It’s up to the faculty’s discretion for each course. The Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity recommends including a statement on your syllabus about the use of artificial intelligence tools in class and outlines three levels of permissibility to choose from, please tailor the statement below to meet your needs:

“The creation of artificial intelligence tools for widespread use is an exciting innovation. These tools have both appropriate and inappropriate uses in classwork. The use of artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT) in this class:

• …is strictly prohibited. This includes using AI to generate ideas, outline an approach, answer questions, solve problems, or create original language. All work in this course must be your own or created in group work, where allowed.
• …shall be permitted on a limited basis. You will be informed as to the assignments for which AI may be utilized. You are also welcome to seek my prior-approval to use AI writing tools on any assignment. In either instance, AI writing tools should be used with caution and proper citation, as the use of AI should be properly attributed. Using AI writing tools without my permission or authorization, or failing to properly cite AI even where permitted, shall constitute a violation of UT Austin’s Institutional Rules on academic integrity.
• …is permitted for students who wish to use them, provided the content generated by AI is properly cited.”

For additional suggested syllabi statements, please visit our CTL webpage, which contains a range of statements you may use and adapt.

Generally, it’s up to the instructor unless a student has a disability accommodation letter that permits them to record. Instructors may create electronic recordings of their classes and have the discretion to allow or disallow students to make electronic recordings of their classes.  Instructors and students may make class recordings only for legitimate educational purposes. If an instructor permits a student to create electronic recordings of their classes, those recordings must be used solely for the educational use of the student or other students in that section and year of the class and may not be shared with or distributed to others unless otherwise permitted by law or University policy. Individuals who violate these limitations may be subject to disciplinary proceedings.  An instructor must allow a student to electronically record their class if the student has received an accommodation through Disability and Access that permits them to electronically record class.  

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Art). Instructors of record are required to complete FERPA training and must comply with FERPA when communicating with students about course grades. Conduct all electronic communication with students about specific course grades through tools approved by the Information Security Office. See the Office of the Registrar’s FERPA Questions for Faculty page for additional information.

“I pledge, as a member of the University of Texas community, to do my work honestly, respectfully, and through the intentional pursuit of learning and scholarship.”

The new honor code for UT students, faculty, and staff was adopted in 2023. It was one of the first initiatives of the newly formed Academic Affairs portfolio, and VP Markman’s aim was to create an honor code that highlighted the best in our students and embodied scholarly pursuit rather than being punitive or restrictive. The new honor code includes an elaboration:

• I pledge to be honest about what I create and to acknowledge what I use that belongs to others.
• I pledge to value the process of learning in addition to the outcome, while celebrating and learning from mistakes.
• This code encompasses all of the academic and scholarly endeavors of the university community.

See the 'Honor the Horns’ webpage for more information, including a resource on how instructors can support the honor code in their teaching.

Instructors are required to be accessible to their students outside the scheduled class periods. Office hours must be posted on the syllabus. Instructors are to be available to students during the posted hours. Colleges, units, and departments may have office hours requirements or guidelines that are more specific than the general university policy.

Instructors are required to end the class meetings with sufficient time for students to transition to their next class period. The final ten minutes of a 60-minute course and the final 15 minutes of longer course periods must be reserved as a passing period interval for students. During the passing period, instructors for the class that just ended and the one just about to begin are both permitted access to the room to facilitate a smooth transition between classes.

The Canvas learning management system (LMS). Note that beginning in fall 2024, all UT instructors for organized undergraduate and graduate courses with five or more students must have a “minimum Canvas presence”. A minimum Canvas presence is defined as:

(1) Attaching an official course syllabus in Canvas (on the official Canvas Syllabus page, with the word “syllabus” in the file name) OR using the Simple Syllabus tool by the first day that a class meets; and

(2) Publishing your Canvas courses by the first day your classes meet.

There are a multitude of Canvas resources and the UT Canvas team is at the ready to help (they have a “contact us” email address, 24/7 support, a “Getting Started in Canvas” page, and office hours and workshops). To learn more about available academic technologies for faculty, see the AT @ UT website; for information about technologies for faculty in general or if you require technical assistance, see the IT @ UT website.

There are a variety of approved tools to use in your teaching such as Perusall and  Instapoll. The Canvas team maintains a list of all vetted and approved apps. In addition, any required tool (even if there is no charge to use them) must be disclosed following the Course Materials Disclosure requirements specified by the University. All tools for classroom use must have a contract with the University, and individual instructors may not sign contracts on behalf of the University. To get more information about how to request approval to use a new application, contact the Office of Academic Technology (oat@utexas.edu). 

The Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC) provides mental health support through assessment and referral, group and individual counseling, psychiatry, and well-being services to the students of UT Austin. They have a 24/7 crisis line and online support and offer both clinical services and well-being services.

There are a few options: UT Libraries, University Writing Center, or Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (Dean of Students).

UT Libraries created a tutorial for students to help them avoid plagiarism that you can assign your students in Canvas to help prevent plagiarism cases.

