what to include in a course syllabus

• Basic Information. Your syllabus should include the name of the course or section and the course or section number as well as the particular semester and year (e.g., Fall 2008).
• Course or Section Description. Course or section descriptions can vary significantly. ...
• Texts/Materials. Include the texts you will be using for the course or section, making sure to clearly mark which are required and which are recommended.

What should be included in a syllabus?

This section of a syllabus tells students how the major components of the class contribute to their final grade. Many institutions have specific rules about what should be included in this section, so check with the administrator or department for guidelines on what must be included.

What is a course syllabus and why is it important?

A course syllabus is one of the most important documents you will receive from your professor. Believe it or not, your course syllabus will play a vital role in the overall success of your course. What is a Course Syllabus? A course syllabus is an important document given to you by your professor on the first day of class.

How many references are there in the syllabus?

There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. A syllabus is a brief introduction to an educational course and is commonly used at the grade-school, secondary, and post-secondary levels. It serves as a reference to students concerning course procedures, content, and more.

How can I get help with course or syllabus design?

This page provides information that will guide you from the initial design phases of your course to polishing and distributing your syllabus. CTL is here to help! If you would like to schedule an individual appointment to talk about course or syllabus design please fill out our contact form.

How do I make a simple course syllabus?

How Do You Create a Syllabus?List your class's name and official course code (if applicable)Fill in basic course information.Create a course goal.Note and describe who you are.Note all needed materials.Create a class calendar.Note any policies that differ from school policies.Note grading systems, scales, and curves.More items...•

How do you structure a syllabus?

Your syllabus should include the name of the course or section and the course or section number as well as the particular semester and year (e.g., Fall 2008). Include the meeting times and days of the class as well as the building name and room number where you will meet.

What is syllabus example?

The definition of a syllabus is a summary of what will be covered in a course of study. An example of a syllabus is what a college professor hands out to his students on the first day of class. A summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or lecture.

What is a syllabus format?

A syllabus template is a document which contains the elements, goals, and content of an entire course. Through it, the students find out about the type of learning and teaching they can expect from a class.

What is the difference between a syllabus and curriculum?

Curriculum contains all the subjects and outlines how they will be studied during the course while syllabus is more detailed version for each subject under the course.

What is detailed syllabus?

A syllabus a requisite document for teaching in that it serves to outline the basic elements of a course including what topics will be covered, a weekly schedule, and a list of tests, assignments, and their associated weightings.

How do I create a syllabus in Word?

In the navigation tree, click the Author tab.Click Syllabus under the Course Home button.Select Upload Microsoft Word Syllabus (. doc), and click Add.Click Browse to navigate to the custom document you want to upload to your course.Once the syllabus is uploaded, click Upload & Convert File.

How do you write a syllabus PDF?

How to save a Canvas Syllabus or Page as a PDF File (using Google Chrome)Click into the Canvas course whose syllabus you want to save.On the Course Navigation Menu on the left, select Syllabus.Right-click on the Syllabus page and select the Print option. ... Click the Change... ... Select a Save as PDF option.More items...

What are the types of syllabus?

The Structural Syllabus. The structural or grammatical syllabus is doubtless the most familiar of syllabus types. ... The Notional/Functional Syllabus. ... Situational Syllabi. ... Skill-Based Syllabi. ... The Task-Based Syllabus. ... The Content-Based Syllabus.

Why is a syllabus important?

A well-designed syllabus is an essential tool for effectively managing a course. It gives students a clear understanding of your expectations and a road map for how the course will be conducted. When done right, a syllabus can prevent a lot of misunderstandings as the semester progresses. As a middle school teacher, ...

What is course description?

Course Description: A brief overview of what the course will cover for the term or year. Prerequisites/Corequisites: Any courses or other requirements that must be completed before taking this course. Corequisites are courses that must be taken at the same time as your course.

What are the objectives of a course?

Objectives: Describe what the student should understand or be able to do as a result of taking your course. Required Texts and Resources: List all required textbooks, other books, online resources and subscriptions, or other materials students must have to take the course.

What is an asterisk in college?

Items specific to college, but not necessarily applicable at the K-12 levels, are marked with an asterisk. Course Details: Course name, course number*, days and times the course meets, credit hours*. Course Description: A brief overview of what the course will cover for the term or year.

Do you have to get your syllabus approved before giving it to students?

Before Giving Your Syllabus to Students. It is essential that you get your syllabus approved by your administration prior to giving it to students, especially if this is your first time teaching in your current school. Doing this will ensure that your syllabus includes everything your institution requires, that it is in line with school policy, ...

Is it worth it to put time and effort into your syllabus before you ever meet your students?

With that in mind, it’s worth it to put some time and effort into your syllabus well before you ever meet your students, and to make it as thorough and detailed as possible.

