Faculty Handbook
Students are required to be honest in all of their university class work. Faculty members have a duty to promote ethical behavior and avoid practices and environments that foster cheating. Faculty should encourage students to bring incidents of dishonesty to their attention. A faculty member, in certain circumstances, can resolve an academic dishonesty matter without a student disciplinary hearing. The procedures and guidelines are available from Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. Learn more about Student Rights & Responsibilities.
The Honor Code: We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.
On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied:
"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."
Support services for students with disabilities are coordinated by the Disability Resource Center in the Division for Student Life. All support services provided for University of Florida students are individualized to meet the needs of students with disabilities. To obtain individual support services, each student must meet with one of the support coordinators in the Disability Resources Program and collaboratively develop appropriate support strategies. Appropriate documentation regarding the student's disability is necessary to obtain any reasonable accommodation or support service.
Turnitin is an internet-based anti-plagiarism technology that enables faculty members to determine if research papers have been plagiarized.
The Office of Academic Technology has licensed Turnitin.com for the use of University of Florida faculty and students. Turnitin's web-based program searches out matching and even partially altered phrases from web content and Turnitin databases. The software then provides to the instructor a color-coded "originality report" with links to similarities in submitted text. This allows the instructor to carefully evaluate suspect papers for proper and improper citation as well as for dishonest plagiarism.
Instructors set the specific attendance policies for their courses. Students enrolled in a course are responsible for satisfying all academic objectives as defined by the instructor.
Students may not attend a class unless they are officially registered or approved to audit with evidence of having paid audit fees. Students who do not attend at least one of the first two class meetings of a course or laboratory in which they are registered, and who have not contacted the department to indicate their intent, may be dropped from the course. However, students should not assume they have been dropped from a course if they fail to attend the first few days of class.
When students audit a course, they do not earn credits or grades. Audited courses appear on the transcript. Students typically audit courses to further their knowledge of a subject without the requirement of an academic record.
Auditing courses is only permitted when space is available and is approved by the college offering the course. Students must pay tuition and fees as indicated within the categories listed below.
Students auditing a course to complete course requirements should refer to the Grades/Grading Policies in the academic catalog.
The syllabus for a course is a written record of the instructor's plan for the organization and management of the course, and his or her expectations of the students. The UF Policy on Course Syllabi outlines the information that must appear in all course syllabi, independent of course level or discipline. Instructional faculty are expected to post their course syllabi to a student accessible website and submit copies of course syllabi to the departmental office to document compliance with this policy.
During-term examinations are held during regular class times or during assembly exam periods, which are Monday through Friday from 8:20 pm to 10:10 pm (periods E2-E3) for the Fall and Spring terms and Monday through Friday from 7:00 pm to 9:45 pm (periods E1-E2) for the Summer terms. If other classes are scheduled during an exam time, instructors must provide make-up class work for students who miss class because of an assembly exam.
When two exams conflict, assembly exams (multiple sections and enrollment over 300) take precedence over non-assembly exams (single sections and/or enrollment under 300). If two assembly exams conflict, the course with the higher number will take priority. Likewise, if two non-assembly exams conflict, the higher number will again take priority. Instructors giving make-up exams will make the necessary adjustments. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence. A reasonable amount of time to make up a during-term exam is before the end of the semester in which the student is enrolled in the class.
Final exams are determined by course meeting times, except for certain large courses.
No student is required to take more than three final exams in one day. If two exams are scheduled at the same time, assembly exams take priority over standard exams. When two assembly exams (multiple sections and enrollment over 300) or two standard exams (single sections and/or enrollment under 300) conflict, the course with the higher number will take priority. Instructors giving make-up exams will make the necessary adjustments. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence. A reasonable amount of time to make up a final exam is within 60 days of the originally scheduled final exam date; however, students in their graduation semester may require expedited accommodations to ensure graduation as scheduled.
Learn more about undergraduate grades and grading policies and graduate grades and grading policies.
Subject to college degree program and department guidelines, students can take elective coursework and earn grades of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). A grade of S is equal to a C (2.0) or better. Grades earned under the S/U option do not carry grade point values and are not computed in the University of Florida grade point average. Courses with a grade of S will count as credits earned in a degree program. Such grades are included in the student's permanent academic record and are reflected on the transcript. After the S/U option is approved, the grade cannot revert to a letter grade.
Other academic institutions and agencies may interpret a grade of U as a failing grade.
