Policy 9-7 Rev 19
Date: March 21, 2005
Subject: FACULTY REGULATIONS - Chapter VII
INSTRUCTION AND EVALUATION
SECTION 1. THE ACADEMIC YEAR
The academic year shall be divided into a Fall and Spring semester of
approximately fifteen weeks each and a Summer term of approximately twelve
weeks. A semester may be subdivided into two sessions of approximately eight
weeks each and the Summer term may be subdivided into two sessions of
approximately six weeks each.
SECTION 2. THE CREDIT HOUR
A university credit hour shall represent approximately three clock hours of the student's time a week for one semester.
SECTION 3. STANDARDS FOR UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT-BEARING COURSES(1)
A. Courses are developed by departments, programs, and academic administration in compliance with governing board policies. While faculty must play a major role, comparability of credits across the University should be maintained. The methods of instruction, time taught, or sites should make no difference in the integrity of the credit hour.
B. Credit should be given only to those courses which apply toward completion of requirements for a certificate or degree at the University.
C. Courses should be appropriately rigorous, complex and numbered at comparable levels as determined by the department, college curriculum committee, and university review processes. "Credit awarded for successful educational performance should reflect comparable quality and be uniformly defined within an institution, regardless of the methods of instruction used, the time when the course is taught"(2) or the site.
D. Courses should be taught, evaluated, or directly supervised by an instructor approved by an academic department or program, whose teaching qualifications satisfy departmental criteria.
E. Course descriptions should clearly state the learning outcomes and classroom activities essential to credit being awarded. If attendance is essential to credit, the rationale should be made clear to students.
F. Credit hours and student/faculty workload should be comparable among classes, departments, and colleges, taking into account special requirements of accrediting agencies. At the University of Utah we assume that there is at least one hour in class and two hours outside of class per week or the equivalent combination connected to every credit hour. In laboratories it is expected that at least 2 to 3 hours are spent in class and approximately the same amount outside for each credit hour awarded. Where these minimums are exceeded, the approximate workload should be made clear in catalog descriptions, advising materials, and course syllabi.
G. At the University of Utah one hour classes are usually graded as credit/no credit.
H. The learning outcomes and requirements must be assessed appropriately.
I. Catalog, curriculum guide, and syllabi should accurately reflect the work load and the work load should be commensurate with the credit hours awarded.
J. Credit courses must be recorded on the student's permanent academic record (transcript).
K. The faculty and academic administration need to provide policies for allowing repeating of classes. These should be clearly communicated and coordinated across departments.
L. No credit should be assigned to any class whose purpose is only to qualify students for financial aid.
M. Acceptance of transfer credits depends upon quality of instruction from the sending institution, comparability of the nature, content, and level of credit earned, and appropriateness and applicability of credit to the receiving institution and the student's educational goals.
N. Consistent with Regents' policy, the University of Utah does not offer credit for classes defined as remedial.
SECTION 4. NONCREDIT COURSES
A. Course development procedures for noncredit courses should be academically sound and as rigorous, though perhaps different, as those applying to credit courses.
B. The national standard for Continuing Education Units (CEU) is "ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction." The CEU may be the appropriate unit of measurement for qualifying noncredit courses.
C. A noncredit course is one which, at a minimum:
--meets criteria established by University and Governing Board guidelines.
--incorporates content, teaching methods and attendance requirements appropriate to the students eligible to enroll.
--is taught or supervised by an instructor who has met institutional qualifications for noncredit courses.
--is accurately described in appropriate publications of the University and for which an institutional record is established and maintained.
--recognizes participation of students appropriately.
SECTION 5. COURSES
Courses of instruction may be offered only by the teaching staff and with
the approval of the president.
Classrooms and hours shall not be changed without the consent of the
director of scheduling.
Classes shall begin promptly, be dismissed promptly, and take precedence
over any special examination or exercise not a part of the official university
calendar unless such examination or exercise is authorized by the Academic
Senate.
