The University of Toledo

Media Use Statements For Your Syllabus

Faculty are encouraged to include statements about media use in their course syllabi. Suggested language is as follows:

Podcast and Media Use Policy:  Media produced by the course instructor are solely for class use by students currently registered for the course, and under no circumstances can they be posted, linked to, or made available for distribution or copying to any persons, institutions, or servers (for example, no portion of them may be downloaded and posted on YouTube or sent to friends). This includes media that appears on the course site and in VoiceThread. As the author of these teaching materials the instructor or university holds the copyright (though not to the commercial artworks contained within them), and the only authorized use by students is for the purposes of the course. Violating this policy constitutes a serious infraction of UT’s computer use policy and may result in consequences up to and including expulsion from the University and legal action (both criminal and civil) from the various rights holders whose copyrights you may have infringed.

Electronic Communications Policy:  Electronic communication is a valid mechanism for official communication with students at The University of Toledo. The University has the right to send official communications to students electronically. The University has the right to expect that students will receive electronic communications and will read them on a frequent and consistent basis. Students may opt out of certain electronic communications where required by law. Students are responsible for monitoring and managing their University-provided email account on a frequent and consistent basis. Students may choose to forward email to non-University email accounts at their own risk. Students who choose to have email forwarded to another email address are responsible for both email contents and associated attachments. The University is not responsible for email forwarded to any other email address. A student's failure to receive or read in a timely manner official University communications sent to the student's official email address does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the official communication. The University will also utilize web portal communication channels to communicate with students. Students are responsible for monitoring their web portal communications on a frequent and consistent basis. 

Translating Rights and Responsibilities into Class Conduct: Students who do not follow these guidelines may be asked to leave course for a specified amount of time, with loss of points for assignments during that time. Repeat offenses can result in expulsion from the course.

• Act in a professional, responsible, ethical and legal manner, in accordance with school, district and state policies, and in compliance with state and national laws.
• Conduct yourself in a manner that facilitates learning in the online environment.
• Use proper punctuation, spelling and grammar in emails, threaded discussion postings and assignments.
• Do not use all CAPS unless absolutely necessary.
• Do not write, use, send, download or display deliberately hostile and insulting (inflammatory), obscene, threatening, harassing or otherwise offensive messages, postings, pictures or other forms of communication.
• Language should be appropriate for formal classroom settings.
• Exhibit respect and tolerance of differing opinions of fellow students as well as instructors.