How to write a syllabus for a class?

To write a syllabus, start by putting the course title, semester, year, and section number at the top of the page, followed by your name, the class location and meeting times, and your contact information.

What is a syllabus?

A syllabus is a brief introduction to an educational course and is commonly used at the grade-school, secondary, and post-secondary levels. It serves as a reference to students concerning course procedures, content, and more. However, writing a syllabus is a bit more complicated than it might seem.

What is a syllabus change policy?

Your syllabus change policy covers schedule of topics, lectures, assignments, and readings.

What are prerequisites in college?

Prerequisites are courses, content, or other qualifications a student must have to take the course for credit. If the course has any prerequisites, list them near the top of the syllabus. Include the formal name of courses that are prerequisites. Make sure to include course numbers and course IDs.

How to create a syllabus?

The first step in creating your syllabus is to put your identification information at the top of the document. Identification information will tell students (and parents) everything they need to know about you, your office and room, and the title of the course. Type the title of your course at the top of the document.

Why do you need to use the same word processing software for your syllabus?

This is because word processing software will give you the appropriate tools you need to create and format your syllabus . If you have specific requirements for layouts, margins, and font types for your students’ papers and assignments, you should use the same for your syllabus.

What is the most important part of a syllabus?

Provide a course schedule. A course calendar is possibly the most important part of a good syllabus. Your calendar or schedule will outline how where the class will be, content and assignment wise, throughout the semester (or year). The calendar may provide a daily breakdown of all lecture topics.

What is the most critical element of a syllabus?

One of the most critical elements in a syllabus are the very specific instructions students will need to follow in order to complete assignments and activities in the course. In this section, you might include:

Why is it important to have a syllabus at the bottom of the syllabus?

Setting a syllabus up with the basics at the top of the syllabus and the course schedule at the bottom helps encourage students to keep scrolling down and presumably reading the entire outline of the course and policies. And lastly, since syllabi should emulate the effort we as instructors hope to see from students throughout the semester, it’s important that we include comprehensive (and proofread) details upfront to save time and set clear expectations for everyone.

What is the most tedious part of an instructor's experience?

One of the most tedious parts of any instructor’s experience is to become the tech team or “help desk.” Thankfully, our universities and higher education partners (publishers, LMS platforms, and digital learning systems like McGraw-Hill’s Connect) have their own tech support—and that’s exactly where we should be sending students. Save time, energy, and avoid frustration for yourself and students alike by taking some of the non-classwork off your plate and including these resources on your syllabus:

What is a Course Syllabus?

A course syllabus is an important document given to you by your professor on the first day of class. Ideally, a course syllabus can be looked upon as a roadmap of your course -- it contains valuable information that will help you succeed and stay organized throughout the entire semester. In order to fully benefit from the course syllabus, it is important for you to read it, understand it, and keep it handy as you will be continuously referring to it throughout the duration of your course.

Why is a syllabus important?

If properly utilized, a course syllabus will help you plan your semester efficiently and help limit confusion and stress. In short, a course syllabus will indicate what you as a student will be expected to do in a course, and how your performance throughout the course will be evaluated and graded. Common questions about a course can often be ...

How many hours does Suffolk University take?

For a 3 credit course, you should anticipate a total of 135 hours, and for a 4 credit course, you should anticipate a total of 180 hours.

What is Suffolk University's ethical standards?

Students are expected to practice ethical behavior in all learning environments and scenarios, including classrooms and laboratories, internships and practica, and study groups and academic teams. Cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, use of unauthorized electronic devices, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, and other types of academic misconduct are treated as serious offenses that initiate a formal process of inquiry, one that may lead to disciplinary sanctions.

What are the two types of grading systems?

There are two common types of grading systems that professors may use: a) Weighted Average, and b) Point System . Below you will find examples of each of these two types of grading systems.

Why is it important to have a course schedule?

The course schedule will be extremely beneficial in keeping you organized. The course schedule allows you to look ahead and see when assignments are due, when exams will occur, and allow you to plan accordingly in order to balance your work load appropriately. It is always important to remember that the professor could update/change some items on the course schedule, so be sure to stay flexible, take notes, and ask your professor questions when needed.

What is textbook material?

Textbooks can refer to print or digital books and course materials may refer to different items such as calculators, clickers, computer software, etc.

What to do when preparing a syllabus for a course?

If you are preparing a syllabus for a course that has multiple sections, check with your department chair to see what content, books, or other course components should be provided consistently in all sections of the same course. If you are teaching a course for the first time, review the approved course proposal to represent adequately the established course goals, learning objectives, and content.

What is a syllabus?

The syllabus is a primary source of information to guide your students throughout the semester. A syllabus should carefully explain course components. Think of the syllabus as a roadmap you and your students can follow throughout the semester as you navigate the course.

How to request accommodations at NIU?