SECTION 6. COURSE NUMBERS
Courses of instruction shall be classified and numbered in the publication
and records of the university in accordance with the resolutions of the
Academic Senate.
SECTION 7. EXAMINATIONS
Final, comprehensive, and special examinations shall be given under
regulations to be determined by the Academic Senate.
Final examinations in university courses may be required at the instructor's
discretion. When they are required, final examinations must be given at times
officially set. A schedule for such examinations shall be prepared by the
director of scheduling and published by the university.
A regular examination may be given a student at a time other than that
officially scheduled only under specified conditions.
At the discretion of the department, each candidate for graduation with a
baccalaureate degree may be required to pass a comprehensive examination
(written, oral, or both) in the candidate's field of concentration. This
examination shall not excuse the candidate from any regular examination.
Special examinations for college credit shall not be given in courses not
offered by the university or in courses which the student has attended as an
auditor or for which credit has been received.
A maximum of 32 semester credit hours in areas other than foreign languages
and in addition a maximum of 25 credit hours in foreign languages may be
allowed by special examination toward a bachelor's degree to a resident
student, provided the student has shown proficiency in the subject to the
satisfaction of the Credits and Admissions Committee and the appropriate dean
or chairperson of the department concerned.
SECTION 8. GRADES
Student work in university courses shall generally be reported in terms of
the following grades: "A," "A-," excellent performance,
superior achievement; "B+," "B," "B-," good
performance, substantial achievement; "C+," "C,"
"C-," standard performance and achievement; "D+,"
"D," "D-," substandard performance, marginal achievement;
"E," unsatisfactory performance and achievement. Grade point averages
will be computed as follows: "A" = 4.0, "A-" = 3.7,
"B+" = 3.3, "B" = 3.0, "B-" = 2.7, "C+"
= 2.3, "C" = 2.0, "C-" = 1.7, "D+" = 1.3,
"D" = 1.0, "D-" = 0.7, "E" = 0.0.
In the School of Medicine, final grades for all students working toward the
M.D. degree may be reported as either "P" (pass) or "F"
(fail), and using an "I" (incomplete) as an interim grade when
appropriate.
In the College of Law, some advanced problem courses or clinical courses may
be offered on an exclusively pass/fail basis.
The criteria for grading students shall be performance in tests, papers, or
assignments, participation in class discussion and activities, and other
evaluative processes necessary in determining the student's achievement levels.
All of these procedures may be part of the total evaluation, as adapted by the
individual professor to fit the needs of the particular class. Physical
attendance may be used as a criterion in determining the final grade only where
it indicates lack of participation in a class where student participation is
generally required or as required by accrediting bodies.
The mark "I" (incomplete) shall be given and reported for work
incomplete because of circumstances beyond the student's control. The grade of
"I" must be used only for a student who is passing the course and who
needs to complete 20% or less of the course. An "I" must not be used
in a way that will permit a student to retake the course without paying
tuition. If the student attends the course during a subsequent semester as part
of the effort required to complete the course, he/she must be registered
(either as a regular student or for audit) in the semester in which he/she
attends.
If incomplete work has not been finished within one calendar year after the
"I" was given, the "I" will be changed to an "E"
by the registrar's office. Should the student graduate within one calendar year
after receiving the "I," but before completing the work, the
"I" will remain in the record, but will not contribute to credit
toward graduation or the grade point average.
When an instructor has no record of attendance or other evidence of
participation in the course by a person whose name appears on the Registrar's
final grade report, the instructor should enter the grade "EU" for
that person. When no grade is entered for any person listed in a final grade
report, the Registrar shall record an "EU" for that person. The grade
"EU" shall be treated as an "E" in calculating grade point
averages, but it shall be disregarded in calculating "section mean
grade."
