| Area | What is changing | What it means for faculty |
| Course syllabi | The syllabus deadline moves from as late as the third day of class under legacy regulation to the first day of the course. Required information is reorganized and centralized links are used for University policies and student-support information. | Have the syllabus available on the first or second meeting of the course. The syllabus must remain available to students throughout the term. Course expectations, grading, attendance, late work, major assignments and required interactions should be clear and present in the syllabus when distributed to students. |
| Canvas/LMS use | A separate minimum-use policy creates a common baseline for use of the University LMS. | With limited exceptions for individualized academic experiences, faculty should maintain an ADA-compliant syllabus, instructor/contact information and student grades in the University-approved LMS. |
| Attendance and participation | Attendance requirements are consolidated into one policy and the concept of required interactions is made more explicit. | Faculty continue to establish course attendance expectations, but the syllabus should identify which activities are required interactions. Students may not be penalized academically for excused absences. Faculty assign grades but can not require a student to withdraw from a course. |
| Final examinations, Prep Days and Reading Days | These rules move from the broad “academic standards” section of legacy regulation into a stand-alone examinations policy. Finals Week protections are clearer and the prohibition on homework is broadened to required assignments generally. | Faculty should use the examinations policy as the single source for final-exam timing, Prep/Reading Day restrictions, common exams, take-home finals and student exam conflicts. |
| Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) | RSI becomes a stand-alone institutional expectation applying across course levels and modalities. The policy also establishes recurring faculty training. | Instructors of Record must provide regular interaction and at least two forms of substantive interaction identified in the policy. RSI training is required and is renewed periodically. |
| Course modality | Approval and use of course modality is better defined. Course modality is an academic commitment rather than simply a scheduling designation. | A course should be taught in the modality in which it was approved and scheduled. Moving a course between face-to-face, online or hybrid delivery requires a curricular approval rather than an individual instructor decision. |
| Academic integrity and student academic rights | Material that was spread across legacy regulation — including academic rights, evaluation, the Academic Ombud and academic-offense procedures — is consolidated primarily within the Academic Integrity framework and related policies. | Faculty retain responsibility for evaluating student work and addressing academic misconduct, but expectations, student rights and procedures are easier to locate in one policy framework. |
| Curriculum approval | Legacy regulation's extensive procedural language is replaced by a more focused curriculum-governance policy. Changes are distinguished by type and administrative, faculty and external-review requirements are more clearly separated. | Faculty governance remains central. Program faculty determine whether academic proposals advance, and faculty curricular councils continue to review academic matters. The process is intended to reduce unnecessary routing while preserving academic review. |
| Academic standing | Undergraduate and graduate academic standing move into one institutional framework with clearer notification, documentation and appeal expectations. | Faculty serving in programs or on standing/progression committees should use the new Academic Standing policy rather than legacy provisions. Graduate programs have additional responsibilities for monitoring satisfactory progress. |
| Graduate education | Graduate progression requirements previously dispersed across legacy regulation and Graduate School guidance are increasingly placed in institutional policies. Continuous enrollment, qualifying-exam residency, dissertation residency and research-course numbering are more explicit. | Graduate faculty and DGSes will see the largest operational changes, particularly around 757 and 767 enrollment, annual progress review, leave of absence, research-course use and doctoral progression. |
| Mixed undergraduate/graduate courses | UK is beginning to phase out the 4XXG course structure and centers future mixed undergraduate/graduate enrollment courses primarily at the 500 level. Graduate expectations must remain differentiated. | Faculty teaching mixed-level courses must clearly distinguish undergraduate and graduate expectations. AMP students enrolled for graduate credit are evaluated at the graduate level. |
| Prior learning | Credit by examination and other forms of prior learning are brought into a broader Credit for Prior Learning framework. | Academic quality remains a faculty responsibility. Faculty or academically qualified reviewers determine whether demonstrated prior learning is equivalent in content, rigor and learning outcomes to UK coursework. |
