Academic Policies Recently Updated

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The following academic policies have been recently updated. A brief overview of the updated policies is provided below. All policies can be viewed at provost.uark.edu/policies.

Academic Policy 1200.40: Credit Hour Definition

• Following recommendation by the faculty senate, this revision updates campus policy to include the federal definition of a credit hour. The update also ensures that this policy aligns with the new Academic Policy 1200.50 in regard to online courses.

Academic Policy 1200.50: Distance Education Online Standards for Courses taken for Academic Credit

• Following recommendation by the faculty senate, this new academic policy meets a recent requirement established by the U.S. Department of Education that institutions of higher education create policies to ensure instructors provide scheduled and predictable opportunities for substantive interaction for students in online courses. This policy also meets the U.S. Department of Education's requirements for instructors to monitor each student's engagement in the course and substantively engage with students on the basis of that monitoring. It also sets the expectation that instructors identify how their online courses meet the federal requirements for regular and substantive interaction in their syllabus each semester.

Academic Policy 1407.10: Academic Affairs Administrators: Appointment, Service, and Performance Review

• Updates to this policy help clarify the scheduling of comprehensive reviews of academic administrators such as department chairs/heads, directors, vice provosts and associate deans. Updates also delete outdated language regarding annual evaluation processes in favor of review processes defined by each individual school or college.

Academic Policy 1474.10: Faculty Service Award Process

• This update allows individual schools and colleges to choose how they credit faculty for Faculty Service Awards. Schools and colleges can now choose to include part-time service, partial years of service or service while on leave without pay.

Academic Policy 1475.10: Emeritus Status

• Updates to this campus policy align with revisions that were made to Board of Trustees policy regarding the process of providing a recommendation and awarding emeritus status to retirees. These updates include the on-campus recommendation process as well as awarding emeritus status at a rank or title previously held for a substantial period, such as the Dean Emeritus title.

Academic Integrity Policy

• Following recommendation by the faculty senate, revisions to this policy addressed the administration of records and transcript notation. Additionally, the policy's sanction rubric was updated to account for generative artificial intelligence tools and other forms of academic misconduct.   

For more information about the U of A academic policies, visit the Office of the Provost website. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.