The change of the mark "I" to grade "E" after one
calendar year may be avoided by a written agreement between the instructor and
student. The agreement will specify the grade to be given if the work is not
completed. Copies of this agreement will be filed with the instructor, student
and registrar's office. A fourth copy may be kept by the department. The action
will be reported to the department.
The mark "T" shall be given for thesis or other independent work
in progress, but not for regular courses. The mark "T" shall remain
on the student record until the work is completed and a letter grade is
reported to the registrar's office. The mark "T" does not contribute
credit toward graduation nor will it be used in the computation of the grade
point average. There is no time limit governing the removal of the
"T" grade.
Students may drop any class in a regular university term without penalty or
permission for a period extending for ten calendar days from the first day of
the term. Beginning the eleventh day from the first day of the term and
continuing through Friday of the first full week beyond the midpoint of the
term (as determined by the Registrar), students may withdraw from a course or
from the University without permission, but a "W" will be recorded on
the academic record and applicable tuition and fees will be assessed for each
course. The latter date is the final day on which a student may withdraw from a
course or from the University.
Students may drop workshops, short term courses, or non-credit courses
without penalty or permission as follows: classes of one to two days in length,
before the first day of class; classes of three to five days in length, on the
first day of class; classes of six to ten days in length, through the second
day of class; classes of eleven or more days in length, through the third day
of class.
Students may withdraw from workshops, short term courses, or non-credit
courses following the drop deadline for such courses only up to the midpoint in
the course (as determined by the Registrar). Any withdrawal after the initial
drop period will cause a "W" to be recorded on the academic record
and applicable tuition and fees will be assessed for the course.
Students taking regular term courses may appeal the deadline for withdrawal
in the case of compelling, non-academic emergencies by submitting a petition
and supporting documentation to the office of the dean of their major college.
Undeclared, non-matriculated and premajor students apply to the University
College. Students in workshops, short term courses, or non-credit courses shall
appeal to the Academic Outreach and Continuing Education. Appeals must be
submitted to the appropriate dean's office by the last day of regular course
instruction preceding the final exam period. Colleges must respond to an appeal
from a student within seven calendar days of receiving the petition.
For extraordinary reasons, approved by the student's dean and the registrar,
the grade of "W" may be given after the end of the term. Such
requests must be submitted within three years of the affected term(s) or prior
to graduation from the University, whichever comes first.
The student shall have the option of adding a class through the fourteenth
calenar day of the semester.
Upon the recommendation of a student's instructor and a student's dean, the
registrar may withdraw a student from a course for nonattendance or
nonperformance of assigned course work. The student shall then receive the
grade of "E." Before this grade is recorded under these
circumstances, the registrar shall send written notification to the student and
advise the student of the right to appeal to the student's dean.
A student seeking to register for a course for the third time shall receive
last priority in registration for that course. A grade of "W,"
"V" or "I" shall be regarded as one registration for the
course.
Credit/No Credit Option
In courses in which activity or attendance is the controlling factor in the
determination of grades, the grade "CR" (credit) shall be substituted
for the grades "A" through "C-" and the grade
"NC" (no credit) shall be substituted for the grades "D+"
through "E." Under policies approved by the Academic Senate, students
may elect a limited number of courses in which they will receive the grade
"CR" in place of grades "A" through "C-" or the
grade of "NC" in the place of "D+," "D,"
"D-," "E" and "EU". The "CR" grade
shall carry credit toward graduation, but neither the "CR" nor
"NC" grades will be included in computing grade point averages.
The following rules govern the undergraduate CR/NC option:
(1) Any undergraduate student who is permitted to register in university courses for credit is eligible to exercise a CR/NC grading option. A student may exercise the option of CR/NC grading for a maximum of 15 semester hours while an undergraduate at the University of Utah. However, an undergraduate student who has accumulated more than 22.5 quarter hours under the CR/NC option prior to Fall of 1998 shall be permitted to register for up to a total of 30 semester hours (or 45 quarter hours) of CR/NC. Any CR/NC course registration in excess of the applicable maximum will be considered a registration for a letter grade. Hours from courses graded CR/NC as a matter of policy (courses producing one credit hour or less) will not be included in the total.
