A course syllabus is an important opportunity to communicate expectations, clarify course policies, and help students understand their responsibilities and available supports. Including clear statements on topics such as academic integrity, equity and inclusion, accommodations, and recording course activities can help establish a shared understanding between instructors and students.
This resource brings together institutional statements and adaptable examples that instructors may consider including in their course syllabi. Some statements are required in particular teaching contexts and must be reproduced without modification, while others can be adapted to reflect course needs. Instructors should consult their faculty, division, or department to confirm applicable requirements and policies.
For guidance on planning and organizing your syllabus, consult CTSI’s Developing a Course Syllabus resource. For assistance with additional statements or questions about their use, contact CTSI at ctsi.teaching@utoronto.ca.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is essential to learning and scholarship at the University of Toronto. The University’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines behaviours that constitute academic offences and the procedures for addressing them. These include, but are not limited to:
- Using someone else’s ideas or words without appropriate acknowledgement
- Submitting work previously submitted in another course without the permission of the instructors involved
- Fabricating sources or information
- Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on assignments
- Using unauthorized aids during tests or examinations
- Misrepresenting one’s identity
- Falsifying or altering academic or institutional documents
Instructors can use their syllabus to communicate academic integrity expectations, clarify appropriate academic practices, and direct students to relevant University resources.
Sample Academic Integrity Statement
All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, please reach out to me. Note that you are expected to seek out additional information on academic integrity from me or from other institutional resources (for example, the University of Toronto website on Academic Integrity).
Plagiarism Detection
The University’s plagiarism detection tool assists instructors in identifying textual similarities between submitted work and other sources. The tool does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred; instructors are responsible for reviewing similarity results and assessing them in context.
Instructors who use the University’s plagiarism detection tool must comply with the University’s Conditions of Use, including informing students about its use and including the prescribed statement in their course syllabus.
The following statement must be included without modification when the University’s plagiarism detection tool is used. For information about the Conditions of Use, student notification, and using the tool through Quercus, consult CTSI’s Plagiarism Detection resource.
Required Plagiarism Detection Statement
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to the University’s plagiarism detection tool for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the tool’s reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of this tool are described on the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation web site (https://uoft.me/pdt-faq).
Generative AI
Clearly communicating expectations for generative AI use can help students understand when and how these technologies may be used in coursework. Instructors should consider how generative AI aligns with their course learning outcomes and assessments, and specify whether its use is permitted, restricted to particular activities, or prohibited.
The Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning (OVPTL) provides sample syllabus statements that instructors can use or adapt to communicate expectations for generative AI use in assignments and other coursework.
Consult OVPTL’s Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom: FAQ’s for institutional guidance and sample syllabus statements.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The University of Toronto is committed to fostering an equitable, inclusive, and respectful learning environment. Instructors are encouraged to include the following statement in their course syllabus and Quercus course site to communicate expectations for mutual respect and engagement with diverse perspectives.
Sample Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement
The University of Toronto is committed to equity, human rights and respect for diversity. All members of the learning environment in this course should strive to create an atmosphere of mutual respect where all members of our community can express themselves, engage with each other, and respect one another’s differences. U of T does not condone discrimination or harassment against any persons or communities.
Accommodations and Student Support
The University of Toronto provides accommodations and support services to help students participate in their learning. Instructors may include statements in their course syllabi that communicate available supports and explain how students can seek accommodations related to disabilities, religious observances, and family care responsibilities.
Students with Disabilities
The University provides academic accommodations for students with disabilities in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Instructors may include the following statement to communicate the University’s commitment to accessible learning environments and encourage students to seek appropriate support.
Before using this statement, replace the reference to Accessibility Services with the appropriate campus office and contact information:
Sample Statement on Academic Accommodations
The University provides academic accommodations for students with disabilities in accordance with the terms of the Ontario Human Rights Code. This occurs through a collaborative process that acknowledges a collective obligation to develop an accessible learning environment that both meets the needs of students and preserves the essential academic requirements of the University’s courses and programs.
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. If you have a disability that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or the Accessibility Services* office.
Religious Observances
The University recognizes the importance of accommodating students’ religious observances. Instructors may include the following statement to encourage students to communicate anticipated absences and discuss appropriate arrangements. For additional information, consult the University of Toronto’s guidance on Accommodations for Religious Observances.
Sample Statement on Religious Observances
The University provides reasonable accommodation of the needs of students who observe religious holy days other than those already accommodated by ordinary scheduling and statutory holidays. Students have a responsibility to alert members of the teaching staff in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences and instructors will make every reasonable effort to avoid scheduling tests, examinations or other compulsory activities at these times.
Please reach out to me as early as possible to communicate any anticipated absences related to religious observances, and to discuss any possible related implications for course work.
Family Care Responsibilities
Students may balance their academic responsibilities with caregiving commitments, including parenting and supporting family members. The following statement, prepared by the University’s Family Care Office, can be adapted to acknowledge these responsibilities and direct students to available support.
