Both you and your students may be navigating unusual or challenging conditions, and the syllabus is often the best place to signal flexibility and set expectations.
As you revisit it, consider where you might build more flexibility. This could include attendance expectations, late work policies, grading curves, or assignment weights. It may also be useful to step back and ask what matters most for students to learn in your course – even if that differs somewhat from what you originally planned.
The UVM Syllabus template provides required policies, student resources, and institutional information; from there, you can tailor the syllabus to your specific course.
Reassess Your Grading Structure
As you review your grading criteria, think about how you can better support student learning and reduce barriers by:
- Increasing the number of lower-stakes formative assessments rather than relying heavily on high-stakes exams. For example, you might replace a single large exam with a series of shorter quizzes. At the same time, be mindful of not overloading students with too many assignments or complex requirements!
- Removing or adjusting assignments that are difficult to complete under remote or disrupted learning conditions and reallocating those points to other assessments.
- Incorporating reflections or self-assessments through short assignments or exam essay questions. These types of assessments give students an opportunity to identify key takeaways from the course and connect the material to their academic and personal goals.
- Adjusting grading scales when appropriate. If you have taught your course before, you may have a sense of data or expectations for student performance at certain points in the course. If students are struggling more than expected on a particular assessment (e.g. the average on an exam is much lower than it usually is), consider whether adjusting the assignment weight or applying a curve is appropriate, given the circumstances.
Revisit Community Norms for Online and Remote Learning
If your course is shifting partially or fully online, revisit your community norms and expectations with students. Online learning environments can present challenges related to communication, participation, technology access, and engagement.
Consider addressing expectations around:
- Communication response times. State when students can expect responses to emails, discussion posts, or messages, and what communication channels should be used for different purposes.
- Participation expectations. Define what counts as participation in your course. If students cannot attend live sessions, explain alternative ways they can engage with course content and discussions.
- Attendance and engagement during synchronous sessions. Clarify expectations regarding cameras, microphones, chat participation, polls, breakout rooms, and other forms of engagement, while recognizing that students may have varying levels of comfort, privacy, or access to technology.
- Technology disruptions. Explain how students should communicate if they experience internet outages, software issues, or other technology barriers, and what accommodations may be available.
- Group work and collaboration. Specify expectations for communication, accountability, division of labor, and conflict resolution within student groups.
- Recording and privacy. Communicate whether class sessions will be recorded, how recordings may be used, and expectations regarding sharing course materials or recordings outside the class.
- Workload and flexibility. Be transparent about deadlines, policies for extension, and procedures students should follow if circumstances affect their ability to complete coursework.
Rather than presenting community norms as a list of rules, consider introducing them in conversation with students early in the semester and revising them periodically as course conditions evolve.
Include a Clear AI Statement
A clear AI statement is increasingly important because generative AI tools are now widely available, rapidly evolving, and used across disciplines. In the absence of explicit guidance, students may make different assumptions about what constitutes acceptable use, which could create confusion, inequities, and potential academic integrity concerns.
The challenge is not simply whether students use AI, but whether than use aligns with the learning goals of a particular assignment or activity in your course. In some cases, AI may support learning by helping students brainstorm ideas, practice skills, receive feedback, or explore concepts. But in other cases, AI may bypass the very intellectual work the assignment or quiz is designed to develop!
Every syllabus should include a statement that:
- Defines whether AI use is permitted, restricted, or prohibited in the course.
- Identifies assignments or activities where AI use is allowed and where it is not.
- Clarifies expectations for acknowledging, citing, or documenting AI use.
- Explains how AI use related to course learning outcomes and disciplinary practices.
- Describes the consequences of unauthorized AI use.
When expectations are tied directly to learning objectives, students are better able to make informed decisions about how and when to use AI tools responsibly.
Note: Because AI technologies continue to evolve rapidly, instructors should revisit AI statements regularly and include discussions of academic integrity before major assignments, projects, and assessments, rather than relying solely on syllabus language at the beginning of the semester or focusing your efforts on detecting student cheating after it occurs.
For additional guidance on teaching with AI, including sample syllabus statements, see UVM’s Writing in the Disciplines resource on Teaching and Writing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.