Syllabi Requirements & Grading Guidelines
As the credit & degree granting institution for CIMBA, all courses need to comply with the University of Iowa‘s academic and procedural standards including any special requirements of the department that the course belongs to. Please review the information below about the various policies that should be considered when structuring your course as well available resources.
Every course must have a syllabus which outlines the class policies for academic integrity, accommodations for disabilities, grade structure, and sexual harassment as well as course dates and attendance expectations. The syllabus should be submitted to the CIMBA staff at least two months in advance of the program. The policies and language vary by academic college; information on your college’s requirements can be found below.
Tippie College of Business Syllabi Requirements | College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Requirements |
CIMBA Syllabi Template |
Once your syllabus has been submitted, CIMBA will review the content to make sure all applicable pieces are included. We will then make the syllabus available to our students and advisors for transfer approval.
Please remember to include the recommended grade distribution in your syllabus. The distribution serves as a reminder to both students and faculty that the course will be held to the same standards as on your home campuses; grades will not be inflated because it is study abroad. We understand that in the small classroom environment that CIMBA provides, students often excel more than in traditional classes, so the distribution may not follow the recommendations perfectly. Distribution guidelines can be found below.
Tippie College of Business Grade Distribution Guidelines |
Tippie College of Business (MBA) Distribution Guidelines |
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Grade Distribution Guidelines |
In order to ensure students are prepared to participate in their classes from day one of the summer undergraduate program, faculty are required to assign three hours of “pre-work” for students to complete before arriving in Italy. Assignments can include readings, problem sets, case studies, responses, etc. Tracking completion and determining whether to grade the pre-work is up to faculty discretion. Assignments should be posted to ICON for students approximately one month prior to the program.
Lastly, allocation or award of “participation” points can be highly subjective and are often the scores that students challenge during grade appeals. If you choose to include participation points in your grading process, you must outline in the syllabus how, in detail, those points will be determined (i.e.- verbal participation in course, quantity and quality of participation, paying attention, attendance, etc.). We also strongly recommend that you keep a document with notes and comments regarding the quantity and quality of participation for each student as well as any notes on how the participation grade was determined for each student.