The University Writing Center has numerous handouts you can share with your students, including handouts about quoting and paraphrasing.  You may also  schedule an Avoiding Plagiarism presentation from the UWC for your class.

The Student Conduct and Academic Integrity office has staff who handles potential cases of student misconduct and have a helpful FAQ for faculty. They also provide resources such as a flow chart about how to handle disruptive behavior from students.

Disability & Access (D&A) has a resource for faculty that includes getting started with accommodations and a portal that helps instructors and students coordinate the provision of accommodations. They also have a list of tips for instructors around providing accommodations.

UT also has a Disability Cultural Center, which serves as a hub on campus for community, education and advocacy for disabled students, faculty, staff and all members of the university community. We also have an accessibility platform, Ally, that integrates with Canvas and helps instructors make their course materials accessible to all students. In addition, a helpful framework for considering ways to make your course lessons and materials accessible for all is Universal Design for Learning.

Instructors have the option to add up to three additional questions from the question bank below to their course evaluations during the Question Selection Period (QP). They can be selected from a variety of categories, such as “instructor communication” and “learning environment and engagement.” (See Adding Questions to Your Surveys webpage.) Our UT Course Evaluation System recently underwent an upgrade where we began using a new platform and the questions were evaluated using guidance from a Faculty Council committee on holistic teaching evaluation. The CES webpage has helpful guidance and information, including a page specifically for faculty.

CLIPs (Classroom Information Pages) is a set of online services that helps instructors manage classes. A few things you can do on CLIPs: get a photo roster, find out your final exam times, and submit grades.

 Texas law requires all instructors to include a minimum set of information in their syllabi each semester:

• course number
• course title
• instructor’s name
• instructor’s office location
• instructor's office hours
• overview of the class (including prerequisites, subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and learning outcomes for the course and how they will be assessed)
• grading policy
• overview of all major course requirements and assignments along with the dates of exams and assignments that count for 20 percent or more of the class grade
• list of required and recommended course materials
• final exam date and time
• Class Canvas page
• Notice of academic accommodations from Disability & Access
• University policies and resources for students Canvas page
• *TAs’ names
• *TAs’ office locations
• *TAs’ office hours

Syllabi should be uploaded to your Canvas course and submitted to your department’s administrator so that they can be available to the public (along with your CV). UT has a syllabus webpage, including a template you can use that contains all of the required fields as well as optional content. Another option is to use the Simple Syllabus tool to tailor and publish your syllabus to Canvas. You are welcome to include additional information besides the required items on your syllabus, and there are many ideas on the CTL’s Effective Syllabus page.

*Note: in order to remain FERPA compliant, the publicly available version of your syllabus should not include information about your TAs.

The “My Classroom” app on Canvas (found in the Canvas “Course Navigation Menu”) includes helpful information like your class building and room number, photos, room equipment and features, technical guides, support contacts, and a table of “In-Person Teaching with Technology Strategies”.

 Teaching Assistants (TAs) provide faculty with instructional support of a technical and professional nature, and are under the direct supervision of the faculty instructor. TA positions serve both as a support for the instructor and as an experiential learning opportunity for the graduate student. TAs can perform a variety of tasks:

• Grading
• Monitoring
• Leading lab and/or discussion sections
• Offering office hours to students
• Performing clerical tasks associated with course instruction
• Give a lecture or teach a class section, when directly supervised by the course instructor, for the purpose of the TA’s mentorship/learning

TAs cannot be asked to assist with the instructor’s research or administrative or personal tasks. Creating a TA/Instructor Agreement with your TAs each semester promotes effective communication and ensures clear expectations. *TAs are not able to be the instructor of record, and should not be assigned regular classroom instruction.

 Faculty Central is a one-stop website designed to provide quick and easy access to faculty-related resources and forms, and is a single hub providing campus-wide information specifically for faculty. You can browse curated resource lists on specific topics, find updates and communications from Faculty Affairs and Academic Affairs, and create your own “favorites” collections for easy reference. UT also has a student resource called Texas One-Stop, which includes information about registration and degree planning, financial aid, student records, and more.

A colleague who you trust or who taught the class before can be a great source for feedback on your syllabus. There is also a Center for Teaching and Learning on campus available to all instructors, and teaching and learning units within some schools and departments at UT:

• Center for Advancing Teaching Excellence (Moody College of Communication)
• Instructional Innovation (McCombs School of Business)
• Office of Instructional Innovation (College of Education)
• STEM Education Excellence (College of Natural Sciences)

Establish expectations, boundaries, and ground rules regarding participation and engagement at the beginning of the semester (see Sample Participation and Engagement Guidelines). Classroom expectations can be generated by you or created with your students in the form of community guidelines. Students are active participants in shaping the classroom learning environment, so co-created community guidelines are a great way to motivate students to respect and uphold classroom expectations. For more tips and creating effective learning environments, see the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Establishing and Reinforcing Classroom Expectations guide.