Right Now
Finalizing the Syllabus
Now is the time to finalize your syllabi for courses you're teaching in the coming semester.
A good syllabus provides a general overview of the course, including your learning objectives for students.
Every syllabus should include the following elements:
- Your name, office address, office phone number, and e-mail address.
- Your office hours. You should plan on at least three hours per week, not all on the same
day or at the same time slot. If you're teaching a course for part-time students,
you may choose to have more limited office hours and instead meet with students by appointment.
- Contact information and office hours of teaching assistants or other instructors.
- A list of required and recommended course materials (books, course packets, articles, etc.)
and where they can be purchased.
- The url for the course website and what students can find there.
- Criteria for grading. For example, average of midterm exams: 25%, final exam: 35%;
term paper 40%. If there are any complexities
(for example, dropping the lowest
quiz score)be sure these are explained clearly.
- A list of class meeting dates, times and locations. Include:
- A detailed schedule class topics, assigned readings,
discussions, laboratories, etc. Do your best not to change this as the semester progresses,
but if you think that some topics may "slip" or change, be sure to state that the schedules
and topics are subject to change and how changes will be announced
(in class, on the website, by e-mail, etc.)
- The dates, times and locations of any special events (field trips, lab sessions,
speaker events) students are expected to attend.
- Dates, times and locations of exams.
It's also useful to include information such as:
- How you prefer to be contacted (phone, e-mail, office hours) and what student may
expect for response time (will you answer e-mails within a day? Three days?)
- Course pre-requisites.
- Your policy regarding absences (be specific: absences from lectures, from labs, etc.),
missed work, make-up exams, etc.
- Your policy regarding work that is handed in late.
- Your expectations regarding independence of work.
- A reminder about student responsibility to know and
understand your school's Academic Conduct Code.
Remember that students are usually juggling several classes along with other responsibilities in their
lives (to work, family and friends, and general living), so they appreciate a
schedule that doesn't change too much, particularly with respect to workload:
assignments, exam dates, etc.
And for September...
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