zone, all due dates and times listed in Canvas will default to Mountain Time (MT).

All times written throughout the course (e.g. class meeting times) are in Mountain Time, unless stated otherwise.

The Content* available in this course is made available only for your personal, noncommercial educational, and scholarly use. You may not use the Content for any other purpose, or distribute, post or make the Content available to others unless you obtain any required permission from the copyright holder. Some Content may be provided via streaming or other means that restrict copying; you may not circumvent those restrictions. You may not alter or remove any copyright or other proprietary notices included in the Content.

Please see the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, Section III.A.5 regarding the use and distribution of class Content and materials. Section III.A.5 explicitly prohibits:

"Sale or distribution of information representing the work product of a faculty member to a commercial entity for financial gain without the express written permission of the faculty member responsible for the course."

* Content means original works of authorship that have been fixed in a tangible medium and any works based upon and derived from the original work of authorship.

Each student here at the U has unique lived experiences that impact their learning and perception of material. As part of this course, you will encounter a variety of topics, some of which may be considered offensive, disturbing, triggering, or emotionally challenging. These topics include:

• [Insert topics]

Advance notice will be provided as needed. For trauma survivors who struggle with these topics, please take the necessary steps to ensure your safety and communicate with your instructor. Consider contacting the Counseling Center for support if necessary.

You are still responsible for the material and any related assessments, as outlined in Policy 6-100, Section III.Q.1. If you would like to request a content accommodation to modify the reading, writing, viewing, listening, or performance requirements for this unit, please contact your instructor as soon as possible. 

All content provided has been carefully selected to guide you toward achievement of the learning objectives established for this course. Class topics are discussed for the sole purpose of expanding your personal knowledge and engagement. With that, there may be some content some students find to be in conflict with their sincerely-held core beliefs. 

If applicable, you may choose to request a content accommodation to modify the reading, writing, viewing, listening, or performance requirements in the course. Be aware that instructors are not required to grant content accommodations. As per Policy 6-100, Section III.Q.3:

"Students are expected to take courses that will challenge them intellectually and personally. Students must understand and be able to articulate the ideas and theories that are important to the discourse within and among academic disciplines. Personal disagreement with these ideas and theories or their implications is not sufficient grounds for requesting an accommodation. Accommodations requested on such grounds will not be granted.  The University recognizes that students' sincerely-held core beliefs may make it difficult for students to fulfill some requirements of some courses or majors. The University assumes no obligation to ensure that all students are able to complete any major."

It is your responsibility to determine if the course content is in conflict with your sincerely-held core beliefs. If so, please consider dropping the course. If you choose to drop the course, please be aware of the drop/withdrawal deadlines listed on the Academic Calendar.

Our classroom community is an open space for free speech, critical discourse, and the civil exchange of ideas. Throughout this course, you may encounter some difficult discussions about contentious topics. Disagreement can be a valuable learning opportunity for all of us, and discussion of all views is a necessary part of the educational process. All members of our course are asked to do their part in creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and sensitivity toward others. 

Disruptive behavior (e.g. harassment, defamatory or obscene speech, threats of violence, etc.) is strictly prohibited. As outlined in Policy 1-007, Section III.E.1:

"...Students have no right to impinge on the freedom of instructors to teach or the right of other students to learn. If a student persists in behaving disruptively in class after the instructor has explained the unacceptability of such conduct, the instructor may dismiss the student from the class and may refer the matter to the Office of the Dean of Students as described in Policy 6-400."

Students dismissed from classes may choose to appeal the dismissal to the Office of the Dean of Students. 

Learn more about how your First Amendment rights apply to you as a student here at the U.