The Required Syllabus

The University Operations Manual requires instructors to provide specific course information on the first day of classes "in order that students can make knowledgeable choices about whether to take a particular course."

College policy mandates that all students receive, at the first class meeting or on the first day they attend class, a syllabus with the following information. (NB: It is not sufficient to have an on-line syllabus only.)

A number of departments have chosen to create a standard syllabus addendum page that summarizes the required material that is the same for every course.

Identifying Information and Collegiate Policies

• The instructor's name, office address, office hours, and directory information (telephone and e-mail). NB: Every member of the instructional staff is expected to hold at least three published office hours per week and to be available for appointments.
• The course supervisor's name, office address, office hours, and telephone (if the instructor is a teaching assistant).
• The name of the department, location of the departmental office, and information on how to contact the DEO or his/her designee.
• Statement that, for each semester hour credit in the course, students should expect to spend two hours per week preparing for class sessions (e.g., in a three-credit-hour course, standard out-of-class preparation is six hours). See "Assignments and Evaluation of Student Work," below.
• Statement on availability of modifications for students with disabilities.
• Procedures for student complaints. Instructors should summarize the policy and direct students to the full policy in the College's Student Academic Handbook. Instructors should include specific information on departmental policies as well.
• The collegiate policy on plagiarism and cheating. Instructors should summarize the policy and direct students to full policy in the College's Student Academic Handbook. Instructors should give clear directions for all assignments to help students avoid inadvertent offenses.
• The Provost has developed a policy covering students who enroll in a course offered outside of their own college (for example, a CLAS student in a College of Law class or a Tippie College of Business Administration student who enrolls in a course offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences). This policy requires instructors to include a notice in the syllabus indicating that course policies are governed by the “College of ___.” If your course is cross-listed, the syllabus should include all the possible course numbers under which a student may be registered, and should state which department is the administrative home.

Specific Information on the Course

• Goals and objectives of the course.
• Schedule of topics, readings, and course materials or other description of course content. Students need information on all scheduled time commitments to a course, including activities such as film screenings or field trips. This information should also be published in course description on ISIS and other information sources available to students during registration.
• Grading procedures, including whether plus/minus grading will be used.
• Instructor's or departmental policies on attendance and tardiness, assignments, and examinations. (Your policies may not be in contradiction to those established by the College and the University).
• Dates and times of any exams scheduled outside of class time and the date and time of the final examination. (Note: Instructors must be particularly careful about scheduling evening examinations, which may cause scheduling conflict for many students. The Council on Teaching has developed a policy covering the conflicts between scheduled classes and out-of-class-time activities, including examinations. See the Registrar's "Examination Policies," section.
• Corrections or changes (if any) in the information about the course published on ISIS or in any other electronic or print publication.
• Special resources (if any) for obtaining additional help, such as tutors, teaching assistants, or tutorial laboratories.
• For courses that meet on a time-frame other than the standard semester or summer-session schedule, a reminder of the significant deadline dates for off-cycle courses, as stated on the official deadline calendar.
• Assignments and Evaluation of Student Work.

Instructors should include suitable tests and other assignments to measure the progress of each student. Papers, assignments, and tests should be graded and returned with written comments from the instructor quickly enough that students can benefit from the feedback. Instructors must be careful to protect the confidentiality of grades.

Instructors must ensure that students receive some evaluation of their performance in the class well before the deadline for dropping courses (after ten weeks of classes for semester-long courses). Grades below C- are reported at midterm.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

The College's Educational Policy Committee suggests that syllabi include a section on student rights and responsibilities. They suggest the following:

"All students in the College have specific rights and responsibilities. You have the right to adjudication of any complaints you have about classroom activities or instructor actions. Information on these procedures is available in the College's Student Academic Handbook. You also have the right to expect a classroom environment that enables you to learn, including modifications if you have a disability."

"Your responsibilities to this class-and to your education as a whole-include attendance and participation. [Here an instructor could put specific information on his/her or the department's attendance policy.] You are also expected to be honest and honorable in your fulfillment of assignments and in test-taking situations (the College's policy on plagiarism and cheating is on-line in the College's Student Academic Handbook). You have a responsibility to the rest of the class-and to the instructor-to help create a classroom environment where all may learn. At the most basic level, this means that you will respect the other members of the class and the instructor, and treat them with the courtesy you hope to receive in turn."