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ABAC 3. 10 - Syllabi

Policy goal – define authority, duties and responsibilities, chain of command, procedure, and practice for the production and maintenance of syllabi for all for-credit courses.  

Rationale – efficient and effective curriculum management, accreditation, and longitudinal catalog record retention requires that ABAC have a clearly established process for the production, maintenance, approval, and archiving of all elements of the curriculum, which include the course number, course name, course description, learning outcomes, and syllabus.  The requirement to produce and retain accurate records is based on the College’s commitment to:

·         Provide evidence of active programmatic management and curriculum integrity, as program outcomes are built upon course outcomes.
·         Provide accurate and timely documentation to receiving institutions who are considering transcribing credit for course taken at ABAC.  We must provide course and instructor-specific information.
·         Ensure adherence to applicable records retention requirements.
·         Provide clear guidance on the content requirements.
·         Verify that instructors communicate course requirements to students.
·         Improve the availability of syllabi and consistency of information provided to students to help the College in meeting accreditation expectations.

Authority, responsibility, and obligations

1.      Deans are responsible for ensuring that faculty comply with this policy.  Deans may choose to delegate certain responsibilities/duties to coordinators, chairs, or heads, but the dean is ultimately responsible for compliance.
2.      It is the responsibility of the Dean to ensure that faculty are made aware of the most current iteration of Mandatory Common Syllabus Elements for each course.
3.      Instructors of record (faculty) are responsible for producing the official two-section syllabus that is distributed to students.   It is the responsibility of the faculty to ensure that they apply the most current iteration of this information to their individual syllabi.
4.      Deans, or their designees, are responsible for reviewing and approving all syllabi. 
5.      Syllabi that do not comply with this policy shall be returned to the instructor of record for revision.

Syllabus form, content, preparation, and approval

All syllabi will consist of two sections.

Section A – Mandatory Common Syllabus Elements (MCSE)

Mandatory Common Syllabus Elements are designed to ensure that course content, topics, learning outcomes, contributions to program outcomes are delivered to all students regardless of instructor, section, term, location, etc.  Maintaining consistency is essential to the College’s management of programs and their integrity.   In essence, the MCSE related to WHAT (content) is taught in a course. 

This section of the syllabus will be standardized in form and content and will be maintained as a part of the college catalog, as prescribed by the Registrar.  It will be identical for every section of a course regardless of instructor, mode of instruction, course location, term, etc. MCSE will be reviewed regularly to ensure inclusiveness and accuracy when compared to course documentation approved by faculty, school curriculum committees, and the College Curriculum Committee.  MCSE will be reviewed for compliance and approved by the Dean, Registrar, and Assessment Coordinator.

MCSE elements will include

1.      Course Code (previously called CRN) (official)
2.      Course Title (official)
3.      Course Description (official)
4.      Number of course credit hours
5.      Course Description
6.      The approved institutional class attendance policy
7.      Any applicable, Gen. Ed. statement/ Program assessment statement/ Accrediting body statement
8.      Explicitly state is there is a lab or lab component
9.      Pre-requisites/Co-requisites
10.  Course Learning Outcomes exactly as most recently approved by the College-wide Curriculum Committee
11.  College Policy on Academic Dishonesty

MSCE process 

Courses taught be one, and only one, instructor – the MCSE can be detailed by the instructor and submitted to the appropriate school academic personnel for review and approval. Upon approval by the dean, the MSCE for a course shall be submitted to the Registrar and the Assessment Coordinator for review.  Once approved, Section A (the MCSE) will be entered into the electronic catalog system.  Once approved and entered, this section of the syllabus cannot be changed by the instructor. 

Courses with sections taught by more than one instructor – it shall be the responsibility of the dean, or their designee, to appoint a faculty committee to develop Section A (MCSE).  Upon approval by the dean, the MSCE for a course shall be submitted to the Registrar and the Assessment Coordinator for review.  Once approved by the Registrar and the Assessment Coordinator, Section A (the MCSE) will be entered into the electronic catalog system.  Once entered, this section of the syllabus cannot be changed by the instructor. 

Section B – Required Instructor Provided Elements (RIPE)

Required instructor provided elements are designed to provide opportunity of elements of academic freedom with respect to HOW the course is delivered.

Required Instructor Provided Elements

·         Instructor’s name
·         Instructor’s email
·         Instructor’s Office Location
·         Instructor’s Office Hours
·         Required Textbooks and Course Materials
·         List of course topics and/or a detailed course schedule
·         Course Assessments (linked to the course learning outcomes they assess)
·         Attendance Policies
·         Grading Policy 
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Policy closing note:  adherence to this policy will ensure that the College can fulfill its obligations regarding accreditation, support transfer of students, and provide consistent delivery of educational materials to students across instructors and time.