Syllabi & Federal Compliance Spring 2025

From: Jennifer Roberts (Academic Affairs)

Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024, 3:22 p.m.

To: KU Lawrence Edwards All Faculty and Staff & GTA's

Colleagues,

 

We are following up with you today to share an update from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) mock site visit earlier this semester. One component of the comprehensive visit is the federal compliance report as it relates to syllabi retention and compliance.  As you are aware, in alignment with regulations from the U.S. Department of Education, KU’s Syllabus Policy requires that all courses must have a syllabus on file with the University. Each syllabus must include the required elements of the syllabus policy including course specific information and resource and policy information. We appreciate the work that you did Fall 2024 to meet this federal requirement.

 

Just like the mock site visit, during the actual HLC Site Visit (March 3-4, 2025), the review team will ask KU administrators to pull previous and current syllabi in each modality (online; face-to-face) to assess the degree to which KU adheres to these standards and assumed practices.  It is critical that all syllabi are uploaded to the repository by the 10th day of class (Monday, February 3, 2025) and that they comply with components outlined in KU’s Syllabus Policy .

 

Based on feedback from the Mock Site Review and an internal audit of 10% of submitted syllabi, we provide a list of recommendations for you to consider in preparing your Spring 2025 syllabi:

  1. Create your syllabus within Simple Syllabus. The internal audit of Fall 2024 syllabi found that syllabi created in Simple Syllabus were 97% to 100% policy compliant.
  2. Upload your syllabus to Simple Syllabus and ensure policy compliance by:
  3. Using the Student Resources | Academic Success website to ensure that all required  policies and resources are included. Feel free to include additional resources in addition to this easy, inclusive link;
  4. Using the exact language in the catalog to populate your course description; 
  5. Include the instructor’s office location, number of credit hours, instructional mode, attendance policy, and student course eval statement.  
  6. Items 2a-2c are automatically addressed if you use Simple Syllabus to create your syllabus.  
  7. Address federal compliance requirements (where applicable):
  8. Coordination of face-to-face formats with online or short-format courses. Ensure that all formats are coherent and convey the same student outcomes.
  9. Multiple level courses (e.g. 400/700 level). Explicitly address how students earn credit at each level.
  10. Variable credit hours offered in a single course. Explicitly address student expectations for engagement for each additional credit hour.
  11. Zero-credit hour. If workload is significant, please provide an explanation.

 

Continue to consult CTE for Syllabus Resources and thank you for your attention in this matter. Do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

 

Jennifer Roberts
Gina Wyant
Ric Steele
Alyssa Maglone