Academic Reminders

Course syllabi should include detailed information about the course and University regulations on academic policies and academic offenses.  All requirements for course syllabi may be viewed here:

Syllabus Requirements

Instructors must comply with rules regarding syllabi established by the Academic and Student Policies.

As part of the student’s due process rights, the Academic and Student Policies 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, if it has been determined an academic offense occurred, 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 Academic and Student Policies governing the procedures are available on our website, and a checklist is provided.  Please contact Academic Ombud Services with any questions on this process.

Instructors are not permitted to assign homework during Finals Week, nor are they permitted to make any homework assignments due during Finals Week. However, instructors may collect make-up homework after the last day of classes.

“Academic Holiday” means that classes are not held, nor are assignments due, on the academic holiday. If an instructor has made an assignment due on an academic holiday, it is not due until classes begin after the end of the academic holiday.

The following dates are scheduled as holidays during the Fall 2026 semester: 

     9/7 Labor Day

    10/26 & 10/27 Fall Break

    11/25 - 11/28 Thanksgiving Break

The Academic and Student Policies indicate that excused absences for in-person participation include quarantine and other recommended/required absences by a medical, public-health, or government officials. 

Attendance and Participation in Class states that a student shall not be penalized for excused absences.

Unexcused absences should be handled by the penalties listed in the course syllabus.  If a penalty is not listed, the student cannot be penalized for unexcused absences.

During unscheduled University closings, non-attendance cannot be penalized. 

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 with a letter specifying the required accommodations through the AIM portal. 

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) has launched the Course Flexibility Plan (CFP) replacing traditional flexibility forms making it easier to manage accommodation plans for students with disability-related flexibility needs. Guidance for instructors is available at the Disability Resource Center's website. Faculty must read and acknowledge each letter of accommodation for each student. Guidance for instructors is available here.

Instructors must complete the Course Flexibility plan prior to August 28 2026, the last day to drop the course without a grade. If instructors do not define a CFP that aligns with the specific nature of the course, instructors are responsible for implementing the Default CFP as written by the DRC.

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

The Student Academic Policies define December 7-9 as Prep Days.

The rules regarding Prep Days 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 Days
• No projects, papers, or presentations may be held during Prep Days 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 Days.
• Make-up exams and quizzes are allowed during Prep Days.

The Student Academic Policies define December 10 and 11 as Reading Days. Reading days are not academic holidays. The Prep Day restrictions apply to Reading Days with additional restrictions, including:

• "No required class meetings" or, more generally, no "required interactions."
• No assignments or presentations can be due.
• Make-up work is allowed if the affected student agrees.
• Review sessions are permitted when attendance is not required and no new information is provided.

On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an Interim Final Rule in the Federal Register extending the deadline for compliance with revised digital accessibility regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

For large public institutions like the University of Kentucky, the new compliance date is April 26, 2027, an extension from April 24, 2026. An Interim Final Rule allows the DOJ to issue a rule without a proposal, making it effective immediately.

What you need to know:

• As a UK employee, if you produce or disseminate digital content that is available to students, including materials on your Canvas course shell, you are responsible for ensuring it is compliant with accessibility standards utilizing the resources and guidance provided here. 
• Best practices, tools and guidance for creating accessible digital content are available at https://ada.uky.edu/digital-accessibility.
• For large public universities like the University of Kentucky, the new compliance deadline is April 26, 2027.
• While older digital accessibility law under the ADA, still in effect, does not name a specific technical standard, courts and enforcement actions routinely rely on World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to assess whether content is accessible.