(2) A student may not exercise a CR/NC option in Writing 111, in Writing 112, in Writing 210, in Liberal Education Core Courses, or in courses which are required for the baccalaureate degree by the student's major department. However, a student's major department may allow the student to exercise the CR/NC option in required allied courses taken outside the student's major department. In the event a student changes his/her major department, the student may request that a maximum of two courses previously taken in the department (constituting the student's new major) on a Credit/No Credit basis be changed to a letter grade. This option can be exercised for no more than two changes of a major department (i.e., a maximum of four courses).
(3) The CR/NC option must be initiated at the office of the registrar on the form prescribed by the registrar for that purpose. Requests for changing to the CR/NC option will not be accepted after the 14th calendar day of the semester. Change from CR/NC back to graded status may occur any time before Monday of the last week of classes. The hours for any class thus changed will continue to count toward the maximum specified in paragraph (1) above. If a student feels there is justification for an exception to the preceding restriction, the student must appeal in writing to the registrar. If the request is denied, the student will have the right to request a review of the denial by a committee composed of the student's college dean, the director of academic advising, and the registrar. Appeals will not be accepted after the semester is completed. Retroactive requests must be initiated by the dean of a student's major college.
(4) Final grade sheets will not indicate which students have exercised CR/NC options. The registrar will convert the letter grades "A" through "C-" to credit, and "D+," "D," "D-," "E," and "EU" to no credit.
(5) A statement must accompany each form prescribed by the registrar for CR/NC options advising students of the various disadvantages of taking many classes CR/NC. Specifically, they should be warned that some graduate schools consider "credit" grades as "C" work when looking at transcripts and that some schools place more emphasis on exams such as the G.R.E. than on transcript grade point averages when those transcripts contain numerous grades of "credit."
(6) When students change majors, their new major department will have the right to accept or not to accept, in partial satisfaction of the department's requirements for graduation, courses in that department which the students have previously taken on a CR/NC basis.
(7) Students shall have earned letter grades in not less than 75 percent of the credit hours of course work that they present as their minor for teaching certification.
A graduate student is granted the option, subject to the approval of the
student's major department and review by the graduate dean, to enroll in some
courses in which the graduate student will be graded on a CR/NC basis, rather
than on a letter basis. (For details, refer to the Graduate School
Bulletin.)
Courses which produce one hour or less of academic credit must be graded
exclusively on a CR/NC basis, unless permission to assign letter grades is
given. Courses which produce more than one hour of academic credit may be
graded by a letter grade (with existing Credit/No Credit options) or solely on
a Credit/No Credit basis, upon the discretion of the individual college in
which the course if offered. Instructors wishing to use the Credit/No Credit
grading option as a means of grading students in a particular class shall
obtain permission to do so from the relevant college administrative unit
designated for this purpose.
Course Credit Adjustment Policy. An adjustment in credit (reduction
only) may be used in "studio-type" classes or in independent study
courses only.
Individual departments may determine which of their courses should use this
option. No foundation classes or liberal education classes may be involved. No
courses may be involved where completion of the full semester's work is
essential to graduation requirement.
If a student fails to complete the volume of work he/she contracted to do
for such a specified course, the instructor and student may agree to reduce the
credit earned and the student is graded on the quality of work completed. The
reduction in credit should be reported on a course credit adjustment card
provided by the registrar's office. The deadline for making the adjustment
corresponds with the last day of classes prior to final exams.
The intent of this policy is to let the grade reflect the quality of
work--and the credit earned reflect the quantity of work completed in this type
of class.
The deans of the colleges will report annually to the vice president for
academic affairs and the Academic Evaluation and Standards Committee as to the
frequency of cases in which adjustment was used and a reason leading to
adjustment in each case.
