Suggested Syllabi Statements for Faculty

The Office for Protected Rights is regularly asked by faculty to provide sample language for course syllabi on the issues of discrimination, harassment, Responsible Employee reporting, campus resources for such topics and other matter. This OPR Information sheet provides a compilation of these syllabi statements as a resource for faculty. 

General statement for course syllabi about OPR-support for students experiencing discrimination, harassment, sexual violence and/or retaliation: 

Federal law, including Title IX, and University policy require that CSU address discrimination, harassment and sexual violence and enable students affected by these issues to have the same opportunity to succeed as other students. To do this, the CSU Office for Protected Rights (OPR) provides information, identifies resources (counseling, medical, advocacy, safety planning), issues academic accommodations (excused absences, extended deadlines, late withdrawals, alternative assignments) and other accommodations (No Contact Directives, changing living arrangements). Any student affected by discrimination, harassment and/or sexual violence and seeking assistance, should contact the Office for Protected Rights by calling 216-687-2223, sending an email to r.lutner@csuhoio.edu or m.vogelgesang@csuohio.edu, or visiting AC 236. 

General statement for course syllabi that faculty are Responsible Employees who must report student disclosures about discrimination, harassment, sexual violence and retaliation to OPR: 

Faculty members are Responsible Employees who have a duty to report to OPR when students disclose experiences with discrimination, harassment and/or sexual violence. 

Syllabi statement that faculty are Responsible Employees coupled with supportive statement: 

As a CSU faculty member, I am a Responsible Employee who has a duty to report to the Office for Protected Rights when students disclose experiences with discrimination, harassment and/or sexual violence. Even though I have this duty, I will continue to support you. If you want to speak to someone who won’t share what you’ve told them except in an emergency, I will help you connect to a Confidential Resource. 

Responsible Employee statement for syllabi used in courses in which students may disclose experiences with discrimination, harassment, sexual violence and retaliation in class discussions and/or in nonfiction writing assignments: 

Faculty members are Responsible Employees who have a duty to report to OPR when students disclose experiences with discrimination, harassment and/or sexual violence. Faculty members’ duty to report to OPR includes disclosures made by students in class discussions or autobiographical and/or nonfiction writing assignments. 

Syllabi statement that faculty would like to call students by their preferred name: 

I want you to feel that my classroom is safe and inviting for you. I will gladly honor your request to address you by a chosen/preferred name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. If you would like additional assistance regarding wider use of your chosen/preferred name on campus, please contact the Office for Protected Rights at OPR@csuohio.edu or 216-687-2223. 

Syllabi statement that students are required to pull back all head coverings to display their ears during exams to prevent academic misconduct:  

As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to prevent cheating, and based on evidence of increased use of headphones and ear piece devices to permit cheating on exams, all students are required to display their ears for the duration of any exam. The policy may require adjustment to hair or clothing. Any student not complying with this policy will, after a warning, be issued a zero on the exam. Students with concerns about their compliance with this policy please contact the Office for Protected Rights at OPR@csuohio.edu or 216-687-2223.