Teaching Guidelines

This page compiles teaching guidelines that instructors are responsible for implementing in their teaching.  These guidelines are established by various internal and external entities ranging from the University of Rochester and its specific schools to the New York State Education Department, the US Department of Education, and accrediting bodies. 

Note that the entries below are not the guidelines themselves, but a compilation of links and brief descriptions to assist instructors in locating information. Instructors should consult the linked pages themselves.

In addition, instructors should also review the compliance information on the Office of Academic Affairs website, which is the source of some of the information below.

The university has developed a syllabus template to assist instructors in implementing these guidelines.

Teaching Guidelines for University of Rochester Instructors

Academic Honesty

Instructors should clearly communicate academic honesty information to students.  Each University of Rochester school has its own academic honesty policy, and students are adjudicated by the school in which they are matriculated.  Some policies have proactive expectations for instructors around how academic honesty information is communicated, how exams are proctored, and other areas.

See also: Generative Artificial Intelligence

Accreditation

The University of Rochester is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. In addition, UR schools and/or programs may also have additional specialized accreditors. Instructors will typically learn of their individual responsibilities through their departments and programs, including what program learning outcomes map to their courses, what course changes require approval, and what evidence of student learning they should collect and document. For additional information, consult the Office of Academic Affairs’ accreditation webpage.

Course Calendars

When scheduling their courses, instructors must follow the registrar-assigned class time and location, as well as the overall course calendar for their UR school. The UR school calendars may include breaks when classes do not meet, reading periods during which course activities typically must be optional as they do not count towards the course credit hours, and designated final exam blocks.  In addition, spring semester contains a "Rochester Monday," when students attend Monday classes on the first Friday of the semester.

Course Registration

Instructors may only add students to their course through UR Student processes in accordance with the schedules set by their UR schools. When instructors add students manually to the learning management system (Blackboard), the students are not actually enrolled in the course. Instructors should cross-check their UR Student and Blackboard rosters partway through the semester and inform the Office of the University Registrar of any discrepancies.

Credit Hours

Instructors should ensure that their planned course meetings and homework align with the credits their course carries. Federal, state, and accrediting regulators all define the amount of time that students spend on their courses using a measurement known as a credit hour. Different courses carry different amounts of credit and therefore also differ in the amount of homework and contact time with the instructor. Accuracy is also important because credits are used to determine classroom allocation.

Instructors can consult the University’s information on credit hours to learn about general definitions, as well as school-specific information for the School of Arts & Sciences, Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and Simon Business School. Please note that one credit hour in general equals fifteen hours of instruction and thirty hours of outside work.  The syllabus template gives several common examples.

Once instructors understand the amount of time that students should be spending on course components, the Teaching Center recommends consulting the Wake Forest Workload Estimator Tool to ensure that the planned coursework matches the overall time.

Disability, Accommodations, and Accessibility

If a student has a documented disability for which they receive accommodations, the course instructor will receive a notification that specifies the accommodations. Instructors can consult with the Office of Disability Resources (ODR) if they are unsure how to implement the accommodations or need resources to help implement the accommodations. Instructors should also direct unofficial student requests for accommodations to ODR. In addition, instructors can take proactive steps to increase accessibility that benefit all students.

For those courses with publicly available components such as websites or videos created either by students or the instructor, instructors should also consult with Disability Resources, the Office of Digital Accessibility, and/or their school’s web team to ensure that these are meeting legally-mandated accessibility standards such as captioning, alt-text for images, etc.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) restricts the sharing of students' educational records. It also allows students to review and request corrections to their educational records. Instructors should consult the University’s FERPA guidance before sharing any educational records internally or externally, including when the person requesting information is a parent, background checker, or job reference. The University provides a short FERPA training module in MyPath, and the federal government offers additional information.

Note that medical fields may also have course elements subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

Generative Artificial Intelligence

The University of Rochester established guidelines for generative AI use in education that outline the role and responsibilities of instructors, students, and others. The overarching principles emphasize the areas of student learning, academic freedom, accountability, academic integrity, bias, privacy and security, transparency, and equitable access.  Instructors should consult these guidelines to inform their educational choices.

See also: Academic Honesty

Grading

Instructors must assign and properly submit grades for courses according to the schedules for their schools, as well as treat graded material confidentially.

Online Courses

Online courses are subject to specific regulatory oversight and requirements. For example, instructors cannot unilaterally change the modality of their course (e.g., move from in-person to online) for specific students or all students and should instead seek guidance from their dean’s office.

When teaching online courses, instructors should be aware that course modality carries visa consequences for students and that the University has legally-mandated compliance policies for verifying student identities, ensuring regular and substantive instructor-student interaction, and other areas. Note that online courses are also coded appropriately by the registrar to assist with required reporting.

Office of the University Registrar Policies

The Office of the University Registrar has set specific policies for students who wish to audit courses, withdraw or take a leave of absence, or take an incomplete.

Religious Accommodations

New York State law requires instructors to make religious accommodations for observant students. This includes offering alternative dates for assessments, alternative opportunities for course meetings times after 4 p.m. on Fridays and anytime on Saturday, and similar provisions. Alternatives for religious students must not include fees or penalties.

Instructors can reduce such conflicts by proactively consulting the schedule of major religious holidays when scheduling their course elements.

Sexual Misconduct, Title IX, and the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment

The University is committed to maintaining a workplace and academic environment free from discrimination and harassment. Instructors should familiarize themselves with the relevant policies and how they apply to their work:

The PADH requires faculty to report discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on a protected characteristic. Depending on their work roles, students such as teaching assistants may be mandatory reporters if they supervise other employees or work for certain offices such as Public Safety, Student Life, or Residential Life. Reporting options are provided on the PADH website and in the policy.  Concerns about protected characteristic discrimination or harassment by students should be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students.

Similarly, when students disclose sexual misconduct, instructors and teaching assistants must follow these reporting steps under the Title IX policy.  In addition, pregnant and parenting students must receive the same access to educational programs, activities, and education opportunities available to other students.  When a student discloses a pregnancy or related condition, please advise the student that the Title IX Office can provide supportive measures and give them the contact information for the Title IX Office (titleix@rochester.edu).

In accordance with federal law, all new employees must complete training on Title IX.  In accordance with New York State law, all employees must complete sexual harassment training on an annual basis. 

Instructors may also have students in their courses who have or are subject to No Contact Orders. They can consult the Title IX office and school coordinators if they have questions about how to accommodate students with regard to such orders.

Student Complaints

Instructors can learn about the systems that the University and schools use to address student complaints so that they know how to refer students when issues arise.

Syllabi

New York State mandates the following items in syllabi:

  • Author(s) of syllabus
  • Course description
  • Course objectives
  • Prerequisites
  • Credits allocated
  • Assignments
  • Method of assessing student achievement, including the assessment rubrics at the course and project levels
  • Basis of grade determination
  • Bibliographic and other resources
  • Other course policies related to integrity of credit

The university has created the following syllabus template to assist instructors:

It contains instructions and sample/example language.

School-Specific Information

Instructors may receive additional guidance from their University of Rochester school, as well as their department or program.  To identify any additional responsibilities, instructors should consult with their department or program (chair/director, curriculum committee, assessment committee, etc.), their school’s dean’s office, and their school’s faculty handbook.