Policy No. 435
Administrative Policies Affecting the School of Nursing
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Course Materials

Date Effective
January 2009
Date Reviewed / Revised
February 2024
Program Level
Administrative

POLICY:

During and after employment, the University retains a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free license for course material created by the faculty in the course of employment. This license includes the right to create derivative works, but not the right to publish such scholarly works for dissemination outside the University (see University of Pittsburgh Policy 11-02-02).

The University owns the copyright to works created: (i) by staff members (other than faculty or postdoctoral scholars) or student employees within the scope of their employment; and (ii) by faculty members or postdoctoral associates as an assigned task. An assigned task is any task within the scope of employment that is not a Scholarly Work. An assigned task might include the development of course materials that are posted on the internet or made available in some other format, when this has been specifically contracted for as an Institutional Work.

Accordingly, any course materials that are developed and/or used during employment at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing belong to the University of Pittsburgh. The course materials must be available to the Department Chairperson each term. If a faculty member is unable to teach the course, all course materials must be available to the newly assigned faculty member and the Department Chairperson.

PROCEDURE:

Course materials that are developed and/or used during employment at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing must be provided to the Department Chair or designate prior to the date employment ends.

To enable course instruction to efficiently proceed in the event of a planned or unexpected absence, all faculty (full and part-time) are required to place materials on University Learning Management System (e.g., Canvas for each course they teach regardless of the level (undergraduate, master’s or doctoral). The University Learning Management System content should include at a minimum:

  • Course Syllabus
  • Additional Course Documents if not included in the syllabus should be available to the department chair directly or through the University Learning Management system:
    • Detailed class schedule
    • Classroom activities
    • Description of assignments
    • Required readings
    • Description of evaluation methods
    • Course material including lesson plans, lecture outlines, Power Point presentations, handouts, quizzes and exams

An electronic copy of the current (TFO-approved) complete Course Syllabus (see attached template) must be submitted to the department administrator at the beginning of each term. The department administrator will forward a copy of the Course Syllabus to the Evaluation Director who will upload it into Project Concert. The submitted Course Syllabus must include the course name, credit allotment, pre- and/or co-requisites, course description, course objectives, topical outline, teaching methods, required and recommended readings, methods of evaluation, and relevant essentials and/or competencies covered.

Attachment: School of Nursing Course Syllabus Template (Word Doc)