Syllabi serve as a formal communication tool, covering essential course elements such as modality, learning objectives, materials, expectations, policies, and student support services. The New York State Education Department and the Center for Teaching Innovation offer best practices for creating effective syllabi.

Instructors are encouraged to attach their syllabi to the Cornell Class Roster, even in draft form, to provide students with the prospective course experience and make informed registration decisions. Additionally, the university-wide Cornell Academic Materials Program (CAMP) provides undergraduates with access to required textbooks and coursepacks for a flat fee, regardless of their field of study.

The university bylaws define the academic year as a roughly nine-month period, starting two working days before fall term registration and ending with final examinations in the spring term. Summer spans from the last day of one academic year to the first day of the subsequent academic year.

Faculty members, regardless of appointment length, are expected to be present throughout the academic year, except for leaves of absence, holidays, and professional travel. Faculty members must remain on campus until they submit grades for spring term courses. The provost, in consultation with the Student Assembly and Faculty Senate, determines the academic calendar details, occasionally introducing small variations announced in advance to the university community.

Academic Calendar

The Office of the University Registrar oversees the Courses of Study catalog, which lists the current standard class meeting patterns. Class meeting patterns are listed by duration and the number of times the class meets per week: 50 Minutes, 75 Minutes, 115 Minutes, 150 Minutes, and 180 minutes.

Offering a course during a nonstandard meeting time requires approval (see Exceptions guidance below) if the course is numbered 4999 or less or it is cross-listed with a course that is numbered 4999 or less or co-meets with a course that is numbered 4999 or less. Approval is also required for Law School, Johnson Graduate School of Management, or Veterinary College classes numbered 5000 or above that meet between 7:30 am and 4:25 pm in buildings that are not part of their space. The granting of exceptions partly depends upon the specific type of class and the credit hour policy.

Exceptions

Instructors must work with their unit chairperson to make every effort within the academic unit to comply with the above standard class meeting times. Only when local resolution proves impossible may the faculty member request, in writing, an exception. The exception request must first be approved by the unit associate dean, or an equivalent individual designated by the unit dean, who must then seek final approval from the vice provost for undergraduate education.

The Free-Time Zone

The ‘free-time zone’ is a designated time that provides a reliable time for relaxation and extracurricular activities. According to faculty legislation, the free-time zone spans Mondays through Thursdays from 4:25pm to 7:30pm, Fridays after 4:25pm, Saturdays after 12:05pm, and all-day Sunday. It is important that the intent of the free-time-zone policy be respected during the process of course scheduling. For that reason, the scope of teaching in the free-time zone will be reviewed annually by the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Dean of Faculty, and the University Registrar.rnrnCourses numbered 4999 or lower are considered ‘undergraduate-level,’ even if cross-listed with higher-numbered courses. All other courses fall under the ‘graduate-level’ category. Graduate-level courses can meet during the free-time zone unless they are cross-listed with or co-meet with undergraduate-level courses.

Student Attendance Responsibility

Students are expected to attend all course meetings throughout the term. While some courses enforce penalties for absences, others focus on students’ responsibility for class material rather than physical presence. Attendance rules are set by the unit or the instructor In cases of missed work, cooperation with the instructor is essential for makeup opportunities because only the course instructor can grant an exemption to a student. However, it may be particularly challenging to make up missed work for tests, laboratory sessions, or field trips, as the instructor’s discretion plays a significant role.

Instructor Attendance Responsibility

Academic employees bear essential responsibilities, including teaching, advising, and research mentorship, and scholarship. In cases of unforeseen absence (due to illness, transportation issues, or emergencies), course instructors should arrange for substitutes or inform students and others dependent on their presence. For planned absences, provisions must be made to fulfill academic obligations, with communication to affected parties. When makeup classes are scheduled outside regular hours, instructors should consider potential conflicts for students. If, in attempting to avoid such conflicts, the instructor arranges to have the class taken by a substitute, that person must maintain continuity and coherence in their presentations as well as the level of presentation provided by the regular instructor. For these and other reasons, the missing of classes should be held to a minimum, and assignments of makeup classes and coaching of a substitute should be done with care. Having such plans approved by the unit chairperson is advised.

