Knowledge Base

Effective with the Fall 2016 semester and continuing thereafter, syllabi for all TMU courses must include the following elements/components (outlined in bold/italic) in both their e-copy (a Canvas template will be provided) and hardcopy versions:

Faculty Contact Information:    Name, Phone, Email 

Faculty Office Information:      Location, Office Hours

Textbook Information:                  Title, Author, ISBN, Required or Optional designation

Course Description and Goals:  Entered by faculty

Student Learning Outcomes:      (if different/separate from course goals) – Entered by faculty as appropriate

Course Grade Chart:                     The value that constitutes a final grade of: A, A-, B+, etc. (for example: A = 93-100%, etc.)

Assignment Values:                       Point value or percentage each element contributes to the final course grade

Assignment Due Dates:                 Entered by faculty

In addition, the institutional elements listed below MUST also be included in your course syllabi. The official text is listed below each designation. Please copy and paste the text into your hardcopy syllabi. Your Canvas syllabi will automatically incorporate all elements except your credit hour calculation. A space for you to enter that information in Canvas will be provided.

FYI: The attendance policy is from the most recent TMU catalog. Please note: instructors are permitted to employ a more lenient policy, but not a more stringent policy.

Attendance Policy:

No faculty member is required to take class attendance in his/her course or to use class attendance as a factor in student grading.

If a faculty member uses attendance as a factor of his/her class grading policy, he/she must allow at least the following number of excused absences with no negative grade effect

• 5 absences in a 3-session/week class

• 4 absences in a 2-session/week class

• 2 absences in a 1-session/week class

Excused absences include unavoidable circumstances beyond the control of the student, significant illness, and university-sponsored travel to represent TMU (e.g., intercollegiate athletic events and musical group performances). Faculty members are required to allow students to complete grade-related in-class work (e.g., assignments, quizzes, tests) for excused class absences. 

Faculty members may, but are not required to, make any allowances for unexcused absences. Faculty members may, but are NOT required to, allow students to complete grade-related in-class work for unexcused absences. For scheduled excused absences

(e.g., university-sponsored travel), the faculty member may require grade-related in-class work to be submitted prior to the absence. For unexpected excused absences, the faculty member must allow the student a reasonable time to complete and submit the missed work. Faculty members may institute a grade effect for excused absences beyond the minimum.

Copyright Information:

The copyrighted materials used in this course [insert: course number and name] are made available for the educational purposes of students enrolled in this course at The Master’s University. These materials are subject to U.S. Copyright Law [U.S.C., Title 17] and are not for further reproduction or transmission. For questions concerning Copyright Law, please contact Janet Tillman, Institutional Copyright Specialist: jtillman@masters.edu

Please note: instructor-created course materials are © [insert: instructor name, year]

Academic Dishonesty Policy

It is the responsibility of the faculty member to pursue suspected incidents of academic dishonesty occurring within his/her courses. If a student is found to be guilty of cheating, plagiarism or another form of academic dishonesty, the faculty member is required to document the incident in writing and submit the report to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. The first documented incident of academic dishonesty will result in the student failing the assignment or the course at the instructor’s discretion depending on the severity of the incident, and the student will become ineligible for any academic awards that semester.

Any subsequent documented offense of academic dishonesty by that student (regardless of whether it occurs in the same or any other course taken by the student at the University) will result in automatic failure of the course and expulsion of the student from the University for a minimum of one academic year.

Disability Services:

The Master’s University has an institutional commitment to promote and provide access and equality to all students seeking postsecondary education with disabilities. The University complies with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (as amended) that all public or private schools that receive federal funding are required under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to provide reasonable accommodations to eliminate barriers to all students with disabilities. To ensure equality of access for students with disabilities, academic and/or non-academic accommodations and auxiliary aids shall be provided to the extent required with the state and federal laws and regulations.

For each student, academic and/or non-academic accommodation and auxiliary aids shall specifically address those functional limitations of the disability that adversely affect the ability to an equal educational opportunity. The Master’s University and Seminary has established the Office of Disability Services (ODS) to verify eligibility and coordinate compliance of services for students with documented qualified disabilities. Students wanting to inquire of service eligibility procedure should contact the ODS at 661-362-2269.

Student Electronic Portfolio Items:

Please note that your [insert: project/paper title, results of ___ exam, etc.] may be stored in an online electronic portfolio (used as part of the University’s Institutional Assessment Plan) which contains a sample of students’ general education and major class work during their time at The Master’s University. This work will be kept permanently and may be reviewed by other faculty, as well as external evaluators, to assess the quality of education at TMU. We strongly encourage you to give an added measure of effort to the quality of the work you submit to satisfy the requirements of those assignments/elements.  

Statement of Conduct:

The Master’s University is committed to fostering holiness in the lives of our students, faculty, and staff. This includes issues of sexuality. Scripture is clear that any sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sin and not to be pursued. Sexual misconduct is unwelcome verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that includes but is not limited to: sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Sexual misconduct occurs without consent or takes place with an individual incapable of giving consent and may include physical force, coercion, threat or intimidation.

If instances of sexual misconduct are raised within our community, the University is committed to pursuing investigation and disciplinary actions according to Title IX regulations. A more complete expression of the University’s policy may be found here:

http://www.masters.edu/media/866525/2015-statement-addressing-preventing-and-responding-to-sex-offenses.pdf

Credit Hour Calculations:

Please ensure your credit hour calculations are included in your syllabi – please refer to the credit hour calculations memo for full instructions – the chart below is only an example/template to be completed with the appropriate course-specific information

as the credit hour calculations memo outlines