Required Syllabus Templates

The Board of Regents syllabus template was created as the result of Board policy in 2025 to have syllabi for all undergraduate courses available online by the first day of classes. The Iowa State University template was created to expand on this requirement in a way that provides students with consistent information about their courses.

Completing the templates is an administrative expectation of faculty, as well as a component with the teaching portion of the faculty Position Responsibility Statement. Failure to comply with the requirements will be reflected in annual reviews and, if not remedied, may result in an unsatisfactory annual evaluation.

The syllabus templates are required administrative documents, as opposed to scholarly projects. Instructors may continue to provide additional information related to course topic, attendance, classroom expectations, or other material through Canvas announcements or presentation in class.

Nearly two-thirds of the elements in the Iowa State template are consistent with Faculty Handbook section 10.6, though it is important to note this section was adopted in 1996, and would not have included items such as Canvas information, classroom recordings, testing center information, or required syllabus statements. Other additions such as academic support services, student code of conduct, and basic needs have broad support among faculty.

The Provost’s Office has worked with the Board Office and associate deans for academic programs to streamline the process as much as possible. Additional feedback has been sought from the Faculty Senate Executive Board and Academic Affairs Council.

Completed syllabi templates are expected to be available by the first day of the academic term, even if the course will not begin until the second half of the semester.

Courses do evolve over the course of a semester. Syllabus changes of up to 25% are acceptable, consistent with Higher Learning Commission guidance that changes of less than 25% do not constitute substantive change. 

Instructors are not obligated to respond to public inquiries regarding their syllabi. Inquiries may be forwarded to the chair or dean, or to the Provost’s Office, to determine if a response is necessary.

Yes. This requirement was established by Board policy in 2025, beginning with the Fall 2026 semester. A limited number of exceptions have been identified for independent study courses, honors/senior theses, and internships/co-ops. Courses identified as meeting the exemption criteria have been distributed to the associate deans for academic programs. If your course is not on the list, but you believe it qualifies for an exemption, please contact your chair or associate dean.

The completed Regents template will be posted publicly on Iowa State’s website, as directed by Board of Regents policy. This website is currently in development.

For courses with multiple sections that have the same learning outcomes, major assignments, and use the same course materials, chairs need only complete one Regents template. For multiple-section courses with the same learning outcomes but different assignments and/or different course materials, the Regents template should be completed for each section.

Yes. As noted in the Regents template, instructors should list required course materials (e.g., textbook, journal articles, course/lab packets, video or digital image collections (such as YouTube, Kanopy, industry-related training videos, etc.). Course materials should be appropriate and germane to the course content.

The completed Iowa State template will be posted in Canvas for your course(s); department chairs should also have access to all syllabi in their department.

Separate Iowa State templates should be complete for each section, since they include the instructor’s contact information and office hours, class meeting times, instructor-determined attendance policies, etc.

Yes. When doing so, be careful that you do not edit the heading format for the next section of the template.

No. Faculty are asked to use the template as created so that students can easily find this key information across all of their courses. Additional information may be provided, both in the syllabus and in Canvas, but the items required in the template should be provided in written format.

Yes, faculty can set the deadlines they deem to be appropriate. The suggestion to set deadlines during work hours comes from student feedback about having no access to IT or Canvas help for late night or weekend deadlines.

Yes. Field trips should be noted in the assignments section, along with any costs associated with the trip, so students are aware of their financial obligation when the course begins. Including the dates also helps students plan ahead (adjusting work schedules, for example), particularly when overnight travel is involved.