Establishing Course Policies

Course policies reflect your pedagogical values and guide your students’ behavior in and out of the classroom. In agreement with best practices for teaching and learning, and Georgia Tech policies and regulations (regulation VI.I.1), there are six types of policies that should be articulated in your syllabus. Click on the items below for more guidance about how to incorporate these policies into your course and your syllabus, and to see example syllabus policies. For more information on Georgia Tech teaching-related policies, visit our Basic Rules and Regulations page.

Want some help establishing your course policies? Contact us via ctlhelp@gatech.edu!

Academic Integrity and Collaboration

Many factors contribute to reduced rates of cheating and plagiarism in the classroom. Two important factors are the clarity of your expectations for students, and your rationale for your choices. In addition, the university’s Honor Code asks you to clarify the levels of collaboration that you permit, outside resources students can use (on assignments, exams, projects, etc.), and how students should report their use of outside resources.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How will allowing or not allowing collaboration on an assignment contribute to your students’ achievement of your learning objectives?
What degree of collaboration is acceptable (for each type of work students will do in your class)?
What counts as acceptable use of outside resources for graded work?
What method should students use to report their use of outside resources?
How will you articulate the motivation behind your policy?
How will you explain to your students what constitutes plagiarism?

Sample Academic Integrity and Collaboration policies (.docx)

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Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

You are required, by law, to provide “reasonable accommodations” to students with documented disabilities. Georgia Tech students can get this documentation from the Office of Disability Services, and this office can be a resource to you in identifying the best ways to accommodate individual student needs while supporting the learning of all students in your classroom

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Will you require students to provide you with a letter from Disability Services, or is the student’s statement of their need for accommodation sufficient?^[1]
In what circumstances (if any) will you consider accommodating students who don’t have a documented disability, but express need for extra accommodation?
What amount of notice do you consider reasonable when a student has needs that require special accommodations? Keep in mind that a student may not be diagnosed with a need until part way through a semester.

Sample Accommodations policies (.docx)

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Attendance and/or Participation

Whether attendance and/or participation are required and/or graded in your class is up to you, and your position on this is an important course design consideration. In addition, keep in mind that Georgia Tech policy permits students to miss class without penalty for participation in approved institute activities and in specific religious observances (click here for details).

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How will attendance contribute to your students’ achievement of learning objectives?
What is the maturity level/experience of your students and what does that say about your need to support (or force) them to make good choices?
If a student skips every class but achieves an A in the course, will you be satisfied that they took part in the full learning experience?
How will student absences affect other students?
What resources do you have at your disposal for tracking and/or grading attendance and/or participation?
Is it enough for a student to attend a class, or do you want them to demonstrate active engagement as well? Will that be part of their grade?
If you are grading participation, will students be graded on the quantity of their contributions to class or will the quality of their participation also be considered?
Is your participation policy unfair to students who find speaking in class difficult or overwhelming (e.g. students who speak English as a second language, students who find public speaking difficult)? Are there alternative options you can provide for these students?
What are the consequences, if any, of a student's late arrival to class?

Sample Attendance and Participation policies (.docx)

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Extensions, Late Assignments, and Re-Scheduled/Missed Exams

Students need to know what your policy is on things like late assignments and missed exams. You should be as clear as possible about your rules and the consequences for your students in order to help them focus their efforts appropriately and to make it easy for you to be consistent throughout the course. Note also that at Georgia Tech some exceptions are made for “approved Institute activities” (e.g. field trips and athletic events); see the official Attendance policy for more information.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Will late assignments be accepted? How will late submissions affect a student’s grade?
Will extensions be granted? Under what sorts of conditions? How much advance notice will you require from students in order to approve an extension?
Is your policy fair to students who make the necessary sacrifices to turn their work in on time?
Are you confident that you will feel comfortable following through on your policy when students ask for exceptions to be made or when they turn work in after a deadline?
What counts as an acceptable “extenuating circumstance” and how will that change the consequences for a student’s grade?
To what extent will you accommodate students who miss more than one exam (or a make-up exam)?
Are you willing to reschedule midterm and/or final exams?^[2] Under what conditions?

Sample Late or Missed Assignments and Exams policies (.docx)

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Student-Faculty Expectations Agreement

A respectful classroom setting where students understand their rights and responsibilities creates a good environment for teaching and learning. To support mutual respect and understanding between students and faculty, Georgia Tech faculty and students collectively adopted a list of student-faculty expectations. They include both student and faculty rights concerning class attendance, office hours, academic misconduct, grading, and class preparation and engagement. See the full Student-Faculty Expectations agreement here.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Are your course policies aligned with Georgia Tech regulations?
Does your class schedule, due dates for assignments, and exams adhere to Georgia Tech policies (e.g. Dead Week Policy or Week Preceding Final Examinations Policy)?
How will you integrate (if at all) these stipulations into your syllabus?

Sample Student-Faculty Expectations policies (.docx)

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Student Use of Mobile Devices in the Classroom

Research on learning shows that unexpected noises and movement automatically divert and capture people’s attention, which means that one student’s use of a mobile devices (laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc.) can distract another student, thus disrupting their ability to learn. In addition, students using mobile devices often become engaged in matters that are not related to the class they are attending. Further, research indicates that students taking notes on laptops tend to process less as they take notes, and the depth of their learning suffers.

On the other hand, mobile devices can be a useful tool for taking notes and/or following presentations that have been made available online, as well as referring to readings or other outside resources. In addition, students mature/advanced enough to use mobile devices appropriately and note-take with some sophistication may not fall prey to the dangers mentioned above. To set this policy, think about individual students, the overall dynamic you would like to see at work in your classroom, and your own tolerance of distractions in the classroom.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How distracting do you find it when students are using their mobile devices during your class?
How important do you think it is to protect students from their potential distraction?
Do you have online materials you would like students to be able to access during class?
Are there structured ways to leverage devices to actually support learning in the context of your class (e.g. looking things up online, web-based polling systems, simulations, etc.)?
Are there certain days or activities for which mobile devices will (or will not) be used as an exception to the rule?

Sample Mobile Devices policies (.docx)

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Additional Policy Ideas

There are a wide variety of additional policies you might include in your syllabus, depending on your specific context and approach to your course. For example, many instructors include at least one of the following policies explicitly on their syllabus:

accommodations for religious observances*
food and drink in the classroom
freedom of expression and guidelines for discussion
Institute-approved absences*
lab safety
preparation for guest speakers
re-grading and re-submission
recording class activities

*Note that Georgia Tech policy requires accommodation for students who miss class to participate in approved institute activities or specific religious observances (click here for details). However, it is up to you whether you mention this explicitly in your syllabus or not.

Sample Additional policies (.docx)

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Footnotes

[1] While you can provide certain accommodations without recommendations from the Office of Disability Services, we recommend that you request documentation in order to determine which accommodations are best for the student.

[2] Note that current university policy affords students a makeup exam option when they have three or more exams scheduled in a twenty-four hour period.

Course Policy Tips and Best Practices

explain the rationale behind your policy
make your expectations clear
communicate consequences for policy-violating behavior
clarify what a student needs to do if extenuating circumstances arise (and about what counts as extenuating circumstances)
use language that emphasizes your students’ role in the process
communicate in a tone that expresses both authority and approachability

Remember that policy choices tend to involve tradeoffs between equally desirable options, so take time to consider what you’re giving up and why.

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