Course Outline Requirements
About Us
Policies and Procedures: Course Outline Requirements
Events
Academic Operations Manual
Approving Authority: SJU Senate Council
Established: November 22, 2013
Date of Last Review/Revision: May 17, 2019, replaces November 18, 2016
Office of Accountability: Vice President Academic and Dean
Administrative Responsibility: Vice President Academic and Dean
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1. Policy Statement
To ensure effective and consistent communication with students, the instructor must distribute a course outline to all students either electronically or on paper by the end of the first week of classes.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all instructors employed by St. Jerome’s University and who are teaching independent courses. St. Jerome’s University instructors teaching courses coordinated with the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo) and using shared course outlines should consult with their chairs to ensure that their outlines adhere to St. Jerome’s University and/or UWaterloo requirements.
3. Required Elements
Course outlines should contain the following elements:
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The number and title of the course as listed, including all cross-listed numbers and the departmental home of the course
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The term and year of offering
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Class days, times, building, and room number
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The course instructor’s name, office address, office hours, and contact information (for example, email address)
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All course Teaching Assistant names, office addresses, office hours (if applicable), and contact information (for example, email address)
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Course description
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Course objectives
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Required text(s) and/or reading(s)
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A general overview of the topics to be covered
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The evaluation structure for the course, including course requirements, deadlines, weight of requirements toward the final course grade
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Rules for group work (if applicable)
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The instructor’s policy on late work, missed assignments, and make-up tests
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Instructions on where to submit assignments
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Other relevant elements required by the program/department/faculty
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Institutional-required statements regarding academic integrity (see Sec. 4)
4. Required Language Regarding Academic Integrity
4.1 St. Jerome’s University instructors teaching independent courses are required to include the language under 4.2 in their course outlines regarding academic integrity. St. Jerome’s University instructors using shared course outlines with University of Waterloo instructors should consult with their chairs to ensure that their outlines adhere to St. Jerome’s University and/or UWaterloo requirements.
4.2 [HEADER] IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Petitions and Grievances. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the St. Jerome’s Advising Specialist, Student Affairs Office, who will provide further assistance.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Discipline. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to University of Waterloo Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check the Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Appeals.
Note for students with disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall (Room 1401) at the University of Waterloo, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.
Instructors are to include the following statement if using Turnitin® in the course (see For Instructors and Teaching Assistants for more information):
Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.
5. Guidelines for AODA Compliance
The guidelines below help instructors to produce a course outline that conforms to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and meets the accessibility standards established by UWaterloo for online content.
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Font size should be 12-point or larger
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Font style should be sans serif
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Visual cues (such as bold, italics, colour) should not be the sole method of emphasis; rather, these features may accompany language that highlights information (for example, “please note” or “important”)
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Document should have the capacity to be magnified without pixilation
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All text should be readable from left to right
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Add meaningful hyperlink text with the full title of the destination page (avoid using “Click Here”)
The Course Outline Template (below) is a resource in the construction of a course outline.
St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo
Department of [NAME]
[COURSE CODE] [TERM/YEAR]
[COURSE NAME]
[MEETING TIMES AND LOCATION]
INSTRUCTOR [AND TA] INFORMATION
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Instructor:
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[NAME]
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Office:
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[OFFICE NUMBER]
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Phone:
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[PHONE NUMBER AND EXTENSION]
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Office Hours:
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[DAYS AND TIMES]
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Email:
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[EMAIL ADDRESS]
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TAs:
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[TA 1 NAME]
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[TA 2 NAME]
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Email:
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[TA 1 EMAIL ADDRESS]
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[TA 2 EMAIL ADDRESS]
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Office:
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[TA 1 OFFICE NUMBER]
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[TA 2 OFFICE NUMBER]
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Office Hours:
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[TA 1 DAYS AND TIMES]
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[TA 2 DAYS AND TIMES]
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
COURSE OBJECTIVES
[INCLUDE ANY INFORMATION RELATED TO OBJECTIVES/GOALS/LEARNING OUTCOMES]
REQUIRED TEXTS [AND OTHER REQUIRED/SUGGESTED READINGS]
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT
[INCLUDE BRIEF DESCRIPTION, DUE DATE, AND PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE FOR EACH REQUIREMENT]
COURSE SCHEDULE
[INCLUDE WEEKLY SCHEDULE LISTING TOPICS, READINGS, ASSIGNMENT, AND TEST DATES]
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
POLICY ON LATE WORK, MISSED ASSIGNMENTS, AND MAKE-UP TESTS
[INCLUDE DETAILS OF INSTRUCTOR’S POLICY, INCLUDING PENALTIES]
RULES FOR GROUP WORK IN ASSIGNMENTS
[INCLUDE THIS SECTION IF APPLICABLE TO THE COURSE]
When working on a group assignment, a Group Assignment Checklist must be completed and submitted with the assignment.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
[INCLUDE DETAILS OF INSTRUCTOR’S POLICY, INCLUDING PENALTIES]
ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY
[INCLUDE DETAILS OF INSTRUCTOR’S POLICY, INCLUDING PENALITIES FOR IMPROPER USE]
CORRESPONDENCE
[INCLUDE INSTRUCTOR’S PREFERENCE ON HOW TO BE CONTACTED AND WHAT INFORMATION TO INCLUDE, E.G. STUDENT ID]
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION [REQUIRED LANGUAGE APPROVED BY SJU SENATE COUNCIL]
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Petitions and Grievances. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the St. Jerome’s Advising Specialist, Student Affairs Office, who will provide further assistance.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Discipline. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to University of Waterloo Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check the Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to the St. Jerome’s University Policy on Student Appeals.
Note for students with disabilities: AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall (Room 1401) at the University of Waterloo, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.
[INCLUDE THE NEXT SECTION IF USING TURNITIN]
Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.