Academic Senate Regulation 537 specifies that within the first week of instruction instructors must give students “a course outline containing information regarding the anticipated topical content of the course, amount and kind of work expected, and examination and grading procedures”; when (or, preferably, before) you distribute copies of your syllabus and information sheet to your students, please also give copies to the appropriate program administrator (Dana Ferris or Aliki Dragona for instructors of UWP 1 and Laurie Glover for instructors teaching any other UWP course for the first time.)

Your syllabus functions as a contract between you and your students and protects you and the UWP from later complications and complaints. While you may use your discretion in adapting to students’ documented illnesses, family emergencies, or other crises, you should generally adhere to the policies that you set.

Your syllabus may, of course, be revised during the term, and you should explicitly say so. You should not, however, add major assignments, change the weight given to work already submitted, or move deadlines to an earlier point in the quarter. Some instructors hand out the schedule of reading assignments in installments; all instructors should distribute major writing assignments at least a week before papers are due.

Your syllabus should include the following information and program policies:

Your name, office number, office phone number and/or e-mail address, and office hours. Instructors are expected to hold scheduled office hours (a minimum of two office hours for one course and a minimum of three for two or three courses) on at least two separate days of the week, preferably at different hours of the day. You may arrange to have some hours "by appointment," but you must hold the minimum number of scheduled hours.

Prerequisites for the course. Students must have met the Entry Level Writing Requirement (formerly called the Subject A requirement) before taking any UWP class. Students should have completed the lower-division writing requirement and 84 units (College of Letters & Science) or 70 units (Engineering) before enrolling in UWP 101, 102A-K, or 104A-I. Please refer students to the General Catalog for more information.

Prerequisites are enforced by the instructor, NOT by the Registrar. Since students cannot be dropped involuntarily, enforcement of prerequisites depends on the instructor’s convincing students who lack prerequisites to drop the course voluntarily. For this reason, you should list the prerequisite(s) on the syllabus and state them orally during the first class, and you can inform students in an upper-division class that the class is designed for upper-division students and not recommended for lower-division students. An in-class diagnostic early in the quarter can also help you assess students’ preparation and identify students who may lack the prerequisite or may need additional help to pass the class.

The total word requirement for University Writing Program courses. All UWP courses require a minimum of 6000 words of original graded writing. This word requirement may include scheduled formal revision assignments and significant graded in-class writing assignments or essay exams. To pass the course, students must hand in every graded writing assignment, including the final exam.

This is a good place to remind students that the 6000-word requirement can be met only if the student submits original work. Students suspected of plagiarizing their work and students guilty of other student misconduct must be referred to Student Judicial Affairs, as Academic Senate Policy requires.

All major assignments and due dates, with percentage breakdown for determining course grades. Many instructors give formal credit for attendance and participation, but you should evaluate students primarily on the quality of their writing. At least 85% of the final course grade should be based solely on the student’s formal writing (at-home essays, papers, and substantial in-class essays, including midterms and final exams). You need not hand out detailed writing assignments with your syllabus, but all writing assignments should be given in writing at least one week in advance of their due dates.

Graded in-class writing. It is strongly recommended that your syllabus include at least one graded in-class writing assignment  (other than the final exam). The graded in-class assignment allows the instructor to see student writing on which the writer has not received help; it also gives students practice in a type of writing they will frequently be asked to do in the university.

The final examination requirement. Senate Regulation 772 requires that final exams be given in undergraduate courses. Your syllabus should announce the date and time of the final exam. In any course, you may offer an alternative exam time, but students may not be required to take a final exam at a time other than the time announced in the Class Schedule and Registration Guide.

Your final exam should require students to write an essay that counts for a significant part (10-15%) of the final grade. In UWP 1, the final exam must be an in-class exam given during final exam week. A take-home exam is permissible in other UWP classes, but it may not require more than three hours of writing, and it must be due at the time of the regularly scheduled final. All take-home finals must be submitted to the instructor, not to departmental staff.

Your revision policy. Most instructors set a policy that encourages significant revision. Many instructors require submission of drafts and revision of one or more graded papers. Some instructors require students to revise several papers or allow students to revise any paper, preferably near the end of the quarter when their skills have improved. Some require a portfolio of drafts and revisions at the end of the quarter.

Whatever your policy, it should also encourage students to do good work the first time. The instructor is, of course, under no obligation to award a higher grade to a revision. Instructors should require significant revision before raising the grade; retyping (or re-keyboarding) with corrected mechanical errors is not revision. Also, you should probably not allow students to revise all their papers, as such a policy often leads to grade inflation.

It is further recommended that faculty should allow no more than one revision after a grade has been given on a paper and that the grade on the revised paper should be averaged with the earlier grade.

Your late paper policy. Policies vary among instructors. Some instructors penalize any late paper that is not justified by a documented illness or other acceptable excuse. Some allow students to hand in one late paper without penalty, if the student informs the instructor in writing before the paper is due and turns the paper in within a week or by a specified extended deadline. Others allow one "excused" late paper but penalize additional late papers up to a full grade per day. Penalties range from a third of a grade per calendar day or class day to a full grade per day late. In no case should a penalty exceed more than one grade per day. Also, penalties should be applied consistently throughout the quarter for all students.

Academic Senate policy requires instructors to accept and evaluate all papers submitted during the quarter, up to the minute grades are handed in. Instructors may, of course, penalize these papers in accordance with their written stated policy; thus a late paper could be given an F.

Your attendance policy. No more than 10-15% of the course grade should reflect class participation. To avoid the appearance of capriciousness or bias and encourage students to come to class prepared, you can give quizzes and require brief written and oral presentations in class. If students know that they cannot make up missed work and that that work is valuable, they will be less likely to miss class.