The importance of a good course syllabus

[Mark Stellmack]

I intend this for newer instructors, but veterans might want to think about it as well:  Pay attention to your course syllabus.  A good syllabus can make your life a lot easier.  It can make your students happier, which will also make you happier.

The syllabus is your contract with your students as to what you will do for them and what you expect them to do for you.  A big benefit of putting as much information as possible in the syllabus is that later in the semester, if problems or issues arise, you can say, "Well, I have to go by what it says in the syllabus."

For example, a clear policy on late assignments can help you avoid arguments.  If a student says, "I sent you the paper on Monday; why can't I get full credit?", you can say, "I'm sorry, but the syllabus says that it was due on Friday.  My hands are tied."  If the situation is addressed in the syllabus, students usually let it go at that.

I think that in addition to a course description and other basic course information, these are valuable features for a good syllabus:

- Specific exam dates.

- A clear statement of your policy for late assignments.

- A clear statement of how students' grades will be computed (e.g., the exams and assignments that will contribute to the final grade and expected point cutoffs for awarding different letter grades).  You may wish to adjust the point cutoffs later in the semester, but at least give the students the ability to estimate their current grade at any point in the semester.

- A clear statement of your policy for dealing with instances of academic dishonesty.

I also include the following statement in my syllabus:  "This syllabus is subject to change at the Instructor's discretion.  Changes will be announced during lecture."  If I do make a change to the syllabus (usually assignment due dates or lecture topics), I distribute a revised version of the syllabus via email and I explicitly point out the changes during lecture.

Your syllabus will change over time as you learn important new features to include.  It may not be perfect this semester, but pay attention to things that you should include in future versions so that you can avoid problems that you had in this semester.  My syllabus has developed over many years as I encountered new problems that I could easily head off with a few lines in the syllabus.

A good syllabus can be very long.  Mine is currently about seven pages.  I don't like that the syllabus is that long, and most students probably do not read it thoroughly, but it covers me when students have a question or complaint later in the semester.

Ask other instructors for their syllabi so that you can get some ideas for what to include in yours.  There are certain pieces of information that are required by the University, so you should make sure that you include those.  I would be happy to provide copies of my syllabi to interested individuals.

[Patricia Frazier]

Thank you for doing this, Mark! Pat