Winter 2025 Resources Page

pine trees with snow, arial view

Winter 2025 Course Resources

ACTIONS TO TAKE  •  PREPARING CANVAS  •  READY-TO-GO RESOURCES  •  WINTER 2025 DATES  •  GET SUPPORT  •  EVENTS

Actions to Take

Below are policies and guidance every instructor should address prior to the start of the term.

1. If you teach with AI, Consider Copilot with Data Protection

UO Information Services reminds all faculty, staff, and students that Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection is currently your most secure option for generative AI. When you're logged into Copilot with your UO account, the data you enter will be encrypted and won't be used to train any external large language models. Learn more at Getting Started with Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection in the UO Service Portal. 
 
All instructors should have an explicit policy about GenAI in their course syllabus. 

Explore Gen AI policy resources

Find sample GenAI policy language in:

You can join UO Online & TEP for a weekly AI reading group on Thursdays at 11am through Zoom, starting in Week 2. Get the Zoom link and reading schedule by registering for the group through the Teaching with AI reading group event page.

2. Update Title IX reporting obligations in your syllabus  

As of August 1, all faculty, GEs, and staff have an obligation to report disclosures of sex discrimination, harassment, and retaliation to the Title IX coordinator (reporting is no longer at a student’s discretion). Please make sure your syllabus is updated to reflect the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance (OICRC) recommended syllabus language (our Syllabus “Starter” is updated)  

3. Do one thing to make your course content more accessible

Did you know that many instructional materials are not accessible to students with disabilities, including those who may not have AEC accommodations? We can all learn the basics of digital accessibility, and can build at least one thing at a time into our practice to make materials more accessible. We encourage instructors to choose one of the actions below that fit your workflow this term: 

study spot at lillis hall
Preparing your Canvas Course

If you are preparing to teach a course again that you taught in the past, you do not need to start from scratch: you can easily import your materials from a prior Canvas course. Below are instructions for how you can copy a whole course, a single item, and your recorded videos:  

Please note that Panopto videos must be copied to the new course site to ensure student access.  

professor teaching class

Ready-to-go Resources


Below, you can find our Syllabus "Starter," Canvas Course Templates, Welcome Module, Report Absences module, and Academic Integrity module. You also will see descriptions of each resource, so you can identify which might best fit your needs and context. Links will take you to the relevant webpage and Canvas Commons modules, where you can explore, import, and adapt them for your courses!

►  Syllabus 'Starter'
►  Canvas Course Templates

And log into Canvas with your DuckID to view:

  • Course Welcome Module​​​​​​
  • Report Absences Here Module
  • Ducks Have Integrity Module
Screenshot of Starter Syllabus web page

Syllabus 'Starter' (webpage & Word document)

This  Syllabus "Starter” resource provides framing and student-facing policy language for all required elements as well as other sections that you may wish to consider in crafting and communicating your distinctive course policies. The webpage for this resource also features a downloadable and accessible Word document version.

Visit the Syllabus Starter webpage

 

Canvas Course Templates text over image of multiple people at computer

Canvas Course Templates (New!)

Canvas course templates are designed to save you time, ensure consistency, and incorporate best practices in instructional design and accessibility. Whether you’re teaching online, hybrid, or in-person, UO Online's Canvas course templates offer a flexible and structured approach to course design..

Read about and use the Templates

 

thumbnail of Canvas Commons "Welcome module"; above title are icons for TEP & UO Online

Course Welcome Module (Canvas)

This customizable module orients students to the organization and content of the course. It supports clearer course navigation—a need many students identified last year. It also features opportunities for you to introduce yourself to students, for students to introduce themselves to one another, and for students to easily find both academic and non-academic supports on campus.

Explore the Welcome Module

 

thumbnail of Canvas Commons "Report Absences Here" module; above title are icons for TEP & UO Online

Report Absences Here (Canvas Module)

This module directs student communications about absences to a single place in Canvas. Weekly absence surveys (a) link to key course and UO policy, (b) ask students to identify both the week's absence and total absences (to encourage their awareness of where they fall in the policy), (c) include weekly highlighted "UO dates to know," featuring supportive student resources/events, as well as any relevant academic deadlines for things like withdrawing from or adding a class, and (d) ask students to answer several questions about how they plan to keep up with the course, to activate their agency in planning and decision-making.

The surveys are designed not to require responses from faculty; they direct students who wish to receive support in the course—support unrelated to the absence and makeup policy—to email the instructor.

Find the Report Absences Here Module

 

Thumbnail of Canvas module titled "Ducks Have Integrity" with green background, yellow hand holding leaf

Academic Integrity (Canvas Module)

This customizable module engages students with questions around what academic integrity is and why it matters—both to UO, and to them. Students who entered UO in the last two years will have taken a detailed Academic Integrity module as part of IntroDUCKtion (a module made by the same collaborators who created this one). Adding "Academic Integrity" to your course and customizing it for your context can help strengthen and refresh that initial guidance for students.

This module has been updated with brief guidance for students around generative AI, the importance of understanding each instructor's policy on whether generative AI has a appropriate role in the work of the class, and information about the risks of using it inappropriately.

Get the Module in Canvas Commons

Winter 2024 Dates & Deadlines

  •  

    January 11

    Last day to drop classes without a "W"

  •  

    january 13

    Last day to add a class via DuckWeb 

  •  

    january 20

    Martin Luther King, Jr holiday; classes not in session

  •  

    february 23

    Last day to withdraw from a class and the last day to change grade options (graded or P/N)

  •  

    March 5 - 17

    End-of-Term Student Experience survey is open

  •  

    MArch 14

    Last day for students to request an Incomplete. Students must submit the request by 5 p.m. on the Incomplete Policy page. 

  •  

    March 24

    Deadline for instructors to submit grades (Monday at noon)

Resource Goals

Each term, TEP and UO Online update this page and its component resources, created to support you as you prepare your courses. We hope that reading timely information on any new university policies and practices, browsing ready-to-go resources that you can easily adapt, accessing concise guidance on things like rolling over Canvas courses, and noting key term dates will give you a boost and help you enjoy the start of term as much as we know your students will.

Let us know how else we can support you! As you approach the term, know we are available to connect with you on anything related to teaching and learning. Whether you have a brief, targeted question or are looking for co-thinking, how-tos, or feedback, we're here for you. Connect with us using our simple contact form.

All our best as you begin your term!