In 2023, the Faculty Senate enacted a policy prohibiting faculty from assigning graded academic coursework during scheduled breaks. Consequently, faculty cannot administer graded exams or quizzes, conduct in-class graded assignments, or set due dates for graded assignments immediately after a break. This measure aims to reduce the demand on students’ time during their breaks.

If a course is offered for credit, then the instructor of record is the individual who assigns the final course grade. The instructor of record must be an academic titleholder if the course is numbered 4999 or lower.

An individual  who is not an academic titleholder can serve as the instructor of record if the course is numbered 5000 or higher and is not a requirement for any degree program affiliated with the sponsoring unit. Co-teaching with an academic titleholder is always allowed provided the academic titleholder serves as the instructor of record.

No member of the instructional staff, including assistants, may engage for profit or gain in tutoring a student in a university course taught by himself or herself or by colleagues in the same unit. University buildings or equipment are not to be used by any member of the instructional staff for tutoring for profit.

Cornell University places a strong emphasis academic integrity, expecting unwavering honesty from its students. It is a shared responsibility where both students and faculty play a role in maintaining these values. Whether in formal coursework or any other educational context, students must: acknowledge any outside assistance received for all academic endeavors; respect the intellectual efforts of themselves and others, which is undermined by plagiarism and cheating; respect the fact that academic integrity extends beyond the classroom to all interactions related to the educational process. By submitting work for academic credit, students truthfully affirm that it is their own.

Use of Plagiarism-Detection Software

Plagiarism-detection software, like Turnitin, is activated by default in all Canvas courses. It scans student submissions for matched text by comparing the work to a large database of other student submissions, publications, and materials on the internet. Instructors who use or anticipate using plagiarism-detection software must provide notice to students. This notice should be included in the course syllabus. If plagiarism-detection software is instituted after the syllabus is distributed, faculty should provide written notice at that time. For example: “Students agree that by taking this course, all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to plagiarism-detection software. All submitted papers will be submitted as source documents solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of such services is subject to their Usage Policy.”

Tech Use in Classrooms

The course instructor has the authority to decide the technology use policy, which should be included in the syllabus and communicate it to students on the first day of class. However, accommodations must be provided for students with disabilities.

Course Material Protections

Some students buy and sell course materials online, including exams and exam answers, lecture notes, problem sets and answers, and student papers. Commercial vendors have been known to falsely tell students that instructors have approved the sale of course materials and then post them online for resale. Some Cornell students have engaged in ‘contract cheating,’ subscribing to study sites like Chegg, CourseHero, and Slader to obtain answers for exams and assignments and then submitted them as their own work. Such behavior constitutes “Unauthorized Assistance” under the Code of Academic Integrity.

Online learning management systems, like Blackboard and Canvas, emphasize that course materials posted there are intellectual property belonging to the author, and students are not allowed to buy or sell them without the instructor’s express permission. To discourage such behavior, course instructors are encouraged to explicitly prohibit buying and selling course materials in their syllabi. Additionally, including a copyright notice on any course materials that you author, including class notes and exams, helps protect against unauthorized distribution. If students were to remove a copyright notice, that behavior would create a higher level of culpability. Such a notice would also make it easier for you to take down materials from commercial sites. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), to have materials removed from a web site, the copyright holder must personally request the removal. Although student-produced course materials, like lecture notes, are owned by the student, course instructors can still set conditions on their use. For instance, they may prohibit distributing notes derived from their lectures on internet sites, such as recommended above. Original course materials are copyrighted intellectual property of the creator of the content and are not a student’s property to share, distribute, or sell; sharing or selling course materials or lecture content, even a student’s own class notes, without authorization, is subject to a charge of “Classroom Misconduct” and possibly copyright infringement.

Instructions on how to locate and request removal of copyrighted course materials sold on Internet sites.

Instructors play a crucial role in ensuring equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Under Federal law, disabilities such as learning disabilities, certain physical and mental health conditions, vision and hearing impairments, and traumatic brain injuries qualify for accommodations. Students with documented needs are entitled to appropriate access accommodations.

