Teaching Related Policies & Guidelines
Textbook Adoption Policy Heading link
Please place course materials orders as soon as possible in preparation for the next semester. Federal law requires that UIC gather and communicate textbook information to students in the schedule of classes. Specifically, in August 2008, the Higher Education Act was reauthorized with the passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). With the law’s passage, universities must make textbook information readily available to students via the online schedule of classes. To comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Office of the Registrar has made textbooks and required materials available for students in the online Schedule of Classes via my.UIC.edu.
Syllabus Policy Heading link
All regularly scheduled undergraduate, graduate and professional courses for which students receive credit or that they are required to complete, regardless of the method of delivery, must have a syllabus or equivalent documentation, defining the expectations of the instructor and the responsibilities of the student. It must include essential information such as: course title, number and description, name of and contact information for the instructor(s), availability times or office hours of instructor(s), course goals or objectives, requirements, and methods of evaluation, class meeting schedule, required and optional texts and other course materials, calendar of major course events and deadlines, grading policy, attendance policy, policy for missed or late work, special course policies, statement about disability services, and description of appropriate classroom behavior. The course syllabus is to be provided no later than the first day of instruction.
For assistance designing a syllabus, check out the CATE Syllabus Toolkit. In addition, the Inclusion Teaching Toolkit provides resources to support instructors in their efforts to both incorporate diverse perspectives into the curriculum and also to create a welcoming, student-centered classroom climate.
Mid-term Grading Guidelines Heading link
To help assure that freshman students understand how they are doing in their various courses we have asked faculty teaching in the 000- and 100–level courses to provide a mid-semester grade to their students. If you are teaching such a course, you will receive an email from the Registrar instructing how mid-term grades can be entered into the Banner faculty self-service system (my.UIC.edu). An added benefit of entering mid-term grades into Banner is that advisers and other support units can also access the information and make positive interventions.
Teaching Evaluation Policy Heading link
Students attending regularly-scheduled undergraduate, graduate, and professional courses for which credit is awarded or required for program or degree completion, regardless of the method of delivery, must be provided with a means of evaluating the course in its entirety (e.g., a final course evaluation). UIC reserves the right to publish online the results of student evaluations of teaching for courses with an enrollment greater than 10 students. If your department is participating in the campus online program you are encouraged to invite students to bring their portable electronic devices to class so they may complete their evaluations during class time. Participation in the Student Evaluation of Teaching Program is not automatic, and for departments to join the program, please contact the Office for Faculty Affairs. Teaching Evaluation Policy.