SECTION 9. REPORT OF GRADES
Instructors shall report the academic standing of each student in their
classes at such times and in such form as the registrar may direct, subject to
the approval of the Academic Senate. At the end of each semester, the registrar
shall report the grades of each student to the student.
Students shall not receive credit for work done in a course in which they
have not been regularly registered or receive credit greater in amount than
that for which they are duly registered.
A final grade, after it has been formally reported to the registrar's
office, cannot be changed unless the instructor who awarded the grade requests
a change on a form provided for this purpose by the registrar, and unless that
request is approved by the instructor's department chairperson. A grade can be
changed without the instructor's request or approval in
accordance with the procedures of Policy and Procedures No. 8-10, Section IV.
When a student repeats a course previously taken at the university, only the
last grade received in that course shall be used in computation of the
student's grade point average. The mark of NC may not be used to replace any
previous grade or mark for a course.
SECTION 10. ACADEMIC EVALUATION AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE
The president shall appoint the Academic Evaluation and Standards Committee.
In addition, academic deans may set up scholarship committees to operate within
their respective schools or colleges with the advice and consent of the
president. The Academic Evaluation and Standards Committee shall have
jurisdiction only in those schools or colleges where such scholarship
committees have not been established. It shall be the duty of all scholarship
committees to assist in the rehabilitation of the academically delinquent
student. These committees shall have the cooperation of all student personnel
services maintained by the university, and may administer, subject to the
university regulations, such discipline as shall seem proper.
SECTION 11. SCHOLASTIC STANDARDS FOR UNDERGRADUATES
The Undergraduate Council shall have jurisdiction over the scholastic
standards for undergraduates and shall delegate to the Center for Academic
Advising the responsibility for administering the scholastic standards policy.
1. Dean's List and President's Award. A student who earns a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in at least 12 graded hours during any one term shall be placed on the Dean's List. A student who is on the Dean's List during fall and spring semesters of the same academic year will receive the President's Award.
2. All students are required to maintain a cumulative grade point average of not less than 2.0. The cumulative grade point average of students who transfer to the University is computed on the work taken at the University of Utah only.
3. Academic Probation. A student who fails to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above shall be placed on scholastic probation and have a hold placed on his or her registration. To clear this hold, the student must contact the Center for Academic Advising to determine the conditions under which the student will be allowed to register.
4. Suspension: A student whose cumulative grade point average has been below a 2.0 for three consecutive semesters is subject to suspension.
A registration hold will be placed on the student's record and will prevent the student from registering for courses at the University of Utah during the suspension period. The suspension period will be for a minimum of two (2) semesters unless revoked on appeal.
5. Appeal of Suspension. A student may appeal suspension, based on extenuating circumstances, to the Scholastic Standards Committee of the Center for Academic Advising. If the Committee finds extenuating circumstances and revokes the suspension, the student will be readmitted on academic probation and permitted to register for courses. The student must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.0 during each subsequent semester until the student's cumulative grade point average reaches 2.0. A student who does not meet these conditions is subject to re-suspension.
6. Readmission after Suspension. A student wishing to return to the University of Utah after the expiration of the two-semester suspension period must petition the Scholastic Standards Committee of the Center for Academic Advising for readmission. The Committee will readmit the student if there seems a reasonable likelihood of academic success. The readmitted student must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.0 each subsequent semester until the student's cumulative grade point average reaches 2.0. A student who does not meet these conditions is subject to re-suspension.
SECTION 12. HONORS
Honors shall be awarded at graduation to those students who complete with
distinction at least 90 credit hours at the University of Utah. The basis,
terms, and degrees of distinction shall be determined by the Academic Senate.
Names of students attaining honors shall be published in the commencement
program and elsewhere as the president may direct.
