Academic Reminders

Instructors must comply with rules regarding syllabi established by the University Senate and described in Senate Rule 6.1.1. Specifically, every syllabus must include 26 required syllabi components (as applicable).  Instructors may include in their syllabi a link to a Senate-maintained web page that contains the Academic Policy Statements as well as a link to the Resources Available to Students.  The University Senate maintains a web page with sample language regarding Optional Components of a Course Syllabus and provides Syllabi Templates instructors may download.

The Senate Council defined April 24 - 28 as Prep Week. Academic Ombud Services receives frequent inquiries regarding Prep Week. These rules apply to all students, professional, graduate, and undergraduate. As a reminder:

• No written or oral/listening exams or quizzes or final examinations may be scheduled during Prep Week
• No projects, papers, or presentations may be held during Prep Week unless they were scheduled in the syllabus AND the course has no final examination (or assignment that acts as a final examination) scheduled during finals week.
• Graded homework that is a routine part of the course and is announced in the course syllabus may be assigned for submission during Prep Week.
• Make-up exams and quizzes are allowed during Prep Week.

The Senate Council defined April 27 and 28 as Reading Days. The current Prep Week restrictions apply to Reading Days. An additional restriction applies to Reading Days which is “no required class meetings” or, more generally, no “required interactions” (SR 5.2.5.2.3.1). Reading days are not academic holidays.

The Senate has indicated that excused absences for in-person participation include quarantine and other recommended/required absences by a medical, public-health, or government officials. Non-attendance cannot be penalized during unscheduled university closings.

As part of the student’s due process rights, SR 6.4.4.1.1 and SR 6.4.4.1.2 require the instructor and the department chair to meet with the student and review the evidence before determining whether an academic offense has occurred. After the meeting, the chair, or the chair’s designee, contacts the Registrar to determine if the student has a prior offense so that the proper penalty can be imposed. For SACSCOC compliance, please copy ombud@uky.edu on the invitation to meet with the student and the request to the Registrar for prior offense information. The Senate Rules governing the procedures are available on our website. Please contact Academic Ombud Services with any questions on this process.

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) seeks to facilitate an environment of inclusion and accessibility. The DRC provides students who have disabilities the resources needed to establish an equal opportunity for academic success. To receive accommodations, students meet with and provide medical documentation to the DRC staff. The DRC determines the accommodations necessary for each student and provides the student with a letter specifying the required accommodations. The student must give the letter to the course instructor to receive the accommodations which must be provided in a way that respects the student’s privacy and confidentiality.

For questions regarding accommodations, please see the DRC website or contact the DRC at 859-257-2754.