Sample Statement on Family Care Responsibilities
The University of Toronto strives to provide a family-friendly environment. You may wish to inform me if you are a student with family responsibilities. If you are a student parent or have family responsibilities, you also may wish to visit the Family Care Office website at familycare.utoronto.ca.
Recording Classes and Course Materials
Recording classes and course activities involves considerations related to copyright, student privacy, and accessibility. Instructors should clearly communicate recording expectations, including whether students may make their own recordings and how recorded materials may be used or shared.
Recording or reproducing lectures, course notes, and other instructional materials may involve copyright and intellectual property rights. Instructors should clarify applicable permissions, taking into account the University’s Appropriate Use of Information and Communication Technology guidance and disability-related accommodations.
Recordings may also capture students’ images, voices, and contributions. Instructors must provide appropriate notice and opportunities for students to participate without being recorded or penalized, consistent with University privacy requirements. For additional guidance, consult CTSI’s Recording Lectures and Classes resource.
Instructor Recording of Course Meetings
Instructors may have pedagogical reasons for recording online course meetings, such as making course content available for later review, capturing questions for follow-up, or recording student presentations.
Recordings involving student participation may constitute a collection of personal information governed by Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The University of Toronto Privacy Office developed two syllabus statements to notify students about recordings and communicate expectations for their use.
When planning to record course meetings, instructors should also take the following steps to protect student privacy and support participation:
- Provide advance notice. Inform students in writing before the course begins if online course meetings will be recorded. When recording individual classes, provide notice well in advance of the recording.
- Provide alternatives to being recorded. Students who do not wish to appear or be heard in recordings must have opportunities to participate without penalty. Depending on the teaching context, this may involve seating outside the camera’s view, alternative ways to ask questions, or another way to earn participation credit without being recorded.
- Protect access to recordings. Recordings retained for later use must be stored on an official, secure University system with access restricted to authorized users, rather than on publicly accessible websites.
The following two statements distinguish whether students may download course recordings for their own academic use. Instructors are strongly encouraged to include the applicable statement in their syllabus and Quercus course site.
Option 1: Download and Re-use Prohibited
This course, including your participation, will be recorded on video and will be available to students in the course for viewing remotely and after each session.
Course videos and materials belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other sources depending on the specific facts of each situation, and are protected by copyright. Do not download, copy, or share any course or student materials or videos without the explicit permission of the instructor.
For questions about recording and use of videos in which you appear, please contact your instructor.
Option 2: Download Permitted; Re-use Prohibited
This course, including your participation, will be recorded on video and will be available to students in the course for viewing remotely and after each session.
Course videos and materials belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other source depending on the specific facts of each situation, and are protected by copyright. In this course, you are permitted to download session videos and materials for your own academic use, but you should not copy, share, or use them for any other purpose without the explicit permission of the instructor.
For questions about recording and use of videos in which you appear, please contact your instructor.
Student Recording of Classes
Instructors may use or adapt the following sample statements to communicate whether students are permitted to record classes and how recordings may be used or shared. Recording expectations must be consistent with applicable University policies, copyright and privacy requirements, and disability-related accommodations.
Option 1: Instructor Permits Audio Recordings (No Distribution Rights)
Students may create audio-recordings of the lectures for their personal use. Recordings are intended to permit lecture content review so as to enhance understanding of the topics presented. Audio-recordings are not substitutes for attending class.
Students should note that since audio recordings are to be permitted, their voice may be recorded by others during the class. Please speak to the instructor if this is a concern for you.
In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and applicable University policies, students with disabilities will be accommodated.
Students agree to the following terms when creating audio recordings of lectures:
- Recordings are not to be distributed without the permission of the instructor via the Internet, using social media such as Facebook, peer-to-peer file sharing such as One Drive or Dropbox, or other distribution channels.
- Recordings are not to be shared with other classmates unless they are to be used in collaborative assignments, or if the instructor permits for other reasons.
Non-compliance with these terms violates an instructor’s intellectual property rights and the Canadian Copyright Act. Students violating this agreement will be subject to disciplinary actions under the Code of Student Conduct.
Option 2: Instructor Restricts Audio or Video Recordings
Students may not create audio recordings of classes with the exception of those students requiring an accommodation for a disability, who should speak to the instructor prior to beginning to record lectures.
Students creating unauthorized audio recording of lectures violate an instructor’s intellectual property rights and the Canadian Copyright Act. Students violating this agreement will be subject to disciplinary actions under the Code of Student Conduct.
Course videos may not be reproduced or posted or shared anywhere other than the official course Quercus site and should only be used by students currently registered in the course. Recordings may be saved to students’ laptop for personal use.
Because recordings will be provided for all lectures, students may not create additional audio or video recordings without written permission from the instructor. Permission for such recordings will not be withheld for students with accommodation needs.