Syllabus
Instructors teaching online courses must ensure content in their course syllabus aligns with requirements outlined in the faculty contract and Distance Education regulations, like Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI).
Including extra guidance in your course syllabus can help your online students understand:
- What technology is used in online courses and how to get help
- What attendance and participation looks like in an online course
- How the instructor will interact with students and provide timely feedback
LPC provides a model DE syllabus that instructors are welcome to adapt. If you use the model as the foundation for your course syllabus, carefully review all parts and edit to reflect your course details, practices, and personality.
Quick Tips
- The model syllabus has been formatted to meet web accessibility standards. After making changes, use Microsoft's Accessibility Assistant or ComplyBot to remediate any errors that may occur when you edit the document.
- Instructors can also use ComplyBot to generate accessible HTML code to paste into the Canvas Syllabus tool, creating a more user-friendly version for students. Check the tutorial in the right side of ComplyBot for assistance with this process.
The model DE syllabus is regularly updated to reflect current best practices. Below is an outline of changes:
- July 28, 2026: Full redesign to better align with web accessibility standards, define Regular and Substantive Interaction through sections like Instructor Interaction/Instructor Feedback/Attendance + Participation, and clarify the instructor's AI Course Policy. An Alternate Communication Plan has also been included, directing students to check Zonemail in the event of a Canvas outage.
- November 6, 2023: Changed the link to the new LGBTQ+ web page in the section titled What Our Course Experience Will Be.
- August 11, 2023: Changed the section title Course Environment to What Our Course Experience Will Be; updated verbiage and links in the above section; added section titled Safety Resources on Campus.
- May 17, 2023: Added sentence in Academic Integrity section about artificial intelligence detector.
- January 10, 2023: Added placeholder for Zoom link to office hours
- November 30, 2022: Added section titled Course Environment
- September 16, 2022: Removed references to ConferZoom.
- February 9, 2022: Added section titled Student Rights and Responsibilities
- February 3, 2022: Added Pronto under Contact Info; Removed the sentence about activities in the Modules section.
- January 5, 2022: Added info on the LPC Tutoring/RAW link to the Online Tutoring section.
- November 22, 2021: Added this sentence in the first paragraph under My Role: Make sure you set your Canvas notification setting for Submission Comment (go to Account, click Notifications) to Notify Immediately so you will know when I comment on your submissions; Divided the My Role section into three paragraphs from two to increase readability.
- March 23, 2021: Under the Online Tutoring section, added instructions on how student get to the Student Support Hub in Canvas.
- March 22, 2021: Revised the Online Tutoring section.
- January 21, 2021: Added a sentence: I will try my best to give you a grade and necessary feedback within a week.
- January 20, 2021: Added "and other course supplies" to Textbooks section; added "You can also view the LPC Student Conduct and Due Process site" to the paragraph on Netiquette; added percentages to grading scale; Replaced link to LPC Student Conduct Code with link to LPC Student Conduct Code Definitions; reformatted Dates to Know section and added placeholders for dates to final exam and deadline to apply for federal financial aid.