SECTION 13. ACADEMIC RENEWAL
A currently enrolled undergraduate student may petition the vice president
for student affairs for academic renewal. This is a procedure which allows the
student to request that his or her academic record be reviewed for the purpose
of discounting, for grade point average computation, all courses which were
entered on the student's academic record ten or more calendar years prior to
the time of the request for renewal. Under this procedure, courses with a D+ or
lower grade would not count toward the requisite total hours needed for
graduation.
The renewal option can be used only once during a student's undergraduate
career. This procedure does not apply to graduate students or to students
pursuing a second undergraduate degree.
Responsibility for administration of this procedure rests with the office of
the vice president for student affairs.
SECTION 14. COURSE EVALUATION
The University will evaluate its courses and instruction in multiple ways,
including by soliciting students' evaluation. The primary purpose of student
evaluation of courses is to provide a measure of the student assessment of the
effectiveness of courses and of the effectiveness of faculty, teaching
assistants/teaching fellows and other instructional personnel. This information
has several uses: it provides base information to student advisory committees
for retention/promotion/tenure recommendations, it gives instructors and
academic units feedback about their classes and it provides information of
interest to students planning their programs.
Course Evaluation Procedures
(1) The University Graduate Council and Undergraduate Council shall jointly develop, approve and amend as necessary a course evaluation instrument with a series of questions suitable for use in all courses and with a series of optional questions suitable for use in various types of courses. The Councils shall also develop appropriate procedures for the administration of the instrument. The University Administration will make this instrument available to all academic units.
(2) At the beginning of each academic year, the chairperson of each department shall meet with the chairperson of the departmental student advisory committee and develop a policy for course evaluation for the year. The policy shall state the criteria for determining which courses are evaluated and the mechanism by which they will be evaluated. The policy adopted shall be one mutually agreeable to the department administration and the student advisory committee. A written copy of this policy shall be sent to the office of the college dean. A copy shall also be made available to interested parties by the departmental office.
(3) Completed course evaluation forms may be returned to the departmental office by a non-instructional staff member, a student advisory committee member, or a volunteer from the class, but under no circumstances are the course evaluations to be handled by the evaluated instructor between the time they are completed by the students and the time that grades are issued.
(4) Department chairpersons have the responsibility of seeing that evaluations are conducted according to regulations, including, but not limited to, arranging distribution and collection, and paying costs arising from tabulation of any optional questions chosen by the department. Provided the department has used the course evaluation instrument developed by the Graduate and Undergraduate Councils, the University Administration shall provide for the tabulation of the questions developed for use in all courses.
(5) Course evaluations or summaries thereof shall be made available to faculty and any University of Utah student requesting them after grades for the course are filed. The departmental student advisory committee and the ASUU shall be provided with the numerical data contained in course evaluations or summaries thereof for publication purposes. The costs of copying, printing or publishing this data are the responsibility of the departmental student advisory committee or the ASUU.
SECTION 15. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance
The University expects regular attendance at all class meetings. Any
particular attendance requirements of the course must be available to students
at the time of the first course meeting. Students are responsible for
satisfying the entire range of academic objectives and requirements as defined
by the instructor.
Excused Absences
Students absent from class to participate in officially sanctioned
University activities (e.g., band, debate, student government, intercollegiate
athletics) or religious obligations, or with instructor's approval, shall be
permitted to make up both assignments and examinations. The University expects
its departments and programs that take students away from class meetings to
schedule such events in a way that will minimize hindrance of the student's
orderly completion of course requirements. Such units must provide a written
statement to the students describing the activity and stating as precisely as
possible the dates of the required absence. The involved students must deliver
this documentation to their instructors, preferable before the absence but in
no event later than one week after the absence.
