The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) is in the process of reviewing seven policies this semester as part of a continuous review project.

Routine reviews of policies began after it was discovered in 2012 that SMSU did not have a definition of a credit hour. That made Dean Jan Loft take a greater interest in what policies needed to be updated, created, or deleted.

“Thus, a review process was started and it will be a never-ending, continuous project with reviews on a rotating basis, so we never again have a long list of policies that are in need of review,” Dr. Loft said.

Dr. Loft read all of the academic policies in 2012 to determine which were in most need of immediate attention. Since then, 36 policies have either been created, deleted, reviewed, or edited.

One policy currently under review is the course syllabus policy, which determines what should be required to place in the document.

According to the current syllabus policy, last revised in 2009, information should include course objectives, class requirements, grading information, and approximate dates, places, and formats for tests.

“We have some ideas that the syllabus policy could suggest more items for inclusion across the University,” Academic Affairs Chair Dr. Stewart Day said.

Though the committee has yet to decide what to include in the updated policy, possible ideas include a statement for students with disabilities.

The intent of the policy change is to make it clearer for professors to know what to include when writing their syllabi.

However, the committee is paying attention to how much should be required on a syllabus. If too much information is required, it’s harder for professors to make theirs unique.

The AAC is responsible for reviewing all academic policies, regardless of their nature. Once the AAC makes their recommendations on the policy, it will be forwarded to the Faculty Assembly, who will either change or approve it. That will then go to Meet and Confer before being implemented.

“Any policy review and change is vetted several times prior to acceptance and approval,” Dr. Loft said.

Once final approvals have been made, policies are either posted right away on the SMSU website, or held off until the end of the academic year.

The updated syllabus policy is not expected to be approved until next semester at the earliest.

As of fall semester, just seven policies remain to be reviewed. They include the Honors Program, advisement disclaimer, Admissions, institutional review, research using animals, and advanced placement.

A cycle of policy review has been created. Starting in 2016, nine policies will be reviewed every year as part of the continuous project.

“Hopefully no policy will go longer than three years without a review,” Dr. Loft said.