At UNC, Professors Must Soon Post Syllabi Publicly

""Starting as early as next fall, faculty members at UNC institutions will be required to upload their syllabi to a searchable public database, according to a draft of the policy provided to Inside Higher Ed by student journalists at The Daily Tar Heel. These public syllabi must include the course name, prefix, description, course objectives and student learning outcomes, as well as "a breakdown of how student performance will be assessed, including the grading scale, percentage breakdown of major assignments, and how attendance or participation will affect a student's final grade." Faculty must also include any course materials that students are required to purchase.""

""Public university syllabi should be public records, and that will be the official policy of the UNC System," Hans wrote in a Thursday op-ed in the News & Observer. "We are living through an age of dangerously low trust in some of society's most important institutions. While support for North Carolina's public universities remains strong and bipartisan, confidence in higher education generally has dropped in recent years, driven by concerns about value and a perception that some colleges and universities have drifted from their core mission.""

The UNC System plans a policy requiring faculty to upload syllabi to a searchable public database starting as early as next fall. Required syllabus contents include course name, prefix, description, objectives, student learning outcomes, grading scale, percentage breakdown of major assignments, and how attendance or participation affects final grades, plus any required purchased materials. The system office is seeking feedback from elected faculty representatives and stakeholders and will revise the draft as needed. System president Peter Hans framed the requirement as a measure to strengthen public trust and labeled syllabi public records. Only Hans needs to approve the policy. The move follows campus disagreement over a public records request by an outside group.

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