6 Course Outline

A well-developed course outline acts as a roadmap, helping students understand the expectations of the course. Taking the time to create a clear and concise outline can significantly reduce the number of student questions received via email. In LIVE-streamed courses, it is common to have a more detailed course outline. Make sure to prominently place the course outline on the course site.

The course outline should include the required elements, additional suggested headings, and a course schedule. Refer to the Undergraduate Calendar’s Academic Regulations and Instructor Responsibilities section for the specific items that need to be included.

Required Elements

Provide them with a written course outline within the first three hours of instruction which should include:

• The content of the course.
• Any prerequisites for the course.
• A list of assignments and exams, with due dates if possible
• The grading scheme: weightings of the assignments and exams*
• The instructor’s policy on attendance
• The instructor’s policy on late assignments and missed exams.
  *Any proposed changes to the grading scheme must be circulated in writing and consented to by the students registered in and attending the course.

Additional Suggested Headings

• Instructor information: full name, title, office location, virtual office hours, office phone, email (preferred method of communication uregina.ca or UR Courses email, no messaging etc.), response time for student inquires, any restrictions (e.g. No responses on weekends), teaching assistant contact details.
• Course information: course title, course number, calendar description, credit hours, prerequisites, hardware & software requirements, course goals & objectives. Consider placing the URL for your course in your syllabus.
• Textbook, required readings, required materials: Textbook ordering is the responsibility of the academic department. As an instructor, you must co-ordinate with the department Administrative Assistant of your own department of the name, author, publisher, edition, ISBN of your textbook (s) by the below time frames. The U of R Bookstore has a student online ordering & delivery available. It is also recommended to provided the first chapter of the text book in digital format, using fair use copyright.
  • Early May – for courses beginning in September
  • Mid-September – for courses beginning in January
• Final exam information. If you choose to have a final exam, it will be scheduled and set by the Registrar.  The date is listed in UR-Self Service. Include a statement about proctoring or plagiarism detection software that will be used [turnitin & proctortrack statements are needed].
• Faculty or department specific information. (e.g. Faculty of Arts student handout)
• Student accessibility information [see syllabus statement link above]
• Inform students if plagiarism, or AI detection software will be used.  If using Proctortrack or Turnitin software for exams and assignments, a syllabus statement is needed [see syllabus statement links above]
• U of R student code of conduct. Outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar
• Other considerations:
  • Consider time zones depending on location of student enrollment.  UR Courses assignments and exams uses Regina time.
  • A detailed extension of assignments and exams, which outlines expectations for each grade item and any rubrics or marking guides which will be used. How assignments are supposed to be named (student & assignment name), and the desired format (.rft, .docx).
  • Instructional methods used (e.g. Synchronous dates and times and Asynchronous activities dates).
  • Because participation can be a large part of an online course, participation expectations should be defined. (e.g. Is it posting to the discussion forum X times per week).
  • Providing additional resources if using other third party technologies not associated with the University (Slack, YouTube, Google Docs).
  • Technical & Administrative support numbers & emails. UR.LIVE@uregina.ca

Course Schedule

Students find it helpful to know what they will learn in each lecture and how to prepare for each class. You should include introductory elements to orient the learner (e.g. overviews and learning objectives), a list of required readings, the topics to be covered in each lecture, and details on assignments. Providing learning cues allows students to understand the purpose of each lecture and draws their attention to key components.

• Course schedule. Headings to include could be Week, Topic, Unit, Assignments, and Due Dates.
  • • It is important to state the schedule is tentative and subject to change depending on the progress of the class.
    • When content or discussion topics will be released and any lock dates that will apply. (e.g. Do you prefer students follow a chronological order of topics or can they meander and respond to previous weeks?).
    • If the course is blended, include specific information regarding which course activities will take place LIVE in the virtual classroom, and which activities will be completed in UR Courses.
    • Any required special circumstances that need to be included (mandatory chat sessions, guest speakers).