Policy: Course Outline (Revision Approved, April 2007)

  1. Faculty shall provide students with course outlines that are compatible with course descriptions in the university catalog. Course outlines shall be provided to students in writing and, as needed, in an accessible electronic format within the first full week of classes and must include the following items.
    1. Name of instructor, office location, office hours, office telephone number, and email address.
    2. Course number, title, and general course description including the course format, materials, and prerequisites, if any.
    3. Course goals and objectives.
    4. Course requirements such as written work, exams, quizzes, projects, labs,
      fieldwork, attendance, etc., and a tentative schedule of assignments and exams.
    5. Grading policy (the relative weight of course requirements).
    6. Indicate the G.E. area of the course, if applicable.
  2. In addition, faculty are strongly encouraged to include the following items.
    1. Courses listed as General Education courses should print or provide URL reference to the Mission Goals and Objectives (MGOs) of General Education at SSU.
    2. As a reminder to the students, language such as the following is strongly recommended: “There are important University policies that you should be aware of, such as the add/drop policy; cheating and plagiarism policy, grade appeal procedures; accommodations for students with disabilities and the diversity vision statement. (Go to this URL to find them: http://www.sonoma.edu/uaffairs/policies/studentinfo.shtml)
  3. Changes in the course outline should be communicated to students in a timely manner. Activities scheduled outside of regular class meetings, e.g. fieldtrips, may not be added as required course work after the add/drop deadline. Faculty shall inform students that it is their responsibility to read the course outline and to request any clarification of course policies. If the student adds the course after the first full week of class, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain information about the course.