SECTION 16. ACCOMMODATIONS
(Section 16 in effect starting Fall semester 2005)
I. INTRODUCTION
The values held most strongly by the University of Utah community are those of academic freedom and integrity as they are expressed collectively by the colleges and departments as well as individually through research and teaching and as they exist within the wider context of advanced study as commonly understood by all universities. The community also values diversity and respect, without which there can be no collegiality among faculty and students. In addition, the University community values individual rights and freedoms, including the right of each community member to adhere to individual systems of conscience, religion, and ethics. Finally, the University recognizes that with all rights come responsibilities. The University works to uphold its collective values by fostering free speech, broadening fields of inquiry, and encouraging generation of new knowledge that challenges, shapes, and enriches our collective and individual understandings.
This policy addresses two different types of accommodations: course scheduling accommodations and course content accommodations. Regardless of any accommodation that may be granted, students are responsible for satisfying all academic objectives, requirements and prerequisites as defined by the instructor and by the University. Because the burdens and appropriate criteria are different for scheduling accommodations and content accommodations, granting of one type of accommodation has no bearing on the granting of the other type.
II. DEFINITIONS
A. Scheduling Accommodations permit students to be absent from class meetings or to arrange to fulfill assignments on days other than their scheduled dates.
B. Content Accommodations are modifications of otherwise generally applicable reading, writing, viewing, listening, or performing requirements.
C. Legislated Accommodations are modifications made in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other State and Federal statutes and are not included in this policy.
III. ACCOMMODATIONS
A. SCHEDULING ACCOMMODATIONS
1. Students should register only for those courses for which they have no scheduling conflicts that will interfere with their ability to complete course requirements.
2. In accordance with the Attendance Policy of the Student Code (ref.), students who must be absent from a specific class to participate in officially sanctioned University activities (e.g. band, debate, student government, intercollegiate athletics), religious obligations, or other obligations meeting with the instructor's approval will be permitted to make up or otherwise receive credit for both assignments and examinations.
3. Except in cases of sudden illness or emergency, students shall in advance of the absence arrange with the instructor to make up materials.
4. Students whose religious obligations, University activities, or other legitimateobligations as determined by the instructor may interfere with their ability to fulfill any course requirements on their scheduled dates shall in advance of those dates arrange with the instructor to fulfill the requirements.
B. CONTENT ACCOMMODATIONS
1. Consistent with principles of academic freedom, the faculty, individually and collectively, has the responsibility for determining the content of the curriculum.
2. Students are expected to take courses that will challenge them intellectually and personally. Students must understand and be able to articulate the ideas and theories that are important to the discourse within and among academic disciplines. Personal disagreement with these ideas and theories or their implications is not sufficient grounds for requesting an accommodation. Accommodations requested on such grounds will not be granted. The University recognizes that students’ sincerely-held core beliefs may make it difficult for students to fulfill some requirements of some courses or majors. The University assumes no obligation to ensure that all students are able to complete any major.
3. It is the student’s obligation to determine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with the student’s sincerely-held core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. A student who finds this solution impracticable may request a content accommodation from the instructor. Though the University provides, through this policy, a process by which a student may make such a request, the policy does not oblige the instructor to grant the request, except in those cases when a denial would be arbitrary and capricious or illegal. This request must be made to the instructor in writing, and the student must deliver a copy of the request to the office of the department Chair or, in the case of a single-department college, to the office of the Dean. The student’s request must articulate the burden the requirement would place on the student’s beliefs.
4. The instructor must respond to any accommodation request within two school days of receiving it. The response must be made in writing and a copy must be delivered to the office of the department Chair or, in the case of a single-department college, to the office of the Dean. In the event that the class does not meet on the day by which the Instructor must respond, the student must make arrangements to receive the response in a timely manner. Instructors are not required to grant content accommodations, as long as the subject course requirement has a reasonable relationship to a legitimate pedagogical goal, but they may do so, only if a reasonable alternative means of satisfying the curricular requirement is available and only if that alternative is fully appropriate for meeting the academic objectives of the course, after considering the following:
a. the difficulty of administering an accommodation;
b. the burden on the student’s sincerely-held core belief;
c. the importance of the particular requirement to the course.