Include a statement requesting that students with disabilities contact the Disability Resource Center regarding accommodation needs. Visit the Disability Resource Center website at www.niu.edu/disability for further information on policies and procedures for students who request such assistance. The Statement of Accessibility is required on every syllabus, but you could also add a statement that communicates how important student success is to you and that any student who has a disability that may have some impact on their work in the class, and for which they might require special accommodations, should contact the Disability Resource Center early in the semester so that accommodations can be made in a timely manner. Remember that accommodations are not retroactive, and faculty should not make special accommodations for students without an official accommodations letter unless those accommodations are provided to every student in the course; otherwise, faculty open themselves up to capricious grading charges from other students.

How to make sure your grading system is consistent with departmental standards?

Decide upon a grading system and check with your department chair, if necessary, to make sure it is consistent with departmental standards. Choose a grading system that is suitable for the course and communicates to your students your expectations about what is important and what you expect from them. Grading criteria can be made available in the form of rubrics, which can increase objectivity when grading students’ work.

What is the purpose of planning assignments and class activities?

Plan activities, assignments, and outcomes that help students achieve these goals and learning objectives. When planning assignments and class activities, consider listing them alongside which course goals and learning objectives students will achieve when these tasks are completed. By demonstrating the relevance of course requirements ...

How to organize a syllabus?

The overall visual appeal of the course syllabus can help organize its content and make it easy to read and navigate. Use headings, short sentences, outlines, lists, charts, and diagrams for organization and quick reference. Instead of completely filling the page with dense text consider leaving some open areas of blank space or even some content-related visuals. Keep accessibility in mind when creating the syllabus; for example, always use Microsoft Word’s “Styles” to format headings as opposed to increasing font size or using bold type.

What is the purpose of a syllabus?

The goal of a well-designed syllabus is to ensure students understand what is expected of them. Therefore, the syllabus should be easy to read, understand, and follow. Use welcoming and encouraging language and explain what you will do to help students throughout the semester. Most likely, your syllabus will be one of the first substantial means ...

What are the components of a syllabus?

These components communicate to your students an accurate description of the course including the topics that will be cover, assignments and assessments students will be responsible for, as well as a clear source for policies and expectations.

What is a syllabus?

The syllabus provides the instructor and students with a contract, a common reference point that sets the stage for learning throughout the course. Make sure that your students have easy access to the course syllabus by handing out hard copies on the first day of class and (if applicable) posting a digital copy on the course website.

Why do you ask yourself these questions at the onset of your course design process?

By asking yourself these questions at the onset of your course design process you will be able to focus more concretely on learning outcomes, which has proven to increase student learning substantially as opposed to merely shoehorning large quantities of content into a quarters worth of class meetings.

How can your syllabus help you create an inclusive atmosphere that welcomes all students?

Inclusiveness: How can your syllabus help you create an inclusive atmosphere that welcomes all students? Some instructors include statements inviting participation from all students, honoring student diversity and differing points of view, or inviting requests for disability accommodations.

How will students demonstrate their learning?

Assignments, projects and exams: How will students demonstrate their learning? Include learning goals, estimated scope or length, assessment criteria and dates. Instructors typically include a breakdown, in point values or percentages, of how much each assignment or test contributes to a student’s final grade.

What is a course based assessment?

Course-based Assessment. A PDF handbook designed to help you develop strategies that will help your students learn. From the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

How to design a course?

Designing your course around activities that are most likely to lead students towards the goals you have defined will help them acquire and retain skills longer. Some goals can be achieved through listening to lecture or reading assigned texts. Others may require more active experimentation, practice or discussion. For example, writing , discussions, field work, service learning, problem solving or small group collaboration. No matter what combination of activities you choose always keep in mind how the core activity, as opposed to subject content, will progress students’ abilities. What will provide you with reliable evidence during the course that your students are learning and at the end of the course that they have obtained/mastered the abilities you envisioned at the beginning of the course? This is the part where you choose assignments, activities and other methods of assessment. For example, will you have weekly quizzes? objective tests? original research papers? presentations? performances? group or individual projects? Assessment is an important aspect of student learning. Make sure to think carefully when pairing assessments with learning objectives. For more on assessment design see our Assessing student learning page.

What information should appear on the syllabus?

It is always a good idea, however, to put the “essential information” listed below on the printed syllabus, even if it also appears online.

What is a syllabus?

1) The syllabus is a course-planning tool. It helps the instructor prepare and organize the course. Taking the time to construct a detailed syllabus will help you define the course goals; plan the course structure and assignments, exams, review sessions, and other activities; and determine how much time you should devote to particular topics.

University Requirements

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Detailed Descriptions

Course Tools & Instructional Resources

Assignment Instructions

Academic Integrity

Participation

Grade Criteria

Assignment Schedule