Policies

Policies related to courses and teaching Heading link

Although the College recognizes that some courses may regularly attract few students, its goal is to minimize the number of very small courses without damaging the scope and variety of the program. The policies are:

  1. A 100-, 200-, or 300-level course NOT counting toward general education should not have fewer than 15 students.
  2. An undergraduate course counting toward general education should not have fewer than 22 students.
  3. Courses at the 400-level should not have fewer than 10 students.
  4. Graduate courses at the 500-level enrolling fewer than five students should be offered only under unusual circumstances and with the approval of the Executive Associate Dean of the College, Dave Hofman.

When multiple sections of a course are offered, small sections should be combined. Courses with insufficient enrollment two weeks prior to the first day of the semester will be canceled. Departments are responsible for notifying the affected students. Unit heads should regularly review course offerings to eliminate courses that consistently under-enroll.

Faculty should be familiar with the Grading Manual made available by the Office of the Registrar. This document covers grading policies, submission of grades, incomplete grades, course withdrawals, grade disputes, etc.

UIC requires that all courses have a syllabus. For purposes of re-accreditation reviews, departments have been advised to collect syllabi for any credit-bearing course regardless of teaching modality from Spring 2023 on. The reviewers will be looking for transparency, consistency across the curriculum, and alignment with UIC policies.

Starting Fall 2023, all syllabi must fully comply with both the UIC Syllabus Policy and Higher Learning Commission guidelines and expectations. The resources below have been created to facilitate compliance with these guidelines. See Faculty Guidelines for Syllabus Composition and Collection for detailed explanations of these resources.

Personal, face to face consultations with their instructors should be available to students. The provision of regular office hours is considered an integral part of every faculty member’s teaching obligation; therefore, faculty members are expected to keep regular campus office hours of, at minimum, two hours per week.

Office hours should be stated on syllabi, Blackboard sites and/or websites, announced in classes, posted on office doors, and known in department offices. Faculty should ensure that the teaching assistants assigned to them or to their courses post and keep office hours.