Student Disability Services collaborates closely with students to determine eligibility and provide necessary accommodations for each course. Faculty should provide the accommodations specified in the accommodation notification letter prepared by Student Disability Services. Student Disability Services also supports faculty. Instructors should promptly discuss modifications with Student Disability Services if an approved accommodation would significantly alter the course’s structure or essential requirements.

In May 1965, the University Faculty adopted the Cornell University Grading System. The official University grading system is composed of letter grades with pluses and minuses. Passing grades range from A+ to D–; F is failing. INC denotes a grade of incomplete, NG denotes a non-graded course, NGR signifies no grade reported, and R is the grade given a for an in-progress multi-semester course.

Letter grade values are combined with course credit hours to produce an average based on a 4.3 scale. Grade point average is calculated by multiplying the credit hour and quality point equivalent for each course and then dividing by the total number of credits taken. The cumulative average is the sum of the products of all the grades at Cornell divided by the total number of credits taken.

Alongside the letter grade system stands an SU System, in which S means satisfactory, as defined by performance that would be graded C- or higher, and U means unsatisfactory, as defined by performance that would be graded below C-. Grades of S and U are not given grade point values or taken into account in computing grade point averages. The purpose of the S‐U System is to encourage students to venture into courses outside their main areas of familiarity without great risk to their academic record.  Credits toward the fulfillment of graduation requirements are earned for courses evaluated S but not for those graded U. The various schools and colleges differ in the restrictions they place on the election of S/U grading over letter grading. But where college rules and course procedures allow it, the election is a student option that must be exercised within the drop period for the course. Students may not defer the decision in the hope of first seeing the letter grade they are likely to earn.

Preliminary examinations (“prelims”) are mid-semester exams typically held during regularly scheduled class meeting times, in regularly scheduled classrooms. Evening prelim examinations may be given on Tuesday and Thursday evenings after 7:30 p.m. Large courses (over 30) may schedule evening exams only with prior permission from the Office of the Dean of Faculty. No permission is required for examinations or make-up examinations involving small numbers of students (under 30) if given on Tuesday and Thursday.

Exceptions

If there is a conflict between an examination listed on the schedule developed at the annual evening prelim scheduling meeting and an examination not on the schedule, the examination on the schedule shall have priority. The course not on the schedule provide an alternate time to take the examination for those students faced with the conflict. If a student has conflicting examination schedules, both of which are on the schedule developed at the annual evening prelim scheduling meeting or both of which are not on the schedule, the instructors of the courses involved must consult and agree on how to resolve the conflict. Both instructors must approach this resolution process with a willingness to provide an alternative or early examination.

Courses utilizing evening examinations should indicate this in the course description listed in Courses of Study, The Course and Time Roster, and The Course and Room Roster and must notify students of the dates of such examinations as early as possible in the semester, preferably when the course outline is distributed.

The Code of Academic Integrity specifies that no student may use, give, or receive any assistance or information not given in the examination or by the proctor. Access to technology poses new challenges in this regard making it necessary to clarify the authority of proctors and instructors:

• Unless the instructor or Student Disability Services grants an explicit exception, students may not handle or access technology at any time during an exam.
• During an exam all such technology shall be turned off or disabled and placed out of sight if so requested by the proctor.
• All watches provided by the student shall be placed out of sight if so requested by the proctor and the time is publicly posted or announced.
• All writing instruments provided by the student can be disallowed if alternative writing instruments are supplied by the proctor.

Final Exam Policy – Faculty Senate Resolution 65

Advances in pedagogy and variations in practice across fields have broadened the range of commonly used end‐of‐semester evaluative exercises beyond traditional sit‐down final examinations. The rules and guidelines that follow aim to protect students from unreasonable demands on their time while simultaneously providing instructors the flexibility necessary to design evaluative exercises appropriate to their courses.

The Academic Calendar sets aside, after the last week of classes, a brief study period followed by a period for final examinations. The Registrar’s Office assigns to every course a specific day and time during final‐examination period at which time the course’s final exam, if any, will take place. The designated final exam days and times are scheduled carefully to minimize conflicts and spread students’ workloads as evenly as possible over the exam period.

• For advising undergraduate students
• For advising graduate and professional students