Required Institutional Policies and Student Support Resources

The following information is required for all syllabi at Western Carolina and is updated each summer.
The page was formerly named “Required Syllabus Content”.

This version was updated 06/04/2025.

Common Syllabus Statements and Resources

Community Vision for Inclusive Excellence Statement

The diverse perspectives encountered at Western Carolina University (WCU) are an important part of the preparation of students for roles as regional, national, and global leaders who contribute to the improvement of society. It is expected that members of the WCU community will coexist with those who are different from themselves. We encourage civil discourse as a part of the learning enterprise, and as a campus we do not tolerate illegal harassing or discriminating behavior that seeks to marginalize or demean members of our community.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Western Carolina University is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for all students. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are federal anti-discrimination statutes that ensure comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that students with disabilities be guaranteed equal access to the programs and activities of the university. Often, this can be achieved through accessible and inclusive course design, and if not, may be achieved through the provision of reasonable accommodations. If you have a documented disability and are encountering barriers to access in this course, please contact me to discuss your concerns. You may also contact the Office of Accessibility Resources located in 138 Killian Annex, email accessibility@wcu.edu, or call 828.227.3886.

Course Recording and Broadcasting

Students may make visual or audio recordings, including recordings made for the purpose of artificial intelligence enhancement, evaluation, analysis, etc. (Recording) of any class related content, using any approved recording device (e.g., smart phone, computer, digital recorder, etc.) upon the prior permission of the instructor and subject to the following restriction(s). The Recording, along with the video capture of visible course materials (e.g., visible PowerPoint slides and/or visible lecture notes), shall be limited to the student’s personal, course related, educational use and shall be subject to all applicable copyright laws and institutional policies. Any recording made for the purpose of artificial intelligence enhancement, evaluation, analysis, etc. must use artificial intelligence resources reviewed and approved by the Western Carolina University Division of Information Technology (WCU-IT). The student may not transfer, transmit, or otherwise disseminate the Recording to any third party, including classmates, without the permission of the instructor. Any violation of these restrictions, or any other restriction verbally communicated by the instructor, may subject the student to the provisions of the WCU Academic Integrity Policy, the WCU Code of Student Conduct, both or any other university policy relevant to the issue.

Meetings of this course may be broadcast and/or recorded. Broadcasting and recording are intended to complement the classroom experience. Instructors may broadcast and/or record courses for pedagogical use, student reference, to meet the accommodation needs of students with a documented disability, or any other reason deemed appropriate by WCU and/or the instructor.

Any recording of class that includes the image or voice of a student, or reference to the student’s name, would be considered a FERPA record and generally exempt from disclosure. If a member of the faculty intends to make a recording available for future viewing (any viewing that is not live) the faculty member must secure a waiver by each student in the class. The waivers may be collected by email or as a Canvas discussion board post or assignment with the following statement attached:

By sending this email (by replying to this discussion board, by completing this electronic form – any use of WCU official identity verification) and typing my name below I acknowledge I have read and fully understand the terms of the Video Consent and Release Form for Class Recording (University Policy 122) and hereby release the University as stated in the Form.

If a student refuses to sign the waiver, their likeness may not be included in any recording made available to other students or third parties. In other words, the student(s) would need to be excluded from video and not allowed to ask questions on the recording. If this happens, faculty should grade consistent with instructor preference, syllabi, or both. To be clear the faculty member has the right to penalize the student by lowering their grade for not participating. The faculty member is also free to create alternative assignments at his or her discretion.

Course recordings will be available to students registered for the course pursuant to applicable university policy and instructor preference. All broadcasts and recordings are limited to personal, course related, educational use and may not be transmitted, transferred, distributed, sold, or posted on social media outlets without the written permission of the instructor. Unauthorized transmission, transfer, distribution, sale or posting of the broadcast and/or recording for any purpose other than the student’s personal, course related, educational use is not permitted. Students are expected to follow appropriate university policies and maintain the security of passwords used to access recorded materials.

Lockdown Browser and Recording Policies

If the Lockdown Browser and Monitor are being used, it is necessary that the instructor have both a syllabus statement and a waiver on file. Any course recordings for purposes beyond the normal conduct of a course (promotional videos, videos related to a governed research project, etc.) will require an additional waiver and appropriate approval (such as IRB approval).

University Policy 122

For a more detailed version of when a waiver might be needed see: Policy Considerations of Classroom Technology Use.

Academic Integrity: Use of Software to Encourage Original Effort

Students may be required to submit written assignments for this class to Turnitin, a web-based plagiarism detection software, prior to submitting the assignment for grading. Be advised that assignments submitted to Turnitin will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. If an assignment contains personally identifiable information, and a student is uncomfortable submitting personally identifiable information to Turnitin, the student should speak to the faculty member about alternatives.

Academic Integrity Policy and Reporting Process

This policy addresses academic integrity violations of undergraduate and graduate students.

Students, faculty, staff, and administrators of WCU strive to achieve the highest standards of scholarship and integrity. Any violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is a serious offense because it threatens the quality of scholarship and undermines the integrity of the community. Because it is an academic matter, issues related to this policy are managed by the Division of Student Success and will be addressed according to the procedures outlined in the WCU Catalog. If the charge occurs close to the end of an academic semester or term or in the event of the reasonable need of either party for additional time to gather information, timelines may be extended at the discretion of the appropriate academic Dean.

Instructors have the right to determine the appropriate academic sanctions for violations of the Academic Integrity Policy within their courses, up to and including a final grade of “F” in the course in which the violation occurs.

Definitions:

Cheating – Using, or attempting to use, unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise.

Fabrication – Creating and/or falsifying information or citation in any academic exercise.

Plagiarism – Representing the words or ideas of someone else as one’s own in any academic exercise.

Self-plagiarism – Reusing work that you have already published or submitted for a class. It can involve re-submitting an entire paper, copying, paraphrasing passages from your previous work, or recycling old data.

Facilitation – Helping or attempting to help someone to commit a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy in any academic exercise (e.g. allowing another person to copy information during an examination).

Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Integrity Process

Additional information is available through the WCU Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog.

Privacy Settings for 3rd Party Tools

Third party apps and programs that any instructor uses as part of their course will have their own privacy settings to which students must pay attention and which will be indicated by a box with an arrow in Canvas. If a third party app or program is not accessed through the single-sign-on process, the privacy settings are not controlled by the WCU-IT. It is the student’s responsibility to check and change privacy settings and to understand the privacy and data use policies of the site. If you have a concern with the data retention or privacy policies, speak with your professors. Some professors will provide alternative assignments.

Academic & Campus Resources