House Study Bill 55 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COLLINS) A BILL FOR An Act requiring regents institutions to make certain course 1 syllabus information available to the public online and 2 including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1208YC (2) 91 je/jh
H.F. _____ Section 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known and may be 1 cited as the Syllabus Transparency Act. 2 Sec. 2. Section 262.9, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsection: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 39. a. Direct each institution of 5 higher learning under its control to make available to the 6 public on the institutions internet site a syllabus for each 7 section of each undergraduate course offered for credit by the 8 institution. The syllabus shall include all of the following: 9 (1) The name of the instructor. 10 (2) A brief description of each major course requirement, 11 including each major assignment and examination. 12 (3) Any required or recommended reading material. 13 (4) A general description of the subject matter of each 14 lecture or discussion. 15 b. The syllabus information made available to the public 16 pursuant to paragraph a shall be subject to the following 17 requirements: 18 (1) The information shall be accessible from the 19 institutions internet site home page by use of no more than 20 five links. 21 (2) The information shall be searchable by keywords and 22 phrases. 23 (3) The information shall be accessible to the public 24 without requiring registration or use of a user name, password, 25 or other user identification. 26 (4) The information shall be made available no later than 27 the first day of classes for the semester or other academic 28 term during which the section of the course is offered. 29 (5) The information shall be updated as soon as practicable 30 after the information changes. 31 (6) The information shall remain available on the 32 institutions internet site for at least one year after the 33 date on which the institution initially made the information 34 available. 35 -1- LSB 1208YC (2) 91 je/jh 1/ 2
H.F. _____ Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect December 31, 1 2025. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill requires a regents institution to make available 6 to the public on the institutions internet site a syllabus 7 for each section of each undergraduate course offered for 8 credit by the institution. The syllabus shall include the name 9 of the instructor, a brief description of each major course 10 requirement, any required or recommended reading material, and 11 a general description of the subject matter of each lecture or 12 discussion. 13 The bill provides accessibility requirements and timelines 14 for making such syllabus information available. 15 The bill takes effect December 31, 2025. 16 -2- LSB 1208YC (2) 91 je/jh 2/ 2