Basic course information: This likely comes as no surprise! Typically, the first items on a syllabus will be the course title, number, section, credit hours, meeting times, and location. It is also a good idea to note any prerequisites for the course so that all students are aware of the required preparation, knowledge, and skills for the course.
To do this, a syllabus should include the following: Basic course information (course by number, section, title, semester, meeting times, days, place, format) Instructor information (name, title, rank, office location, office phone number, e-mail) Description of the course content
Consult our Canvas resource: Create a Student-Centered Syllabus. (link is external) to review some recommended best practices for syllabus construction. From the Canvas site, you can import a syllabus template into your own Canvas course or download a Google Doc to customize when constructing your own syllabus.
Incorporating some creativity into your syllabus design can help make your syllabus more visually compelling and interesting. Simple steps like adding color, varying headings, and incorporating images or graphics (think infographics) go a long way toward creating a more interesting and creative syllabus, one that students are more likely to read and remember.
Your syllabus, at minimum, should include: Basic information about the subject (title, subject number, meeting time and place, credit hours, etc.) Contact information for instructional staff and office hour time and location. Subject description.
A syllabus is often perceived as a “contract” between students and the instructor. Despite this not being a legal reality (Runmore, 2016), students will consult the syllabus for information about attendance, late assignments, technology, and other policies. In addition to communicating policies, a strong syllabus also communicates ...
A good syllabus motivates student engagement by welcoming students to the classroom with a friendly tone and can build student self-efficacy by transparently communicating how to succeed. Structural. A good syllabus provides structure to course content and guides the work of both instructors and students in the class. Evidentiary.
A syllabus can serve several functions beyond outlining the grading procedure and the topics to be covered. Slattery and Carlson (2005) identify 3 different kinds of goal that a syllabus can have: Motivational. A good syllabus motivates student engagement by welcoming students to the classroom with a friendly tone and can build student ...
Review your syllabus (or ask a colleague to review it) for moments where you may invoke a “hidden curriculum” or a norm of higher education that may not be fully understood by all students, particularly first-generation college students or students from traditionally excluded groups.
As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation.
Getting Started with Writing a Syllabus 1 Check how your course contributes to your department, program, or graduate field curriculum and learning outcomes. Certain programs may have requirements set by their accrediting organizations (e.g. ABET in Engineering). 2 Review syllabi for the same course from previous instructors. Consider meeting with them to discuss how they have taught the course in the past, what has gone well, and what has been challenging for students to learn. 3 Find out which students typically enroll in this course (year, major) and how many? 4 Search online for sample syllabi for the same or similar courses created by colleagues at other universities. Some disciplinary societies provide online resources for common subjects in introductory courses. 5 This Course Decision Guide can guide you in the process of designing your course.
In particular, it: sets the tone for the course. communicates what, when, and how students will learn.
Knowing this, consider using plain language in your syllabus—keeping in mind the following best-practices: 1 Organize information from most important to least important 2 Keep sentences and paragraphs short and easily scannable 3 Use common phrases over discipline-specific jargon whenever possible 4 Keep acronyms and “letter soup” to a minimum 5 Define uncommon terms 6 Use lists, tables and headings for easy navigation
With a comprehensive syllabus, you can provide all the necessary information students need to for your class —while making a positive impression on them that sets the tone for the term.