In considering whether or not to make an accommodation, the faculty member may evaluate the sincerity but not the validity of the student’s belief. If an instructor in a course makes content accommodations for any reason other than those covered under Section II.C of this policy, the instructor must similarly consider requests made during the same semester for the same course for accommodations based on conflicts with sincerely-held core beliefs. Requests will be individually evaluated in relation to the above considerations; the granting of one such request will not guarantee that all requests will be granted. Because the criteria and requirements discussed above will
apply differently to each instructor and to each course, accommodations granted by an instructor in one course will not affect decisions by the same instructor in other courses or by other instructors in the same or other courses.
5. If an instructor does not grant a content accommodation request, the student may appeal that denial in writing to the Dean of the college. If the Dean is the Instructor of the course, the student may appeal the denial to the cognizant Vice President.
6. The Dean (or Designee) will, in consultation with the faculty member and the department Chair (or Designee), act within two school days. The Dean (or Designee) will uphold the denial unless she or he finds that the denial was arbitrary and capricious or illegal. In the case of single-department colleges, the decision will rest with the Dean alone. The Dean's determination shall be final as it pertains to the specific accommodation request. Faculty challenges to the appropriateness of this decision should follow established channels. The student may but is not required to participate in these further reviews.
7. If the instructor disagrees with the dean’s decision that the instructor’s denial of the student’s request was arbitrary and capricious or illegal, the instructor may not be compelled against his/her professional judgment to administer the requested content accommodation for the student. If the faculty instructor disagrees with the dean’s decision that the instructor’s denial of the student’s request was arbitrary and capricious or illegal, the faculty instructor may not be compelled against his/her professional judgment to administer the requested content accommodation for the student. If the faculty instructor declines to administer the accommodation, it will be the responsibility of the dean in consultation with the department chair to design and administer the alternative academic requirement for the student in order to satisfy the student’s content accommodation request. The dean (or dean’s appropriate designee) will determine the student’s grade on that specific alternative assignment and will report that grade to the course instructor, who will incorporate that grade for the assignment into the total grade for the course. The final grade in the course will be determined by the faculty instructor and will be calculated in the same way as the final grade is determined for all other students in the course.
8. If a student determines, after the last day to drop courses without penalty, that course requirements may conflict with the student’s sincerely-held core beliefs, and the instructor has denied the student’s written accommodation request, the student may seek permission in writing from the Dean to withdraw without receiving a W on his/her transcript and to receive a refund of tuition for that class. In making this request the student must demonstrate the following:
a. that the student is in good standing in the course as defined by the department.
b. that he or she could not have made this determination prior to the last day to drop courses without penalty.
The Dean’s determination shall be final.
9. Decisions on accommodation requests may not be considered adversely to a faculty member in faculty code, Retention, Promotion and Tenure, or other proceedings as long as those decisions are made in good faith. Faculty may not take adverse academic action against students who make accommodation requests. The Dean or Department Chair may not take any adverse action against an instructor based on his/her decision to make or not make a content accommodation for a student.
10. Instructors who believe that course materials may conflict with students’ deeply held core beliefs may include a statement in the syllabus for the course that advises students that some of the writings, lectures, films or presentations, or other requirements in the course include materials that may present such conflicts. However, this policy recognizes that Faculty will not always be able to predict in advance which if any materials may conflict with the beliefs of a given student or group of students.
11. The Academic Senate will evaluate this policy in January 2007.
M08
1. These standards are all based on a report of the American Council on Education adopted September 27, 1983 by ACE and November 1, 1983 by the Board of Directors, National University Continuing Education Association. Any changes reflect adaptation to our governance model. Some language is identical to the ACE recommendations; any additions specific to the University of Utah are the work of the Task Force. All other language is intended simply to translate the ACE and Task Force recommendations.
2. ACE report, "Procedural Guidelines", p. 3.
Approved by Academic Senate: March 7, 2005
Approved by Board of Trustees: March 21, 2005