Policy Details
- Policy Number:
- FD3576
- Original Approval Date:
- October 16, 2025
- Last Revision Date:
- October 16, 2025
Contact
Questions regarding the interpretation of this policy should be directed to:
Secretary of the University
Rationale
- Using UWM’s Learning Management System (LMS). Consistent access to essential course information through the university’s official Learning Management System (LMS) is critical to supporting students’ academic success. While the university upholds faculty autonomy in course design and delivery, it is essential to establish baseline expectations to ensure clarity, transparency, and equitable access for all students. Consistent LMS use also enables faculty and departments to share materials, coordinate announcements, and pre-populate common resources such as syllabus policy modules, streamlining instructional preparation and fostering alignment across courses and programs.
- Making LMS course sites available. Providing timely and minimal course access helps mitigate student confusion, reduces anxiety, and can foster early engagement with course materials. It also supports faculty and chairs by ensuring courses are visible for coordination, allowing for more consistent communication across sections and improved oversight of course readiness.
Policy
- Use of UWM’s LMS. All instructors are required to use UWM’s institution-wide LMS for course delivery across all modalities (online, hybrid, and face-to-face, etc.). While instructors may supplement their courses with additional technologies or platforms as pedagogically appropriate, the LMS must serve as the centralized and accessible entry point for essential course information and activities.
- Minimum LMS availability Requirements. Before the first day of the semester, instructors must make their course site available to students regardless of modality. In addition to three modules that will auto-populate in each site (required syllabus links, student resource links, and important dates), at a minimum the site must include a course syllabus which outlines expectations, grading schemes, required texts, and the course schedule. The full course with materials does not need to be available before the semester begins.
- Exceptions. The following course types are exempt from the above LMS publication requirements: Independent studies (G/UG), directed readings, study abroad, internships, unused lab/discussion sections, and research/theses/dissertation credits involving individualized instruction or one-on-one faculty mentorship.
- Department–Level Expectations. Academic departments or programs may implement additional or earlier LMS publication requirements, particularly for high-enrollment or coordinated courses, to ensure consistency across sections. Departments or programs may not remove or negate minimum availability requirements.