If a student chooses the S/U option they must be in good standing and not on university academic probation. To elect the S/U option, students must obtain the approvals indicated on the form. Students can elect the S/U option for one course only each term; this option is in addition to courses that are taught only on an S/U basis. Courses taken to fulfill the general education and the Writing Requirement cannot be taken S/U.
For Fall, Spring, and Summer C terms, the S/U option deadline is Friday of the third week of classes. For Summer A and Summer B terms, the deadline is Wednesday of the second week of classes. The specific dates are listed in the Critical Dates by Term.
Public posting of student grades using complete social security numbers or university student identification numbers (e.g., the UF ID number), or any portion thereof, violates the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Consequently, faculty should not post student grades in this manner.
For the purpose of posting grades, faculty may assign, or allow students to choose, a unique and confidential identifier (e.g., a 4-digit number) and then post grades using that number provided that the posted list is not in alphabetical order. Alternatively, faculty may institute a web-based system that allows students to look-up grades. The system should be secured by Gatorlink username and password. This function is available in the e-Learning course management system.
Faculty-student interactions during office hours are an important part of the instructional assignment and a positive contributor to student success. In accordance with the spirit of Florida Statute 1012.945, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and University policies, Faculty shall provide students predictable access to faculty time outside of class. This time may be used by students to reinforce classroom learning, discuss class performance, academic advising, academic course and program selection, and professional development.
The time set aside for office hours must be provided in a conspicuous place, such as the syllabus, Canvas, and/or outside of their faculty office. Posting office hours is important for students so they are aware of the faculty member's availability. It is also important for departmental administration and professional staff who must answer questions about faculty availability.
In general, office hours are to be held on campus during reasonable times of the day. However, faculty may designate specific times for virtual office hours through e-mail or telephone/video/chat room consultation. Faculty who are teaching fully online courses to non-residential students must also maintain an appropriate schedule of predictable available times for student access.
Office hour expectations and the format of office hours may vary by the nature of the course, the number of students enrolled, and individual academic unit guidelines. It is anticipated, however, that faculty will designate a minimum of two hours of office time per week for each course. Office hours may not be restricted to by appointment only.
The specific Drop/Add period dates are listed in the Critical Dates by Term.
After Drop/Add, students may withdraw from a course up to the date established in the university calendar. A grade of W will appear on the transcript, and students will be held liable for course fees. All drops after the Drop/Add period must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar by the deadline. Please review Drop/Add policies on the UF Registrar’s website.
In the fall and spring semesters, faculty members or instructors shall not schedule final or comprehensive examinations or assign projects or term papers during the period comprising the last three days of classes and the reading days scheduled after classes end and before final examinations begin.
The university calendar does not include observance of any religious holidays. The Florida Board of Governors and state law govern university policy regarding observance of religious holidays. Students shall be excused from class or other scheduled academic activity to observe a religious holy day of their faith with prior notification to the instructor. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence. Students shall not be penalized due to absence from class or other scheduled academic activity because of religious observances. Please review the Religious Observances Policy for additional information.
The State University System Student Assessment of Instruction (SUSSAI) was implemented in 1995. Its purpose is to provide for student assessment of instruction based on eight criteria common to all SUS institutions. Evaluations are administered through departmental and college offices for all scheduled undergraduate and graduate courses and are conducted online at gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester. Summary results of these assessments are available gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results. Summary results for the faculty, departments, and colleges are distributed online at gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/instructors. Results of course and instructor evaluations are used as part of individual faculty evaluations and in consideration for tenure and promotion. The GatorEvals site also has information on "best practices" for administering the evaluation process.
A student who is absent from class or any required class-related activity because of illness should contact their instructor, if feasible, as early as possible prior to the missed class or activity.
Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered during an excused absence.
Students should contact their college by the deadline to drop a course for medical reasons. Students can petition the Dean of Students Office to drop a course for medical reasons. The university’s policy regarding medical excuse from classes is maintained by the Student Health Care Center.
Textbook adoptions must be submitted online. Faculty and staff are required under Florida statute, Board of Governors, and UF regulations to submit course adoption information in a timely manner. This ensures that students know about required materials at the time of course registration and that books are available to students before classes begin. The textbook adoption process is overseen by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), a unit of the Office of the Provost. Faculty can seek assistance with textbook adoptions through the following means:
CTE will designate courses with materials costing $20 or under per credit hour as “Affordable UF” courses or courses with no additional material or supply costs as “Zero Textbook Cost” if they meet all criteria. More information is available about textbook affordability initiatives at the University of Florida.